#WrestleAlexandria

Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series: World champs highlight strong WW field

Friday, February 17, 2023 - 15:44 By Taylor GREGORIO

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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (February 17) -- The second Ranking Series event, the Ibrahim Moustafa, is days away. The event will take place February 23-26 in Alexandria, Egypt.

The results will not only give ranking points to the wrestlers, but they will also be crucial in determining the four seeds for the upcoming continental championships. Ibrahim Moustafa will be the second event in which UWW will award prize money and a two-kilogram weight tolerance will be allowed in each weight class.

Like in Zagreb, this event will also feature a strong women's field with 133 wrestlers including nine world champions and 34 World Championships medalists.

All the action from Egypt starts next Thursday and can be followed live on uww.org or on the UWW app.

Below are five storylines to keep an eye on next weekend.

Parrish, Nichita among 2022 world medalists competing

Alexandria will welcome eight 2022 World medalists, counting two gold medalists, two silver medalists and four bronze medalists.

Highlighting this group are world champions Domnique PARRISH (USA) and Anastasia NICHITA (MDA). Competing at 53kg, Parrish secured the title on her senior World Championships debut in September. That same week, Nichita became just the second Moldovan woman to win a senior world title, when she topped the 59kg podium.

A pair of reigning silver medalists, Kayla MIRACLE (USA) and Grace BULLEN (NOR), will wrestle in the same bracket next week. Miracle is a two-time runner-up, securing silver at 62kg in 2021 and 2022. Bullen, who won her first senior medal last year at 59kg, has decided to bump up to 62kg.

The host country will cheer for Samar HAMZA (EGY) as the 2022 silver medalist is entered at 76kg and will be one of the favorites to claim the gold at home.

The 2022 bronze medalists expected to compete are Mengyu XIE (CHN) at 55kg, Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) at 62kg and Epp MAE (EST) at 76kg

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) is the only two-time world champion in the field. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Nine past world champions in the field

Nine women head into Alexandria with gold hardware to their names. Two weight classes 59kg and 62kg -- feature multiple world champs.

Wrestling at 59kg is 2022 champion Anastasia Nichita and 2014 winner Yuliia TKACH (UKR), while the 62 kg competitors include two-time world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), 2021 champion at 59kg Bilyana Dudova and 2018 champion Taybe YUSEIN (BUL).

In addition to Nichita, there is one other reigning gold medalist, Dom Parrish, who will compete at 53kg. The other three are 2019 champion Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), 2018 champion Ningning RONG (CHN) and 2021 champion Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ). Winchester will wrestle at 55kg with Rong at 57kg and Zhumanazarova at 68kg.

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) is one of the three world champions at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

World champs highlight stacked 62kg bracket

The 62kg weight class has a ton of star power coming into the second Ranking Series event with three past world champions and six other past world medalists. Aisuluu Aisuluu is the only two-time world champion in the entire women’s field. She earned titles in 2019 and 2021. Also winning a world gold in 2021 was Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL), who claimed her title at 59kg. She will be competing at 62kg next week. The final world champ in this weight is 2018 winner Taybe Yusein. All three world champs also have other medal-winning performances, and between the three of them, they combine for four golds, four silvers, three bronzes and two Olympic medals.

Other medalists registered include silver medalists Kayla Miracle, who has earned two, Jia LONG (CHN), Grace Bullen and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) and bronze winners Xiaojuan LUO (CHN) and Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR).

Skylar GROTE (USA)Skylar GROTE (USA) is coming off a gold medal win in the first Ranking Series event. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Seven finalists from first Ranking Series

Last month, the UWW Ranking Series kicked off in Zagreb, Croatia. Seven finalists from the Zagreb Open are expected to compete in Alexandria, including two champions and five runners-up.

Looking for their second Ranking Series gold of the season are Anastasia Nichita at 59kg and Skylar GROTE (USA) at 76kg. Nichita won gold at the 2022 senior World Championships and also has a 2018 U20 gold medal. Additionally, Nichita won last year’s Yasar Dogu as part of the 2022 Ranking Series. Grote, who won the Zagreb Open at 72kg, is bumping up to 76 kg for action in Egypt. Overall, she has competed in three Ranking Series events and medaled in all three. In addition to gold last month, she collected a gold and bronze medal last season.

Silver medalists from the Zagreb Open registered to compete in Egypt include Jiang ZHU (CHN) at 50kg, Yongxin FENG (CHN) at 57kg, Bullen at 62kg and Dalma CANEVA (ITA) at 72kg.

Samar HAMZA (EGY)Samar HAMZA (EGY) will lead the host nation's charge in Alexandria. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Egypt to host first Ranking Series event

Next week will mark Egypt’s first time hosting a Ranking Series tournament. Egypt has held the African Championships and Arab Championships in the past. The host country will have great representation in the women’s field with 16 athletes registered. Among them is multiple-time World Championships medalist Samar Hamza at 76kg, who is the first and only Egyptian woman to win a world medal at the senior level. She is joined by two-time age-group world medalist Nada MOHAMED (EGY) at 50kg and several senior African Championships medalists, including Shaimaa MOHAMED (EGY), Louji YASSIN (EGY), Farah HUSSEIN (EGY), Mentalla BADRAN (EGY), Eman MOHAMED (EGY) and Mona AHMED (EGY).

