#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Iran and Mongolia Capture Titles at First U23 Asian Championships

By Ali Feizasa

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (March 24) - The host country Mongolia captured the women’s wrestling title at the first edition of the U23 Asian Championships, while Iran's team shined, winning team titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

On the final day of wrestling in Ulaanbaatar, Iran took home three golds and a silver in four freestyle weight categories and captured the team title with 200 points (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). Mongolia was the runner-up with 177 points (3 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze) and Kazakhstan finished in third place with 146 points (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze).

Abbas FOROUTAN, the 2018 junior world champion, and two-time junior world medal winner Ahmad BAZRI were the Iranian stars who won the 97kg and 86kg gold medals respectively.  Bazri and Foroutan won three of their four matches by technical superiority.

But the most exciting match of the tournament came in the 70kg finals bout where ENKHTUYA Temuulen (MGL) defeated Farhad NOURI (IRI), 11-11 on criteria to make the host fans happy in the closing match of the tournament.

TSOGT OCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL) helped the host nation win the team title with her 50kg gold-medal performance. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka) 

In women’s wrestling, the host country Mongolia won four gold medals. India also won four gold medals, while the other two titles went to Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei.

Mongolia, who won medals in all ten weight categories, earned the women’s wrestling team title with 200 points (4 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze), followed by India 190 points (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) and Kazakhstan 162 points (1 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze).

TSOGT OCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL) won a gold medal at 50kg as she downed all three rivals by technical superiority. 

Reigning junior world champion Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) won the 72kg title outscoring his opponents 35-1. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

In Greco-Roman, Iran and Kyrgyzstan had a close battle for the team title. Both countries had four golds and two bronze medal winners, but Iran grabbed one more silver medal and captured the title with 202 points (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). Kyrgyzstan placed second with 182 points (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), and Kazakhstan came third with 167 points (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze).

The stars of the Greco-Roman competitions were Iranian Amin KAVIYANINEJAD and Roman KIM from Kyrgyzstan.

Kavianinejad, the 2018 junior world champion, stormed into 72kg gold medal by defeating all four his opponents by technical superiority, outscoring them 35 to 1. 

Meanwhile, heavyweight wrestler Roman Kim wrapped up two bouts against Iran and India by fall. He also finished his matches against Mongolia and Kazakhstan via technical superiority and captured 130kg gold medal.

RESULTS

Greco-Roman
(The competition of all weight categories of Greco-Roman was held in Nordic System and all wrestlers in each weight competed with each other in one group.)

Team Standings:
1- Iran 202 pts (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
2- Kyrgyzstan 182 pts (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
3- Kazakhstan 167 pts (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
4- India 128 pts (1 silver, 2 bronze)
5- Mongolia 120 pts (1 silver, 1 bronze)
6- Tajikistan 20 pts (1 silver)

55kg 
GOLD - Sardarbek KONUSHBAEV (KGZ)
SILVER - Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
BRONZE - MUNKH ERDENE Davaabandi (MGL)

60kg
GOLD - Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
SILVER - Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ)
BRONZE - Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)

63kg
GOLD- Meysam DALKHANI (IRI)
SILVER- Elmar TALANBEK UULU (KGZ)
BRONZE- Vijay VIJAY (IND)

67kg
GOLD- Nurbek KYZYROV (KAZ)
SILVER- Khanburged GANKHUYAG (MGL)
BRONZE- Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)

72kg
GOLD- Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
SILVER- Daler REZAZADE (TJK)
BRONZE- Bek KONURBAEV (KGZ)

77kg
GOLD- Renat ILIAZ UULU (KGZ)
SILVER- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
BRONZE- Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)

82kg
GOLD- Mahdi EBRAHIMI (IRI)
SILVER- Kuanyshbek DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
BRONZE- Sanjeet SANJEET (IND)

87kg
GOLD- Mohammad Hadi SARVI (IRI)
SILVER- Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ)
BRONZE- Meirbek KORDABAY (KAZ)

97kg
GOLD- Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
SILVER- Ravi RAVI (IND)
BRONZE- Hassan ARYANEZHAD (IRI)

130kg
GOLD- Roman KIM (KGZ)
SILVER- Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)
BRONZE- Sarkis PSHENICHNIKOV (KAZ)

