#WrestleWarsaw

Chamizo Cements 74kg Tokyo Top Seed with Silver at Poland Open

Wednesday, June 9, 2021 - 20:33 By Vinay Siwach

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WARSAW, Poland (June 9) – Having already locked up the top seed for Tokyo Olympics, Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) landed in Warsaw with a single goal of getting into wrestling form before the Games.

By the end of the day, he cemented his spot as the top-seeded wrestler at 74kg at the Olympic Games after winning Ranking Series silver, forfeiting the 74kg final on Wednesday.

The two-time world champion came into the Poland Open with a two-point advantage (62 points) over fellow two-time world gold medalist Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS). Despite settling for the silver medal on Wednesday, Chamizo collected 14 points Ranking Series points and sits atop the Tokyo ranks with 76 points.

Poland Open

“I wrestled three matches, and in the last one, it was getting a little hard on my shoulder,” Chamizo said. “I didn't wrestle the final because I am number one in the rankings and I have a lot of points. So next stop is Olympics.”

Perhaps it was the shoulder that was stopping him from going all out on Wednesday as he had close wins -- especially the semifinal. His Ukrainian opponent Semen RADULOV rallied back to score four points in the final minute after trailing 5-0. But Chamizo hung on for the win.

“I am chilling. I don't want to get hurt, do something wrong because Olympics is so close,” he said. “I want to take care of myself. Poland Open is not tough level so I was going easy.”

The next stop for the Italian will be Tokyo and he doesn't want to leave any stone unturned going into the second Games of the career.

“I am trying to getting better physically. I want to breathe better, like a Ferrari. Consistent and training hard and trying to get to the top in my training. I can't wait to be at the Olympics. It's a big moment and I want to live my dream. I am going to try and fight for my medal,” he said.

Also at 74kg, Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) claimed the bronze medal and improved his seed at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He scored 12 points and leapfrogged Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) for the second seed. The Kazakh wrestler now has 69 points.

After removing wrestlers who we know won’t compete in Tokyo -- Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) and Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) -- the top four seeds in Tokyo will be Chamizo, Kaisanov, Sidakov and Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR), respectively.

At 61kg, Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) shocked world bronze medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND) en route to winning gold. He had stunned another bronze medalist Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) in the semifinals.

Abdullaev allowed his Indian opponent to capitalize on a late right-legged attack with three seconds left in the period and trailed 2-1 after the opening frame. In the closing period, the Uzbek flipped the script and struck twice on a pair of takedowns and never looked back. He surrendered a stepout point but hung on to win the match, 5-3.

Abdullaev vs Ravi Poland

Earlier in the day, Ravi had earned a 10-1 win over the same opponent before defeated Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ), Nathan TOMASELLO (USA) and Reza ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI) to reach the final.

“It was a tournament that I wanted to play before the Olympics,” Kumar said. “I wanted to check myself and I learned a lot. Hopefully, I don't make the mistakes again.”

“I was really slow at the start and I have to change it a lot. Sometimes the body isn't active enough and that was it.”

Despite falling to world bronze medalist Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) in the morning session’s pool-play action, John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) cruised to a three-point win over Eduard GRIGOREV (POL) in the 65kg gold-medal match and won his second career Poland Open gold medal.

In the first period, Diakomihalis scored a pair of takedowns and was awarded a fifth point from a failed Polish challenge. He struck early in the second period with a shot attempt that resulted in a step out at extended his lead to 6-1. The American closed out the match with another stepout and claimed his second Ranking Series title and first since winning the ’19 Yasar Dogu.

“He [Muszukajev] is very skilled and athletic,” Diakomihalis said. “I can wrestle with him but with guys like that who are explosive and then fade away a little bit, you have to have the right tactics. I thought I did.

“Fortunately I am able to go back and learn by watching the video. But it did expose a lot of weaknesses.”

Muszukajev later forfeited his bouts denying a possibility of a rematch with the American in the final. Instead, Grigorev made it to the final and captured the silver medal.

The home country did have a champion. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) claimed the gold medal in the 92kg final after a 12-3 win over Illia ARCHAIA (UKR), giving the home country something to cheer about.

