#WrestleIstanbul

Live Blog: Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series Day 3

Saturday, February 26, 2022 - 07:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 26) -- The Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series event enters the third day with six women's and two men's freestyle weight classes in action.

Three-time Ranking Series gold medalist Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) will be in action at 55kg and can face world champion Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) in the later stages of the tournament. Junior world champion Emma MALMGREN (SWE) and world silver medalist Iulia LEORDA (MDA) are wrestling at 53kg with Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) also in the same bracket. In the men's 97kg bracket, Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) makes a comeback since the Tokyo Olympics.

MATCH ORDER | LIVE STREAM

15:55: A pin for Winchester! She puts Phogat on the back and there is no resistance from the Indian wrestler. Winchester wins her semifinal. At 53kg, world silver medalist Iulia LEORDA (MDA) pulls off a 4-4 semifinal against Milana DADASHEVA (RWF)

15:50: No space given by either wrestler. Phogat is put on the clock in the second period. She has 30 seconds to score. Winchester gets the point. She leads 1-1. A go behind to extend the lead 3-1. She also gets exposure for two more. 5-1 Winchester. Phogat gets a stepout and a caution point. 5-3 Winchester.

15:40: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) and Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) are on Mat C for their 55kg semifinal. A minute goes by and no points on the board by any wrestler. Both wrestlers get verbal warnings for inactivity. Winchester is put on the clock first. Phogat gets the one point. Phogat tried the whip while Winchester went for a double leg. None materializing. Phogat leads 1-0 at the break

15: 20: Anna SCHELL (GER) and Buse CAVUSOGLU TOSUN (TUR) is just what we needed. Tosun had a 9-2 lead but then Schell worked hard to get it to 11-13. Exposure to make it 13-13 for the German before she closed it out 15-13. 28 points in that 72kg semifinal

15:05: Taha AKGUL (TUR) is into the semifinal at 125kg. He beats Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ) 6-1 with a quick takedown and roll. On Mat B, Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) rolls on with another technical superiority win at 97kg

15:00: Forrest MOLINARI (USA) avenges her Ivan Yargiun Grand Prix loss to Emma BRUNTIL (USA) with a pin at 65kg. A cradle to the back to get the fall

14:50: Zhabrailov's strength is just a notch higher than Moore's and he takes the bout 8-2. Taha AKGUL (TUR) coming up on Mat A 

14:45: Kollin MOORE (USA) and Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RWF) are wrestling on Mat A. The RWF wrestler is up 4-2 at the break. Moore needs a big comeback here

14:35: Forrest MOLINARI (USA) vs Emma BRUNTIL (USA) is coming up on Mat B next!

14:30: Emilia VUC (ROU) moves into the semifinal at 50kg with a 10-5 win over Amy FEARNSIDE (USA). She looks on a mission here in Istanbul

14:25: A big bout at 97kg. Kollin Raymond MOORE (USA) will be up against Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RWF) on Mat A shortly. Could be some fireworks. The other semifinal will have Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) and Mustafa SESSIZ (TUR)

14:15: Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) continues her winning run at 59kg. She has got another pin and will be moving into the semifinals later in the evening.

13:55: Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) over Ekaterina ISAKOVA (RWF) 9-5. Winchester completely tired out Isakova to move on at 55kg. A Phogat-Winchester bout on the line

13:45: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) was in real trouble against ANJU (IND) after she gave up a four and lost the challenge. But she managed a takedown in the final 15 seconds to secure an 8-7 win. 

13:25: USA wrestlers Emma BRUNTIL and Frank MOLINARI remain on course to face each other as the former wins 10-0 while Molinari pins her opponent

13:05: Tokyo bronze medalist Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) in her elements as she goes past Pooja GEHLOT (IND) 12-1 at 53kg. Just too easy for the Mongolian

12:55: World silver medalist Iulia LEORDA (MDA) had two chances to pin Emma MALMGREN (SWE) but the Sweden wrestler survived both times. But Leorda gets in the third time. Looks like Malmgrem might have got stuck in a lock there. 

