#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series entries

By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (June 14) -- The third stop on the Ranking Series calendar will travel through the cobblestone-lined streets of Rome starting next Wednesday (June 22-25) for the Matteo Pellicone. The competition will feature nearly 320 athletes from 34 different nations stretching across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Italian Wrestling Federation's Matteo Pellcone has been featured on the Ranking Series calendar. The event was held on the Italian island of Sardinia in 2019 before relocating to the Pala Pellicone Italian Olympic Training facility in early 2020.

Next Wednesday's opening day of wrestling starts with seven Greco-Roman weight classes. The final trio of Greco and the first four women's wrestling weights will be contested on Thursday. Friday's action closes out the women's categories and welcomes in the two heaviest freestyle weights, 97kg and 125kg. The final day of the competition will be on Saturday, when the remaining eight freestyle golds will be handed out.

SCHEDULE | EVENT PAGE 

Freestyle

57kg
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Abhishek DHAKA (IND)
Madhushika DE SILVA (SRI)
Mehmet YUCE (TUR)
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR)

61kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Tural Ebdul HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Ravi KUMAR (IND)
Kenneth KOECH (KEN)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Ahmet TAS (TUR)
Recep TOPAL (TUR)

65kg
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Tornike KATAMADZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Anuj KUMAR (IND)
Shamil OMAROV (ITA)

Daniel PACINO (ITA)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Sandaruwan GUNAWARDANA (SRI)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)

70kg
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)

Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE)
Murad EVLOEV (AZE)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Mulayam YADAV (IND)
Gianluca COLETTI (ITA)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR)
Servet COSKUN (TUR)

74kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Otari BAGAURI (GEO)
Dimitri JIOEVI (GEO)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)

79kg
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Gadzhimurad OMAROV (AZE)
Nestor TAFUR (COL)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Giorgi SULAVA (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
DEEPAK (IND)
Raffaele MATRULLO (ITA)
Mark ONGUYESI (KEN)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Jakub SYKORA (SVK)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)

86kg
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO)
Zaur BERADZE (GEO)
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Sanjeet KUNDU (IND)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Krzysztof SADOWIK (POL)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Saba CHIKHRADZE (GEO)
AKASH (IND)
John OMONDI (KEN)
Andrian GROSUL (MDA)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Erik Sven THIELE (GER)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Sahil SEHRAWAT (IND)
Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Dan CHEPTAI (KEN)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Mustafa SESSIZ (TUR)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Mohit GREWAL (IND)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Anil KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)


Reigning world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) will compete at 63kg at the Matteo Pellicone. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND))
Mohammad HOSSEINVAND (IRI)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Florin TITA (ROU)
Max NOWRY (USA)

60kg
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Gyanender DAHIYA (IND)
Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)

63kg
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
ANIL (IND)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Jesse THIELKE (USA)

67kg
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Kenedy MORAES (BRA)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND)
Sajjad IMENTALAB (IRI)
Mohammad REZAEI (IRI)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Furkan YILDIZ (TUR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Vikas VIKAS (IND))
Filippo BIONDI (ITA)
Brian OLOO (KEN)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Patrick SMITH (USA)

77kg
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
SACHIN (IND))
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Ali Mohammad GHOLAMI (IRI)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Abdurrahman KALKAN (TUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)

82kg
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Roni PUROLAINEN (FIN)
Harpreet SINGH (IND))
Rasoul Sadegh GARMSIRI (IRI)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Daniel CATARRAGA (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Hasan KILINC (TUR)

87kg
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Manoj KUMAR (IND))
Hossein Ahmad NOURI (IRI)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Nicu Samuel OJOG (ROU)
Kristoffer BERG (SWE)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Emincan ENEZ (TUR)
Mehmetali KUCUKOSMAN (TUR)
Alan GARCIA (USA)

97kg
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Igor DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
RAVI (IND))
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)

130kg
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
SATISH (IND))
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)



Reigning world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) will return to the mat for the second time this season. Earlier this year, she won gold at the European Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Shivani PAWAR (IND))
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Agata WALERZAK (POL)
Shriyanthika NIROSHANI (SRI)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Emine CATALOGLU (TUR)

