#WrestleCoralville

I wasn't as aggressive as I could have been: Snyder after beating Ghasempour

Thursday, December 15, 2022 - 16:56 By Vinay Siwach

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CORALVILLE, Iowa (December 15) -- Kyle SNYDER (USA) has been one of the most dominant wrestlers of his weight class 97kg for more than half a decade now. And barring a couple of wrestlers, few have troubled him since he won his first World Championships at home turf at the 2015 Las Vegas World Championships.

When the World Cup in Iowa presented another opportunity to compete in front of his home crowd, Snyder promptly grabbed the opportunity.

As the leader of the USA team, Snyder led the hosts to a thrilling win over Iran as it captured its 15th World Cup on Sunday with a 6-4 win over its arch-rivals. It was Snyder who won the sixth bout and sealed the deal for Iran.

For the last four years, Iran has bet upon Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) as its mainstay at 97kg. But with medalless performances at the Tokyo Olympics and Belgrade World Championships, it is left to ponder on other options.

U23 world champion Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) was selected for the World Cup and he did well to beat the world silver medalist Batyrbek TSAKULOV (UWW) in the group stages. However, Iran decided to bump the two-time world champion at 92kg Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) at 97kg for the final against the USA.

It did not take Snyder by surprise. He was actually pleased that Ghasempour decided to jump up for the dual and gave fans a contest.

"He [Ghasempour] weighed in at 92kg," Snyder said. "I thought he might wrestle [at 97kg]. Maybe it's better for the dual. It was cool that he came up."

The Rio Olympic champion, however, did not let Ghasempour settle for six minutes. From the first whistle, it was Snyder who dominated the bout, pressured Ghasempour and ultimately won 5-0.

Part of his strategy was to take Ghasempour's game to him and wrestle as hard as possible.

"Just wrestling hard," Snyder said. "I know he [Ghasempour] wrestles hard and I have seen him wrestle. I knew how to be aggressive, take his game to him."

Ghasempour did get to Snyder's legs a few times but failed to convert any of the attacks. With the weight difference and Snyder's heavy wrestling, Ghasempour felt the heat and failed to match the pace of the bout.

Snyder, on the other hand, knew from the beginning that Ghasempour will not be able to withstand the pressure despite Snyder not being as aggressive as he could have been. Snyder said that he liked the bout as it was on his home turf against a good wrestler who stopped him from winning 10-0.

"My number one option is 10-zip but then the number two option is let me be the closer," he said. "I always like to wrestle good wrestlers. I just love to compete and am ready to go. Especially on the home turf, I am always going to be here. [In the bout], I felt I was in good control from the beginning even though I was winning by a point. I wasn't as aggressive as I could have been."

Iran will now have to rethink its strategy of promoting Ghasempour to 97kg. With the 2024 Paris Olympics quotas available at the 2023 World Championships, it will have to quickly find a way to break the drought at 97kg.

Snyder won the World Championships and remained unbeaten at the World Cup but believes that the 97kg weight class will be an interesting one going into Paris Olympics.

"We got a lot of good guys up there [97kg]," he said. "Him [Mohammadian], a bunch of other dudes so you don't know how it's going to work out."

#WrestleSamokov

Shkarin, Javadov complete Worlds and Europeans U20 golden double

Friday, August 22, 2025 - 16:31 By Vinay Siwach

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SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 22) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) managed to pull off a continental and world double by winning the gold medal at the World U20 Championships on Friday. He won the gold medal at the European U20 Championships in July.

This is the second straight year that Shkarin has done that as he won the world and European U17 last year.

Wrestling Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ) in the 82kg final, Shkarin came out with his best defense in par terre to defend his 4-1 lead and win the gold medal.

"Last year I won Worlds and Europeans U17s, now Worlds and Europeans U20s," Shkarin said. "I don’t see anything supernatural in this. Everything is just working out for me."

Shkarin was in top form throughout the tournament with three technical superiority wins in three bouts and it was only in the final that he was test and did not manage to finish his bout before time.

In the semifinals, Shkarin blanked Martik PETROSYAN (ARM) while Seitkaliyev defeated Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) in the other semifinal. However, Shkarin was hoping to get a rematch against Yoshida who had defeated Shkarin in the 2023 world U17 final.

"The motivation for me at this World Championship was that I really wanted to take revenge on the Japanese wrestler," Shkarin said. "I even told my friends that I could leave this championship upset only if I lost to the Japanese again. Nothing else would upset me as much. But it’s not my fault, it’s his -- he didn’t reach the final."

With the World U20 gold won, Shkarin will look to move to the Olympic weight class -- 87kg -- next year and plan his journey towards winning the Olympic medal in the future.

"Next year I want to move up to the 87 kg weight category," he said. "I’ll start working on my physical shape, try to gain muscle mass, and gradually settle into the 87 kg weight class. I want to try competing at seniors level."

Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) celebrates after winning the gold medal at 60kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The last time the World U20 Championships were held in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan won crowned three champions in Greco-Roman. However, at the next two editions, the country failed to win gold.

The 2025 edition of the U20 Worlds, back in Bulgaria, seems to have brought luck back for Azerbaijan as the nation won its first gold in Greco-Roman in the first final.

European U20 champion and two-time world U17 champion Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) added a gold at the U20 level in his first year by beating Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) in the 60kg final.

The 18-year-old showed no signs of discomfort in the new age-group and won three out of his five bouts via technical superiority or fall. In the final, he maintained a good lead throughout and defeat Mkhitaryan, also 18 years old, 12-5.

Javadov was put in par terre in he first period and Mkhitaryan scored two turns using gut0-wrench for a 5-0 lead but as he was trying to complete the third one, Javadov blocked him and scored two points. Armenia challenged the call but it was clear block and two points and Mkhitaryan led 5-3 at the break.

Javadov got the par terre in the second period but he failed to score any points. It was the third passivity with which the momentum of the final changed. Javadov asked for par terre after third passivity, which doesn't award any points. But Javadov managed to turn him for two and then a reverse lift for another two points to lead 8-5.

Mkhitaryan tried to jump over the head but it did not work out as Javadov controlled him and slammed him on mat for four points. He ultimately won 12-5.

"Since childhood I have been very self-confident," Javadov said. "Age makes no difference, I always believe I deserve first place."

Javadov has now not faced defeat for three years and the gold medal in Samokov. But the debut at U20 Worlds made him a little nervous.

"I couldn’t fully prepare mentally for the final bout, most likely my opponent wasn’t that good either," he said. "I made a couple of mistakes and gave up points, but then I managed to pull myself together. In the second period I realized that my opponent was very tired, and I understood that I could take the advantage and win."

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 12-5

BRONZE: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Omer ALTAS (TUR), 9-0 (victory via cautions)
BRONZE: SURAJ (IND) df. Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA), 1-1

82kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) df. Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ), 4-1

BRONZE: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) df. PRINCE (IND), 11-0
BRONZE: Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB) df. Martik PETROSYAN (ARM), 8-0