#WrestleBelgrade

FS Preview: Iran and USA favored to clash for team title

Saturday, September 3, 2022 - 12:52 By Eric Olanowski

Share this article

COSIER-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 30) --- The United States and Iran account for 11 returning world medalists – six of which were gold medalists in Oslo -- and are poised to go toe-to-toe for the freestyle team title at the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. 

The elite group of freestyle competitors will be led by defending world champions Thomas GILMAN (USA), Kyle DAKE (USA), Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) and Amir ZARE (IRI).

The tournament gets underway September 10, but the freestyle portion of the competition will be on the tail end of 2022 World Championships. The world’s most popular wrestling style starts Thursday, September 15.

Last year in Oslo, the United States (168 points) medaled in seven of ten weights and edged Iran (162 points) and their seven medalists by six points in the team race. Each squad returns a trio of world champions, setting up what’s expected to be the closest team race since the 2017 World Championships, when Snyder beat Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) in the final match of the event, helping America edge the Russians by one point.

What are placements worth?
Gold = 25 points
Silver = 20 points
Bronze = 15 points
Fifth = 10 points
Seventh = 8 points  
Eighth = 6 points
Ninth = 4 points
Tenth = 2 points

Without 125kg Tokyo Olympic champion Gable STEVESON (USA) in America’s lineup and defending world champion Zare expected to finish with at least a bronze medal, the Stars and Stripes enter the World Championships in a 15-point hole.

There most critical weights where the USA can expunge that 15-point deficit are 57kg, 74kg and 97kg. These are the three weights where seeded American and Iranian wrestlers are on the same side of the bracket, setting up potential quarter or semifinal meetings.


Alireza SARLAK (IRI) and Thomas GILMAN (USA) clash in the 2021 world finals. They are expected to meet in the semifinals in Belgrade. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

At 57kg, reigning world champion and Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo Gilman could see Alireza SARLAK (IRI) in the semifinals. The American is seeded No. 1 at the weight, while the Iranian is seeded fourth.

Gilman owns the two-match advantage against Sarlak, having picked up victories in the 2021 world finals and the semifinals at the '22 Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series event.

For that matchup to happen in the semifinals, Gilman must get through No. 8 Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR), and Sarlak must take out No. 5 Vladimir EGOROV (MKD).

At 74kg, Dake is the top-seeded wrestler. He'll share the top side of the chart with Iran’s No. 5 Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI).

Dake will likely take on European bronze medalist No. 8 Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR) in the quarterfinals. They met at the ’21 Henri Deglane, where Dake took out the Israeli wrestler 11-0 in the opening period.

If fifth-seeded Emamichoghaei wants to keep Iran’s hopes of winning the freestyle team title alive and down Dake in the semifinals, he’s going to have to get through No. 4 Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) in the quarterfinals.

At 97kg, the biggest storyline is how the seeds played out.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) sit together on the top side of the chart. The reason it’s significant is that the last time these two met – in the 2020 Matteo Pellicone semifinals – the Iranian pinned the two-time world champion.

Snyder is the top-seeded wrestler, while Mohammadian is seeded fifth.

For the Snyder and Mohammadian semifinal match to come to fruition, the American must beat No. 8 Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ), while the Iranian must defeat No. 4 Mahamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR).

Outside of the weights where American and Iranian are positioned on the same side of the bracket, other key weights in the team race include 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 86kg and 92kg.

Iran holds a slight advantage at 61kg due to Reza ATRI's (IRI) world and Olympic experience. He'll be making his fourth appearance in Iran's senior world lineup. Last year, he finished in fifth place at the Tokyo Olympic Games and World Championships.

Seth GROSS (USA) will represent the USA at 61kg. He earned her first Worlds berth by beating 2021 world silver medalist Daton FIX (USA) in a three-match playoff.

The biggest unseeded dark horses in the 65kg bracket are Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) and Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA).

Both Amouzad and Diakomihalis underperformed at last year’s World Championships. They both went 1-1 in Norway. Amouzad finished in 11th place, while Diakomihalis finished in 12th place.

But with another year of experience under their belt, they’re poised to welcome the pressure that comes along with fighting for a team title.

The Belgrade Worlds will be Amouzad’s second competition up at 65kg after continuing his four-year growth spurt. Since 2018, he’s wrestled at 45kg, 48kg, 57kg, 61kg and seems to have settled in at 65kg. The lengthy Iranian competed at 61kg in his senior world debut a season ago but moved up to 65kg for April’s Asian Championships.

Amouzad showed that he’s a true 65kg guy by winning Asian gold in Ulan-Baatar earlier this year. In the gold-medal match, he scooped up a massive win over Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND).

