Women's World Cup

Japan Edges China for World Cup Gold

By Eric Olanowski

CHEBOKSARY, Russia (December 2) - The 2017 Women’s World Cup championship session wrapped up this morning. After two days of exciting action, it was Japan winning the gold medal bout, Mongolia taking home the bonze, host nation Russia placing fifth, and Azerbaijan taking seventh.  

The gold medal bout between Japan and China was kicked off with 2017 world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) taking on Olympic bronze medalist SUN Yanan (CHN). Sun’s crotch lift gave her the 2-2 lead on criteria as time expired. After Japan challenged the call, two points were awarded to Susaki and she was victorious 4-2.

SUN Yanan (CHN) argues a last-second call in her match with 2017 world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN). Susaki won 4-2.

At 53kg, world champion Mayu MUKAIDA’s two takedowns in the first period were enough to hold on to the 4-0 win over PANG Qianyu (CHN).

RONG Ninging (CHN) gave China their first victory of the finals as she defeated Momoka KADOYA (JPN), 4-3.

Akie HANAI (JPN) and Yukako KAWAI (JPN) picked back-to-back wins, including a fall at 60kg by Kawai which gave Japan the commanding 4-1 lead.

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) looks to finish a shot before picking up a fall in the Wome's World Cup finals. 

After leading 1-0 at the end of the first period, LUO Xiaojua's (CHN) six points in the second period solidified her the 7-1 victory at 63kg. This helped cut Japan’s lead to within two with only two matches remaining. 

ZHOU Feng (CHN) broke the 1-1 with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) halfway through the second period with a takedown and gut wrench, giving her the the 5-1 lead. After a Morikawa step out and another takedown, Zhou won the match 8-1.

At 75kg, it was ZHOU Qian (CHN) who picked up the win via injury default after Masako FURUICHI (JPN) was unable to compete due to an apparent shoulder injury.

This left the dual tied 4-4, but it was Japan’s 17 classification points to China’s 16 that gave them victory in the gold medal match.

ZHOU Qian (CHN) shows excitment after Masako FURUICHI (JPN) was no longer able to compete due to a shoulder injury.

In the bronze medal bout, after dropping the first match, Mongolia went on to win three straight and five of the final seven bouts to defeated the United States. It was S. ERDENECHIMEG (MGL) at 55kg who sparked the Mongolian’s with a fall after being down 8-0 to USA Sarah HILDEBRANDT.

In the fifth place match, Russia and Ukraine traded a pair of wins and were tied after the first four matches. It was Yulia PRONTSEVITCH ​​​​​​(RUS) who broke the tie with a 1-0 victory over Sofiia BODNAR (UKR). From there, Russia took control of the match, winning two of the final three matches. Anastasia BRATCHIKOVA’S (RUS) 10-2 victory over Alla BELINSKA (UKR) gave Russia the 5-2 lead heading into 75kg, which ultimately sealed the fifth place bout for the host nation.

Yulia PRONTSEVITCH ​​​​​​(RUS) looks to finish a double leg in the fifth place bout.

Azerbaijan controlled the seventh place bout, winning six of the eight matches. Aside from the forfeit that Denise Sabina MAKOTA STROE picked up at 75kg, Sweden’s lone win came from Emma Siri Linnea BROCECK at 53kg.

RESULTS

Championship Final: Japan df. China, 4-4
48 kg Y. SUSAKI  (JPN) df. Y. SUN (CHN), 4-2
53 kg M. MUKAIDA (JPN) df. Q. PANG (CHN),4-0
55 kg N. RONG. (CHN) df. M. KADOYA  (JPN), 4-3
58 kg HANAI A. (JPN) df. Y. SUN (CHN), 6-2
60 kg Y. KAWAI  (JPN) df. X. CHEN (CHN), via FALL (2:07)
63 kg X. LUO (CHN) df. Y. ITO (JPN), 7-269 kg F. ZHOU (CHN) df. M. MORIKAWA (JPN), 8-1
75 kg Q. ZHOU Q. (CHN) df. M. FURUICHI (JPN), via INJ DEF

Third-Place: Mongolia df. United States, 5-3
48 kg V. ANTHONY  (USA) df. C. BUYANDALAI  (MGL), via FALL
53 kg O. GANBAATAR df. (MGL) H. AUGELLO (USA), 11-6
55 kg S. ERDENECHIMEG (MGL) df. S. HILDEBRANDT (USA), FALL
58 kg  B. ALTANTSETSEG (MGL) df. K. MIRACLE (USA), 6-1
60 kg A. RAGAN (USA) df. G. ENKHBAT (MGL), 4-4
63 kg O. PUREVDORJ (MGL) df. M. VELTE (USA), via FALL
69 kg B. SORONZONBOID  (MGL) df. T. MENSAH (USA), 8-7.
75 kg GRAY A. (USA) df. U. GAN OCHIR (MGL), via FALL.

