#Bishkek2018

Evloev Gives Host Country 74kg Freestyle Gold

Monday, March 5, 2018 - 01:13 By Ken Marantz

On the night the curtain came down on the Asian Championships in Bishkek, Muslim EVLOEV (KGZ) provided the perfect final act.

Evloev gave the host country a gold medal in 74kg freestyle as the tournament wrapped up its well-supported six-day run at the Kozhomkul Sports Palace with finals in five weight divisions.

Evloev, riding an early 5-point lead, never let up in defeating Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL) by 11-1 technical fall with :24 remaining to give Kyrgyzstan its first Asian freestyle gold since 2015 and fourth in its history.

"It's a great feeling," Evloev said of winning at home to improve on his silver medal he won last year in New Delhi. "The crowd was really supporting me as much as they could and I couldn't fail them, so I did my best."

Iran finished up by capturing two golds, as reigning world and Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANI CHARATI (IRI) cruised to his first Asian title with a victory at 86kg, and Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) followed by winning the 92kg crown.

In a duel between Georgian-born wrestlers for the 125kg title, Davit MODZMANASHVILI (UZB) defeated Giorgi SAKANDELIDZE (QAT), 5-0, in a tepid match that capped the tournament.

Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ), 61kg champion looking for a gut wrench. Photo Max Rose-Fyne.

The other gold at stake went to Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ), a New Delhi 2017 bronze medalist who scored two takedowns in the second period of the 61kg final to top Kazuya KOYANAGI (JPN), 6-2.

Uzbekistan, which had won five medals, including two golds, on Saturday, added two bronzes to Modzmanashvili's gold to clinch the team title with 178 points. Iran finished second with 157 and Kazakhstan third with 146.

Evloev acknowledged he was heartened by the Greco victory of compatriot Akzhol MAKHMUDOV on the second day, one of the tournament's iconic moments for the thunderous ovation it elicited from the delirious crowd.

"Of course he did inspire me," Evloev said. "And I also want to say congratulations to Makhmudov because I haven't seen him yet."

In the final, Evloev used a single-leg lift to dump Ganzorig, a two-time world bronze medalist, backwards to the mat for a 4-point move, which became 5 when the Mongolian side's challenge was unsuccessful.

"It made me feel more confident, but I was going to wrestle until the last second," Evloev said of being staked to a big early lead. "That's why I won."

Photo of Hassan YAZDANI CHARATI (IRI) by Max Rose-Fyne.

Outside of the Kyrgyz wrestlers, the spotlight was squarely on superstar Yazdani Charati.

And he lived up to expectations by overwhelming Uitumen ORGODOL (MGL) in the 86kg final, scoring with a takedown and roll combination right away, and then reeling off three takedowns for a 10-0 technical fall with 36 seconds still left in the first period.

Orgodol added the Asian silver to the one he won in 2016 and his bronze from 2013.

So popular is the Iranian that he had a phalanx of Kyrygz security guards whereever he went, and was whisked pass waiting media and fans without comment after his medal ceremony and completing doping procedures.

In the 92kg final, Ebrahimizivlaei built up a 5-1 lead through the first period against Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ), then gave up a passivity point and nothing else to take the gold with a 5-2 victory.

The plodding end to the final bout of the tournament, the 125kg final, belied the historical significance of it.

Modzmanashvili, a London 2012 Olympic bronze medalist for Georgia, took a 4-0 lead with an early takedown to a roll, then gained a point when Sakandelidze was on the activity clock in the second period, when the two giants seemed to have little desire to expend further energy.

By winning the silver medal, Sakandelidze became Qatar's first-ever medalist at the Asian Championships. The Gulf nation's best previous showing had been fifth place.

Although it took an import to gain a spot on the medal podium, Qatari officials were ecstatic with the result.

"After a long period, this is a big success for Qatar wrestling federation, for Qatar," said team leader Vardan Ghazaryan. "For the first time in senior championships, after more than 50 years, we take such success. Qatar is very proud and it will advertise wrestling to include more young schoolboys for developing wrestling in Qatar."

