Chamizo Closes Out Sassari With Gold in Home Country

Saturday, May 25, 2019 - 19:18 By Eric Olanowski

SASSARI, Italy (May 25) – Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) capped off his run to a Sassari title in front of his home nation with a 6-4 come-from-behind win over tenth-ranked Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) in what was a battle of reigning 74kg continental champions.

Chamizo used the support from the ruckus Italian crowd to push him past Kaisanov in the finals. “I’m so happy for (the fans). They support me; I needed that. I love the fans.”

The Italian, who won the European Championships last month in Bucharest, Romania, found himself in a four-point hole against the reigning Asian champion after he surrendered a takedown and a leg lace -- but closed the Kazakh wrester’s lead to two points with a takedown of his own before the ending whistle of the first period sounded.

In the second period, Chamizo picked up his offensive attack rate and gained the lead on criteria with an early two. The two-time world champion tacked on his second takedown of the period and third overall to take the 6-4 advantage into the final 30 seconds. The Italian fought off several attacks and hung on to win his first career Sassari gold medal, improving on his eighth-place finish from 2014.

Chamizo also grabbed a massive come-from-behind win over 2014 world champion Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) in the semifinals. The Italian erased a three-point second-period deficit by scoring a pair of takedowns to upend Russia's 2017 world runner-up, 5-4.

After the match, Chamizo said, “I’m focused. I’m not joking. That’s it, guys. I don’t want to talk about wins or loses. I want talk about training and staying focused.”

Chamizo entered the Sassari as the fourth-ranked wrestler in the world with 56 points and will jump Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) and Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA) after collecting 16 points for his gold-medal performance on Saturday. “I think competing is important. The reason for me competing is I need the points for the rankings,” said Chamizo. The Italian superstar will be the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 74kg sits four points behind reigning world champion Zaurbek SIDKOV (RUS) who has 76 points.

In his finals interview, Chamizo said he plans to wrestle at the final Ranking Series event of the year, the Yasar Dogu. Depending on if Sidakov shows up and Chamizo medals, the Italian could head into the World Championships as the No. 1 seeded wrestler in the world.

Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) was one of two wrestlers from Kazakhstan who won a Sassari gold medal on Saturday night. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Kazakhstan Wins Team Titles with Seven Medalists
Kazakhstan, who had seven medalists, won the team title 15 points ahead of second place Russia. Rassul KALIYEV and Nurkozha KAIPANOV were Kazakhstan’s two champions. They also won two silvers and three bronzes.

Though he lost in the 61kg gold-medal bout, Rassul Kalyev was named champion after Iran’s Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI got disqualified for failure to comply with United World Wrestling medal ceremony rules. In the 61kg Nordic-style bracket, Yakheshi closed out his day with a 4-1 record, including a 7-2 win over Rassul Kaliyev in the gold-medal bout – but the Iranian’s gold medal got revoked during the medal presentation ceremony for failure to cooperate with United World Wrestling’s medal ceremony procedures.

Yakhkeshi took the podium not wearing the approved medal ceremony clothing. According to United World Wrestling’s rule book, wrestlers have to wear their countries tracksuit on the podium to receive their medal. Yakhkeshi, who was wearing short sleeves, was asked several times to comply with the rules but failed to do so, among many other things, which resulted in disqualification.

Therefore, Kalyev, Uladzislau ANDREYEU (BLR), and Rahul AWARE (IND) received bumps and finished in first through third, respectively.

Kazakhstan's second champion came at the 70kg, where Nurkozha Kaipanov blanked George KOLIEV (BLR), 6-0 in the gold-medal match. Kaipanov scored two takedowns and a pair of stepouts to win his first career Ranking Series gold medal.

Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS) only needed 77 seconds to pick up the fall over Canada's Darthe CAPELLAN’s (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Russia Wins Three Freestyle Golds; Finished Second in Team Race
The Russian Federation finished in second place as a team with 147 points with three champions. Their three champions were Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS), Khalil AMINOV (RUS), and Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS).

The 57kg finals match was short lived and only lasted 77 seconds. Azamat Tuskaev scored a counter-offensive takedown off of Darthe CAPELLAN’s (CAN) double leg attempt, then quickly locked up a cradle and stuck the Canadian wrestler.

Khalil Aminov gave Russia their second gold medal of the night with a 6-2 win over Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ). Aminov scored a pair of one-point stepouts and picked up a four-point double leg to win the 79kg gold-medal bout, 6-2.

Russia’s third champion came at 125kg when Pavel Krivtsov scored a takedown with 1.7 seconds to defeat Daniel LIGETI (HUN). Krivtsov gained the 4-4 lead on criteria, then added a point for a failed Hungarian challenge and counter-offensive takedown as time expired to beat Ligeti, 7-4.

