Host Serbia puts two into GR finals on opening day of Worlds

Saturday, September 10, 2022 - 20:16 By Ken Marantz

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 10) -- The opening act of the World Championships was a smash for the home team, as host Serbia saw two wrestlers advance to the finals of the four Greco-Roman weight classes that kicked off the tournament on Saturday in Belgrade.

Defending champion Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) put himself in a position for a repeat of the 87kg gold medal he won last year in Oslo, while Iran-born Ali ARSALAN (SRB) earned a shot at a first world title at 72kg.

Azerbaijan will also have two wrestlers in action on the first night of finals at Stark Arena on Sunday when Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) will look to regain the world 55kg title that he won in 2018, and European bronze medalist Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) will go for gold at 72kg.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) made his first world final at 77kg, earning a clash with surprising Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), who denied Serbia a third finalist when he knocked off former world champion Viktor NEMES (SRB).

Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) won his 87kg semifinal 4-3. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Datunashvili, sporting his trademark cornrow braids, had to scrape his way into the 87kg final, where he will try to prevent European champion Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN) from becoming Denmark's first-ever world champion in Greco-Roman.

"For the Serbian people, for Serbian sports, I want to win it tomorrow," Datunashvili said.

All three of Datsunashvili's matches went the distance, including a 4-3 nail-biter in the semifinals over 2021 world U23 silver medalist David LOSONCZI (HUN). His ability to stay calm under pressure earned the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist a trip back to the finals.

Against Losonczi, Datunashvili barely managed to gain a 2-point exposure from par terre, then managed to hang on after Losonczi scored a stepout that had a one-point fleeing penalty tacked on and cut the gap to a point.

Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN), blue, defeated Ali CENGIZ (TUR) 6-0 in the semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

In the final match of the session, Bisultanov took advantage of a rare second passivity call in his favor against Ali CENGIZ (TUR), scoring a 4-point throw in the second period to secure a 6-0 victory. That made him the first Dane to make a world Greco final since 2015 when Mark MADSEN (DEN) won the fourth and last of his silver medals at 74-75kg.

"I am very looking forward to it [the final]," Bisultanov said. "I was thinking that he or Hungarian will go to the final and yeah, they were both in the semifinals and had a very close match. I don't know, we will see what happens tomorrow, I and my coaches will see what we can do and I will do my best tomorrow."

Bisultanov said the vocal group of Danish fans in the venue will take away some of the home-field advantage of his opponent.

"Of course, every time you are at home you feel more energy, you have to do something for your home, for your fans," he said. "But luckily I got my crazy Danish fans here. I hope my fans will beat the Serbian fans, and I'll beat him as well."

Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) celebrates after scoring a 9-0 win over Max NOWRY (USA) in the 55kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

At 55kg, the final will be a clash between the two bronze medalists from Oslo 2021 -- both former world champions, as well -- although Azizli will seem to have the upper hand on Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), having beaten him six months ago in the final at the European Championships.

Azizli stormed into the final with his third technical fall of the day, overwhelming Max NOWRY (USA) 9-0 in 1:44 in the first semifinal. Put on top in par terre, Azizli went right to work, ripping off a pair of gut wrenches before transitioning to a 4-point throw.

Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) will try to win his second world title on Sunday. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Tsurtsumia, the 2019 world champion, advanced to the final with a 5-3 victory over Asian silver medalist Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ). Tsurtsumia fell behind 3-3 on criteria when he gave up a defensive takedown early in the second period, but he immediately came back with a stepout to regain the lead.

The final will be the third meeting between Azizli and Tsurtsumia in two years. The two also met in the quarterfinals of the 2021 European Championships, with Azizli winning 10-1 en route to a bronze medal.

"I've lost to Azizli around seven or even eight times," Tsurtsumia said. "But it doesn't matter, because tomorrow I will wrestle till the very end. I'm not going to tell you now what exactly I'm gonna do, but you will see it all tomorrow. I'll take revenge."

Ali ARSALAN (SRB) pinned Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) in the 72kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In the 72kg semifinals, Arsalan had the play of the day when he used a slick duck-under to a half-nelson that put Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) onto his back, where he secured a fall at 2:33.

That had come after Arsalan, a 2017 Asian bronze medalist who began competing for Serbia last year, had scored a reversal from the bottom of par terre.

"First of all, I am so glad that I made it to the final, it's really good for me," Arsalan said, "but it's not enough for me. I should recover myself and my body and my mind. Tomorrow I should be myself on the mat."

Earlier in the day, Arsalan defeated Robert FRITSCH (HUN) 7-3 to avenge a loss in the quarterfinals of the European Championships in June, where he won a bronze medal.

Ganizade made the final by edging Selcuk CAN (TUR) 4-3 in a battle of 2020 European bronze medalists. Both scored 2-point throws from par terre, but Ganizade added a stepout after his to provide the margin of difference.

Olympic silver medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), red, defeated Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) 4-1 in the 77kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

At 77kg, Makhmudov and Levai made it through a grueling gauntlet of 33 entries which saw three world medalists from 2021, including the champion at 72kg, and an Olympic bronze medalist fall by the wayside.