Ghazaryan said the federation has high expectations for Sakandelidze, who he said has lived in Qatar for two years.

"This is, of course, his first match for Qatar, but you will see his success and medals, gold medals, in the future."

Among the bronze-medal matches, Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) overcame an 8-3 deficit with 45 seconds remaining, scoring the winning takedown in the final seconds to defeat KIM Daisung (KOR), 11-8, at 74kg.

Kim, who clearly ran out of gas down the stretch, is a 40-something high school wrestling coach who came out of retirement to make the national team, according to a South Korean federation official.

Azizbek SOLIEV (UZB) also notched a last-second takedown to upend Turtogtokh LUVSANDORJ (MGL), 4-3, in their 92kg third-place match.

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and China all came away with two bronze medals on the night, while host Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia had one each.

Freestyle
61kg (12 entries)
Gold - Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) df. Kazuya KOYANAGI (JPN), 6-2

Bronze - Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Sharvan SHARVAN (IND), 6x-6
Bronze - Ulubek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df. Iman SADEGHIKOUKANDEH (IRI), 6-0

74kg (12 entries)
Gold - Muslim EVLOEV (KGZ) df. Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL) by TF, 11-1, 0:24

Bronze - Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) df. KIM Daisung (KOR), 11-8
Bronze - Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) df. Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM) by TF, 10-0, 4:12

86kg (12 entries)
Gold - Hassan YAZDANI CHARATI (IRI) df. Uitumen ORGODOL (MGL) by TF, 10-0, 3:24

Bronze - Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) df. Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB), 4-0
Bronze - BI Shengfeng (CHN) df. Deepak PUNIA (IND) by TF, 10-0, 3:41

92kg (10 entries)
Gold - Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) df. Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ), 5-2

Bronze - LIN Zushen (CHN) df. SUE Changjae (KOR), 2-1
Bronze - Azizbek SOLIEV (UZB) df. Turtogtokh LUVSANDORJ (MGL), 4-3

125kg (13 entries)
Gold - Davit MODZMANASHVILI (UZB) df. Giorgi SAKANDELIDZE (QAT), 5-0

Bronze - Zolboo NATSAGSUREN (MGL) df. NAM Koungjin (KOR) by TF, 10-0, 4:43
Bronze - Amin TAHERI (IRI) df. Sohbet BELLIYEV (TKM) by TF, 14-4, 3:02

#WrestleBaku

Gadzhiev returns to top with gold at U23 Europeans

Sunday, May 26, 2024 - 18:58 By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (May 26) -- Only a minute and 16 seconds were remaining on the clock when Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) and Kamil ABDULVAGABOV (AIN) retreated to their respective corners. Their bleeding faces required medical intervention.

As the doctors patched them up, both wrestlers could not wait to return to the mat to resume their thrilling 74kg U23 European Championship gold medal bout. Understandably so. Both the wrestlers felt the momentum was their way, and each one knew he had a good chance to win the gold.

The final day of the competition was providing the right kind of fireworks.

At that stage, when the medical timeout was taken, Gadzhiev was 6-3 ahead but Abdulvagabov was on the ascendency, fighting his way back into the bout which seemed a lost cause not too long ago. That break would eventually prove to be crucial.

The physical differences between the two were glaring. Lean and gifted with long limbs, Abdulvagabov was at least a head higher than Gadzhiev and he tried to use the height factor to his advantage. He planted his left leg so far back that it became out of reach for Gadzhiev and each time the Azerbaijani tried too hard, a counter-attacking opportunity would arise.

Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) scores a crucial four-pointer in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Javid Gurbanov)

Gadzhiev raided Abdulvagabov’s defense with multiple single-leg attacks, targeting his right leg, which was relatively closer. But each time Gadzhiev caught his opponent’s right ankle, Abdulvagabov used his physical might to ensure it couldn’t be converted into a takedown.

This trend repeated several times, with Gadzhiev going all-out employing single-leg takedowns and ankle trips. But Abdulvagabov looked hardly troubled. Until the Azerbaijani wrestler surprised him with a feet-to-back throw, slamming Abdulvagabov on his mat from a standing position in a dramatic move to be awarded four points.

