#WrestleBaku

European OG Qualifier: Greco-Roman Paris 2024 qualification bouts set

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (April 5) -- European OG Qualifier kicks off in Baku, Azerbaijan with Greco-Roman. Six Olympic weight classes will run through on day one with 12 Olympic spots on offer. The six weight classes are -- 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg.

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WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | GRECO-ROMAN PREVIEW

Here are the Paris 2024 qualification bouts for the evening session

60kg
Victor CIOBANU (MDA) vs. Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) vs. Enes BASAR (TUR)

67kg
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) vs Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) vs. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)

77kg
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Zoltán LÉVAI (HUN) vs. Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)

87kg
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) vs. Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) vs. Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)

97kg
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) vs. Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) vs. Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)

130kg
Jello KRAHMER (GER) vs. Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) vs Sergei SEMENOV (AIN)

15:05: Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) ends Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) entertaining campaign with a 10-2 win at 87kg. He will wrestle in the semifinals later tonight 

14:50: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) beats Leri ABULADZE (GEO) 4-0 and will move into the semifinals at 60kg. Abuladze was called passive in both periods and Allakhiarov scored a turn as well, winning 4-0.

14:40: Alexandru GUTU (MDA) will wrestle in the 77kg as he beats Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN) 5-3 in the quarterfinals. Tiuliubaev scored only one turn from par terre in the second period and failed to get the lead.

14:35: Enes BASAR (TUR) dashes the hopes of local fans as he beats European champion Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) 3-1 in the 60kg quarterfinals. He will be wrestling in the semifinals later today

14:30: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) doesn't leave anything to chance this time. He gets a chest wrap and rolls to a 9-0 win over Mihail BRADU (MDA) and moves into the semifinal at 87kg against European champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB).

14:20: Victor CIOBANU (MDA) with another quick win at 60kg. He beats Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU) 14-0 and moves into the semifinal for the evening session.

14:10: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) hits a front five-pointer over Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) before finishing the bout 11-0. He reaches the 77kg semifinals.

14:00: European champion Sergei SEMENOV (AIN) with a 1-1 win over Heiki NABI (EST) at 130kg. He moves into the semifinals for the evening session. One more win to earn a Paris 2024 quota

13:45: Is that the upset of the tournament so far? Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER) beats European silver medalist Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) 1-1 in the 97kg 1/8 finals. The result means that Murtazaliev will not be able to win a Paris 2024 quota from Baku

13:30: Victor CIOBANU (MDA) wastes no time beating Melkamu FETENE (ISR) 11-0 and advancing to the quarterfinals at 60kg. Typical Ciobanu big throws.

13:25: Two Norway wrestlers advance to the quarterfinals. Felix BALDAUF (NOR) beats Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) 7-1 at 97kg and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) wins 9-0 against Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU) at 87kg

13:20: Local star and European champion Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) on the mat for his first bout at 60kg. He is taking on Oleksii MASYK (UKR).  The first par terre advantage goes to Mammadli and he scores four. But Masyk manages to block the second attempt and gets a point for stepout. Mammadli leads 5-1 at the break. Maysk with a par terre advantage in the second period but no points were scored. Mammadli leads 5-2 and will win with that score.

13:15: Leri ABULADZE (GEO) with an effortless 9-1 win over Razvan ARNAUT (ROU). He scores all his points in the second period from par terre to win.

12:55: Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) would be kicking himself as he let go of a 5-0 lead against Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) and lost 7-5. Huklek got the first par terre advantage and two for caution as Komarov blocked his attack. He scored a turn to lead 5-0. But in the second period, Komarov brought out his gut wrench and won 7-5.