Alireza KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI) was one of the three Iranian champions. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Karami Leads Iran To Third-Place Finish
Had it not been for Mohammadbagher Yakheshi's 61kg gold medal getting revoked while he was on the podium, Iran would have had won four gold medals on Saturday. Either way, Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI), Alireza KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI), Hamed TALEBIZARRINKAMAR (IRI), won back-to-back-to-back titles at 86kg, 92kg, and 97kg respectively and helped Iran finish third as a team.

In the 86kg finals, Ahmad Bazrighaleh pulled off the most improbable comebacks of the tournament, defeating Kazakhstan’s Azamat DAULETBEKOV in a 29-point shootout. Bazrighaleh was in danger of giving up a technical superiority win when his Kazakh opponent led 10-2 after the first period –- but the Iranian fought back and scored 17 unanswered points, outlasting Dauletbekov, 19-10.

In the 92kg finals, returning world bronze medalist Alireza Karimimachiani muscled around Russia’s Batyrbek TCAKULOV (RUS) and captured the gold medal with a 7-2 victory. Karimimachiani scored his seven points off an exposure, three stepouts and a pair of brutality points.

Hamed Talebizarrinkamar efficiently handled fellow Iranian Abbas Ali FOROUTANRAMI (IRI), 8-0 in the 97kg finals and won his first international gold medals since the 2011 Junior World Championships.

Sonba GONGANE (IND) was down 6-1 and came back to beat No. 16 Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS), 9-8. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Gongane Wins 65kg Title After Being Down 6-1
In one of the most exciting matches of the night, India’s Sonba GONGANE (IND) scored the 9-8 come-from-behind win over Russian Ivan Yariguin champion and 16th-ranked Magomedrasul IDRISOV in the 65kg gold-medal bout.

Gongane trailed 6-1 at one point in the match, but continued to claw back, and ultimately gained the 7-6 outright lead with 120 seconds left. The Indian again found himself behind when the Russian picked up a takedown - but Gongane stayed on the attack and picked up a pair of one-point exchanges to win the match, 9-8.

Wrestling resumes tomorrow with the Sardinia Beach Wrestling Matteo Pellicone Memorial.

RESULTS

TEAM SCORES
GOLD – Kazakhstan (162 points)
SILVER – Russia (147 points)
BRONZE – Iran (111 points)
Fourth - India (90 points)
Fifth – Canada (73 points)

57kg
GOLD - Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS) df. Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN), via fall
BRONZE - Nader Ahmad HAJIAGHANIASAMAKOUSHI (IRI) df. Changjun PARK (KOR), 6 - 0
BRONZE - Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA) df. Patrick James HEBREARD (USA), 10-0

61kg
GOLD - Rassul KALIYEV (KAZ)
SILVER - Uladzislau ANDREYEU (BLR)
BRONZE - Rahul AWARE (IND)

65kg
GOLD – Sonba Tanaji GONGANE (IND) df. Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS), 9-8
BRONZE – Sayatbek OKASSOV (KAZ) df. Harphool HARPHOOL (IND), 14-3
BRONZE - Junsik YUN (KOR) df. Quentin Jean-René STICKER (FRA), 5-0

70kg
GOLD - Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. George KOLIEV (BLR), 6-0
BRONZE - Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) df. Mihail Iliev GEORGIEV (BUL), 10-0
BRONZE - Batyr BORJAKOV (TKM) df. Fares LAKEL (ALG), 9-4

74kg
GOLD - Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) df. Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ), 6-4
BRONZE - Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL) df. Amit Kumar DHANKHAR (IND), 11-0
BRONZE - Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) df. Andrei KARPACH (BLR), 12-6

79kg
GOLD - Khalil AMINOV (RUS) df. Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ), 6-2
BRONZE - Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) df. Parveen RANA (IND), via fall
BRONZE - Dmytrii TKACHENKO (UKR) df. Sahergeldi SAPARMYRADOV (TKM), via fall

86kg
GOLD - Ahmad Yousef BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) vs. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), 19-10
BRONZE - Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) df. Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM), 14 - 4
BRONZE - Deepak PUNIA (IND) df. Boris MAKOEV (SVK)

92kg (Single Bronze)
GOLD - Alireza KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI) df. Batyrbek TCAKULOV (RUS), 8-4
BRONZE - Arashk Mohammadkazem MOHEBI (IRI) vs. Nurgali NURGAIPULY (KAZ), 7-3

97kg
GOLD - Hamed Delavar TALEBIZARRINKAMAR (IRI) df. Abbas Ali FOROUTANRAMI (IRI), 8-0
BRONZE - Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) df. Bakdaulet ALMENTAY (KAZ), 2 - 0
BRONZE - Igor Alekseevitch OVSIANNIKOV (RUS) df. Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)

125kg
GOLD - Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS) df. Daniel LIGETI (HUN), 7-4
BRONZE - Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ) df. Grant Michael ROBINSON (USA), 12-0
BRONZE - Frédérick CHOQUETTE (CAN) df. Aly BARGHOUT (CAN), 3-0

Trailblazer Epp Mae retires as Estonia's top wrestler

Tuesday, January 28, 2025 - 13:16 By Vinay Siwach

ESTONIA (January 28) -- European champion and two-time World Championships medalist Epp MAE (EST) announced her retirement earlier in January at an emotional press conference in Tallinn. She left her shoes on the mat, symbolizing retirement from wrestling.

