13:02: Kasabieva ended up scoring emptying the gas tank in the second period, scoring seven points before catching Kolawole on her back for the fall.
12:57: Nigeria's Esther KOLAWOLE, the '21 U23 world bronze medalist, is in a tight one against Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) over on Mat B. Both wrestlers have been extremely cautious in the first period, with Kolawole scoring the period's only point-- an inactivity point.
12:51: It looks like it's going to be an early afternoon for us. We have four matches left on each mat before heading to the Greco-Roman draws.
12:35: I was watching the Oono and Malanchuk match, so I didn't watch the match but heard that Elor picked up another fall to move into tonight's 72kg semifinals.
12:31: One of the least talked about aspects of the Japanese women's team is their timing. They understand the clock and when to attack better than any other team in wrestling.
That was on display with Oono's win over Malanchuk, as she trailed for the entire match, but struck late to steal the 2-2 match on criteria. She'll wrestle the winner of Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN) and Serena Rosa DI BENEDETTO (CAN).
12:23: Senior world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) picked up a 10-0 win in his first bout and will wrestle Busra EFE (TUR) next.
12:00: An upcoming match I'm looking forward to watching is Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Mako OONO (JPN).
Due to Ukraine's lightweight, Malanchuk has been in and out of the senior lineup for a few years now, but she's capitalized on her opportunity a few times, winning a gold medal at the 2022 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event and a silver at the 2021 Individual World Cup.
On the other side, you know what you're going to get out of the Japanese women, so it'll be good to see how Malanchuk stacks up against top-tier talent.
11:47: I just realized that 55kg senior world bronze medalist Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) is entered into the competition. It's great to see her down at 53kg, which shows me she's preparing to compete at the Olympic weight in 2024.
Dragutan down at 53kg gives Moldova's women's team three solid Olympic weights. They'll have Dragutan at 53kg, Anastasia NICHITA at 57kg and Irina RINGACI at 68kg.
11:38: We'll go from one world silver medalist to another on Mat B. Macey KILTY (USA) just scored a fall, brining up Ukraine's Iryna BONDAR (UKR).
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