Toronto, Pan Am Games

Lopez Wins Fourth, Silva Gets First Gold for Brazil in Pan Am Games

Friday, July 17, 2015 - 03:56 By William May

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TORONTO, Canada (July 16) – Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) won his fourth wrestling gold medal at the Pan American Games on Thursday and Joice SILVA (BRA) improved on her bronze medal from four years ago by bagging Brazil’s first wrestling gold medal in the history of the Games.

For Lopez, who cruised into the 130kg final on two technical falls in the afternoon session, it was business as usual as he rolled up Andres AYUB (CHI) with a pair of takedowns and turns for a third technical fall in the evening and the gold medal.

With the triumph, Lopez joins fellow Greco-Roman greats Hector MILIAN (CUB) and Juan MAREN (CUB) as the only wrestlers, thus far, to achieve the feat at the Pan American Games.

Silva, meanwhile, battled throughout the first day of women’s events at Mississauga Sports Center, coming from behind to win three bouts at 58kg by a margin of four points for the gold medal.

In Thursday evening’s finale, Silva surrendered a four-point takedown to 2013 Pan American championships winner Yakeline ESTORNELL (CUB) early, but battled back to narrow the deficit to 5-4 by the break.

A late takedown that landed out of bounds in the second period knotted the score for Silva and a penalty point made it 6-5 for the jubilant Silva and the Brazilian fans in the arena.

Earlier in the evening, Yasmany LUGO (CUB) cranked Pan American junior champ Kevin MEJIA (HON) over with a windmill throw and pressed for the fall in the 98kg final to claim his first Games crown.

Lugo and Lopez gave Cuba its only gold medals of the Greco-Roman competition after being held to two bronze medals the previous day. The two gold medals lifted Cuba to second in the final Greco-Roman team rankings with 40 points, nine points behind the United States with two gold medals, a silver and two bronze.

Women’s wrestling also got under way with reigning Pan American championships winner Genevieve MORRISON (CAN) racing out to a 4-0 lead, then holding on to a 5-4 victory over Thalia MALLQUI (PER) for the gold medal.

Despite the loss, Mallqui’s silver medal was the best finish yet for Peru in women’s wrestling.

At 53kg, Whitney CONDER (USA) came out on top of a scramble in the first period and with the help of a penalty point in the second period, fashioned a 3-2 win over Alma VALENCIA (MEX). Valencia’s silver medal was the first medal in women’s wrestling at the Games.

Thursday’s Medal Match Results
Greco-Roman - 98kg
GOLD: Yasmany LUGO (CUB) df. Kevin MEJIA (HON) by Fall
BRONZE: Luillys PEREZ (VEN) df. Jose ROCHA (MEX), 4-0
BRONZE: Davi ALBINO (BRA) df. Oscar LOANGO (COL), 5-1

Greco-Roman - 130kg
GOLD: Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) df. Andres AYUB (CHI) by TF, 8-0
BRONZE: Josue ENCARNACION (DOM) df. Charles THOMS (CAN), 2-0
BRONZE: Robby SMITH (USA) df. Moises PEREZ (VEN) by Default

Women’s Wrestling - 48kg
GOLD: Genevieve MORRISON (CAN) df. Thalia MALLQUI (PER), 5-4
BRONZE: Alyssa LAMPE (USA) df. Yusnelis GUZMAN (CUB) by TF, 12-2
BRONZE: Carolina CASTILLO (COL) df. Angelica BUSTOS (ECU), 1-1

Women’s Wrestling - 53kg
GOLD: Whitney CONDER (USA) df. Alma VALENCIA (MEX), 3-2
BRONZE: Yamilka DEL VALLE (CUB) – uncontested
BRONZE: Betzabeth ARGUELLO (VEN) df. Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) by Fall

Women’s Wrestling - 58kg
GOLD: Joice SILVA (BRA) df. Yakelin ESTORNELL (CUB), 6-5
BRONZE: Lissette ANTES (ECU) df. Sandra ROA (COL) by TF, 12-1
BRONZE: Yanet SOVERO (PER) df. Alejandra ROMERO (MEX), 6-6 

2026 U20 Asian Championships

China's Yang Turns Weight-Loss Plan into Historic U20 Asian Gold

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 - 10:04 By Vinay Siwach

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PATTAYA, Thailand (July 6) -- Even Yuanchong YANG (CHN) could not help but appreciate the irony.

Yang was introduced to wrestling because he was overweight. His parents simply wanted their youngest son to lose a few kilos. Instead, he created history for China, becoming the country's heaviest-ever Asian Freestyle champion.

China won only one Freestyle medal at the 2026 U20 Asian Wrestling Championships in Pattaya, Thailand but Yang made sure it was a historic one.

The 97kg wrestler claimed the gold medal to become China's first-ever U20 Asian champion in Freestyle and only the sixth Chinese to win an Asian Freestyle title at any level. He also surpassed Ying WANG (CHN), who won the 84kg title at the 2008 Senior Asian Championships, as the heaviest Chinese Freestyle wrestler to capture an Asian gold medal.

"I was extremely fat in elementary school, so my parents sent me to a sports school [later] to exercise and become thinner and healthier," Yang told United World Wrestling. "My parents thought wrestling would help me lose weight faster."

Yuanchong YANG (CHN)Yuanchong YANG (CHN) celebrates after winning the gold medal in 97kg at the U20 Asian Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

When he first stepped onto the mat as a 12-year-old, Yang never imagined he would one day represent China. Wrestling was simply a way to shed the extra kilos.

"Following my training, I was deeply touched by the passion of my team, the teamwork and the charm of wrestling," he said.

Yang's first major breakthrough came in 2023 when he captured the U17 National Championships title. Later that year, he represented China at the East Asian Youth Games but returned home without a medal.

"I saw my older teammates winning medals consistently, so I set myself the goal of winning my own gold medal," he said. "After five years of training, I finally won the U17 title in 2023."

Yang competed at both the 2025 U20 and U23 World Championships but came up short in both after losing close bouts. When he returned home to Jinan, Shandong Province, he shifted his focus to the 2026 season.

Last week in Pattaya, Yang produced a dominant 11-0 technical superiority win over LACKY (IND) in the semifinals before defeating Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ), 8-2, in the final to complete his historic run.

Yang relied on strong underhooks to force pushouts and controlled the par terre exchanges with an effective gut wrench, leaving little room for his opponents to recover.

Yuanchong YANG (CHN)Yuanchong YANG (CHN) at the podium with the 97kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

As he stood atop the podium, Yang was emotional but he soon realised that this is just the beginning.

"When I received the gold medal, I was really happy," he said. "But while I was walking down from the podium, I realised there are higher goals waiting for me. I can't be satisfied with this. My next target is to win a medal at the Senior Asian Championships."