Freestyle Results

Team Standings:
1- Iran 200 pts (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
2- Mongolia 177 pts (3 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze)
3- Kazakhstan 146 pts (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)
4- India 140 pts (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
5- Kyrgyzstan 114 pts (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
6- Turkmenistan 75 pts (2 silver)
7- China 29 pts
8- Singapore 10 pts
9- Yemen 8 pts

57kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Rahul RAHUL (IND)
SILVER- Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
BRONZE- Chinzorig TSERMAA (MGL)

61kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df. Sonba Tanaji GONGANE (IND, 13 – 2
BRONZE- Mohammad NAMJOU MOTLAGH (IRI) df. Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ), 3 - 0

65kg
GOLD- Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) by FALL
BRONZE- Parveen PARVEEN (IND) df. Weilesu WEILESU (CHN), 6 – 3
BRONZE- Ilyas ZHUMAY (KAZ) df. Zi Xyan LIM (SGP), 10 – 0

70kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL) df. Farhad Jafar NOURI KHORJESTAN (IRI), 11 - 11
BRONZE- Aidyn TAZHIGALI (KAZ) df. Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ), 12 – 2

74kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Otgonbayar BATSUURI (MGL) df. Navid Morad ZANGANEH (IRI) by FALL
BRONZE- Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) df. Bekzhan DZHAMBULOV (KGZ), 5 – 2

79kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI)
SILVER- Veer Dev GULIA (IND)
BRONZE- Atai IZABEKOV (KGZ)

86kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Ahmad BAZRI (IRI)
SILVER- Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
BRONZE- Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)

92kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Arashk MOHEBI (IRI)
SILVER- Azat GAJYYEV (TKM)
BRONZE- Tsogtgerel MUNKHBAATAR (MGL)

97kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Abbas FOROUTAN (IRI)
SILVER- Zhassulan YERMENBET (KAZ)
BRONZE- Mungunshagai TUMURBAT (MGL)

125kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) df. Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) by FALL
BRONZE- Mohammad MORADI (IRI) df. Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ), 11 – 9

Women’s Wrestling Results

Team Standings:
1- Mongolia 200 pts (4 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze)
2- India 190 pts (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
3- Kazakhstan 162 pts (1 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze)
4- Chinese Taipei 37 pts (1 gold)
5- Kyrgyzstan 32 pts (1 silver)


50kg
GOLD- Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL)
SILVER- Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
BRONZE-Jyoti JYOTI (IND)

53kg
GOLD- Khaliunaa BAYARAA (MGL)
SILVER- Reena REENA (IND)
BRONZE- Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA (KAZ)

55kg
GOLD- Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
SILVER- Anju ANJU (IND)
BRONZE- Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)

57kg
GOLD- Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
SILVER-Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
BRONZE- Yekaterina FIRSTOVA (KAZ)

59kg
GOLD- Kumari MANJU (IND)
SILVER-Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Otgonbayar PUREV (MGL)

62kg
GOLD- Purevsuren ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
SILVER- Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Radhika RADHIKA (IND)

65kg
GOLD- Tina TINA (IND)
SILVER- Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Tina TINA (IND) df. Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL), 13 – 2

68kg
GOLD- Divya KAKRAN (IND)
SILVER-Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
BRONZE- Valeriya GONCHAROVA (KAZ)

72kg
GOLD- Naina NAINA (IND)
SILVER- Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Tsogzolmaa DORJSUREN (MGL)

76kg
GOLD- Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
SILVER- Pooja POOJA (IND)
BRONZE- Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL)

#WrestleParis

10 seeded showdowns we need to see at Paris 2024 (No. 6-10)

By Eric Olanowski

PARIS, France (July 17) – We’re still a few weeks out from the Paris 2024 draws taking place on August 4. However, with the release of the top eight seeds per style, we can start to project potential matches that could take place as early as the quarterfinals.

SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 EVENT PAGE 

The top eight Ranking Series point collectors from the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, and the Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series events earned a top eight seed. The remaining eight wrestlers will be randomly drawn into their respective brackets.

Here are the top ten matches that we could see between seeded wrestlers from the quarterfinals on:

10. WW 68kg QUARTERFINAL - No. 3 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Koumba Larroque has been a prominent figure in French wrestling since her bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships at just 19 years old. Now in the prime of her career, she’s France’s best shot at a medal.

Larroque’s path to an Olympic medal will be bumpy, to say the least. She’s the third-seeded athlete in a bracket with six world champions and includes a potential quarterfinal clash with  familiar foe No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR).

