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

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

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.

“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

#WrestleUlaanbaatar, #OffTheMat

Purevdorj reignites Olympic quest with Ulaanbaatar Open gold

Friday, June 20, 2025 - 09:31 By Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 18) -- The last time Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) wrestled in front of home crowd in Ulaanbaatar, she was one of the top wrestlers in the world at 62kg.

She was the 2017 world champion and a year before that, she had ended Kaori ICHO's (JPN) 13-year long unbeaten streak at the Ivan Yaryguin Grand Prix. Then in 2018, she won the Asian Championships in Bishkek and the Mongolian Open gold medal in Ulaanbaatar.

Few months later, she failed a dope test at the Asian Games, where she had won the gold medal in 62kg. Her rise turned into a fatal fall and Purevdorj was left to serve the four-year ban. During her long hiatus, Purevdorj focused on personal life.

“I was very sad but I decided to just live and raised my son. I kept myself busy with him,” Purevdorj says. “The most important thing is my mind. It's important to be strong.”

Purevdorj, who still remains Mongolia last world champion in wrestling, made her comeback in 2022 and was part of the Mongolian team to the World Cup. She won silver medal at the Asian Championships in 2023 and qualified for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Seven years since the ban and now in the twilight of her wrestling career, Purevdorj is hoping to reignite the fire to wrestle. She took the first step by winning a gold medal at hte Ulaanbaatar Open. The 31-year-old won in 62kg in front of her family and local fans to once again stamp herself as the best wrestler in Mongolia and even Asia.

"I am wrestling for the second time [first time internationally] this year but it's hard," she says after her gold-medal bout against compatriot and rival Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) who she defeated 11-2 to win the gold medal.

At the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Purevdorj is joined by her husband, son and even parents as they watch her wrestle live after a long time. It's not an ideal start for her as she gets hammered 10-0 by Alina KASABIEVA (UWW), a wrestler she has defeated multiple times in her career before.

That's not what Purevdorj or her family expected in the first bout itself. But she runs back to the warm-up hall and prepares for the second bout, this time against Asian champion MANISHA (IND). And Purevdorj looked in form against the Indian, winning via fall. [The 62kg bracket at the Ulaanbaatar Open was a round-robin bracket, hence giving Purevdorj the second chance].

The fall helps Purevdorj get five classification points and a place in the semifinal over Manisha. She will wrestle Ekaterina KOSHKINA (UWW) for a spot in the final. Her son, six years old, keeps cheering every time he sees his mother on the mat.

Koshkina takes Purevdorj to the limits scoring via counters. Still, Purevdorj led 9-7 at the break and both resumed their dynamic wrestling. Purevdorj managed to defend some of the attacks from Koshkina and ultimately won 15-11.

In a high-affair all-Mongolian final at 62kg, Purevdorj put on a defensive masterclass to beat Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL), 11-2, and capture the gold medal.

"I was able to win because I played calmly," she said after the final. "In the first match, I was not good mental state and was not ready. But next match I was better."

Purevdorj celebrated with a few photos with her family and coaches. She looked visibly tired after the four bouts and could use some rest days.

"As I said, it's hard. I am not sure about anything," said Purevdorj, who was wrestling a UWW tournament for the first time since the Paris Games.

Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) celebrating after becoming a world champion in 2017. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

When she began wrestling 17 years ago in Ulaanbaatar after her cousins introduced her to the sport, Purevdorj did not think she will reach this level. So being a world champion makes her feel happy and she is proud that she choose this sport.

“I'm seventh child in my family and only I am a wrestler. My cousins were wrestlers but they stopped soon but I never stopped. I really loved it."

But she regrets not having an Olympic medal. She has been on that stage twice but fell short. In Rio 2016, she lost in the repechage while in Paris, she lost to her long-time rival Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) in the bronze-medal bout.

Now, the only motivation to be at the 2028 Los Angeles is to get an Olympic medal which may complete her journey. A medal will make her the third Mongolian wrestler to win a medal in Women's Wresting.

“I'm not sure about wrestling till Los Angeles. But I'm just trying,” she said. “The last Olympics were so hard for me in my career. I'm trying again, and I've started this year. There are many wrestlers in 62kg who are better but I have to train more.”

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

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Purevdorj reignites Olympic quest with Ulaanbaatar Open gold