Kazakhstan's Assetuly Headlocks Way to Greco 63kg Title, Limits Iran to 3 Golds

Tuesday, April 13, 2021 - 16:54 By Ken Marantz

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 13) --- Had there been a crowd at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Culture and Sports, it would surely have gone wild over the impressive victory delivered by Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) that prevented Iran from going 4-for-4 in the finals.

Assetuly missed out on the adulation, but not the gold medal when he used the potent headlock that got him into the Greco-Roman 63kg final to secure a victory by fall over Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) at the Asian Championships on Tuesday in Almaty.

Iran still came away with three of the five Greco golds at stake on the opening day of the six-day tournament, while a Japanese teenager grabbed the other title in the spectator-less arena with coronavirus protocols firmly in place.

Assutuly was undeterred by the credentials that Dalkhani brought to Almaty that include the 2019 world U-23 title and 2020 Asian bronze medal, nor when Dalkhani built a 3-0 lead off of the par terre position. A 4-point move with a headlock roll put him on top to end the first period

In the second period, he once again got Dalkhani into a headlock for 4 points, but this time he clamped down and ended the match by fall at 3:55.

"The final was a very tough bout because Iran has the best wrestlers," said Assetuly, the silver medalist at last month's Matteo Pellicone tournament. "Before that, the semifinal and quarterfinal were very easy for me. All the three fights today I won before time, so that was good."

Assetuly was a dynamo all day, ending both of his two previous matches in the first period, the first by technical fall and the second by fall (with a headlock, of course). Having conquered the continent, he is setting his sights higher.

"I just want to win the world championships," he said. "In the next four years, I am planning to participate in the Olympics in the 67kg weight class and I want to be the champion."

A new Iranian face on the international scene emerged victorious in unheralded Naser ALIZADEH (IRI), who claimed the 87kg gold with a 3-1 victory Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ), who had to settle for the third Asian silver medal of his career.

Aliazadeh, who does not come from a wrestling family but hails from the wrestling-rich province of Mazandaran, scored with a gut wrench from the par terre position, then held off Azisbekov when he was on bottom in the second.

In the 130kg final, 2019 world junior and U-23 champion Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) picked up his first major senior title when he scored two takedowns in the final two minutes to defeat Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) 5-1.

Pejman POSHTAM (IRI), last year's silver medalist at 77kg, walked off with the gold this time without a fight, as Daler REZA ZADE (TJK) defaulted due to injury, wiping away his chance to become Tajikistan's first-ever Asian champion in Greco.

"Thank God I was finally able to win the Asian Championships gold medal," Poshtam said. "I was at the Asian Championships last year and lost to the Kazak wrestler and won the silver medal. This time I am able to win the whole tournament so it is a special moment.

"The goal of every wrestler is to win a gold medal at the Olympics. I am the same and this is a good start to that journey. I wrestled everyone with a lot of courage and I was successful."

Ironically, Poshtam only wrestled two of four scheduled matches. After winning his qualification match, he had a bye into the semifinals because both wrestlers in the bracket feeding into his quarterfinal had withdrawn from the tournament.

In his senior debut, Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) defeated Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) in the 55kg gold-medal match. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Teen Shiotani makes mark in senior debut

In the lone final without an Iranian, 19-year-old Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) made his second international tournament and first as a senior a memorable one by stunning 2019 Asian champion Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) at 55kg.

Shiotani shrugged off a 5-0 deficit in the second period, launching a pair of dynamic 5-point throws in chalking up a 17-7 technical fall victory over Bakhromov, who was looking to regain the Asian title he had won in 2019 in Xi'an, China.

"I don't know how to react to this because I have never felt this emotion before," Shiotani said. "This is my first-ever international medal and now I have my first ever gold medal. Today's bouts were so good and I am excited about this."

By beating Bakhromov, Shiotani did what Hiromu KATAGIRI (JPN), his senior teammate back at Takushoku University who handily defeated him in the last two finals of the All-Japan Championships, couldn't do.

It was Katagiri whom Bakhromov defeated for the 2019 gold, but Shiotani showed his career is heading upward with his masterful handling of the Uzbek -- although not so much at first.

Bakhromov took advantage of the par terre position in the first period, smoothly executing two gut wrenches for a 5-0 lead.