Diakomihalis will try to end America’s 65kg non-world-medal curse that dates back to the ’06 Guangzhou World Championships when USA’s freestyle head coach Mike ZADDICK  won world gold and secured the Stars and Stripe's last 65kg/66kg world medal.

At 70kg, No. 5 Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) and No. 6 Zain Allen RETHERFORD (USA) are on opposite sides of the chart and wouldn’t wrestle until the finals.

Yazdanicheratri made his world team debut last year at 65kg, finishing with a silver medal. He’s moved up to 70kg to ultimately prepare himself for a run at Iran's 74kg spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Retherford will make his third appearance for the Red, White and Blue on the senior-level world stage. He finished in 11th place in Paris and 26th place in Nur-Sultan.


Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) could meet in the 79kg world finals. They met for gold in Oslo, with the American picking up the victory. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Last year’s world finals opponents Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) are seeded first and second at 79kg, respectively, and wouldn't wrestle again until the finals.

Burroughs is heading to Belgrade looking to bag his sixth world title, which would be an American male record. His road to rewriting the history books will go through No. 8 Baliyan GOURAV (IND) in the semifinals before wrestling either No. 4 Arman AVAGYAN (ARM) or No. 5 Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) in the semifinals.

Nokhodilrimi has a tougher path to the gold-medal match. In the quarters, he’ll compete against No. 7 Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA), who was last year’s European runner-up. If he beats the French wrestler, he’ll compete against reigning European champion No. 3 Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) or European bronze medal winner No. 6 Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR).

Regarding the 86kg bracket, all eyes will be on two guys: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) and David TAYLOR (USA). The pair of Olympic champions are in a league of their own and are expected to meet for the fifth time in their career.

Yazdani is the first-seeded wrestler, and Taylor is seeded second. Barring a catastrophic meltdown, the superstars would meet for a second consecutive year for a world title.

Heading into Belgrade, Taylor owns the 3-1 advantage, but Yazdani gained the momentum after beating his American rival in the 2021 world finals.


Kamran GHSEMPOUR (IRI) stopped J’den COX (USA) in the semifinals and stopped the American from winning a third world title. They are both entered at 92kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

There are two headliners entered in the 92kg field, but Kamran Ghasempour holds the upper hand on two-time world champion J’den COX (USA) after winning their Oslo semifinal meeting en route to winning world gold last year.

Ghasempour heads into Belgrade as the top seed in the 92kg chart after his world title run and gold-medal performance at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Ranking Series event.

Ghasempour is looking to win an 11th consecutive tournament. Since 2018, he’s claimed gold at 10 straight events. Those events include the senior-level World Championships, two U23 World Championships, and a pair of Asian Championships, among others.

Ghasempour sits on opposite sides of the bracket from the Rio Olympic bronze medalist Cox. They’d have to remain unbeaten until the finals to clash for a second time.

But to get to Cox, Ghasempour must take out No. 8 Orgilokh DAGVADORJ (MGL) in the quarters and either No. 4 Andrii VLASOV (UKR) or No. 5 Viky VIKY (IND) in the semifinals.

Cox is seeded third and sits on the bottom of the bracket with his quarterfinals opponent No. 6 Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ). The American must beat the Kazakh, then defeat either No. 2 Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) or No. 7 Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) to reach the finals against Ghasempour.

#DigitalTransformation

‘Now is the right time to do this’: Delivering wrestling’s first digital World Championships

Saturday, September 3, 2022 - 12:50 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

COSIER-VEVEY (August 30) --- Our decision to undergo a digital transformation at United World Wrestling (UWW) can be dated back to as early as 2014 – a year after the federation was reinstated into the Olympic Program. As is the nature of digitalization and the importance of getting the timing and product launch just right, we’ve now entered year one of a new digital era at UWW following the launch of our very own mobile app, organic video hub, and customer relationship management (CRM) tool, in time for the Wrestling World Championships (10th to 18th September). 

The vision to revolutionize the sport was first tabled by our president Nenad Lalovic, who, since taking up the presidency in May 2013, has advocated change to the makeup of international wrestling and how we look to engage new fans and stakeholders. By putting digital transformation at the heart of our modernization, we are in the midst of the biggest transition our sport will experience in modern times and will certainly enhance the offering we provide to our fanbase, to our athletes, and to our national federations.

Now is the right time to do this. Why? There are many industries that have already gone through this process and is something we are seeing more across the sports industry. This is not something that can wait another five years before we look to instigate change. By then, it might be too late. As the Olympic Movement attracts new audiences, we have to stay ahead and modernize with the industry, in order to set new goals, and not to shy away from doing things differently.

