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

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

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.

#WrestleBelgrade

Russia Tops Iran for Freestyle Team Title at #WrestleBelgrade

Sunday, November 7, 2021 - 22:02 By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (November 7) – As Russia and Iran battled for the team title, the 74kg final was the perfect stage to decide it. Chermen VALIEV (RUS) was chasing the gold he was denied in 2019 and Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI) was looking for his debut world title. And they put on a show.

Valiev began with a stepout and then a takedown on edge to lead 3-0 and seemed like he would run away with the bout. But just before the break, Firouzpourbandpei got one back with a stepout.

As the Iranian upped the pace, Valiev began to tire out but only gave up a point for stepout with caution. The Russian was always on the backfoot but Firouzpourbandpei could never finish his attacks.

Valiev scored a takedown on a counter to extend the lead 5-2 with a minute and 27 seconds remaining in the bout. He then countered another attack and led 7-2. In a dramatic finish, Firouzpourbandpei made a huge four-point throw in the final two seconds but that was a little too late.

Chermen VALIEV U23 World Championships Chermen VALIEV (RUS) became the U23 world champion at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Mohamed Yahia)

The gold medal for Russia confirmed their team title irrespective of other results. In the end, they captured it with 145 points while Iran finished second with 140. The surprise came at the third position which went to Armenia who had 114 points.

Russia had three finalists Sunday but only Valiev could win a gold medal. Iran also had two wrestlers in the final but both lost which hurt their chances to win the team title.

Arsen HARTUNYUNYAN (ARM) ended his long wait for a world title as he won the gold medal at 61kg while Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR) gave Ukraine their first-ever freestyle U23 world champion at 86kg.

At 92kg, Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) finished at the top of the podium with a controlled win while the USA also finished with one gold as Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA) secured a first-period fall over Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) to close out the U23 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

On his way to the 74kg gold, Valiev had scored an important win over returning U23 world champion Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) in the 1/8 finals which perhaps boosted his confidence.

“It took me a while to get here,” Valiev said. “I am very happy that I’ve made it. For the final, we’ve prepared a tactic with the coaches to wrestle till the very end, not to give up. He wasn’t trying to hit a double-leg a lot, he was just pushing.”

As he graduates to the senior level, the Ardon-native Valiev understands the challenges of the tough 74kg weight in Russia and internationally.

“In 74kg, the competition is really big both in Russia and in the world, but I am ready for it. I’ll work harder and I think I’ll make it,” he said.

Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) won the gold at 61kg. (Photo: UWW / Mohamed Yahia)

Russia had a finalist at 57kg as well but Hartunyunyan looked the more committed wrestler as he stopped Artur CHEBODAEV (RUS) 11-7 in the final.

The Oslo bronze medalist set the pace of the bout early with a takedown and then a stepout to make it 3-0. But he was on in trouble when Chebodaev scored a takedown and laced the Armenian for the lead. At the break, the Russian led 6-4.

The match changed in the second period when Harutyunyan scored a takedown and worked a leg-lace for four more points for a 10-6 lead. The two exchanged stepouts did not matter much in the end.

“I was ready to wrestle for the six minutes and finish it 10-0,” Harutyunyan said. “Bu the final turned out to be interesting.”

Harutyunyan has previously made seven trips to World Championships but this is the first time he has been able to win the title. This could well be the start of a legendary career for the Armenian.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “I will become the senior and Olympic champion. Previously, I did not have enough experience and something always goes wrong at the senior Worlds.”

By ending the world title drought, the Armenian has got a load off his back. After the bronze in Oslo, decided to wrestle at the U23 Worlds to win and is now ready to repeat the performances.

“After Oslo, I thought that there will be another way open to me and I would finish the year in a good way,” he said. “Next year, I will wrestle as a world champion and I will have fewer worries than I had. I will correct my mistakes so that I can wrestle well at the Paris Olympics.”

Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) won the gold medal at the 92kg. (Photo: UWW / Mohamed Yahia)

Russia suffered another heartbreak as Oslo bronze medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) put his '21 U23 Euro final's loss behind and upgraded to gold at the U23 Worlds. He defeated Azamat ZAKUEV (RUS), 4-2 in the final.

Nurmagomedov's semifinal against junior world champion Amirhossein FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI) was a match that will be remembered for long. The Iranian wrestler was caught in a leg lace and the Azerbaijan wrestler was awarded a 10-0 win.