12:45: Selcuk CAN (TUR) cannot catch a break from come-from-behind victories. From the brink of defeat, he wins 10-7 against Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN) at 67kg. Bichurin scored three turns from par terre to lead 7-0 but as he was going for a fourth, Can blocked him and tried a pin. Bichurin fouled and was cautioned. Can, from par terre, scored a throw to make the score 7-6. In the second period, Can hit a four-pointer to win 10-7

12:30: Two wrestlers returning from shoulder surgeries, Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) and Islam ABBASOV (AZE) at 87kg. Bisultanov gets blocked in par terre and Abbasov gets a 2-1 lead. Bisultanov gets close to scoring a takedown twice in the second period but he gets called passive. Abbasov leads 3-1 and scores three turns from par terre to win 9-1. Denmark challenges the call and on review, Abbasov is seen grabbing the singlet. Abbasov's lead back to 3-1. Bisultanov with a takedown to take a 3-3 criteria lead. He scores another takedown and extends the lead to 5-3 and will finish the bout with a win.

12:20: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) is up against Abu AMAEV (BUL) and gets the first par terre advantage. He scores two turns to lead 5-0. Amaev gets the advantage in the second period but fails to score. Nasibov leads 5-1. He wins with the same score to advance at 67kg.

12:00: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) is now in the quarterfinals at 77kg. He beats Oldrich VARGA (CZE) 4-1 and is now two wins away from a Paris 2024 spot. On Mat C, the European champion at 130kg Sergei SEMENOV (AIN) beats Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (AIN) 4-0.

11:50: Alexandru GUTU (MDA) is on Mat B against Patryk BEDNARZ (POL) and he gets his trademark front headlock four-pointer to lead 5-0 at the break. He gets another point for offense in the second period and wins 6-0.

11:35: A 5-1 victory for Leri ABULADZE (GEO) at 60kg. The 63kg world champion is hoping to qualify Georgia for the Paris Games at the new weight class.

11:30: Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) takes out Alex SZOKE (HUN) with a 1-1 win. The wrestlers exchanged passivity points and Kakhelashvili got the advantage in the second period to claim the win

11:19: Two friends Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) and Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) up against each other at 87kg. Sterkenburg leads 1-1 at the break but Mukubu takes a 2-1 lead before adding a takedown and roll for a 6-1 victory.

10:55: Selcuk CAN (TUR) and Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) are coming on Mat C. Sleiva with a four-pointer to begin the match but Can answers with one of his own. Can with a lift but Sleiva blocks his second action and gets two points. Can scores a takedown to take a 6-6 lead at the break. Can scores a takedown but Sleiva asks for a break. Sleiva challenges but the takedown is confirmed and he takes a 9-6 lead with 23 seconds left. Can will advance to the next round.

10:42: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) gets his campaign going with a 7-4 win over Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA) at 77kg. On Mat C, Deni NAKAEV (GER) drops his first bout to Ilie COJOCARI (ROU) and France's 72kg world champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) fails to advance after a 5-1 loss to Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN).

10:30: Welcome to the European OG Qualifier in Baku. The competition will run on three mats with the winners of the semifinals qualifying their nations for the Paris Olympic Games. There will be no repechage, bronze or gold-medal bouts.

#WrestleZagreb

Maroulis, Blades make U.S. team for World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

NEWARK, United States (June 14) -- The United States Women's Wrestling team for the World Championships is fixed. The final selection of the team was held Saturday in Newark, New Jersey with three-time Olympic medalist Helen MAROULIS (USA) and Olympic silver medalist Kennedy BLADES (USA) among those making the cut.

The 'Final X', a tournament to select the team's final 10 wrestlers, saw five experienced stars and five young athletes who earned their spot on the World Championships team.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Maroulis, the 2016 Olympic and three-time world champion, continued her amazing run of excellence by pinning Amanda MARTINEZ, winning the best-of-three series 2-0 at 57kg. In the first bout, Maroulis scored a first-period pin in 1:51, then was able to put away Martinez in 4:43 in bout two.

This will Maroulis' 12th world team selection to go along with her three Olympic appearances. Apart from three world gold medals, Maroulis has four other medals at the World Championships.

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Blades, who won silver medal at the 2024 Olympics, finished off a two-match sweep over Brooklyn HAYS at 68kg. Surprisingly, this will be Blades' first appearance at the World Championships. Blades won the first match over Hays, 10-4, and the second 5-2.

