Lorincz Wins Third RS Gold of the Year; Kim Locks up No.1 Seed

Thursday, May 23, 2019 - 20:39 By Eric Olanowski

SASSARI, Italy (May 23) – Hungary's Viktor LORINCZ won his third Ranking Series gold medal of the year, while Korea's Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo locked up the No. 1 seed at the World Championships after winning the 77kg Greco-Roman gold medal at the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Lorinz continued to further assert himself into the discussion as one of the most dominant Greco-Roman wrestlers in the world right now. Lorinz picked up four wins on Thursday, including a convincing 5-1 victory over Turkey's Dogan GOKTAS in the gold-medal match. The one point Lorinz conceded against Gorktas was the lone point the Hungarian surrendered through his four matches on the day.

With his four victories on Thursday, Lorinz improved his 2019 record to 13-0. Maybe more impressive, in those 13 matches this season, Lorinz has pitched eight shutouts and outscored his opponents 76-9.

Lorinz entered the tournament as the fifth-ranked wrestler in the world at 87kg but leaped Azerbaijan's Islam ABBASOV for the fourth spot with his 52 points. The Hungarian now has the world's top-ranking in his sights, as he sits 10 points behind first-ranked Zhan BELENIUK (UKR).

KIM Hyeonwoo locked up the No. 1 seed at the World Championships after winning the 77kg Greco-Roman gold medal. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Another wrestler who has the resume to be considered one of the top Greco-Roman wrestlers in the world right now is Korea's London Olympic champion Kim Hyeonwoo. After a pair of Ranking Series bronze-medal finishes earlier this season, and his title-winning performance three weeks ago the Asian Championships in Xi'an, China, Kim reached the top of the podium in Sardinia on Thursday.

The Korean title-winning efforts cemented him the No. 1 seed at the World Championships. Kim, who had a ten point lead over Serbia's Viktor NEMES coming into the Sassari, grabbed 18 additional points and extended his lead to 26 points heading into the final Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Oleg Karavaev (July 26-28).

En route to Thursday's gold, Kim kicked off his day off with an impressive 8-0 destruction of returning world runner-up Tamas LORINCZ (HUN). He followed that up with a 10-2 technical superiority win over Roman ZHERNOVETSKI (ISR), which set up the gold-medal match against Hungary's Zotlan LEVAI (HUN).

In the finals, Kim defensively threw Levai to his back and picked up four points while stuck in a Russian tie -- but that's not how the Hungarian corner saw it. Levai's coaches disagreed with the call on the mat and threw in the challenge brick. The challenge failed and gave Kim the 5-0 lead, and ultimately the match after a scoreless second period.

Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) defeated Balint LAM, 3-0 to win the 130kg gold medal. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Turkey Wins Team Title WIth Three Champions
Turkey finished atop the team leaderboard that featured 18 other nations.
The Turkish squad inserted six into Thursday night's finals and walked away with three titles – which was good enough to push them 56 points ahead of second place Hungary.

Turkey's trio of champions was Hakan CANKAYA (55kg), Mehmet CEKER (63kg), and Osman YILDIRIM (130kg).

In the 63kg gold-medal bout, Mehmet Ceker used a spectacular throw in the closing seconds to erase a four-point deficit and steal the gold medal from Erik TORBA (HUN).

Ceker broke the ice in the first period with a stepout and led 1-0, but surrendered four unanswered points and trailed 4-1 heading into the final 15 seconds of the bout. In the closing seconds, the Turkish wrestler left his feet in what looked like a "flying squirrel" attempt, desperately trying to reach for a front headlock. With his feet dangling in the air, Ceker locked around Torba's body and tossed the Hungarian with a reverse lift. Though the mat official asked for five points, only four were awarded, and Ceker grabbed the one-point win as time expired.

Osman Yildirm, the heir apparent to nine-time European champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR), grabbed the 130kg title, scoring three one-point moves against Hungary's Balint LAM.

In the 55kg round-robin competition, Hakan Cankaya came out on top of a bracket where the trio of wrestlers went 1-1, but each gave up a fall in their losing efforts. Cankaya snuck past Giovanni FRENI (ITA) and Murat CANKAYA (TUR) on classification points after canning the Italian in the opening round and falling to his fellow Turkish teammate by technical superiority.

KIM Seunghak (KOR) was one of two Korean wrestlers who won a gold medal on the first day of wrestling in Sardinia. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Kim Moves up to No. 2 After Winning His Second Ranking Series Title
KIM Seunghak (KOR) blanked Ahmet UYAR (TUR), 5-0 in the 60kg and claimed his second Ranking Series title of the year. His first Ranking Series title came in Gyor, Hungary, at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He also received points from a fifth-place finish at the Zagreb Open, where he lost to Croatia's Ivan LIZATOVIC, 4-3 in the bronze medal bout.

