#WrestleAlexandria

Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series day three finals set

Friday, February 24, 2023 - 21:06 By Vinay Siwach

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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (February 25) -- Six women's wrestling and two freestyle weight classes highlight day three of the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series event in Alexandria. The previous two days have been nothing short of exceptional and expect nothing else on Saturday.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Here are the gold medal match-ups for the evening session

50kg
Meng FAN (CHN) vs. Ziqi FENG (CHN)

53kg
Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) vs. Li DENG (CHN)

55kg
Bediha GUN (TUR) vs. Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)

59kg
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. Yuliia TKACH (UKR)

65kg Round 5
Khadija JLASSI (TUN) vs. Emma BRUNTIL (USA)
BHATERI (IND) vs. Ayatalla AHMED (EGY)

72kg
Alina RUDNYTSKA (UKR) vs. Dalma CANEVA (ITA)  

FS 97kg
Batyrbek TCAKULOV (SVK) vs. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)

125kg
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) vs. Taha AKGUL (TUR) 

14:05: Li DENG (CHN) and Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN) exchanged passivity points in their 53kg semifinal. Deng got the passivity point in the second period and kept that advantage to win 1-1 on criteria.

13:45: Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) avenges her World Championships loss to Mengyu XIE (CHN). Winchester led 12-6 in Belgrade when she suffered an injury and lost to Xie. But in Alexandria, she controls the bout for a 4-0 win.

13:35: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) gets the job done! She led 2-0 and then controlled the whole second period against Andreea ANA (ROU) to win the semifinal at 53kg.

13:30: Taha AKGUL (TUR) navigates through Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA). A good win there for the world champion. Gwiazdowski has troubled Akgul in the past but today the story was different. Akgul wins 7-2

13:15: Two big results at 97kg. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) proved that the 97kg weight class is not for Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) who has been a force at 92kg. However, Firouzpour at 97kg failed to match the strength and conditioning of Baranowski who wins 6-4.

World silver medalist Batyrbek TCAKULOV (SVK) struggled a little but managed to beat Benjamin HONIS (ITA) 11-3 to advance.

13:00: Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) and Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN) should have been a final but we have it in the quarters. Orshush put on the clock but she gets a low single to score a takedown before adding leg lace to lead 6-0. Malmgren tries the toss but fails and Orshush adds gut wrench to win 10-0. Sweden has challenged the call. No points for Malmgren as the challenge is lost. Orshush wins 11-0

12:30: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) gets a taste of his own medicine as Vladislav BAITCAEV (HUN) scores a takedown with a second left on the clock. Baitcaev wins 6-4 to advance at 97kg.

12:10: Iulia LEORDA (MDA) can't believe she has given up a takedown at the last moment. She led 2-2 against Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN) but could not handle the pressure Orshush was putting on her. The Hungarian wins 4-2

11:52: Taha AKGUL (TUR) with another easy win. He leg laces DINESH (IND) for an 11-0 victory at 125kg.

11:45: World champion Dom PARRISH (USA) is wrestling European champion Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) at 53kg. The Swede has the first takedown and she will go into the break leading 2-0. Parrish scores two out of bounds and takes the criteria lead. A quick double-leg from Malmgren and she retakes the lead 4-2. Solid underhook defense from Malmgren and she wins 4-2.

11:15: Ziqi FENG (CHN) and Oksana LIVACH (UKR) went allout in that 50kg bout. Livach with two takedowns to lead 4-0 but Feng then got the head pinch. She exposed Livach twice before launching her for a four. A takedown and gut gave Feng a 15-4 technical superiority win.

11:00: Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) is the latest to score a 10-0 win. She rolls over Farah HUSSEIN (EGY) with ease to move at 59kg.

10:50: Madison PARKS (CAN) is an underrated wrestler. She has now racked up so many good wins. Include the latest one as she beats Emilia VUC (ROU) 9-3 at 50kg.

10:30: Taha AKGUL (TUR) is such a calm wrestler. There are no signs of panic in his body language. In his first bout of the day, he casually moves past Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) at 125kg.

10:15: European champion Tatiana RIZKHO (UKR) with some early action in Alexandria. She hits a foot sweep and scores a fall over BHATERI (IND) to win at 65kg. 

10:00: Welcome to yet another exciting day of wrestling in the historical city of Alexandria. We are done with Greco-Roman and it will be all about women's wrestling and freestyle today.

#WrestleBratislava

Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 13:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 22) -- Khadzhimurat GATSALOV was in Bratislava, Slovakia for the European Championships as the coach if the UWW wrestlers and returned with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in 10 weight classes.

United World Wrestling caught up with Gatsalov after the tournament and he reflected on the performance of the wrestlers and his plans for the World Championships which will be held in September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Excerpts:

- On the performance of his wrestlers

Gatsalov: Overall, we are satisfied with the results. We haven’t had a performance like this in a long time -- five gold medals out of ten, plus two silver and one bronze. That means eight out of ten athletes came home with medals. Both the coaching staff and the athletes did a great job and prepared well for this European Championships.

We were counting on four or five gold medals. The guys wrestled really well and followed the instructions. For us coaches, that’s the most important thing that the wrestler steps on the mat and follows the game plan.

- On competition with Iran and the United States

Gatsalov: I believe there’s still room for improvement. This will help strengthen both our technical and physical foundations. When I look at Iranian and American wrestling, they put a lot of emphasis on physical conditioning. We’ve never really focused on that. We’ve always prioritized technique. But moving forward, we’ll also be physically prepared to endure tough matches and handle heavy loads without wearing out.

- On Sidakov's return and performance at 74kg

Gatsalov: Sidakov just couldn’t make it happen this time, maybe it’s because they know each other so well. [Chermen] VALIEV had a very strong motivation to win. You could feel it, it was clear on the mat. But as a coach, I believe this loss will serve as a driving force for Sidakov's future wins. It’s a significant psychological moment. Honestly, it’s better to experience this now than at the World Championships or the Olympics. I think once he recovers from his injury, we’ll get back to training and keep moving forward.

- On former world champion Baev winning gold

Gatsalov: Since 2019, he hadn’t shown any results on an international level. But today, he was better than anyone. He’s been working towards this moment for a long time, training hard, and he showed solid, confident wrestling. He wrestled like a true master — precise, and without mistakes. We were genuinely very happy for him.

- On the 65kg champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV

Gatsalov: Ibragimov demonstrated a strong performance, despite losing at the Ranking Series in Albania less than a month ago. Today, he came in well-prepared. He was in good form physically, technically, and mentally. That previous loss likely became a stepping stone toward this victory.

Khadzhimurat GATSAKOVKhadzhimurat GATSALOV at the European Championships in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

- On preparations for World Championships

Gatsalov: We have a clear understanding of how we’re going to prepare. I can’t reveal all the secrets of our training plan, but we know exactly who we’re preparing for. That’s why we’ll be focusing on targeted, individual work against specific opponents. Our coaching staff is strong. We have real professionals on board, including experienced coaches from the old Soviet school and younger ones who are stepping up and bringing fresh energy.

I think our wrestlers are also friendly with each other, which is very important. The atmosphere in the team is productive. We are waiting for the World Championships. We want competition on the mat with big countries like Iran, America. The Japanese have also improved a lot. Therefore, we want to compete with the strong ones, and we want to settle things on the mat.

(The interview was conducted by Karina MIRZOIAN)