12:50: Taha AKGUL (TUR) is moving on! He dominates Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB) and makes it looks easy. 11-0 win for him

12:40: Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) with a statement win over Erin GOLSTON (USA). She moves on at 50kg. On Mat A, we have Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER) leading Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) 6-1 at 125kg. He pins to win

12:20:  Two-time world medalist Emilia VUC (ROU) is on Mat B. She is wrestling Evin DEMIRHAN YAVUZ (TUR) who has a lot of support in the arena. Vuc leads 1-0 after Demirhan was called for inactivity. A takedown to add two more. Vuc defending every shot attempt from Demirhan. But the Turkey wrestler has a cradle looking for pin. But the clock runs out. Vuc hangs on for a 3-2 win. Wait... There's a challenge from Turkey. Demirhan is asking for another exposure. Challenge lost and it's actually Vuc's move. She gets two points for exposure. One point for Demirhan for reversal. 6-1 win for Vuc

12:00: European champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) was not starting the day in any other style. She pins Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) inside two minutes to win her first bout at 59kg

11:45: Former world champion Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) led 7-0 at the break and then needs 43 seconds more to finish her qualification bout 11-0 against KAPPAR (KAZ).

11:44: World bronze medalist Sartita MOR (IND) is up against Jowita WRZESIEN (POL). The two start off on a slow note. Wrzesin is called passive and Mor has a 1-0 lead. The Poland wrestler scores a takedown and leads 2-1. A takedown for Mor and it's 3-2 for her. Dying moments of the bout Wrzseien seals it with another to win 4-3

11:40: A single leg takedown to finish things off. It's 11-0 win for the Iran wrestler. A comeback on a positive note for the Tokyo Olympian.

11:35: Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) is up on Mat C. He is wrestling Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB). A takedown on the edge for Mohammdian to begin the proceedings. He is up 2-0. A step out to add one more. He adds another takedown plus a gut wrench. One more and he leads 9-0 at the break.

11:25: Junior world champion Emma MALMGREN (SWE) begins the day with a convincing pin over Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RWF). Some clean shots from her to be up 8-1 before getting the fall

11:10: Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) is wrestling Asian champion Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) at 125kg. Back and forth from the two with Rakhimov leading Yergali 4-4 on criteria. He then gets a takedown close to the danger zone and makes it 6-4. Huge win on his comeback from Rakhimov. He wins 8-4

10:55: Taha AKGUL (TUR) is making his way to Mat A. A loud section of fans. He is wrestling Gabriel TYSZ (SVK). That was quick. Akgul begins with an 11-0 win

10:30: Welcome to the third day of the Ranking Series event here in Istanbul. Women's and men's freestyle wrestlers will be in action in what promises to be an action-packed day.

#WrestleTirana

Defending champ Azizli among 3 Azerbaijan wrestlers to make finals

Monday, October 28, 2024 - 20:45 By Ken Marantz

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TIRANA, Albania (October 28) -- Olympics or not, the intensity is still the same as Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) drives for a third consecutive world title and fourth overall.

Azizli advanced to the final at Greco 55kg, one of three Azerbaijani wrestlers to make it to the four gold-medal matches on the opening day of the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Monday in Tirana.

Joining Azizli in Tuesday's Greco finals will be Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) at 63kg and Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) at 72kg, the latter of whom will be facing defending champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA).

At 82kg, Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) earned a shot at winning his first world gold to go with three bronzes he previously won at 71kg or 77kg. But younger brother and Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) was dealt a stunning loss at 72kg, while reigning 63kg champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) was knocked out in the quarterfinals. Neither one was pulled into the repechage and will leave Tirana empty-handed.

Azizli was virtually untouchable in storming into the 55kg final, easily putting away two-time European bronze medalist Denis MIHAI (ROU) 9-0 in the semifinals for his third technical fall of the day without conceding a point.

Azizli started with a front headlock for 2. Put on top in par terre, he executed a gut wrench, then ended the proceedings in 1:47 with a nifty 4-point throw for his third win in three career meetings with Mihai -- all by technical fall.

In the final, Azizli will face another familiar foe in Asian silver medalist Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), a bronze medalist in Budapest who advanced by defeating Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN) with his second straight 1-1 victory.

