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

#WrestleBucharest

Bullen brims with confidence after third European gold

Saturday, February 17, 2024 - 00:48 By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (February 17) -- "Desperation."

Grace BULLEN (NOR) doesn't mince her words when asked about what forced her to switch training base from Norway to Georgia. For the past two years, Bullen has been training in Georgia and former world champion Zurabi IAKOBASHVILI (GEO) has been training her.

"I wanted to be great in wrestling," Bullen said. "I wanted to do good and not quit without knowing that I've done my full potential. And knowing that, it was not hard for me to pack my bag and move to another country."

Since that move, Bullen has changed weight classes, won two World Championships medals and now a European gold medal after four years.

In Bucharest for the European Championships, Bullen claimed her third European Championships gold medal and first since 2020 to continue her impressive return to the mat. Bullen had failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, lost in the first round in the Oslo World Championships and was slowly fading away.

"I needed to be surrounded by people who love what I do as much as I do and see the potential in me as well that I know that I have. Today was the place that you can see that I can do good even though I am not at my 100 [percent]," she said.

Grace BULLEN (NOR) takes down Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) in the 62kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

On Thursday, Bullen destroyed her opponents with three falls in as many matches. Though there was no fall in the final on Wednesday, she held on to a 5-4 win over Luisa NIEMESCH (GER).

"Luisa is a tough opponent. She wrestled good," she said. "I see how she wrestled in her bracket with good wrestlers. Everyone knows that I love to attack and love my double legs. So she was very low. It was just for me to be patient with my attacks and just take the easy point instead of doing the risky and big one. Because those can be easy for her to counter and just being on my offense but still not being too passive with my wrestling."

The 62kg final was sort of similar to how Bullen had planned it. She kept her attacks going and even got a stepout. She used her double-leg attacks to score a takedown. It was only towards the end of the match that Neimesch caught her off guard and scored a takedown, exposure and tried a pin. However, it was too little too late.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

"All worth it at the end," Bullen said. "It's good to get this type of competition, especially in this important year that we have ahead of us. This is my first competition back after the World Championship last year. So just getting the feeling of being back on the mat and especially in a big competition like this."

Bullen decided to wrestle at the Olympic weight class of 62kg at the World Championships and won a bronze medal which also gave her the Olympic quota for Paris. Now, she has a European title in the same weight class. She now hopes to become an Olympic medalist for Norway in Paris.

"It will be some tough six months," she said. "It's already been tough four years for me just getting to the spot of having a ticket to the Olympics. I'm looking forward to enjoying every moment that I have on the training mat. Then I want to work on the small stuff because I just changed weight class. It's been one year and I've done great things in a new place with new athletes that I haven't wrestled when I'm in this weight class. Just getting the opportunity to feel myself and being the Grace that I know I can be and my coaches have the confidence in me to be. Having that in mind, I think we will do good stuff this year just wrestling-wise."

Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (AIN) denied Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) her third Euro title by winning the 53kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

World silver medalist Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (AIN) earned her third European title as she won the gold medal at 53kg, denying Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) her third straight European title.

Kaladzinskaya defeated Malmgren 9-6 at the World Championships but was more dominant in Bucharest, beating her 10-2. Malmgren attempted her big throws and caught Kaladzinskaya in an arm spin twice but failed to score any points.

As soon as Kaladzinskaya was put on the activity clock in the first period, she scored a stepout and scored a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. Malmgren tried hitting an arm spin but Kaladzinskaya blocked it and went behind to get two points. She hit a double-leg takedown to finally score and cut the lead to 5-2.

With 19 seconds left in the bout, Malmgren tried going deep on Kaladzinskaya's leg but she blocked Malmgren middle of the attack and flung Malmgren to her back for four points. While the pin was not secured as the time ran out, Kaladzinskaya won 10-2, securing her third European title.

Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN) celebrates after beating Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) for the 57kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In a battle of two Tokyo Olympic medalists, Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN) defeated Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) 7-2 to claim her third European title as well.

The final was off to a slow start to the final, there was only an activity point awarded to Kurachkina who scored a takedown in the second period. Her powerful snaps would trouble Nikolova as she scored her second takedown, and added a third with an ankle pick to lead 7-0. Kurachkina went a little inactive in the final minute of the final which cost her a stepout and a point for fleeing. But it was not enough to stop her from winning the gold medal at 57kg.

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) won her second straight European title and third overall. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

At 65kg, Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), who was wrestling a weight class up than last year, also won her third European Championships after she defeated Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), a former Ukrainian wrestler in the final.

After a few scrambles in the opening minute, Zelenykh was put on the activity clock and as she tried to a big move on Koliadenko, the Ukrainian blocked the move and scored exposure, getting two points. As the activity period expired, her lead extended to 3-0.

Koliadenko added another takedown to make it 5-0 at the break and a stepout in the second period gave her another point. No more points were scored as Koliadenko won 6-0.

Nesrin BAS (TUR) stepped up and won the 72kg gold medal for Turkiye. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Nesrin BAS (TUR) earned her first senior European gold medal, defeating defending champion and home favorite Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) in a dramatic 72kg final.

Bas blocked Anghel when the Romanian was trying a front roll and then put her back on the mat. The fall was confirmed but Romania challenged as it appeared that the time had expired. A pin can be challenged only for technical reasons such as expiration of time or a foul. The jury confirmed that the fall was called after the time expired. But that delayed the final result as Bas would go on to beat Anghel 5-1.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD: Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (AIN) df. Jonna MALMGREN (SWE), 10-2

BRONZE: Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) df. Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN), 3-1
BRONZE: Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) df. Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN), via fall (6-11)

57kg
GOLD: Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN) df. Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL), 7-2

BRONZE: Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), 10-6
BRONZE: Anhelina LYSAK (POL) df. Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), via fall

62kg
GOLD: Grace BULLEN (NOR) df. Luisa NIEMESCH (GER), 5-4

BRONZE: Yuliia TKACH (UKR) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 8-6
BRONZE: Veranika IVANOVA (AIN) df. Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE), 9-6

65kg
GOLD: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 6-0

BRONZE: Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) df. Anne NUERNBERGER (GER), 2-1
BRONZE: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Kadriye AKSOY (TUR), 10-4

72kg
GOLD: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), 5-1

BRONZE: Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) df. Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN), 6-2

Chamizo Closes Out Sassari With Gold in Home Country

Comments

Bullen brims with confidence after third European gold