The 32-year-old is Estonia's most successful wrestler in Women's Wrestling, winning gold at the European Championships in 2021 and silver medals in the 2017 and 2022 editions. She also has a bronze medal from 2019.

At the World Championships, Mae became the first Estonian wrestler to win a medal, enter the final, and even have two medals. She won silver in the 76kg in 2021, plus three bronze medals in 2015, 2019, and 2022.

"The day I announced my retirement was very emotional and hard because something so big in your life came to an end," Mae told UWW. "I knew that I was about to retire because I was expecting a baby. But it was difficult to stand in front of the people and say that this part of my life has ended, so announcing was harder than deciding it inside myself."

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Mae is a two-time Olympian for Estonia. She made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games and finished 13th. She improved to eighth at the 2020 Tokyo Games. For the 2024 Paris Olympics, Mae tried qualifying in the 76kg weight class but failed to achieve that. Her last international competition was the World Olympic Qualifier in May in Istanbul.

"To be honest, I did not expect my career to be this long, as it is," she said. "I did not have any role models in female wrestling in Estonia when I was growing up. So I had no idea whether it was possible to earn money or live from wrestling and how far it was possible to go from my country. I dedicated my life and my career to wrestling as much as I could. An athlete should know it's time to step down. It aligned for me with a wish to start a family."

An emotional Epp MAE (EST) announcing her retirement in a wrestling club in Tallinn on January 9. (Photo: ERR / Siim Lõvi)

Mae took up wrestling after her father, a former wrestler, pushed her into the sport. However, there were no partners to train with and Mae did not have any national competitions. She even trained in judo and sumo just to get training.

When Estonia did start a national championship in women's wrestling, Mae dominated, winning it 12 times in her career. For other sports, she is a four-time Estonian sumo champion, a four-time Estonian beach wrestling champion, and has also been an Estonian judo champion on one occasion.

"I have always laughed that the population of Estonia is 1.3 million and I am one in a million to choose to do something like this and be successful," she said. "Coming from a small nation, it is not easy to break through to the top. Most likely you don't have training partners at home. you have to travel a lot away from your country and get to train at a level that you need to succeed."

Epp MAE (EST), red, wrestling at the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Internationally, Mae made her debut in 2007 at the U17 European Championships, winning a bronze medal in the 70kg weight class. She began her senior career at the Yasar Dogu in 2011 and won a silver medal at 72kg at the age of 18.

In 2012, Mae clinched the U20 European Championships and remains the only Estonian wrestler to win gold at the continental event at any age group. A decade later, she reached the final of the World Championships at 76kg, marking another historic landmark in Estonian wrestling.

"As I said there was no one in front of me to lead the way, I am happy that I went through everything to get to places and results that I managed to and kind of make a path for all the girls from Estonia who will ever wish or have this doubt whether it is possible to get that far," she said. "I am happy that they have a path already in front of them. I wish that they would want to go bigger and further than I did. I will be more than excited and happy if someone did do that."

Epp MAE (EST) wrestling in the 2021 World Championships final at 76kg in Oslo. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Reflecting on her career two-decade-long career, Mae did share her disappointment of not winning a medal at the Olympics but was happy to have achieved what she has for Estonia.

"My father recently told a journalist that what I did [in wrestling] was against the odds because we did not have all the possibilities and facilities a bigger team would have," she said. "So I think I did good in my career by achieving the results that I did. Little sad that I did not win a medal at the Olympics. But I can leave wrestling knowing that I gave everything. There is never going to be any doubt that what if I could have done this or that."

Now off the mat, Mae will concentrate on her family and follow the sport from afar.

"I will keep following wrestling and the wrestling friends I have made during the years. I will keep following them," she said. "For Estonia wrestling, I wish all the girls in different age groups we have right now will be motivated just to go as far as possible and always try to achieve the best for you. I will try to help Estonian wrestling as I can and I hope they will not stop developing Estonian female wrestling."

Chamizo Closes Out Sassari With Gold in Home Country

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Trailblazer Epp Mae retires as Estonia's top wrestler