#YasarDogu

Burroughs, Cox, Snyder Close out Yasar Dogu with Day 4 Titles

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 14) --- The United States closed out the final day at the Yasar Dogu with three gold medals -- bringing their overall freestyle championship total to five. They had a pair of winners on Day 3, then tacked on three additional golds thanks to the help of world champions Jordan BURROUGHS, J’den COX and Kyle SNYDER, who won the 74kg, 92kg and 97kg title respectively. 

Cox and Snyder now head into September’s World Championships as the top-ranked wrestlers at their respective weights, while Burroughs gained the No. 2 ranking with his win in Istanbul.

Burroughs, a four-time world and Olympic champion, was scheduled to wrestle his biggest rival Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) for the 74kg title. But Chamizo, a two-time world champion, decided to sit out of the gold-medal bout after he locked up the top seed at 74kg -- handing the American the Yasar Dogu gold. 

With Chamizo grabbing the No. 1 seed from Sidakov, the Italian will face Budapest world runner-up and fourth-ranked Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) in the top-side semifinal in Nur-Sultan, and Sidakov and Burroughs in the bottom side semifinal. That is, of course, if the seeds hold true in Kazakhstan.

J’den COX (USA) outscored his four Yasar Dogu opponents 42-0 en route to the 92kg gold medal. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

J’den Cox closed out his run to a 92kg Yasar Dogu title outscoring his opponents 42-0 --including a 10-0 victory over Bendeguz TOTH (HUN) in the finals. 

Cox, the reigning 92kg world champion, picked up four takedowns then ended the finals match against Toth with a right side gut and slides into the World Championships with an unblemished 2019 record. 

Kyle Snyder earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Ali SHABANIBENGAR (IRI) in the 97kg finals and passed Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) for the weights top spot. 

Snyder, a two-time world and Olympic champion, grabbed what ended up being the match-deciding takedown early in the first period with a quick ankle pick. Though he conceded a stepout point in the second period, Snyder hung on to win his first Yasar Dogu title -- improving on his third-place finish from a year ago. 

Erica WIEBE (CAN) won her second straight Ranking Series title with a 2-1 win over Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) in the 76kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, Erica WIEBE (CAN) became the third Olympic champion to win a Yasar Dogu title after scoring a 2-1 victory over Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) in the 76kg women’s wrestling finals. 

Wiebe and Da Sila Ferreira traded inactivity points, and the Brazilian led at the halfway point of the second period, but the Canadian earned her second inactivity point with 45 seconds left to hang on to win, 2-1. 

Wiebe has now defeated a world or Olympic champion in three straight tournaments en route to her gold medals. At the Sassari in late May, Wiebe stuck Olympic champion Natalia VORBIEVA (RUS) in the opening period, then followed that up by defeating reigning world champion Justina DI STASIO (CAN) to win the Canada Cup title two weeks ago.

RESULTS

Freestyle

Team Standings 
GOLD - Turkey (165 points) 
SILVER- USA (155 points) 
BRZONE - Azerbaijan (100 points) 
Fourth - India (94 points) 
Fifth - Hungary (83 points)

74kg
GOLD - Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) df. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA), via injury default
BRONZE - Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR) df. Enes USLU (TUR), via injury default 
BRONZE - Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Yakup GOR (TUR), 7-5 

92kg 
GOLD - J'Den Michael Tbory COX (USA) df. Bendeguz TOTH (HUN), 10-0 
BRONZE - Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE) df. Abubakar TURGAYEV (KAZ), via injury default
BRONZE - Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR) df. Viky VIKY (IND), 8-0 

97kg 
GOLD - Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Ali Khalil SHABANIBENGAR (IRI), 2-1 
BRONZE - Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) df. Aslanbek ALBOROV (AZE), via disqualification
BRONZE - Pavlo OLIINYK (HUN) df. Baki SAHIN (TUR), via fall 

Women's Wrestling

Team Standings
GOLD - Russia (113 points)
SILVER - Turkey (112 points)
BRONZE - Belarus (92 points)
Fourth - India (89 points)
Fifth - Canada (78 points)

72kg 
GOLD - Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
BRONZE - Alena STARODUBTSEVA (RUS) df. Nilufar GADAEVA (UZB)

76kg 
GOLD - Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN) df. Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA), 2-1 
BRONZE - Yasemin ADAR (TUR) df. Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER), 10-3
BRONZE - Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR) df. Alla BELINSKA (UKR), via fall 

#UWWAwards

Ono, Bondar, Hedayati named UWW's Rising Stars for 2024

By Vinay Siwach

United World Wrestling has named Masanosuke ONO (JPN), Iryna BONDAR (UKR) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) as the Emerging Stars of the Year in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman for 2024.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN)

A storm hit the wrestling world late in the season. 20-year-old Masanosuke ONO (JPN) went on a rampage at the U20 and senior World Championships, winning both titles.