In the finals, Kim carried the 5-0 lead into the second after scoring a four-point throw and an inactivity point. After a scoreless second period, Kim walked away with the gold, 5-0.

Kim enters the final Ranking Series event as the second-ranked wrestler in the world with 46 points. He sits 14 points behind European champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA).

Adam KURAK (RUS) shutout world runner-up Balint KORPASI (HUN), 3-0 in the 72kg gold-medal bout. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Akhmedov and Kurak Give Russia Pair of Sassari Titles
Russia's Azamat AKHMEDOV (67kg) and Adam KURAK (72kg) made sure the defending Greco-Roman world champions didn't go home without a gold medal.

To win his second Ranking Series title, Akmedov stopped Turkey's Haci KARAKUS, 7-1.

The Russian fell behind 1-0 after giving up an inactivity point in the first 90 second - but he stopped a gut wrench attempt and fell into a pair of front-head pinches to take the 4-1 lead. Akhmedov closed the match out with a stepout, followed by a takedown, and reached the top of the podium for the first time since winning the Haparanda Cup back in 2017.

In a rematch from last year's European Championships, Adam Kurak again came out on top against 2018 world runner-up Balint KORPASI (HUN). This time, it was with a 72kg gold medal on the line. In a somewhat one-sided match, Kurak, the 2018 European champion, picked up a takedown and an inactivity point, and shutout the third-ranked wrestler in the world, 3-0.

Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) gave the host nation their long gold medal with a 5-0 win over Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) in the 97kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Italy and India With Solo Gold Medalist
The host nation of Italy and Indian each had a wrestler win gold on the opening day of wrestling at the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial. Italy's Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI won the 97kg gold medal, while India's Gurpreet SINGH was the top man of the 82kg bracket.

In the 97kg finals, Kakhelashvili closed out his day with a 5-0 shutout win over No. 3-ranked Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA). The Italian picked up three one-point scores (inactivity, stepout, and a failed challenge) and two points from a guy wrench to win, 5-0.

At 82kg, Gurpreet Singh and Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) traded takedowns in the first period – but the Indian wrestler trailed on criteria heading into the closing period. In the second period, Singh scored a pair of takedowns, one of which he tacked on an additional point for after the Turkish corner threw in the challenge brick, and ultimately won the bout, 7-2.

Wrestling resumes tomorrow at 10:00 and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS

Team Scores
GOLD - Turkey (184 points)
SILVER - Hungary (124 points)
BRONZE - Korea (104 points)

55kg
GOLD – Hakan Murat CANKAYA (TUR)
SILVER – Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
BRONZE – Dogus AYAZCI (TUR)

60kg
GOLD - Seunghak KIM (KOR) df. Ahmet UYAR (TUR), 5-0
BRONZE - Gyanender GYANENDER (IND) df. Florin TITA (ROU), 9-0
BRONZE - Jacopo SANDRON (ITA) df. Latuf MADI (FRA), 2-1

63kg
GOLD – Mehmet CEKER (TUR) df. Erik TORBA (HUN), 5-4
BRONZE – Kadir KAMAL (TUR) df. Kyunghoon KIM (KOR), 2-0
BRONZE – Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU) df. Eunbin KIM (KOR), 8-4

67kg
GOLD – Azamat AKHMEDOV (RUS) df. Haci KARAKUS (TUR), 7-1
BRONZE – Hansu RYU (KOR) df. Yasin OZAY (FRA), 9-1
BRONZE – Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU) df. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA), 2-1

72kg (Single bronze)
GOLD – Adam KURAK (RUS) df. Balint KORPASI (HUN), 3-0
BRONZE – Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR), 3-1

77kg
GOLD – KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR) df. Zotlan LEVAI (HUN), 5-0
BRONZE – Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE) df. Gil NUGUES (FRA), 10-0
BRONZE – Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) df. Roman ZHERNOVETSKI (ISR), 7-0

82kg (Single bronze)
GOLD – Gurpreet SINGH (IND) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 7-2
BRONZE – George Vlad MARIEA (ROU) df. Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA), 4-3

87kg
GOLD – Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) df. Dogan GOKTAS (TUR), 5-1
BRONZE – Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Singh HARPREET (IND), 8-0
BRONZE – Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (RUS) df. Ramon Rainer BETSCHART (SUI), 3-1

97kg
GOLD – Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) df. Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA), 5-0
BRONZE – Balazs KISS (HUN) df. Armen GRIGORYAN (RUS), 2-0
BRONZE – Mihail KAJALA (SRB) df. Daigoro TIMONCINI (ITA), 3-1

130kg
GOLD – Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) df. Balint LAM (HUN), 3-0
BRONZE – Minseok KIM (KOR) df. Constantin HUTULEAC (ROU), 2-1
BRONZE – Yongmin KIM (KOR) vs. Lenard Istvan BEREI (ROU), via DSQ

#BeachWrestling

Dakar to Mexico, Beach Wrestling Hits the Right Notes in 2024

Friday, December 6, 2024 - 12:32 By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 6) -- In 2024, Beach Wrestling had a momentous year. From Dakar to Rio de Janeiro, there were championships and Games. And the World Series traveled from Mexico to Greece.

