#WrestleSofia

Live Blog: U20 World Championships, Day 6

By Vinay Siwach

SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 20) -- The U20 World Championships are at the business end of the tournament. The final qualification rounds will be held Saturday. The Greco-Roman weight classes in action are 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The semifinals for the evening session are set

60kg
Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) vs. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
SUMIT (IND) vs. Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)

67kg
Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) vs. Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) vs. Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE)

72kg
Amir ABDI (IRI) vs. Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) vs. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

82kg​​​​​​​
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) vs. Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR) vs. Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)

97kg​​​​​​​
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) vs. Nurmanbet RAIMALY UULU (KGZ)
​​​​​​​Richard KARELSON (EST) vs. Ali ABEDIDARZI (IRI) 

14:20: Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) began his quarterfinal with a takedown against Robert PEREZ (USA) and that proved crucial as he won the bout 3-3 at 67kg

14:05: The quarterfinals at 67kg

Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) vs. Robert PEREZ (USA)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN) vs. Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Yanis NIFRI (FRA) vs. Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) vs. Ilyosjon ABDINAZAROV (UZB) 

13:55: Alperen BERBER (TUR) over Mihai GUTU (MDA) at 82kg! Berber allows Gutu to take the passivity but then scores four points including a takedown to win 4-1. 

13:30: At 82kg, Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) moves into the quarterfinals after beating Shan LIN (TPE), 9-0. He will face  Fares GHALY (EGY) next.

13:05: Returning silver medalist at 67kg Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) beats Abdelrahman OMAR (EGY) 9-0 as he tries for the second straight final at U20 Worlds.

12:40: U20 European champion Richard KARELSON (EST) beats Harutyun KIRAKOSYAN (ARM) 2-0 at 97kg. He is trying to become Estonia's first-ever U20 World Championships medal

12:20: U17 world champion Alperen BERBER (TUR) makes a big comeback after being down against  Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM). He wins 13-10 at 82kg.

12:05: Marek VRBA (CZE) cannot believe what just happened in the bout against James HOLDER (RSA). The scoreline read 8-0 in Holder's favor after two big throws. But the Czech Republic challenged the final call for a reversal. It was confirmed in the review. Vrba then scored an 18-10 win.

11:52: Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) comes back from a 4-0 deficit to secure an 8-4 win over returning bronze medalist Ankit GULIA (IND). He used a headlock to score a four and held Gulia in danger for 2 minutes 

11:45: At 67kg, Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) with a huge 8-3 win over Alexei HAHLOVSCHI (MDA) in the opening round

11:32: Amir ABDI (IRI) was in some trouble Eito NISHIDA (JPN) scored a takedown but Abdi hangs on for a 4-2 win at 72kg. At the same weight, Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) beats Elsi MARTINEZ (MEX) 9-0

Deepak PUNIA (IND) led 3-0 but Georgios BARBANOS (SWE) hits a four to win 4-4 on criteria.

11:25: The 72kg qualifications will be the first to go on the mat. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO) begins his day with a 10-1 win over Omer DOGAN (TUR)

11:00: Welcome to day six of the U20 World Championships in Sofia. The Greco-Roman wrestlers are ready to get the day going with the qualification bouts.

Development

Saudi Wrestling Federation growing wrestling through education

By United World Wrestling Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (12 October) – The Saudi Wrestling Federation has been organizing coaching and referee courses to grow and develop wrestling within their country over the past few years. Their hard work led to their first-ever silver medal at the U20 Asian Championships. Manthr Jndu achieved this at 63kg in Greco-Roman.

In late April, they organized two more courses (Level 1 Coaching Course and Introduction to Refereeing Course) for new coaches and referees. The Saudi Wrestling Federation held these courses in partnership with United World Wrestling.  

Mr. Hassan MADANY (EGY) and Mr. Juan Luis MAREN (CUB) conducted the Level 1 Coaching Course, and Mr. Sherif HALAWA (EGY) and Mr. Mohsen YAMANI (KSA—Chief of Saudi Referees) led the Introduction to Refereeing course. The courses were held from 28 April to 2 May and included 91 participants (22 women) from 8 nationalities, including participants from EGY, MAR, SYR, SUD, NGR, JOR, KGZ, and KSA residing in Saudi Arabia.

The coaching course had 71 participants, including 17 women coaches. The Level 1 Course is the Introduction to Coaching and Safety. During the course, the participants participated in theoretical and practical sessions. Some of the topics covered were discovery games, introducing a new technique, coaching skills, giving feedback, risk management, age, and developmental stage characteristics.  The coaches actively practiced and developed their skills during the course through practical evaluations. Overall, the coaches gained important knowledge and skills to help them improve in their role as coaches.  

The Introduction to Refereeing Course had 20 participants, including 5 women referees. The participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee.  The areas covered during the course included the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout.  The participants were active during the course and could practice their skills through practical evaluations. 

During the courses, there were sessions involving both referees and coaches, led by Mr. Halawa. This allowed both groups to work together and better learn wrestling rules.