He first competed internationally at the Yasar Dogu tournament in March this year, winning the gold medal in a 28-wrestler 61kg bracket. Then he moved up to 65kg for the Asian Championships in Bishkek. However, he suffered a fall against Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) in his first bout. He returned to win the bronze medal.

That loss against Tumur Ochir would be a distant memory as Ono went on to win gold at the U20 World Championships, winning three out of four bouts via technical superiority. Then came the World Championships Tirana with Ono being a dark horse.

He quickly changed that to the favorite to win the gold medal as he opened with a huge 10-2 win over Tokyo Olympic champion Zavur UGUEV (AIN). He went on to add four more wins for the gold medal with scores reading 12-0, 11-0, 12-0 and 10-0.

Ono, currently a student at Yamanashi Gakuin University, earned new fans in Tirana with his dynamic style of wrestling and his celebrations. Most fans are glued to their seats when Ono is on the mat as in Tirana as he showed his range of attacks, from leg attacks to par terre and from upper body throws to leg laces.

Iryna BONDAR (UKR)Iryna BONDAR (UKR) won six gold medals, including two at world championships, this year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iryna BONDAR (UKR)

Among one of the most active wrestlers this year, Iryna BONDAR (UKR) clearly emerges as the future star in the making.

Bondar has competed at a staggering eight tournaments this year and won gold medals at six. Bondar began the year with an eighth-place finish at the Zagreb Open, her first senior competition, but then began a prolific run of winning gold medals at all age-group tournaments.

Bondar began with the U23 European Championships, added the second at the Budapest Ranking Series before adding the gold at the U20 European Championships. Then came the World Championships season. She won the U20 World Championships gold medal at 62kg, a month later she added the U23 World Championships gold medal at 62kg.

She could have capped off her season on a high but she participated in her first senior World Championships days after the U23 event. Wrestling at 65kg, she suffered a close loss to Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN).

In the four championships this year, Bodnar has outscored her opponents 155-25 in 18 bouts. Before that loss in Tirana, she was on a 24-0 winning run this year.

Bondar has been an active wrestler on the tour and won medals at the U20, U23 World Championships before, finishing with silvers and bronzes. However, the gold rush came this year.

Her form at 62kg makes her the heir apparent to two-time Olympic medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) who recently won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) won the 130kg gold at the U23 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)

While a lot can be said about Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) and his age-group world titles, his stunned the wrestling world in Budapest this year.

At the Budapest Ranking Series in July, a tune-up tournament for the Paris Olympics, Hedayati shocked world and Olympic champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) at Greco-Roman 130kg with a 4-0 win. Hedayati broke the Turkish legend in the six-minute bout and claimed the most famous win of his career so far.

Hedayati has been knocking on the 130kg door of the Iran team for long but Olympic bronze medalist Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) is still holding the spot. But the 2024 year has further Hedayati's claim over it.

Beginning the year with the Zagreb Open Ranking Series, Hedayati won he gold medal at 130kg with victories over Laszlo DARABOS (HUN), Wenhao JIANG (CHN), Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB), Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) and Lingzhe MENG (CHN).

Then came the 2024 Vehbi Emre tournament in which he challenged Mirzazadeh for the spot on Iran team but suffered a loss, his only of the season. He bounced back quickly from that and won the Budapest Ranking Series gold medal. Hedayati's style an be gauged with the fact that he did no give up a single point in three bouts in Budapest, making him a highly active wrestler.

He capped off the year with his first U23 World Championships gold medal at 130kg in Tirana. Hedayati's golden run included victories over some of the biggest names in age-group wrestling like Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN), Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), Hamza BAKIR (TUR).

Only Vyshnyvetskyi, who defeated Hedayati for the gold at the U20 World Championships in 2022, was able to score points on Hedayati when he hit an arm-throw. However, even in that bout, the Iranian never looked in any trouble.

Hedayati's active wrestler makes it difficult for his opponents to get him in forced par terre, making it difficult for them to score.