The pandemic shone a light on the challenges that we faced as an international federation and some of the changes we needed to make. For example, we implemented distance-learning and webinars that brought our community closer together during trying times. This at large is how we plan to continue – to provide digital solutions, not only as a digital transformation “check-box”, but to help our national federations grow and bring about positive change to the sport of wrestling.

The exciting thing about digitalization is that it offers infinite possibilities. We can certainly provide a broader offering for our audience, but for our sponsors, national federations, and the grassroots of our sport, too. There are many different tools that will allow us to move forward and offer new opportunities to stakeholders. Digital transformation expands our ability to adapt to new trends and to leverage customer data that will influence how we distribute content. 

UWW IS EXPANDING ITS DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

With the proliferation of D2C technologies, our fans have naturally spread across so many different platforms. In the past, we didn’t pay too much attention to what the individual consumer wanted. So, without a digital portfolio, we have been unable, until now, to stay connected with our growing fanbase. 

This observation has formed the basis for UWW’s  digital transformation and is already reaping rewards. Our investment strategy covers three key areas – mobile, video, and data capture – all of which are designed to bridge the relationship with our core and newcomer fans and the sport of wrestling. 

Without the means for a direct relationship with our audience, UWW has until recently been unable to engage fans retrospectively, nor have we been able to build their connection with our sport at a level of engagement we hope to achieve via our new mobile application and the video hub. By expanding our digital footprint, and taking ownership of customer data these platforms will collate, we can explore more easily our relationship with our audience via the CRM and tailor the D2C experience to the individual fan.

Before the launch of our latest products, in the past year, we have seen increased engagement from the followers of our sport. In the year leading to the 2022 World Championships, UWW social channels grew by 21 percent to more than 2.25 million followers, according to research carried out by Redtorch, including 78,500 new followers between April and June of this year. Going forward, by taking this direct-to-consumer (D2C) approach, we will be able to build audience engagement ahead of our flagship events, establish trust during the championships, and continue to build loyalty among our growing fan base.

The way we’re trying to operate today – not only as a service, but also as a video content provider – is to communicate directly with people, and extends to our partners, too. As well as serving fans who watch wrestling from their homes, our digital approach also enables us to provide more dynamic packages for sponsors, more content for broadcasters, and therefore richer, more entertaining, video content tailored for our audiences. 

This is UWW bringing that vision we laid out over the past decade to fruition. By improving the experience, we will provide a more consolidated, one-stop shop capable of delivering everything a passionate wrestling fan is going to be pleased with. Going forward, this will help us to engage new fans based on their interactions with our digital products and customize their experience from the moment they begin watching the sport and one that builds a rapport between UWW and its audience. This will serve us well for many years to come.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION REQUIRES EXPERT SUPPORT

Before we began our digital transformation, we set out a roadmap to ensure that our end-goal was clear. In year one, we’re focusing on our mobile app, video hub, and the CRM. But that’s just the beginning of the journey. By moving our operations to the cloud, it will allow us to scale our production without upsetting the quality for our subscribers. 

We want to attract larger audiences. Whereas, in the past, we haven’t been equipped to meet greater demand from the wrestling community, our digital transformation will unite our athletes, coaches, and stakeholders into an efficient, paperless ecosystem, whereby our national federations will be able to communicate ideas and solutions via a centralized home for wrestling. 

While exciting from the outside, I must be honest about our journey so far and the value we’ve drawn from external consultation. Digital transformation is certainly not something that organizations can take on alone. There needs to be resources in place and experts you can work with to set the right structure and roadmap in place to deliver on our transformation targets. 

In order to achieve our goals, we have been working alongside N3XT Sports since last year, and the team continues to provide the soundboard for building new ideas for digitalization and to identify the challenges and opportunities it will present us in the future. The entire working group at N3XT Sports – from the consultants, to the project manager to the designers and engineers – provide expert advice and know-how when it comes to understanding the long-term journey for digital transformation. 

From the moment we put ideas down in writing, through to the execution and delivery of our new digital portfolio, the entire working group has demonstrated the basis of change-management inside an international federation like ours. It’s important for a whole organization – and not only a handful of departments – to contribute to the project. In return, this helps align our vision as the global governing body with the realities of our regional partners, coaches, and athletes.

In doing so, we have learnt that digital transformation is a long-term commitment. Having taken the first and most important step on our journey, N3XT Sports and our strategists continue to envision how the decisions we make today will impact and open up new opportunities for the sport of wrestling in the future. This level of detail is vital if we want our digital transformation to be a success in the decades to come. We are very excited to be on this journey and look forward to inviting you to join us.