Larroque and Oborududu met twice in their career, splitting their pair of previous encounters.

Oborududu won their opening meeting at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, but Larroque returned the favor a year later at the Poland Open, evening the score at 1-1.

If Larroque and Oborududu win their first match, their third career meeting would take place August 5 in the 68kg quarterfinals.

9.  FS 65kg SEMIFINAL –  No. 2 Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. No. 3 Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN)
Amouzad and Musukaev are nightmare opponents for each other and are stylistically opposites.

Amouzad, the 65kg world champ from two years ago, is a guy who wants to close the gap with his right-side underhook and fill as much space as possible. Conversely, Musukaev, the reigning 65kg world champion, wants as much space as possible to flow freely.

In their first meeting—the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships-- Musukaev fell victim to Amouzad’s pace and was shut out 6-0. In their second matches—the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships—Musukaev weathered the first period storm, saved enough energy for a last-ditch effort and stole the world finals spot, 6-5, with less than 10 seconds remaining.

If Amouzad and Musukaev meet for a third time, it’ll be on August 10 in 65kg semifinals.

8. 57kg SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. No. 3  Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
The Nichita and Adekuoroye rivalry is one that dates back to the 2019 World Championships but has since changed hands from their pre-COVID meeting.

The seasoned vet Adekuoroye is an anomaly in the wrestling world. Her style can’t be mimicked or replicated. She’s the tallest and lengthiest 57kg wrestler in the world but has also learned to use her leverage to become one of the most powerful wrestlers in the weight.

Adekuoroye’s unique style gave Nichita fits in their first meeting, as the four-time world medalist opened their three-match series with a dominant 10-0 win.

But Nichita carried what she learned from their first meeting into their next matches and had her hand raised on subsequent occasions.

In Tokyo, Nichita fell behind early but capitalized on an uncharacteristic Adekuoroye’s mistake and picked up a dramatic come-from-behind fall while trailing 8-2. Their next meeting came at the 2023 World Championships, where Nichita doubled Adekuoroye before ending the match in the first period with a left-sided trap arm gut, 10-0.

The fourth meeting between Nichita and Adekuoroye will take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

7. GR 67kg QUARTERFINAL – No. 2 Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) vs. No. 7 Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
If there were ever a lesson from losing a match, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) certainly learned it the hard way.

Earlier this year at the Hungarian Open Ranking Series event, Esmaelil led reigning Olympic champion Orta, 7-5, with 0.4 seconds left in the match.

But before we get to the ending of the match, it’s important to note that Esmaeili was in a domestic battle with reigning Olympic gold medalist Reza GERAEI (IRI) for Iran’s 67kg Paris Olympic spot. If Esmaeili beat Orta, he cemented his spot on Iran’s Olympic team. If he lost, Esmaeili and Geraei would go to a three-match wrestle off and the winner goes to Paris.

Now, circling back to the match: With less than a second to go in the match, Esmaeili began celebrating as he thought the clock expired.

During Esmaeili’s lapse of judgement, Orta, being the experienced guy, continued to wrestle through the whistle. Orta took a peek at the clock, saw there was still time left, locked up a throw and picked up four points, stealing the match, 9-7.

Esmaeili will try to get his revenge on Orta August 7 in the 67kg quarterfinals.

*Esmaeili ended up beating Geraei in two straight matches to earn the Olympic spot.

6. WW 57kg SEMIFINAL - No. 1 Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) vs. No. 5 Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Through the first two meetings between Sakurai and Maroulis, it’s been a one-sided affair. Sakurai is 2-0 against Maroulis, outscoring the Rio Olympic champion, 9-0, while picking up four offensive takedowns and not surrendering a single point.

Sakurai and Maroulis’ meeting at the 2022 World Championships was a slow-paced match, where the Japanese wrestler did enough to win but didn’t really establish her dominance.

That came in the second match.

In their second meeting, the biggest difference was Sakurai’s tatical use of her right hand when tied up with Maroulis. She used it to score three takedowns—one from an underhook front headlock, one from a underhook throw-by and the final one coming from a two-on-one—besting the American, 6-0.

The third meeting between Sakurai and Maroulis would take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

Wrestling at the Paris Olympic Games starts Agust 5-11 and can be followed on www.uww.org.