#WrestleAlmaty

LIVE BLOG: Asian Olympic Qualifiers, Day Three

Sunday, April 11, 2021 - 04:30 By United World Wrestling Press

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We have our 12 qualifiers in men's freestyle from Almaty. Uzbekistan was the top team with four qualifiers while Iran captured three spots for the Tokyo Olympics. China managed two for itself as Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Kazakhstan go home with one each. 

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

1945 hrs: Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) is the champion of 125kg as he beats Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) 4-2 in the final

1930 hrs: Gold medal for Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)! Uzbekistan veteran Magomed Idrisovitch IBRAGIMOV (UZB) will give an injury default victory to the Iran wrestler

1915 hrs: Zushen LIN (CHN) gave Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) a tough fight but he will go down 3-7 in the 86kg final.

1900 hrs: We have injury forfeit at the 74kg final and Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) will take home the gold medal. Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) finishes with a silver

1835 hrs: What a match! - Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) was leading 12-8 after a too and fro five minutes but Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) comes back to get two exposures and make it 12-12 and claim the gold medal at 65kg. Iran is challenging. But Akmataliev will win the gold medal after a revised score of 15-12

1815 hrs: Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) is your gold medalist in Almaty at 57kg after he wins 10-0 win over Minghu LIU (CHN)

1800 hrs: Welcome back! We are ready for our medal bouts. First up will be the 57kg bronze medal bouts

1415 hrs: We have our 12 quota winners!

57kg: Minghu LIU (CHN) and Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
65kg: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) and Amirmohammad  YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)
74kg: Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI and Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV
86kg: Zushen LIN (CHN) and Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB)
97kg: Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) and Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB)
125kg: Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) and Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)

1310 hrs: Liu with a pair of takedowns and he is up 4-1 but Ikromov counters with his own. Liu gets an exposure and he will win 6-3. Abdullaev will qualify Uzbekistan for Tokyo as he beats Uulu 8-4

1300 hrs: 57kg semifinals are underway. Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) is leading Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) 6-0 at the break while Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK) is up 1-0 against M LIU (CHN)

1215 hrs: There will be a 45 minute break before we start the semifinals! 12 wrestlers will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics

1200 hrs: At 57kg, Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) will take on Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) while Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK) will wrestle M LIU (CHN) for a ticket to Tokyo

1150 hrs: Kazakhstan are having a field day! Azamat DAULETBEKOV and Yusup BATIRMURZAEV have reached the semifinals at 97kg and 125kg respectively

1130 hrs: We have some our semifinalists set already! Haji ALI (BRN) will wrestle Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) for a spot in the final of 65kg1120 hrs: Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) does it in style. He advances to the semifinal with 10-0 win

1110 hrs: Haji ALI (BRN) is tied 1-1 against Junsik YUN (KOR) in their 65kg quarter-final. On Mat B after this bout we will have the Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)

1055 hrs: Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) begins with a 11-0 win against Naoya AKAGUMA (JPN). He looks poised to get that quota for Iran

1040 hrs: A first period technical superiority for Ilyas BEKABULATOV (UZB) at 65kg. In the next bout, Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) also wins by technical superiority against Alymuhammet OVEZMYRADOV (TKM)

1030 hrs: Off we go! Freestyle wrestling here in Almaty and we have some superstars to watch Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB), Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI), Haji ALI (BHN)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

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

Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 14:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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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+.