Development

Bulgaria Hosts Successful 'More Than Medals' Wrestling Development Camp

Tuesday, August 13, 2019 - 13:54 By Tim Foley

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 13) -- The United World Wrestling development department, along with the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation, last week hosted the annual 'More than Medals' World Camp (MTM) with more than 30 athletes and a half dozen coaches from several nations in attendance. The camp followed the 2019 Cadet Wrestling World Championships also held in Sofia.

MTM is a full athlete developmental clinic focusing on both techniques and education for athletes ages 14-17. Clinicians covered how to plan for training, Olympic values, and proper nutrition. There was also an anti-doping seminar led by Mrs. Elka GALEVA of the Bulgarian National Anti-Doping Organization.



"The atmosphere in Sofia was great! Everyone shifted very quickly from being opponents to friends," said UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY. "Despite coming from different countries and languages the wrestlers found ways to unify. Wrestling is a universal language and our programs aim to enhance the knowledge and capacities of our athletes."

For the first time ever, the MTM camp included athletes and coaches from Spain and Estonia.

"This was my first More Than Medals camp and I thought that the UWW educators were very good and that the services were excellent," said Martin PLASER (EST). "They adapt the training to each individual and bring out the best from each participant. They give chance to learn to each athlete while respecting everyone’s background and culture."


Local athletes also joined in the learning with five local wrestlers attending the camp and taking in lessons from a variety of UWW instructors.

"We are very happy to be here and we made some great friends," said wrestler Sofia TENEVA (BUL). "It is good to learn the working and training methods of others. To learn from each other and we will gladly participate in future camps"


In fulfilling their mission to provide wrestling opportunities to all wrestlers around the world, the UWW Development Department will next host an acclimation camp for the 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships this September in Nur-Sultan.

#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

Monday, August 19, 2024 - 20:29 By Vinay Siwach

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AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0