Azizli, a two-time European champion and six-time medalist, is 3-0 in career clashes with Dad Marz, most recently beating him at the Budapest Ranking Series in June and including a 3-2 win in the semifinals at the 2023 worlds.

Mammadli, this year's European champion at 60kg, earned his first-ever berth in a world final when he powered to a 6-1 semifinal victory at 63kg over Tokyo Olympian Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), who knocked off Abuladze 5-2 in the second round.

Mammadli trailed 1-0 on a passivity point going into the second period when he came alive, using the aggressive Aslanyan's momentum to score 4 with a counter pancake, then used underhooks to drop him for 2 more.

Next up for the gold will be Asian champion Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ), who made short work of Sadyk LALAEV (AIN), scoring a 4-point throw in the first 10 seconds of their semifinal and adding another with an arm throw to finish up an 8-0 win in exactly a minute.

Lalaev had won the final world qualifier for the Paris Olympics at 60kg, but was among those from Russia or Belarus who were either declared ineligible or decided not to participate.

At 72kg, 2022 world silver medalist Ganizade and the Egyptian-born Ghanem set up a rematch of the 2023 European final, which the Azeri won 7-7 in a nail-biter.

Ganizade, this year's European silver medalist, earned a shot at a world gold with a 6-0 victory over Asian bronze medalist Ji LENG (CHN), who had ousted two-time world bronze medalist Selcuk CAN (TUR) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

After scoring a stepout, Ganizade gained a passivity point and, from par terre, hit a throw that didn't turn Leng but became 4 points when he kept driving and exposed the Chinese's back.

Ghanem came out on top 6-1 of an at-times-tempetous tussle with Iranian-born former world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB), an opponent with whom he had split two previous encounters.

A pair of stepouts and a passivity point gave Ghanem a 3-0 lead going into the second period. An unsuccessful Serbian challenge when Arsalan was on top of par terre made it 4-1, then Ghanem put the bout on ice by spinning behind for a takedown.

Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) made it to his World Championships final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 82kg, the elder Geraei was on the receiving end of a passivity point in each period for a 2-0 win over European bronze medalist Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO). It was a far cry from his previous two matches when he had a 4-point throw in 7-2 and 14-6 victories.

Geraei, who took home world bronzes in 2017, 2019 and 2021 and finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, will face an impressive Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) in his first global final.

Szilvassy, already assured of his first major medal, scored 2 with an arm throw in the first period and held on for a 3-2 victory over Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR). Earlier, he defeated two-time world medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

The biggest shock of the day came three matches into the competition when the younger Geraei was knocked off 11-3 in the qualification round at 72kg by unheralded Benjamin PEAK (USA).

Geraei looked like it would be just another day at the office when the former world champion scored an early takedown. But Peak, whose lone major medal is a bronze from the 2019 Pan Am U20 Championships, came back with a takedown and throw that, with a 2-point leg penalty tacked on, gave him a 6-2 lead. Geraei cut the gap with a stepout just before the break.

Peak kept the pressure on and countered for another takedown, then caught Geraei in a lapse and bulled him backward for a 2-point exposure that ended the match with 30 seconds left.

When Peak fell in the next round to Dominik ETLINGER (CRO), it ended Geraei's hopes of adding to his full collection of world medals -- the 2021 champion also has a silver from 2022 and bronze from 2023, all at 67kg.

Geraei missed out on a chance to defend his Olympic title in Paris when he lost a playoff for Iran's spot at 67kg to Saeid ESMAELI (IRI), who kept the title in Iranian hands.

The tournament continues Monday with the women's competition through the semifinals at 55kg, 59kg, 65kg and 72kg before the Greco finals at night. Among those in action will be two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO (JPN).

Day 1 Results

Greco-Roman

55kg (16 entries)
SF: Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) df. Denis MIHAI (ROU) by TF, 9-0, 1:47
SF: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN), 1-1

63kg (21 entries)
SF: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), 6-1
SF: Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ) df. Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) by TF, 8-0, 1:00

72kg (28 entries)
SF: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) df. Ali ARSALAN (SRB), 6-1
SF: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Ji LENG (CHN), 6-0

82kg (28 entries)
SF: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR), 3-2
SF: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 2-0