"Tomorrow there will be revenge against Zoltan Levai," Makhmudov said. "I already lost to him once and I defeated him once as well. I want to do my best to show the Kyrgyz soul, to show what our wrestlers are capable of."

Makhmudov once again confirmed a changing of the guard in Asia when the 23-year-old knocked off veteran Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) 4-1 in the semifinals. After a successful defense from the bottom of par terre, Makhmudov scored with a roll during his turn on top.

"I am really satisfied with today's performance," said Makhmudov, who beat Kim in the semifinals of the Asian Championships in April, where he won his second continental title.

Kim won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) celebrates after beating Viktor NEMES (SRB) 3-1 in the 72kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Levai finished off a long and exhausting day by beating Nemes 3-1 in the other semifinal. It was his fifth match of the day, which started with a 3-3 win over 2021 world 72kg champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM).

It's been a good year for Levai. He came into Belgrade having won international tournaments in Rome, Warsaw and Mladenovac, Serbia, over a three-month span through August.

At least Amoyan still has a shot at a bronze medal. Among those who didn't make it to the repechage were 2021 silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 2021 bronze medalist Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Shohei YABIKU (JPN).

On Sunday, competition through the semifinals will be held in Greco 63kg, 67kg, 82kg and 97kg.

Day 1 Greco-Roman Results

55kg (18 entries)

Semifinals
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) df. Max NOWRY (USA) by TF, 9-0, 1:44
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) df. Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ), 5-3

72kg (25 entries)

Semifinals
Ali ARSALAN (SRB) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) by fall, 2:33 (5-1)
Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Selcuk CAN (TUR), 4-3

77kg (33 entries)

Semifinals
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) df. Viktor NEMES (SRB), 3-1
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR), 4-1

87kg (30 entries)

Semifinals
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 4-3
Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN) df. Ali CENGIZ (TUR), 6-0

#WrestleBelgrade

Abuladze Upgrades Oslo Silver to #WrestleBelgrade Gold

Tuesday, November 2, 2021 - 21:52 By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (November 2) -- In the last 24 days, Leri ABULADZE (GEO) captured a silver medal at the Senior World Championships and a gold at the U23 Worlds.

Recovering from a heartbreaking 5-4 loss in the Oslo finals to Meysam DALKHANI (IRI), Abuladze dug deep for the 3-1 win over Ahmet OYUR (TUR) in the 63kg final in Belgrade and won his first-ever world title.

Abuladze was one of the five wrestlers that won gold on Tuesday at the Belexpocentar in the Serbian capital. Russia won two gold while Iran and Hungary each won one.

Abuladze's wrestling was the highlight of the tournament over the two days. He scored from disadvantageous positions and defended as if his life depended on it to rally to the title. And though he holds the silver in Oslo higher, he said he was proud of his effort in Belgrade.

"It's not possible to describe the feeling I had when the Georgian anthem was playing," Abuladze said.

In the final, the Georgian controlled Uyar for the first period, and after following up an inactivity point with a left-sided gut wrench, carried a three-point lead into the second period.

But in the second period, Abuladze had to dig deep after giving up an inactivity point himself. He furiously fought off a Turkish lift attempt and won his first world title with a 3-1 victory.

Despite a testing final, he picks the semifinal against Tokyo Olympian Alireza NEJATI (IRI) as his toughest bout of the tournament.

"The one with the Iran wrestler [was the toughest bout]," he said. "That is because he is a senior world medalist [2019], he was in Tokyo Olympics.

"He is a good wrestler and a tough opponent, but the stronger one won."

Abuladze is Georgia's fifth-ever U23 Greco-Roman world champion. He joined Shmagi BOLKVADZE, Nugzari TSURTSUMIA, Zviadi PATARIDZE and Gela BOLKVADZE.

Tamas LEVAI (HUN) won the 77kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Mohammed Yahia)

At 77kg, Tamas LEVAI (HUN) joined Erik SZILVASSY as Hungary's only U23 GR world titleholder with a tactical 5-1 performance over Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI). The Hungarian lit up the scoreboard with all five of his points in the first period of the 77kg finals. The refs awarded Levai the one point for inactivity before throwing Kaviyaninejad's feet over his head with a four-point lift.

The inactivity was returned in the second period, but Levai escaped while only giving up the one point. Nevertheless, he hung on and stopped the Iranian from adding a fourth world title to his resume.

"I wanted this so bad," Levai said. "My family is of wrestlers, but we did not have a medal at the World Championships. But I have broken the ice."

Levai has been a constant performer at the continental level but made a name for himself when he defeated two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) at the Poland Open. But Vlasov avenged that loss in Oslo.

With Vlasov watching from the stands, Levai was motivated to impress the Greco-Roman legend from Russia.

"Before coming here, I imagined myself as a world champion," he said. "I was very focused and thinking that if I can beat Vlasov, then I can beat anyone. So I was motivated and wanted to show him that I am a really good wrestler."

Mavlud RIZMANOV (RUS), red, won the first gold of the U23 Worlds. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Russia had two finalists Tuesday and both came away with gold. Mavlud RIZMANOV (RUS) was up first. He stopped Iran's Poya DAD MARZ from winning a second age-group world title with a two-point come-from-behind win at 55kg.