The second edition of the African Championships in Beach Wrestling was held in Dakar, Senegal in June. Dakar will host the 2026 Youth Olympic Games with Beach Wrestling being one of the main sports. The city also hosted the Beach Sports Festival.

Apart from the Dakar event, the Beach Wrestling calendar was packed with international tournaments, thanks to UWW's efforts to develop the sport.

The Beach Wrestling Committee also made a few changes to the sport, bringing in the challenge and the activity clock from 2024. This meant that two additional ways to get one point in Beach Wrestling were added: if a wrestler has been called passive and fails to score points during the 30-second activity period, his opponent will receive a point, and the wrestler whose opponent requested a challenge and the challenge is unsuccessful will receive a point.

Each wrestler is entitled to at least two unsuccessful challenges per event — one during the group stage and eliminations and another during the medal match.

For the first time, the Pan-Am Championships were held in the U15, U17, U20 and U23 age-groups. The U15 event was held in El Salvador and Mexico dominated the tournament by winning the title in both men's and women's events. The U17 event was in Dominican Republic with Ecuador winning the men's title and Puerto Rico winning the women's title.

At the U20 Pan-Ams in Peru, Ecuador continued its dominance with the men's title while Mexico bounced back and won the women's title. In Colombia for the U23 event, the hosts won both the men's and women's team titles.

Similarly, the European Championships in the U15, U17 and U20 age groups were held in Romania, a country which has taken keenly to the sport. Romania was so dominant in the competitions that it won the men's and women's team titles in five of the six categories. Only the U20 men's team title was won by Moldova.

UWW's commitment to growing the sport saw a new country host a Beach Wrestling event in Dakar. The African Championships were attended by over 100 wrestlers with the competition going over two days. Hosts Senegal emerged as the best country in both men's and women's categories. It won three gold medals and one silver in each category, combining for eight medals in eight weight classes.

A documentary capturing the essence of Senegal, promoting culture and rich tradition in wrestling, was also produced by UWW.

The U17 World Championships in Beach Wrestling was held in Greece this year along with the World Championships in the U20 age group.

The United States, which has been promoting the sport extensively on the national level, won its first-ever world title as the women captured the team title in the U17 age-group, thanks to the three silver medals it won.

Ukraine emerged as the best team in men's, winning the title over Romania which won two gold medals. But Ukraine had a better performance overall and it pipped Romania for the top spot.

In U20, Moldova destroyed the field, winning three gold medals and the team title in men's while Ukraine made amends by winning the women's title, which it lost at the U17 level.

Beach Wrestling World Series

The fifth edition of the Beach Wrestling World Series saw a remarkable start in Mexico in March along with the Pan-Am Championships. The first stop saw Mexico on the board with two gold medals in the women's category. The men's was more scattered with the U.S., Guatemala, Argentina and Venezuela winning gold medals.

The second stop of the series travelled to a familiar Saint-Laurent-Du-Var which saw records tumbling. The highlight of the tournament was Moldova's growing stature in Beach Wrestling.

Two wrestlers -- Vasile DIACON (MDA) and Traian CAPATINA (MDA) -- won gold medals. Diacon ultimately emerged as the best 80kg wrestler in the world and secured first place in the final rankings. Capatina was second in the final rankings in 90kg.

Romania hosted the third spot and the battle between the hosts and Ukraine in the women's category lived up to expectations. Ukraine won two gold medals and Romania won one out of four available. In men's, Capatina repeated as the gold medalist in 90kg and Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) continued his winning run at +90kg.

The fourth stop was in Greece, and not much changed from the other stops. The glittering beaches saw winners from Romania, Ukraine, the United States, Turkiye, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It all came down to Porec, Croatia for the finale. With ranking points up for grabs, it meant that the world champions would be decided in Porec.

The final stop in Porec decided the winners of the series. Ana Marie PIRVU (ROU) was the top wrestler in 50kg, Anastasiya KRAVCHENKO (UKR) in 60kg, Oksana HERHEL (UKR) in 70kg and Eliana BOMMARITO (USA) in +70kg. Bommarito was the only wrestler across categories to maintain a 100 percent record -- winning four gold medals.

In men's Yunus COSKUN (TUR) won the top spot in 70kg, Vasile DIACON (MDA) in 80kg, Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE) in 90kg and the evergreen Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) in +90kg.

Lorincz Wins Third RS Gold of the Year; Kim Locks up No.1 Seed

Comments

Dakar to Mexico, Beach Wrestling Hits the Right Notes in 2024