Fifth-Place: Russia df. Ukraine, 5-3
48 kg I. SEMKIV (UKR) df. CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS), via FALL
53 kg S. ORSHUSH (RUS) df. O. SHNAIDER (UKR), 12-1
55 kg M. GUROVA (RUS) vs O. KREMZER (UKR), 8-2
58 kg I. CHYKHRADZE (UKR) df. K. MURTUZALIEVA (RUS), 10-0
60 kg Y. PRONTSEVITCH (RUS) df. S. BODNAR (UKR), 1-0
63 kg A. FOMENKO (RUS) df. I. KOLIADENKO (UKR), 2-2
69 kg A. BRATCHIKOVA (RUS) df. A. BELINSKA (UKR), 10-2
75 kg A. SHUSTOVA (UKR) df. J. MAKSIMOVA (RUS),10-2

Seventh-Place: Azerbaijan df. Sweden, 6-2
48 kg T. NASIROVA (AZE) df. M.  LJUNGSTROEM (SWE), 10-0
53 kg E. BROBECK (SWE)  df. S. QAMZOCLZADE S. (AZE), 7-4
55 kg S. HASHIMZADA (AZE) df. S. PETER (SWE) , 4-3
58 kg A. KOLESNIK (AZE) df. E. NILSSON (SWE), 6-4
60 kg T. OMELCHENKO (AZE) df. X X (SWE), via FORFEIT
63 kg E. GAMBAROVA (AZE) df. M. NYGREN (SWE), 5-4
69 kg E. MANOLOVA (AZE), A. SANDAHL (SWE), 3-2
75 kg D.  MAKOTA STROE (SWE) v. G. ZUTOVA (AZE), via FORFEIT

 

 

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Paris Olympics: Wrestling breaks new barriers, expands reach across continents

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 22): More than half a million new fans in the digital community. An astounding 100 million engagements. And a remarkable 134 percent increase in social media impressions compared to Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris Olympics, it was a gold medal for wrestling.

UWW

On the mat, legends were born, records were set, and some moments would be remembered for ages. Off it, the sport broke new barriers, expanded its reach and engaged with a diverse audience as the United World Wrestling digital channels witnessed unprecedented growth during the Games.

The UWW’s online platforms recorded an impressive 11.2 percent increase in followers, adding over 508,000 new fans to its digital community. Compared to the growth in followers during the Tokyo Olympics, this figure represents a staggering 125 percent increase.

A large part of this surge was seen on Instagram, where the UWW gained 217,000 new followers. Facebook was a close second, adding 183,000 new followers while TikTok, the platform known for its short, engaging content, added 61,400 new followers. The growth across all platforms highlights the effectiveness of the UWW’s content strategy.

The inspiring clip of Greco-Roman star Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), who won Iran’s first gold medal in the Paris Olympics drove the maximum engagement on Instagram. Saravi, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo, beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 4-1 in the 97kg final.

Another Iranian, Rahman AMOUZAD, one of the most feared wrestlers in the 65 kg freestyle, went viral with a video in which he proclaimed himself the ‘king’. This post had the second-highest engagement while a slick clip of Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) was the third-most viewed, captivating the viewers and leading engagements as well as interactions.

These videos – and many others shared across UWW’s social media channels – resonated strongly with audiences, garnering record-breaking views. Overall, there were 330 million impressions, a remarkable rise of 134 percent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, the content also achieved 100 million engagements, and a 71 percent increase in reach compared to the previous Olympic Games. This surge in interaction underscores the high level of interest and excitement generated by UWW’s coverage of the Olympic wrestling events.

The video content drove UWW’s social media success. Across all platforms, UWW’s video content garnered over 156 million views, an extraordinary 205 percent increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

YouTube, in particular, saw significant traction with over 21 million views. This success was fueled by a mix of short and long-form videos apart from live streaming, with shorts emerging as the most popular content format.

With more than one million views, the YouTube video of AMAN (IND) getting his revenge over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) with a win in the preliminary round. Aman, who won a bronze medal, had lost to Abakarov at the 2023 World Championships.

Chamizo’s video, Don't play with fire #WrestleParis, which went viral on Instagram was also a huge hit on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it the second-most watched video on the platform.

The Day Three highlights show which revisited one of the biggest upsets of the competition – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) defeating Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the women’s 50 kg first round – got the third-highest views on YouTube.

The UWW’s vibrant social media strategy was complemented by a robust email marketing campaign, which ran daily throughout the Olympic Games. The ongoing CRM campaigns helped boost engagement across Web, App and UWW+.