#wrestlebishkek

Bishkek gives peak into intense women's wrestling battles

Friday, June 2, 2023 - 17:31 By Vinay Siwach

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (June 2) -- If Friday's results are anything to go by, expect the women's wrestling competitions in the Paris Olympic cycle to throw more surprises.

Four Olympic weight classes were contested in Bishkek on Friday and three different countries won gold medals with Ukraine winning two of them at the third Ranking Series event of the year.

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) and Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) were the two gold medalists for Ukraine at 57kg and 62kg respectively while China won the gold at 68kg through Feng ZHOU (CHN) while the host country got the gold through Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) at 76kg.

The most intense weight class was 62kg which included the European Championships finalists Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) and Grace BULLEN (NOR), former U23 world champion Ana GODINEZ (CAN), world silver medalist Jia LONG (CHN), former world champ Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) and Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL).

Among all, to everyone's surprise, Prokopevniuk and Purevdorj reached the final after European champ Koliadenko lost in the first round to Sukhee while Bullen suffered a 15-10 loss to Long in the quarterfinal. But Sukhee met Purevdorj in an-all Mongolian semifinal in which the latter won 6-4.

Prokopevniuk defeated Godinez 8-3 in the opening round, moved past Lydia PEREZ (ESP) 12-1 in the quarterfinals blanked Long 10-0.

In the final, Prokopevniuk managed to hand Prevdorj an 8-3 defeat to win her second Ranking Series gold medal.

For Hrushyna, the 57kg did not offer immense competition but the wrestler still had to go through the process of winning more medals. Hrushyna defeated  Emma TISSINA (KAZ) 10-0, moving into the semifinals against ZHUOMALAGA (CHN).

She faced China in the final as Kexin HONG (CHN) also reached the final but Hrushyna won 7-4 and the gold medal.

"My motivation now is my Ukraine, which is fighting now," Hrushyna said. "This is my motherland, that motivates me to go forward and win."

Hrushyna and the team are likely to compete in more Ranking Series events after this.

"We are planning to compete at one more Ranking Series event," she said. "We are also planning to go to a training camp in Japan, that will be a nice preparation and then we will go to another training camp in the mountains of Ukraine."

Feng ZHOU (CHN)Feng ZHOU (CHN) launches Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) for a big throw. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 68kg, veteran Feng ZHOU (CHN) rolled back the years and wrestled well to reach the final. Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) was her opponent for the gold medal bout.

Zhou first defeated Xinru ZHOU (CHN) 12-1 in the quarterfinals before she moved on 3-1 against Nesrin BAS (TUR) in the semifinal.

Enkhsaikhan got an extra bout to reach the final as she defeated Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB) 11-0 in the qualification rounds, Olivia DI BACCO (CAN) 6-1 in the quarterfinals and Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) 2-1 in the semifinal.

Zhou was stunned in the final as Enkhsaikhan scored five points before she eked out a clutch performance and won 14-5.

Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) won the 76kg gold medal at home. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Medet Kyzy could not have asked for a better performance in front of the home fans as she captured the gold medal at 76kg. Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN) was close to upsetting Medet Kyzy but fell short in a 5-3 loss.

The qualification round saw some interesting results as Medet Kyzy defeated Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ) 4-1, Genesis REASCO (ECU) won 5-0 against Epp MAE (EST), Martina KUENZ (AUT) won 4-1 over Cynthia VESCAN (FRA) and PRIYA (IND) won 6-0 against Anastasiia OSNIACH (UKR).

Medet Kyzy faced Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) next and won 10-6 before facing QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN) in the semifinal which also ended in the favor of Medet Kyzy 6-3. In the other semifinal, Huang moved on after Kuenz suffered an injury.

Geraei stunned

Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) continues to suffer stunning losses in the competition since last year. After losses at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup in June 2022, World Championships in September 2022 and Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking in February, Geraei suffered a shock 11-1 loss to Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) in the 72kg final in Bishkek.

Before Friday, Zoidze had lost thrice to Geraei, at the 2019 World Championships (7-5), 2021 Olympic Games (6-1) and 2021 World Championships (7-6) but was a different wrestler that stepped on the mat in Bishkek.