But in the second period, Shiotani got maximum output from his shot at par terre. Using a reverse lift, he wheeled Bakhromov through the air for 5 points, then, keeping his grip, slammed him down for 5 more and a 11-5 lead.

When Shiotani pressed forward with a bear hug, Bakhromov countered as he fell backward and over the edge. In a flurry that needed some time to sort out, Shiotani was given 4 points for the initial move, Bakhromov 2 for the counter, then Shiotani 2 more for a second exposure, ending the match with :31 left.

"I don't really remember the match," Shiotani said after the medal ceremony, at which the national anthem was played for him for the first time. "But standing on the medal podium, standing on top and hearing the national anthem, it gradually sunk in."

Last December, Shiotani lost in the final at nationals for the second straight year to Katagiri, but was picked for the team to Almaty because Katagiri has ostensibly gone into retirement following graduation.

With this boost in confidence, Shiotani is setting his sights on bigger stakes. This performance makes him the favorite at next month's All-Japan Invitational Championships, which will serve as a domestic qualifier for the World Championships slated for October in Oslo.

"I still have a national competition ahead, and I want to have a good result and make it to the World Championships," said Shiotani, whose only previous international competition was the 2016 World Cadet Championships, where he placed ninth.

Meanwhile, in a bronze-medal battle between Tokyo Olympic-bound wrestlers, a 2-point penalty for grabbing the legs late in the second period gave Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) a 2-2 victory over Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) at 87kg.

Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) will be taking home a second bronze medal from Almaty after he defeated Urmatbek AMATOV (KGZ) 3-0 in the third-place match at 63kg.

His other bronze might be considered more of a consolation prize, as it came at 60kg in the Asian Olympic qualifier and left him short of the two spots available at the Tokyo Games.

In the other 63kg bronze-medal match, Muhamad FWAZ (SYR) was denied in a bid to become Syria's ninth Asian medalist in history and first in 13 years when he fell 7-5 to Jui Chi HUANG (TPE).

Murat RAMONOV (KGZ) earned a fifth career Asian bronze medal dating back to 2009 -- he also has a silver from 2016 -- by defeating Sukhrob FATTOEV (UZB) 5-1 at 130kg.

Minseok KIM (KOR), the silver medalist at 130kg a year ago, gave Korea its third bronze of the night by rolling to a 9-0 technical fall victory over Sota OKUMURA (JPN).

Day 1 Finals

Greco-Roman

55kg (10 entries)
GOLD - Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) df. Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) by TF, 17-7, 5:28
BRONZE - Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ) df. Sandeep SANDEEP (IND), 11-5
BRONZE - Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK) by TF, 9-0, 1:19

63kg (12 entries)
GOLD - Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) df. Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) by Fall, 3:55 (8-3)
BRONZE - Jui Chi HUANG (TPE) df. Muhamad FWAZ (SYR), 7-5
BRONZE - Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) df. Urmatbek AMATOV (KGZ), 3-0

77kg (12 entries)
GOLD - Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) df. Daler REZA ZADE (TJK) by Default
BRONZE - Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) df. Muhammetberdi MAMEDOV (TKM) by TF, 9-0, 4:33
BRONZE - Kairatbek TUGOLBAEV (KGZ) df. Singh GURPREET (IND), 5-0

87kg (10 entries)
GOLD - Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) df. Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ), 3-1
BRONZE - Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) df. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ), 2-2
BRONZE - Seunghwan LEE (KOR) df. Tokhirdzhon OKHONOV (TJK), 6-1

130kg (8 entries)
GOLD - Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) df. Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ), 5-1
BRONZE - Minseok KIM (KOR) df. Sota OKUMURA (JPN) by TF, 9-0, 1:49
BRONZE - Murat RAMONOV (KGZ) df. Sukhrob FATTOEV (UZB), 5-1

#WrestleAlmaty

Bolat Turlykhanov Cup: Yildirim, Kamal star for Turkey on day one

Thursday, June 2, 2022 - 18:05 By Vinay Siwach

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (June 2) -- Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) thought he passed his toughest test in Almaty as he defeated arch-rival and world champion Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) in a 2-2 comeback. But little did he expect that Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) will hand him a shock defeat in the final at 130kg.