The final saw a series of takedowns from Baranowski and a solid defensive performance which kept any attacks of Archaia away.

The Ukrainian had upset two-time world champion J'den COX (USA) in the semifinal with a 2-1 win. After being called for passivity, Archaia managed to pull off a takedown late in the second period and fend off an attack from Cox with a powerful pull of his leg.

Cox later did not wrestle for the bronze medal as he suffered cramps and continuous vomiting.

At 125kg, Amir ZARE (IRI) smothered Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) in the finals, winning his second Ranking Series title after the two-time world bronze medalist was dinged with three fleeing the hold calls. Zare, who led 5-1 at the time of the third caution, used a right-ride underhook to dominate the match and only need 2 minutes and 40 seconds to score the bulldozing win.

The gold medal also won Zare the spot on the Iran team for the Olympics. Amin Hossein TAHERI (IRI) was also competing for the spot but he suffered a 6-3 loss to Youssif HEMIDA (EGY) in the quarterfinals.

Iran Undecided for 74kg

Iran, treating the Poland Open as a selection trial for their Olympic team, are yet to finalize the freestyle team. It arrived in Warsaw with 74kg, 97kg and 125kg as undecided but after two days of competition, they are yet to confirm the 74kg representative.

Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) at 97kg and Amir ZARE (IRI) at 125kg were confirmed for the Tokyo team.

Vice-president of the Iran Wrestling Federation Hamid SOURIAN told UWW that they will take a decision at 74kg after conducting a technical committee meeting in Theran.

“We will sit with the committee and decided whether or not to host a trial for 74kg,” Sourian said. “For now, the 74kg weight class is the only undecided for Iran.”

On Wednesday, Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) and Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) were entered and were on collision course but Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) played spoilsport for Iran.

Both Iran wrestlers were to meet in the semifinal but Emamichoghaei lost to Gadzhiyev 4-2 before Hosseinkhani defeated the Azerbaijan wrestler 3-0 in the semifinal.

The Iran federation were planning to host the trial in Warsaw after the competition but decided to cancel it at the last moment keeping the fans waiting for the final team announcement.

125kg Podium

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD - Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) df Ravi KUMAR (IND), 5-3
BRONZE - Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) df Reza Ahmadali ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI), 5-0

65kg
GOLD -John Michael DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) df. Eduard GRIGOREV (POL), 7-3
BRONZE - Joseph Christopher MC KENNA (USA) df. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR), via forfiet

74kg
GOLD -Mostafa Mohabbali HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) df. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA), via inj. def.
BRONZE - Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) df. Semen RADULOV (UKR), 5-2
BRONZE - Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Kamil RYBICKI (POL), 9-1

92kg
GOLD - Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Illia ARCHAIA (UKR), 12-3
BRONZE - Nathan Dyamin JACKSON (USA) df. Rustam SHODIEV (UZB), 12-0
BRONZE - Krzysztof Grzegorz SADOWIK (POL) df. Jden Tbory COX (USA), via inj. def.

125kg
GOLD – Amir ZARE (IRI) df. Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA), via disqualification
BRONZE - Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) vs. Youssif HEMIDA (EGY), 13-2
BRONZE - Oleksandr KOLDOVSKYI (UKR) df. Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY), 7-0

Stadnik retires: Europe's best who rewrote history

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - 11:06 By Vinay Siwach

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (February 4) -- Four Olympic medals, six World Championships medals, 10 European titles, two European Games golds, many triumphs and heartbreaks later, Mariya STADNIK (AZE) has called it a day.

Stadnik, who debuted 22 years ago in 2003, announced her decision to retire from wrestling in an event organized by Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Baku on Monday. In an emotional video, Stadnik can be seen removing her shoes on the mat in front of a crowd and then speaking about her career.

"I recorded my name in the history of Women's Wrestling. Thank you to everyone who created this story together with me," Stadnik wrote on Instagram. "Now it's time to close this page of my life and write a new history."

Back in 2003, Stadnik began with a gold medal at the U17 European Championships, won a U20 world title two years later, added senior one as well and had a storied Olympic career which was laden with heartbreaks.

"I always had the motivation and will to win," Stadnik said last year. "I have had this will since early childhood, and this is endless."

