#Zagreb2018

Gold Medal Wealth Spread Among Five Nations on First Night of #Zagreb2018 Greco Finals

By Taylor Miller

ZAGREB, Croatia – Five different national anthems rang on Saturday night as five countries collected gold medals in the first night of the Greco-Roman finals at the Cadet World Championships in  Zagreb, Croatia.

At 48 kg, Abror ATABAEV (UZB), who took bronze at this year’s Asian Championships, came out on top, defeating Asian gold medalist Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI), 4-4.

Put down for passivity, Atabaev maneuvered his way to a front headlock for a four-point throw, which ultimately gave the Uzbek the win on criteria.

Atabaev became only the third wrestler from Uzbekistan to win a Cadet Greco World title.

2018 Asian bronze medalist Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) scored seven points in his shutout win over Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO) in the 55 kg finals.

Khounsari only led 2-0 at the break but separated himself in the last minute with a takedown and also capitalizing on an attempted throw by Pertaia for exposure en route to his first World title.

Russia won a World title at 65 kg when 2018 European champion Muslim IMADAEV (RUS) defeated 2016 European champion Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) in a 3-0 match.

Imadaev scored on a gut when Khachatryan was put down in par terre. It was an early lead that the Russian held on to for the gold.

At 80 kg, Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM) got behind European champion Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) in the first 30 seconds for a takedown, which would be all he needed to win a Cadet World title.

Khachatryan redeems a fifth-place finish from Euros earlier this year.

To close out the night, European champion Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) dominated in the 110 kg final over two-time European bronze medalist Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE).

En route to his 9-0 tech fall, Bakir scored on two takedowns and a gutwrench.

The 2018 Cadet World Championships wrap up tomorrow, starting with repechage action at 10 a.m. ET, followed by medal matches at 12 p.m. ET live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Greco-Roman team scores going into final day (top 10)
1. Iran – 75
2. Georgia - 54
3. Russia - 51
4. Uzbekistan - 50
5. Armenia - 45
6. Turkey - 33
7. Azerbaijan - 32
8. Kazakhstan - 32
9. Belarus - 25
10. Moldova - 20

Finals results

48 kg
GOLD - Abror ATABAEV (UZB)
SILVER - Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI)
BRONZE - Arshad ARSHAD (IND)
BRONZE – Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)

1st - Abror Atabaev (Uzbekistan) dec. Sajjad Abbaspourragani (Iran),4-4
3rd - Arshad Arshad (India) fall Leonid Moroz (Moldova), 1:09
3rd - Iskhar Kurbayev (Kazakhstan) dec. Islam Aliev (Russia), 4-2

55 kg
GOLD - Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI)
SILVER - Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO)
BRONZE - Amirbek SULTONOV (UZB)
BRONZE – Din KOSHKAR (KAZ)

1st - Amirhossein Khounsari (Iran) dec. Giorgi Pertaia (Georgia), 7-0
3rd - Amirbek Sultonov (Uzbekistan) dec. Manuel Stoica (Romania), 8-7
3rd - Din Koshkar (Kazakhstan) dec. Niklas Oehlen (Sweden), 6-0

65 kg
GOLD - Muslim IMADAEV (RUS)
SILVER - Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
BRONZE - Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
BRONZE – Hossein GHASEMI (IRI)

1st - Muslim Imadaev (Russia) dec. Shant Khachatryan (Armenia), 3-0
3rd - Samuel Bellscheidt (Germany) dec. Bin Xu (China), 8-2
3rd - Hossein Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Khvicha Ananidze (Georgia), 7-0

80 kg
GOLD - Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
SILVER - Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
BRONZE - Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI)
BRONZE – Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN)

1st - Karen Khachatryan (Armenia) dec. Giorgi Tsopurashvili (Georgia), 2-1
3rd - Mohammad Naghousi (Iran) dec. Bekzod Akhmedov (Uzbekistan), 6-1
3rd - Turpan Bisultanov (Denmark) dec. David Zhytomyrsky (Israel), 7-1

110 kg
GOLD - Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
SILVER - Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
BRONZE - Tomasz WAWRZYNCZYK (POL)
BRONZE – Mikita KAVALSKI (BLR)

1st - Muhammet Bakir (Turkey) TF Sarkhan Mammadov (Azerbaijan), 9-0
3rd - Tomasz Wawrzynczyk (Poland) dec. Marcel Albini (Czech Republic), 7-1
3rd - Mikita Kavalski (Belarus) dec. Aleksandr Shaposhnikov (Russia), 3-1

 

#GrecoRoman

'Thank you, wrestling': Tokyo Olympic medalist Elsayed, 27, retires

By Vinay Siwach

EGYPT (July 14) -- Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) has announced his retirement from wrestling, concluding a distinguished career that included two Olympic appearances and two world U23 gold medals.

Elsayed posted on Instagram about his struggles with injuries and shared that the decision to retire was the "most difficult" for the 27-year-old wrestler.

"After many years of hard work, challenges, and victories [and] after I honored my country and raised its flag in internationally, and was able to achieve my dream and win an Olympic medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, I have reached the most difficult decision in my sports career.  I have decided to officially announce my retirement," Elsayed wrote in an emotional post.

Having won five gold medals at the African Championships, Elsayed was a trailblazer in Greco-Roman and was Egypt's new-found hope for the Olympics. He did not disappoint in Tokyo, where he had a surprising run to the semifinal, which he lost to Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), 7-6.

He bounced back in the bronze-medal bout and defeated Artem SURKOV (ROC), 1-1 to capture bronze, Egypt's first medal since 2012 London Olympics and only the third since 1960.

"Wrestling has always been more than just a sport to me," he wrote. "It was my life, my passion, and my support in the most difficult times. I thank God for every moment I lived on the mat and every moment of pride, and every encouragement I heard from my family, fans, and country."

One of the biggest achievements of Elsayed, apart from the Olympic medal, was winning successive world U23 gold medals in 2018 and 2019 at 67kg.

Elsayed expressed gratitude to various individuals who supported him throughout the journey including coaches and trainers. He also thanked wrestling.

"I thank every coach who helped me, every colleague who stood by me, and everyone who supported me with a kind word or a prayer from the heart. Thank you to everyone who was part of the journey.

"Thank you to wrestling, which taught me to be a man before being a champion."