The U23 world champion was the favorite to win the gold at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup, the second Ranking Series event of the year, but Yildrim scored from par terre while Mirzazadeh failed to do the same. That proved to be the difference as the Turkey youngster won his second straight Ranking Series gold. His first was at home in Istanbul where he won gold over Beka KANDELAKI (AZE).

Yildirim scored wins over Anton SAVENKO (KAZ), 5-0, Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO), 3-0 and Asian champion Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) 3-1 to reach the final.

"I saw that my opponent in the final would be the Iranian wrestler," Yildirim said. "I concentrated a lot to prepare well. I know that the wrestlers from Iran and Georgia are very strong. The match was really tough. I was preparing and glad that it paid off."

Mirzazadeh began the day on a strong note with a 9-0 win over SATISH (IND) before advancing to the semifinal against Yousofi, who defeated Olympic silver Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) 8-0 in the quarterfinal.

Apart from exchanging the passivity points, Mirzazadeh and Yousofi had one stepout each in the semifinal but Mirzazadeh scored the latest point to claim the win.

Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) scored two points from par terre to win against Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI). (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

In the gold-medal bout, Mirzazadeh got the first point for Yildirim's inactivity and led 1-0. But the Iran Olympian gave up a point in the second period and Yildirim got the gut from par terre to lead 3-1 even as a surprised Mirzazadeh tried hard to score. He managed to push Yildirim after the gut wrench but could not score two more points which would have helped him win.

"It was very bad. I can't explain what happened there but I hope that I will be better at the World Championships," Mirzazadeh said.

The Bolat Turlykhanov Cup in Almaty was the first step towards selecting the team for World Championships for Iran but now it may need to find another path.

Although Mirzazadeh defeated Yousofi, missing the gold medal proves that he has the chinks in the armor which may push Iran coaches to rethink their selection.

For Yildirim, it will be a tough road to Belgrade as well as he has to go through four-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) to earn the spot on the team.

"I am ready to work hard to get the 130kg spot in the national team and I believe I will get it," he said. "We are glad that we have such an amazing wrestler as Kayaalp on our national team. The younger generation can take him as an example."

Kerem KAMAL (TUR) won the 63kg gold medal in Almaty. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another Turkey star who claimed the gold medal in Almaty was European champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR).

The three-time U20 world champ moved up a weight class to 63kg after winning the European Championships and came home with the second gold in two months as he won the 63kg weight class in dominating fashion.

He was drawn on the same side of the bracket as world silver medalist Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) and the two clashed in the quarterfinals. Sharshenbekov began on strong and got the first points with a takedown. But Kamal that behind and scored a four-pointer from par terre to lead 5-2 at the break.

Kamal scored four points in the second period to Sharshenbekov's one to claim a 9-3 win his first Ranking Series gold medal this year.

"The Asian wrestlers are the strongest opponents for me and Zholaman [Sharshenbekov] is a very tough opponent as well," Kamal said. "It was a great experience for me to wrestle him at 63kg here."

The two had earlier met five years ago in the U20 World Championships final in Tampere which Kamal won 12-3.

"It was an amazing match against Zholaman," he said. "Five years ago, back in 2017, we wrestled in the U20 World final. I am so happy I won today. With the help of God, I will achieve good results."

In the final, he hammered Bagylan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) 11-0 after two big throws for four points each from par terre.

With a great start to the year, Kamal now wants to win his first senior world medal and is focused on achieving that result in Belgrade, exactly 100 days from Thursday.

"Today [Thursday] I found out that there are 100 days left for the World Championships, that's why it's important to stay in a good shape, continue the training, and get ready for the World Championships."

Turkey collected its third gold medal through two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) as he defeated Mahdi FALLAH (IRI) with a first-period fall.

Basar, with the retirement of Cenk ILDIM (TUR), moved up to the 97kg weight class after a decade at 87kg and has begun well with gold at the Ranking Series event.

The match winning move from Abror ATABAEV (UZB) against world champion Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) in the 67kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

New star

On a giant-killing spree in Almaty, Abror ATABAEV (UZB) first spoiled the return of Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) and later pinned Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) with ease to win the 67kg gold medal.

The 19-year-old left the arena with a number of new fans as they requested Atabaev for photos after he won his first senior-level gold medal.