READ MORE: Stadnik, 34, remains unbeaten in Europe

Though her will has stretched her career over two decades, Stadnik's decision to retire came after a lot of thought.

"In wrestling, I used all my chances," Stadnik said. "Now I understand that the time has come when I can be useful for wrestling in another role."

The 36-year-old, who was born in Ukraine but competed for Azerbaijan, will be moving into a caretaker role with the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Women's Wrestling and will be responsible for churning out new stars.

When Stadnik made her debut in 2003, Japan, China, United States and Canada were top nations. However, Stadnik changed that. She won her first World Championships medal in 2007 and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in which she won a bronze medal as an 18-year-old.

Soon, she won her first world title in 2009 and emerged as the new force from Europe. She went on to win the European Championships as well. Stadnik brought competition to Women's Wrestling.

"For these countries, the competition with me was always serious," she said. "We always had tense and intriguing fights that were followed by the whole world. Mariya Stadnik from Azerbaijan was always a danger for them."

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Perhaps it was no surprise that she was in the final of 2011 World Championships and 2012 London Games. However, she came up short both times to Hitomi OBARI (JPN).

"I give a lot of respect to Obara because she was stronger than me at that moment and the London gold was hers," she said. "She was my strongest opponent whom I respect very much."

Barring those Japanese hurdles, Stadnik was unstoppable. She added more medals at the continental level and always stood on the podium at the World Championships.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)A dejected Mariya STADNIK (AZE) at the 48kg medal ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Then came the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Stadnik was at the peak of her wrestling her. A Olympic gold would take so much off her back. She was in the final of the 48kg in Rio and the gold medal was within touching distance as she was leading Eri TOSAKA (JPN) 2-1 in the final. But Tosaka crushed those dreams in the final five seconds, beating Stadnik 3-2.

Stadnik till today has no explanation as to what happened in those last five seconds of the final against Tosaka.

"I didn't watch my match from Rio for two years and still can't find an explanation why that competition ended like that," Stadnik said. "I knew and felt that the Rio gold should have been mine."

Stadnik geared up for one more time. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics would have been perfect ending for her. But by then, wrestling had changed with two-day weight ins, a newer generation of wrestlers had come up and Yui SUSAKI (JPN) was on a mission.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) lost her first meeting with Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 2-2 at the Klippan Lady Open in 2018. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fynn)

The first time Stadnik and Susaki faced each other was in the Klippan Lady Open final in 2018. Stadnik was winning the final but Susaki scored a stepout in the final second to shock Stadnik.

People doubted Stadnik and her mental strength. The 2019 World Championships gave a huge boost of confidence for Stadnik who won her second of the two world titles in Astana, exactly ten years after winning her first.

The Tokyo Olympics were just 10 months away and Stadnik was ready for it. However, with COVID-19 pandemic, it got pushed to 2021 and Susaki went on to win the gold medal with a 41-0 record in four bouts including a 10-0 rout of Stadnik in the semifinals.

Stadnik still managed to win a bronze medal, her fourth of the Olympics, tying her with Kaori ICHO (JPN) and Saori YOSHIDA (JPN). Icho was four golds and Yoshida has three silver and one bronze.

"I know people talk about the gold medal but I am so happy with this bronze. It's satisfying," she said back in 2021.

But Stadnik wasn't satisfied with wrestling. After being away from the mat in 2022, she returned in 2023 and won her ninth European title, the most in Women's Wrestling, extending her unbeaten streak in European Championships to 34 bouts.

Then she made a run for the Paris Olympics and though that meant taking losses to opponents she used to toy with in the past, the mother of two secured her place for Paris in the final qualifiers in Istanbul. Her body was ageing, reducing weight was becoming gruesome and her opponents were becoming quicker.

She returned home without a medal but became the first female wrestler to compete at five Olympics. Soon after Paris, Stadnik reflected on what she has left for wrestling and decided that a role off the mat was more suited now. Letting go off something so big in her life was hard and emotional for her.

"When I watched the video in which I take my shoes off, I had tears," she said. "This is the end of an important part of my life. What I loved so much for many years is ending."