When the bout was halted for the first medical timeout, Abdulvagabov was trailing 6-3. He reduced the deficit to one point by two stepouts, and with 16 seconds left, the match was paused for another medical timeout to treat both wrestlers who again started bleeding.

Abdulvagabov threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Gadzhiev but the match-winning two-point throw that he sought never came. Gadzhiev used the sprawls to good effect, doing just enough to win the bout 6-5.

The 22-year-old ran to his corner to celebrate the gold medal which came after a long drought. The 2022 U23 European Champion and U20 World and European Champion endured a difficult last year in which he earned a couple of podium finishes but a title eluded him.

He started this year strongly with a bronze medal at the Ranking Series in Zagreb and the gold medal here will come as a huge confidence booster. It was also Azerbaijan’s only gold medal in men’s freestyle at this competition.

Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) blanked defending champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) 10-0 in the 86kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Javid Gurbanov)

Bagaev stuns Magamadov

In the 86kg category, Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) built on his fifth-place finish at the senior European Championships with a remarkable gold medal.

Bagaev conceded just one point, scored 25, and spent a little less than 12 minutes on the mat for his first-ever title since winning the U20 European Championship gold in 2021.

The manner in which Bagaev won was stunning. He was up against defending champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), whose trophy cabinet in age-group events is brimming with medals. But the moment the referee began the bout, Bagaev stopped caring about reputations.

Magamadov looked stronger in the opening exchanges and launched the first leg attack, which Bagaev escaped. Bagaev waited for Magamadov to come searching for his leg again. When he did, a little after one minute, the 20-year-old used his quick reflexes to evade Magamadov’s advances and then launched a blistering counterattack, affecting three roll-overs to earn three points.

In between the second and third roll-over, Magamadov held his face and signaled that he was hurt. The doctors, who were kept busy all evening, rushed to treat him but the break in momentum didn’t impact Bagaev, who finished the bout with a two-point takedown.

Alen KHUBULOV (BUL), right, won the 125kg title after beating Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Javid Gurbanov)

Maiden titles for Khubulov, Bliatze

Bagaev wasn’t the only wrestler who won his first-ever U23 European Championship title.

At 125kg, Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) made a stunning comeback to beat Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) 6-5 in another dramatic bout to win the gold medal.

Khubulov had overturned a two-point deficit with a couple of well-timed leg attacks. But with around 40 seconds remaining, Manashvili again took the lead with a two-point takedown. Khubulov responded almost immediately, scoring two more points via exposure to restore his lead and then clung to it desperately to clinch the gold medal.

Minutes earlier, Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE) defeated Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) 8-7 in a thrilling bout to reign supreme in the 92kg category. This was a momentous win for Bliatze, who has been competing on the circuit since 2018 but never came close to a podium finish. He ended the long wait in style by getting the better of the 2023 U23 European Championship bronze medallist in an action-filled bout.

In 61kg, Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) defended his gold medal with a clinical performance against Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR), winning 10-0.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE: Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Yahor RUDAUSKI (AIN), 13-12
BRONZE: Emre KURAL (TUR) df. Simone PIRODDU (ITA), 4-3

74kg
GOLD: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df. Kamil ABDULVAGABOV (AIN), 6-5

BRONZE: Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO) df. Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), 7-2
BRONZE: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) df. Krisztian BIRO (ROU), 6-4

86kg
GOLD: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) df. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), 10-0

BRONZE: Emre CIFTCI (TUR) df. Ilya KHAMTSOU (AIN), 6-4
BRONZE: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Miko ELKALA (FIN), 11-0

92kg
GOLD: Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE) vs. Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)

BRONZE: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) df. Muhammed GIMRI (TUR), 6-2
BRONZE: Ion DEMIAN (MDA) df. Denys SAHALIUK (UKR), 16-6

125kg
GOLD: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) df. Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO), 6-5

BRONZE: Milan KORCSOG (HUN) df. Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR), 8-1
BRONZE: Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN) df. Adil MISIRCI (TUR), 12-8

Evloev Gives Host Country 74kg Freestyle Gold

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Gadzhiev returns to top with gold at U23 Europeans