"Of course, I believed in my victory, I was ready for this," Zoidze said. "I had to take revenge after the Olympic Games and after the World Championships. I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and thank God that I was able to take revenge."

Zoidze's final against Geraei could not have been more one-sided as the Georgian defeated him 11-1 with Geraei giving no chance to even fight.

The victory does put him as one of the contenders for the 67kg spot on the Gerogian team but Zoidze said it is still unclear if he can be at 67kg.

"I want to wrestle at 67kg, but at the moment this is still unclear which category I will wrestle," he said. "My main goal is to go down to 67kg and take part in the Olympic Games."

However, Geraei's elder brother Mohammadali won his second Ranking Series gold medal of the year as he captured the 77kg gold medal after beating Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) 8-3.

Geraei won gold in the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event in February this year.

Iran added a fifth gold to its Greco-Roman tally when Alireza MOHAMADPIANI (IRI) defeated upcoming star Alperen BERBER (TUR) 7-5 in the 82kg final.

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RESULTS

Greco-Roman

72kg
GOLD: Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), 11-1

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Yerassyl NURBOSSYNOV (KAZ), 9-0
BRONZE: Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. VIKAS (IND), via fall

77kg
GOLD: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df. Iuri LOMADZE (GEO), 8-3

BRONZE: Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) df. Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB), 8-0
BRONZE: Rui LIU (CHN) df. SAJAN (IND), 7-5

82kg
GOLD: Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) df. Alperen BERBER (TUR), 7-5

BRONZE: Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ) df. Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB), 5-4
BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Shamil BATYROV (KAZ), 9-0

Women's wrestling

57kg
GOLD: Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) df. Kexin HONG (CHN), 7-4

BRONZE: ZHUOMALAGA (CHN) df. Emma TISSINA (KAZ), 6-0
BRONZE: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), 8-4

62kg
GOLD: Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) df. Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL), 8-3

BRONZE: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Ana GODINEZ (CAN), 7-6
BRONZE: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Luisa NIEMESCH (GER), 8-3

68kg
GOLD: Feng ZHOU (CHN) df. Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL), 14-5

BRONZE: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Xinru ZHOU (CHN), 3-1
BRONZE: Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Olivia DI BACCO (CAN), 2-1

76kg
GOLD: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN), 5-3

BRONZE: QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), 8-3
BRONZE: Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), via inj. def.

#WrestleTirana

Defending champ Azizli among 3 Azerbaijan wrestlers to make finals

Monday, October 28, 2024 - 20:45 By Ken Marantz

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TIRANA, Albania (October 28) -- Olympics or not, the intensity is still the same as Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) drives for a third consecutive world title and fourth overall.

Azizli advanced to the final at Greco 55kg, one of three Azerbaijani wrestlers to make it to the four gold-medal matches on the opening day of the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Monday in Tirana.

Joining Azizli in Tuesday's Greco finals will be Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) at 63kg and Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) at 72kg, the latter of whom will be facing defending champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA).

At 82kg, Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) earned a shot at winning his first world gold to go with three bronzes he previously won at 71kg or 77kg. But younger brother and Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) was dealt a stunning loss at 72kg, while reigning 63kg champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) was knocked out in the quarterfinals. Neither one was pulled into the repechage and will leave Tirana empty-handed.

Azizli was virtually untouchable in storming into the 55kg final, easily putting away two-time European bronze medalist Denis MIHAI (ROU) 9-0 in the semifinals for his third technical fall of the day without conceding a point.

Azizli started with a front headlock for 2. Put on top in par terre, he executed a gut wrench, then ended the proceedings in 1:47 with a nifty 4-point throw for his third win in three career meetings with Mihai -- all by technical fall.

In the final, Azizli will face another familiar foe in Asian silver medalist Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), a bronze medalist in Budapest who advanced by defeating Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN) with his second straight 1-1 victory.

Azizli, a two-time European champion and six-time medalist, is 3-0 in career clashes with Dad Marz, most recently beating him at the Budapest Ranking Series in June and including a 3-2 win in the semifinals at the 2023 worlds.