Macey KILTY and Kylie WELKER, Blades' teammates at Iowa University, also made the team with convincing victories. Both Kilty and Welker are past world medalists.

Kilty downed Aine DRURY with a pair of 10-0 technical falls, with both matches ending in the first period. Welker, a 2024 world bronze medalist, defeated Dymond GUILFORD in two straight bouts. Welker opened her offense in the second match, she broke open a 1-1 tie with eight second-period points for a 9-1 win. Her first match was a razor-thin 2-1 victory.

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2019 world champion Jacarra WINCHESTER needed all three matches to defeat Abigail NETTE at 59kg. Nette scored a pair of second-period takedowns to beat Winchester, 6-4, in the first bout. In the second match, Nette took a 6-1 lead but a four-point Winchester takedown made it 6-5 before she scored two more takedowns for a 9-7 win. In the deciding third bout, it was all Winchester, who secured a 10-0 technical fall.

The other five wrestlers will be competing in their first senior World Championships, scheduled for September 13 to 21 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Adaugo NWACHUKWU needed three matches to defeat two-time world silver medalist Kayla MIRACLE at 62kg. Nwachukwu had a strong second period to win the first match 14-8. In the second bout, Miracle scored a late step out point to tie it at 3-3 and got another point on a failed challenge for a 4-3 victory. In the deciding third match, after trailing 2-0, Nwachukwu scored eight straight points and went on to win 8-4.

At 50kg, world age-group medalist Audrey JIMENEZ swept her series over veteran Erin GOLSTON. Jimenez began with a 10-2 win over Golston before closing out with a 12-2 technical superiority win in the second bout.

Felicity TAYLOR had a two-match sweep over Brianna GONZALEZ. After winning the first bout 2-1, Taylor scored a takedown and two tilts for a 6-4 victory in the second.

Cristelle RODRIGUEZ, a 2024 world U20 champion, swept her series over high school star Everest LEYDECKER. While the first bout was a close 12-8 win for Rodriguez, she rallied to a 5-1 win in the second.

Alexandria GLAUDE got the 72kg spot after 2024 Olympic champion and two-time world champion Amit ELOR did not compete for personal reasons.

RESULTS (Best of three)

50kg
Audrey JIMENEZ df. Erin GOLSTON, 2-0

Bout 1: Jimenez df. Golston, 10-2
Bout 2: Jimenez df. Golston, 12-2

53kg
Felicity TAYLOR df. Brianna GONZALEZ, 2-0

Bout 1: Taylor df. Gonzalez, 2-1
Bout 2: Taylor df. Gonzalez, 6-4

55kg
Cristelle RODRIGUEZ df. Everest LEYDECKER, 2-0

Bout 1: Rodriguez df. Leydecker, 12-8
Bout 2: Rodriguez df. Leydecker, 8-5

57kg
Helen MAROULIS df. Amanda MARTINEZ, 2-0

Bout 1: Maroulis df. Martinez, via fall
Bout 2: Maroulis df. Martinez, via fall

59kg
Jacarra WINCHESTER df. Abigail NETTE, 2-1

Bout 1: Nette df. Winchester, 6-4
Bout 2: Winchester df. Nette, 9-7
Bout 2: Winchester df. Nette, 11-0

62kg
Adaugo NWACHUKWU df. Kayla MIRACLE, 2-1

Bout 1: Nwachukwu df. Miracle, 14-8
Bout 2: Miracle df. Nwachukwu, 4-3
Bout 3: Nwachukwu df. Miracle, 8-4

65kg
Macey KILTY df. Aine DRURY, 2-0

Bout 1: Kilty df. Drury, 10-0
Bout 2: Kilty df. Drury, 10-0

68kg
Kennedy BLADES df. Brooklyn HAYS, 2-0

Bout 1: Blades df. Hays, 10-4
Bout 2: Blades df. Hays, 5-2

72kg
Alexandria GLAUDE df. Amit ELOR, via forfeit

76kg
Kylie WELKER df. Dymond GUILFORD

Bout 1: Welker df. Guilford, 2-1
Bout 2: Welker df. Guilford, 9-1