#YasarDogu

Davidovi Scores Miraculous Comeback; Seema Slides into Top-Four After Making Finals

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 11) --- Italy’s eight-ranked Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA) trailed Mikyay NAIM (BUL) 8-1 in the 57kg semifinals, but scored eight unanswered points and inserted himself into the Yasar Dogu finals with a 9-8 come-from-behind-victory. 

Davidovi’s opponent, Mikyay Naim, the 2017 U23 world runner-up, came out on fire in their semifinals match -- nearly ending the match after he commanded the 8-1 lead from three takedowns and a gut wrench. Naim’s struck first with a shuck-by. In the same sequence, he quickly glued Davidovi’s left arm to his hip and jumped into a left-side trapped arm gut wrench and had the 4-0 lead.  

The pair came back up to their feet, and after a short scramble, Naim somehow came out on top to score his second takedown of the bout -- giving him the 6-0 lead. 

Davidovi squirmed his way on top and got on the board with a reversal -- cutting Naim’s lead to 6-1. With the five-point advantage, Naim used a single leg to score his third takedown of the bout. 

Trailing 8-1, Davidovi flipped on his offensive switch and scored four points from a double that transitioned into a leg lace. Down by four points with less than 20 seconds left in the final period, the Italian scored his second four-point sequence of the period. This time, Davidovi shot a desperation single leg which he coupled with a trapped arm gut. This gave him the 9-8 lead, and ultimately a spot in the 57kg finals where he’ll meet Baris KAYA (TUR), who capped off his run to the finals with a dominating 12-0 performance over Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG). 

If Davidovi, the eighth-ranked wrestler in the world coming into the Yasar Dogu, wins gold tomorrow night, he’ll collect 14 Ranking Series points and be ranked fifth in the world at 57kg. More importantly, this could potentially come into play if top-ranked reigning world champion Zaur UGUEV fails to make the Russian national team, or if No. 4 Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) doesn't return to 57kg. If either of these happens, Davidovi would receive a bump and would slide into the fourth seed in Nur-Sultan. 

Seema SEEMA (IND) upset U23 world champion Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 3-1 and reached the 50kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Meanwhile, in women’s wrestling, India’s Seema SEEMA (IND) scored the upset win over Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) in the semifinals and will jump into the top-four of the 50kg world rankings. 

In their semifinals match, Seema shucked by the U23 world champion and scored the match's first takedown. The Indian wrestler conceded a step out point and took the 2-1 lead into the second period. She tacked on another takedown in the second period and closed out the match with the 3-1 victory.

She’ll wrestle Valeriya CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS) in the 50kg finals. Chepsarakova trailed 1-0, but kept her hips up and caught Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS) on her back. She scored the fall shortly after and moved into her second Ranking Series finals. She'll be looking for her first Ranking Series title since winning the 2018 Molgolia Open. 

The Day 2 finals begin at 17:30 (local time) and will be broadcasted live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

RESULTS

Freestyle
57kg
GOLD - Baris KAYA (TUR) vs. Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
SEMIFINAL - Baris KAYA (TUR) df. Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG), 12-0 
SEMIFINAL - Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA) df. Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL), 9-8 

61kg 
GOLD - Munir AKTAS (TUR) vs. Rahul AWARE (IND)
SEMIFINAL - Munir AKTAS (TUR) df. Cabbar DUYUM (TUR), 2-1 
SEMIFINAL - Rahul AWARE (IND) df. Utkarsh KALE (IND), 7-6 

70kg
GOLD - Murtazali MUSLIMOV (AZE) vs. Mihail Iliev GEORGIEV (BUL)
SEMIFINAL - Murtazali MUSLIMOV (AZE) Rajnesh RAJNEESH (IND), 6-0 
SEMIFINAL - Mihail Iliev GEORGIEV (BUL) df. Haydar YAVUZ (TUR), 2-2 

Women’s Wrestling
50kg 
GOLD - Seema SEEMA (IND) vs. Valeriya CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Seema SEEMA (IND) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 4-1 
SEMIFINAL - Valeriya CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS) df. Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS), via fall 

53kg 
GOLD - Bediha GUN (TUR) vs. Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ) 
SEMIFINAL - Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ) vs. Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ), 3-1 
SEMIFINAL - Bediha GUN (TUR) df. Samantha STEWART (CAN), 10-0 

59kg
GOLD - Kumari MANJU (IND) vs. Katsiaryna HANCHAR YANUSHKEVICH (BLR)
SEMIFINAL -Kumari MANJU (IND) df. Gulnora TOSHPULATOVA (UZB), 4-1 
SEMIFINAL -Katsiaryna HANCHAR YANUSHKEVICH (BLR) df. Sara LINDBORG (SWE), 8-4

62kg
GOLD - Forrest MOLINARI (USA) df. Natalia FEDOSEEVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Forrest MOLINARI (USA) df. Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ), 7-3
SEMIFINAL - Natalia FEDOSEEVA (RUS) df. Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS), 4-3 

Development

Successful Level 1 Coaching Course held in Bulgaria

By United World Wrestling Press

PAZARDZHIK, Bulgaria (November 6) – The Bulgarian Wrestling Federation organized a Level 1 Coaching course to help improve and provide training for their coaches.  This 5-day course was held in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, Bulgarian Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling. 

The Level 1 course was led by UWW Certified Educator Mr. Georgi Sredkov (BUL).

The course was held from 15-20 October and was attended by 40 coaches and 6 athletes. “I point to my many years of experience to emphasize that, from a professional point of view, the seminar held by G. Sredkov was indeed at a very high professional level, with enormous benefit for all participants and especially for young coaches. The selection of the topics and issues in the sport of wrestling, the arrangement of the topics and the inclusion of free discussions submitted by the participants, greatly increases the quality and effect of this seminar.” said Mr. Georgi Kalchev (European Champion and World Medalist). 

This course focuses on the foundational skills to be a great coach.  The topics included: key factor analysis, introducing new techniques, communication skills, improving coaching skills, risk management and safety, and athlete safeguarding.  The participants learned and practiced their skills through theoretical and practical evaluations throughout the course. “Thanks to Georgi Sredkov for the seminar. Everything he offered us in the seminar was completely useful and beneficial.” said Emil Budinov (Olympic Coach).

Additional Comments from Participants

My participation was extremely useful for me as a coach. We exchanged experiences and I learned new practices with which I can upgrade my coaching activity.” – Miroslav Geshev (European Medalist and National Coach)

“I am personally very pleased that I had the opportunity to attend this seminar. I managed to learn many interesting things that will be useful for the development of our wrestling.” – Georgi Dumkov (Club Coach)

“Thanks for the fruitful seminar, especially the way of presentation. Special thanks to Georgi Sredkov - 5-day seminar full of content, excellently structured - balance between theory and practice.” – Vasil Popov (European Champion)