In the semifinal against Dalkhani, Atabev was trailing 3-1 with five seconds left when he locked the world champion and pulled off a throw to get two points and win 3-3. Dalkhani had his arms locked in an uncomfortable position and landed on his left arm which got injured during the move.

"I am still at the U20 level so this is completely different," Atabaev said. "The wrestling style of the opponents, their technique and strength are completely different. But I could win today."

The 2018 U17 world champion, who was introduced to wrestling by his father when he was four years old, said that he had prepared well for the bout against Dalkhani and remembered to wrestle until the end.

"He is a World champion and is very strong," he said. "I was getting ready for the match as the one who wasn't expected to win. But I proved to everyone that I deserve it. My coaches helped me to understand his wrestling, so I could win at the last second because I always wrestle till the very end."

Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) won the 55kg gold medal in Almaty. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran did collect three gold medals out of the seven that were on offer on day one of the competition.

Another junior world champion from 2017 Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) secured the first gold of the night as he defeated Marlan MUKASHEV (KAZ) 4-2 in a tense final at 55kg. The U23 World silver medalist got the first point for Mukashev's passivity and then got a gut wrench from par terre.

However, when he was trying a second gut wrench, Dad Marz got stuck midway through the roll and Mukashev tried securing a fall via headlock. But Dad Marz quickly got to safety. In the second period, Mukashev was again called passive but instead of asking for a par terre, Dad Marz was happy to resume the bout from standing. He defended his 4-2 lead till the clock expired.

Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI) outscored his opponents 27-0 to win the gold. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The second gold was secured by Ali Reza NEJATI who won the 60kg weight class.

In an all-Iran final, Nejati dominated compatriot Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI) to win the gold medal. He pulled off a four-point throw from par terre after getting a point for Naserpour's passivity. He later scored a stepout to lead 6-0 at the break.

In the second period, he was awarded another point for inactivity and finished the bout with an exposure throw for two points. The Tokyo Olympian competed for the first time since finishing with a bronze medal at the U23 World Championships in November last year.

Overall, he outscored his opponents 27-0 in the three bouts he wrestled to win the gold.

Ramin TAHERISARTANG (IRI) won the 87kg gold in Almaty. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

The final gold for Iran was won by Ramin TAHERISARTANG (IRI) as he defeated Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) 2-1 in the 87kg final.

The bout began with some aggressive wrestling by the two but the Iranian was called passive and as Rikadze tried to get a roll going, he got caught on his back which gave Taherisartang the two points. The second period saw a lot of action but no scoring move as Rikadze suffered a close loss.

Results

55kg
GOLD: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Marlan MUKASHEV (KAZ), 4-3

BRONZE: Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK) df. Arjun HALAKURKI (IND), 13-4
BRONZE: Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB) df. Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO), 14-5

60kg
GOLD: Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI) df. Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI), 9-0

BRONZE: Yernur FIDAKHMETOV (KAZ) df. Firuz MIRZORADZHABOV (TJK), 4-2
BRONZE: Mukhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB) df. Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB), via fall

63kg
GOLD: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df Bagylan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ), 11-0

BRONZE: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ), via inj. def.
BRONZE: NEERAJ (IND) df. Ahmet UYAR (TUR), via fall

67kg
GOLD: Abror ATABAEV (UZB) df. Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO), via fall

BRONZE: Madiyar MALTEKBAYEV (KAZ) df. Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ), 9-6
BRONZE: Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) df. Meysam DALKHANI (IRI), via inj. def.

87kg
GOLD: Ramin TAHERISARTANG (IRI) df. Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO), 2-1

BRONZE: A. AZISBEKOV (KGZ) df. Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ), 6-5
BRONZE: Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) df. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Metehan BASAR (TUR) df. Mahdi FALLAH (IRI), via fall

BRONZE: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) df. Umalt DAUDOV (KAZ), 10-2
BRONZE: Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ) df. Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), 7-4

130kg
GOLD: Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) df. Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), 3-2

BRONZE: Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) df. SATISH (IND), 9-0
BRONZE: Anton SAVENKO (KAZ) df. Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ), 6-1

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Kazakhstan's Assetuly Headlocks Way to Greco 63kg Title, Limits Iran to 3 Golds

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Bolat Turlykhanov Cup: Yildirim, Kamal star for Turkey on day one