#WrestleBucharest

Sadulaev back, Freestyle stars assemble for European Championships

Monday, February 5, 2024 - 08:17 By Vinay Siwach

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BUCHAREST, Romania (February 2) -- Four months after a neck surgery and four years since his last European Championships, Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) will return to the mat, hoping to win his sixth European title.

In September, Sadulaev pulled out of his semifinal against eventual champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and underwent surgery. This will be his first international competition as he won the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in the last week of January. 

The European Championships will kick off on February 12 in Bucharest, making the countries participating in the tournament eligible to participate in the European Olympic Qualifier in Baku. The tournament will be available on UWW+ on uww.org and the UWW app.

Apart from Sadulaev, Tokyo Olympic champion  Zavur UGUEV (AIN), world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), world champion Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) and arch-rivals Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) will be in action.

Sadulaev, who is yet to qualify for the Paris Olympics, will be checked by world silver medalist in Belgrade Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), bronze medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN) and former world silver medalist Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK).

Soon after winning the Yarygin tournament, Sadulaev posted on his Instagram that "he is back on track." A fully fit Sadulaev is expected in Bucharest which will mean that his opponents will have a tough time.

Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) is the defending champion at 86kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Among other Olympic weight classes, 86kg defending champion Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) will be returning since his injury in the Ranking Series in Budapest last year. In all likelihood, he is set to face Tokyo bronze medalist Artur NAIFONOV (AIN) as the two revive their rivalry. The two used to dominate the national scene in Russia.

Another transfer and winner of the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series, Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) will also be in action, making it a tough bracket. Ramazanov will be keen on continuing his good form and challenging the established stars at 86kg in Europe.

World bronze medalist Myles AMINE (SMR) is entered and making it to his third straight final at the European Championships will be his top priority. U20 world champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), 79kg world silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) and Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) are also in the bracket.

Taha AKGUL (TUR)Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) are expexted to meet in the 125kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Akgul and Petriashvili, ranking second and fourth in the world, can only meet in the final, setting up another gold-medal bout if both make it to the final.

The two have long dominated the weight classes with the former winning it 10 times since 2012 and Petriasvili winning it twice with the last coming in 2020. Akgul defeated Petriashvili in the final in Zagreb last year.

At the Ranking Series in Zagreb, Petriashvili pulled out of his bout against world champion Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) citing injury. It will be interesting to see if he will return fully fit.

At 57kg, Zavur UGUEV (AIN) will look to put behind the disappointment of finishing without a medal at the World Championships and return to winning ways. Uguev has a lot to fight for as a win in Bucharest will make him the favorite for the gold medal in Paris as well if he goes to the Olympics.

But world bronze medalist Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) will look to win the European title at 57kg as well. The 61kg champion last year has moved down to the Olympic weight and possesses the skills to upset any star wrestler. At the World Championships, he dropped a 16-13 semifinal against Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) before winning a bronze medal.

With many wrestlers deciding not to go through the rigorous process of reducing their weight, the 65kg weight class will see world bronze medalists Shamil MAMEDOV (AIN) and Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) as the top stars.

The two will be drawn on the same side of the bracket given Tevanyan is ranked third in the world and Mammedov is fifth. Mikyay NAIM (BUL) and Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) will also be in the fray to reach the final.

Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)65kg world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) will be at 70kg in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The 65kg world champion Muszukajev has moved up to 70kg and will be the favorite to win the gold medal. A definite crowd-puller, Muszukajev will once again be tested for his conditioning. But if his performance at the World Championships is anything to go by, Muszukajev should put on a show of explosive wrestling.

U23 world champions Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) and Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) will look to upset the world champ if they meet in the bracket. At the U23 World Championships, Sheriev defeated Heybatov 13-3 and the Azerbaijan wrestler will be keen on avenging that loss as well.

At 74kg, three-time champion Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) will start as the favorite but will be tested by Timur BIZHOEV (AIN), a former world bronze medalist. The field also includes Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) and veteran Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR).

Akhmed USMANOV (AIN)World champion Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) will be up against a strong field at 79kg. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Most of the regular stars of 74kg have moved up to 79kg, a weight class which will be a tightly-contested category. Multiple world and Olympic medalists are entered in the weight class for the Bucharest tournament. World champion Akhmed USMANOV (AIN), Tokyo silver medalist at 74kg Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN), former world medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), young star and defending champion Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), multiple-time world medalist Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), veteran Hetik CABOLOV (SRB), Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) and Ramazan SARI (TUR) are a few names who will be vying for the European title.

A face-off between Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (AIN) and Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) is expected at 61kg. MAgomedov lost the 61kg final at the World Championships while Abakarov finished with a bronze medal at 57kg after suffering a loss to Stevan MICIC (SRB). Micic was registered for the European Championships but pulled out.

Boris MAKOEV (SVK) is moving up to 92kg for the European Championships but the weight class already has a few hammers. Magomed KURBANOV (AIN) will have a chance to win the title but world silver medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), bronze medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) and former European champion Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) are also in the mix.