Mammadli, this year's European champion at 60kg, earned his first-ever berth in a world final when he powered to a 6-1 semifinal victory at 63kg over Tokyo Olympian Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), who knocked off Abuladze 5-2 in the second round.

Mammadli trailed 1-0 on a passivity point going into the second period when he came alive, using the aggressive Aslanyan's momentum to score 4 with a counter pancake, then used underhooks to drop him for 2 more.

Next up for the gold will be Asian champion Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ), who made short work of Sadyk LALAEV (AIN), scoring a 4-point throw in the first 10 seconds of their semifinal and adding another with an arm throw to finish up an 8-0 win in exactly a minute.

Lalaev had won the final world qualifier for the Paris Olympics at 60kg, but was among those from Russia or Belarus who were either declared ineligible or decided not to participate.

At 72kg, 2022 world silver medalist Ganizade and the Egyptian-born Ghanem set up a rematch of the 2023 European final, which the Azeri won 7-7 in a nail-biter.

Ganizade, this year's European silver medalist, earned a shot at a world gold with a 6-0 victory over Asian bronze medalist Ji LENG (CHN), who had ousted two-time world bronze medalist Selcuk CAN (TUR) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

After scoring a stepout, Ganizade gained a passivity point and, from par terre, hit a throw that didn't turn Leng but became 4 points when he kept driving and exposed the Chinese's back.

Ghanem came out on top 6-1 of an at-times-tempetous tussle with Iranian-born former world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB), an opponent with whom he had split two previous encounters.

A pair of stepouts and a passivity point gave Ghanem a 3-0 lead going into the second period. An unsuccessful Serbian challenge when Arsalan was on top of par terre made it 4-1, then Ghanem put the bout on ice by spinning behind for a takedown.

Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) made it to his World Championships final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 82kg, the elder Geraei was on the receiving end of a passivity point in each period for a 2-0 win over European bronze medalist Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO). It was a far cry from his previous two matches when he had a 4-point throw in 7-2 and 14-6 victories.

Geraei, who took home world bronzes in 2017, 2019 and 2021 and finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, will face an impressive Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) in his first global final.

Szilvassy, already assured of his first major medal, scored 2 with an arm throw in the first period and held on for a 3-2 victory over Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR). Earlier, he defeated two-time world medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

The biggest shock of the day came three matches into the competition when the younger Geraei was knocked off 11-3 in the qualification round at 72kg by unheralded Benjamin PEAK (USA).

Geraei looked like it would be just another day at the office when the former world champion scored an early takedown. But Peak, whose lone major medal is a bronze from the 2019 Pan Am U20 Championships, came back with a takedown and throw that, with a 2-point leg penalty tacked on, gave him a 6-2 lead. Geraei cut the gap with a stepout just before the break.

Peak kept the pressure on and countered for another takedown, then caught Geraei in a lapse and bulled him backward for a 2-point exposure that ended the match with 30 seconds left.

When Peak fell in the next round to Dominik ETLINGER (CRO), it ended Geraei's hopes of adding to his full collection of world medals -- the 2021 champion also has a silver from 2022 and bronze from 2023, all at 67kg.

Geraei missed out on a chance to defend his Olympic title in Paris when he lost a playoff for Iran's spot at 67kg to Saeid ESMAELI (IRI), who kept the title in Iranian hands.

The tournament continues Monday with the women's competition through the semifinals at 55kg, 59kg, 65kg and 72kg before the Greco finals at night. Among those in action will be two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO (JPN).

Day 1 Results

Greco-Roman

55kg (16 entries)
SF: Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) df. Denis MIHAI (ROU) by TF, 9-0, 1:47
SF: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN), 1-1

63kg (21 entries)
SF: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), 6-1
SF: Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ) df. Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) by TF, 8-0, 1:00

72kg (28 entries)
SF: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) df. Ali ARSALAN (SRB), 6-1
SF: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Ji LENG (CHN), 6-0

82kg (28 entries)
SF: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR), 3-2
SF: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 2-0