But Iran challenged the call saying that the final action was out-of-bounds. It was confirmed in the reviews which gave a second life to Firouzpourbandpei who mounted a comeback but still fell short 8-10.

In the final, Nurmagomedov, from the same family as Olympic champion Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE), was in much more control as he scored two takedowns to win the bout 4-2.

"I was training hard. I was mentally prepared to win," Nurmagomedov said. "In the final match the opponent was very strong. I wrestled him at the U23 European, it gave me confidence, I know his wrestling style well. It was easier, we analyzed him well with the coaches."

The Azerbaijan wrestler had defeated Zakuev 5-4 at the U23 Euros as well but in the final there, he lost 3-4 against Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) after being cautioned for a singlet pulling.

In Oslo, he reached the semifinal but lost to Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) and the Azerbaijan wrestler accepted that there are areas that he need to improve.

"Kurbanov is just a physically strong guy," he said. "I feel that I just don’t have enough strength. In a few years I’ll meet him and the match will end differently."

Hailing from Dagestan, Nurmagomedov trains in Makhachkala and Khasavurt, but has been in Baku, Azernaijan recently.

"I have two personal coaches and since 2018, I’ve been in the same team with Sarifov as well. It’s a pleasure to train with such professionals," he said.

Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR) is Ukraine's first-ever freestyle world champion at U23 Worlds. (Photo: UWW / Mohamed Yahia)

At 86kg, Aliiev created history by winning Ukraine's first gold. In the process, he dashed Iran's hopes of winning gold through Sajjad GHOLAMI (IRI).

“I still can’t believe I am a champion,” Aliiev said. “I was so proud when the anthem was playing and the flag was raised.”

The 22-year-old trains in Kharkov, Ukraine and began training only when his father, a boxer, pushed him into the sport and not boxing.

Wrestling at the first World Championships, Aliiev began with a quick takedown which Gholami countered with his own. He took a clear lead with another one but Aliiev cut it short with a stepout.

Surprisingly, it was the Iran wrestler who was struggling to find his feet on the mat as Aliiev kept coming back. In the second period, he added a takedown and stepout before a body lock exposure gave him two more. He ended the bout 11-4.

“I was wrestling everyone here for the first time and it was challenging for me,” he said.

Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA) won the gold medal at 125kg. (Photo: UWW / Mohamed Yahia)

At 125kg, Cassioppi ended a stunning run at the U23 Worlds with a victory via fall over Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) and a gold medal for the USA.

It all happened in the first period as Cassiopi scored a takedown and then had Khosonov in a lace. The Greek tried to score a four but fell on his back and the USA wrestler held him to the mat and secured the fall.

“I just came out here and do my best. I just wrestled to my abilities,” Cassiopi said. “I have not competed at this high level before. I expected to win and wrestle my positions. He did help me stay in my ties.”

Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), red, defeated Azamat ZAKUEV (RUS) in the final. (Photo: UWW / Mohamed Yahia)

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df Artur CHEBODAEV (RUS), 11-7

BRONZE: Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) df Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN), 3-3
BRONZE: Narankhuu NARMANDAKH (MGL) df Christopher CANNON (USA), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Chermen VALIEV (RUS) df Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI), 7-6

BRONZE: Temuri BERUASHVILI (GEO) df Vasile DIACON (MDA), 3-3
BRONZE: Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM) df Simon MARCHL (AUT), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR) df Sajjad GHOLAMI (IRI), 11-4

BRONZE: Lars SCHAEFLE (GER) df Zagid KARIMOV (RUS), 3-0
BRONZE: Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT) df Emre CIFTCI (TUR), 5-2

92kg
GOLD: Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) df Azamat ZAKUEV (RUS), 4-2

BRONZE: Amirhossein FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI) df Johannes MAYER (GER), 10-0
BRONZE: Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) df Rustam SHODIEV (UZB), via fall

125kg
GOLD: Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA) df Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE), via fall

BRONZE: Seyedmehdi HASHEMIJOUYBARI (IRI) df Mohit GREWAL (IND), 6-3
BRONZE: Saipudin MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df Martin SIMONYAN (ARM), 10-0

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

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Russia Tops Iran for Freestyle Team Title at #WrestleBelgrade