The '21 U23 European bronze medalist surrendered an inactivity point and trailed 1-0 heading into the final frame. However, with less than two minutes to go in the bout, the Russian failed to capitalize on a lift attempt but seamlessly transitioned into a right-sided gut wrench and gained a 3-1 lead.

Rizmanov, who was introduced to the sport by his brothers and as he got better, got admitted to the Rostov Olympic College, fought off a late flurry of attacks from Dad Marz and picked up Russia's first 25-point gold medal win over of the night.

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy as Iranians are always tough to wrestle," Rizmanov said. "I was prepared for a six-minute bout."

KOMAROV Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS) won his fifth age-group world title Tuesday. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The second gold came at 87kg, as Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS) ascended to the top of the fifth time in his career with a blistering 9-0 win over David LOSONCZI (HUN).

The young-up-and-coming Russian started the match on the slow foot but found his arm drag late in the first period and blew the doors off the bout. He led 3-0 but scored a pair of takedowns and two step-outs with that arm drag and closed the match out with a nine-point win.

Komarov last won one of five gold medals in age-group Worlds in 2018 and was relieved that he could do the same again.

"It's been a long time since I last won," Kamorov said. "But it would be definitely better to win the senior world than any age-group title."

The Russian had a tough road to the final and was tested at every stage, especially the semifinal against Temuri TCHKUASELIDZE (GEO), which he won 7-7.

"All my opponents were the leaders of our weight category," he said. "Wrestlers from Iran, India and even the semifinal was difficult. It's the first time when I had so difficult bouts one after another."

The 23-year-old wants to carry forward the age-group success into the senior category and win medals.

"Now it's important to get ready for the Russian nationals; I really want the gold medals on the senior level," he said.

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) is now a three-time age-group world champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran capped the day with the gold medal after failing twice earlier in the evening as Tokyo Olympian Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) used a quick second-period takedown to move past David OVASAPYAN (ARM), 2-1, and won the 130kg titile. The final was a rematch from the 2018 Junior World Championships final which the Iranian won as well.

Mirzazadeh expressed his relief at winning the gold in a tough year which saw him finish fifth at the Olympics and battle with the COVID-19 virus.

"This year was a tough year for me, and I am happy that I could get this medal at the end," Mirzazadeh said. "In the second match against Russia, my ankle got injured, but I am happy that I could finish that match."

Though he wanted to be a world champion in Oslo, he still was motivated for the U23 Worlds and became a champion in Belgrade.

"I kept myself hopeful [despite missing the Oslo tournament] and continued my training," he said. "Although victory in Seniors is sweet but being champion at U23 level is also valuable. It is a good step and will motivate me to continue."

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Mavlud RIZMANOV (RUS) df Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), 3-1

BRONZE: Adem UZUN (TUR) df Arslan ABDURAKHMANOV (KAZ), via fall
BRONZE: Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) df Taylor LA MONT (USA), 9-0

60kg
GOLD: Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) vs Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS)

SF 1: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) df Kerem KAMAL (TUR), 9-0
SF 2: Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) df Pridon ABULADZE (GEO), 5-3

63kg
GOLD: Leri ABULADZE (GEO) df Ahmet UYAR (TUR), 3-1

BRONZE: Ali NEJATI (IRI) df Georgii TIBILOV (RUS), 9-0
BRONZE: Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) df Corneliu RUSU (MDA), 9-0

67kg
GOLD: Mohammad REZAEI (IRI) vs Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)

SF 1: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df Kadir KAMAL (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Mohammad REZAEI (IRI) df Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO), 5-1

72kg
GOLD - Sergei KUTUZOV (RUS) vs Idris IBAEV (GER)

SF 1: Idris IBAEV (GER) df Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 9-0
SF 2: Sergei KUTUZOV (RUS) df Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE), 3-2

77kg
GOLD: Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI), 5-1

BRONZE: Sergei STEPANOV (RUS) df Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE (GEO), 9-0
BRONZE: Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE) df Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR), 2-1

82kg
GOLD: Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) vs Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)

SF 1: Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) df Moric KISMONI (HUN), 6-1
SF 2: Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) df Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI), 5-2

87kg
GOLD: Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS) df David LOSONCZI (HUN), 9-0

BRONZE: Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) df Temuri TCHKUASELIDZE (GEO), 15-7
BRONZE: Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL) df Markus SIHTOLA (FIN), 5-2

97kg
GOLD: Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR) vs Artur SARGSIAN (RUS)

SF 1: Artur SARGSIAN (RUS) df Markus RAGGINGER (AUT), 3-1
SF 2: Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR) df Robert ERSEK (HUN), via fall

130kg
GOLD: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df David OVASAPYAN (ARM), 2-1

BRONZE: Mikhail LAPTEV (RUS) df Fatih BOZKURT (TUR), 6-0
BRONZE: Dariusz VITEK (HUN) df Delian ALISHAHI (SUI), 3-0

Host Serbia puts two into GR finals on opening day of Worlds

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Abuladze Upgrades Oslo Silver to #WrestleBelgrade Gold