53kg
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Oriana DI STEFANO (ITA)
Emma Nekesa WANGILA (KEN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Chamodya KESHANI (SRI)
Emma MALMGREN (SWE)

Lilia MALANCHUK (UKR)

55kg
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sushma SHOKEEN (IND)
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)

Alice BEVILACQUA (ITA)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Ahinsa FERNANDO (SRI)

MARIIA VYNNYK (UKR) 

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Mansi Ahlawat (IND))
Sophia AYIETA (KEN)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)

59kg
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Sarita MOR (IND))
Nairomi SPERANDIO (ITA)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Abigail NETTE (USA)

Solomia VYNNYK (UKR)

62kg
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Ana GONZALEZ (CAN)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Sakshi MALIK (IND))
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)

65kg
MANISHA (IND))
Veronica BRASCHI (ITA)
Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)

Rfteryna ZELENYKH (UKR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
Grabriela PEDRO DA ROCHA (BRA)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Nisha DAHIYA (IND))
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)

Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

72kg
Anna SCHELL (GER)
MANJU (IND))
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Skylar GROTE (USA)

Marilyn GARCIA (USA)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Epp MAE (EST)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Pooja SIHAG (IND))
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)

Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

#WrestleRome

Dake Dismantles Demirtas in Debut at 74kg; USA Wins Trio of Day Four Golds

By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (January 18) --- Kyle DAKE (USA) dismantled Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) in his debut down at the Olympic weight of 74kg and joined two fellow Americans on their way to the top of the freestyle podium at the Matteo Pellicone.

Thomas GILMAN (USA) and Zahid VALENCIA (USA), who claimed gold at 57kg and 86kg, respectively, were the pair of other Americans who closed out the first Ranking Series event of the year with Day 4 golds.

Two-time 79kg world champion Kyle Dake’s debut down at 74kg was a success in terms of his medal color, but as expected, there were a few wrinkles that he still needs to iron out. And although those weren’t apparent in the finals, they were in the opening rounds. Dake said, “I’m a little disappointed in the earlier rounds, but I went out with a bang.”

In his first three matches, Dake scored 18 points, yet he only scored two takedowns. “I was just slapping at the legs and I needed to recognize that sooner,” said Dake.“Kid Dynamite” made the right adjustments at the right time and went back to what worked for him in the past. “The first couple of matches I was just trying new stuff and it wasn’t working so I went back to my old stuff.” 

Dake’s plan for the finals was to get back to that "old stuff," which meant he needed to, “Get through a guy. Go through him, go take him down, turn him, turn him, turn him and get off the mat.” 

That’s exactly what he did in the gold-medal match, as he demolished world and Olympic bronze medalist Soner Demirtas in 35 seconds. Dake led 7-0, 16 seconds into the first period, and after his Turkish opponent was hit with a fleeing-the-hold call, the American went back on top in par terre. A pair of gut wrenches less than 20 seconds laft gave Dake the 11-0 technical superiority victory and a second Ranking Series title.

Thomas GILMAN (USA) defeated fellow American Joseph COLON (USA), 4-2, in the 57kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Thomas Gilman was the first of two American’s who were named champions after they defeated fellow countrymen in the finals.

The all-American final at 57kg featured the pair of past world medalists, Thomas Gilman and Joseph COLON (USA). 

“He was a tough opponent. I felt pretty strong out there. I’m starting to put things together and now is the time,” said Gilman after winning the one-point battle. The 2018 world silver medalist scored first (inactivity point) but surrendered a takedown with 20 seconds left in the first period and trailed 2-1 heading into the closing frame. 

The message from Gilman’s corner heading into the final three minutes was, “He’s feeling it.” Gilman said he agreed with what his corner was projecting, and that’s when the match turned in his favor. “Once I started squeezing so much and faking and releasing, I started to feel him stumble a little bit.” Gilman was able to secure a takedown late in the second period, which pushed him to a second Ranking Series title, 2-1. 

He’s now headed to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, to compete in the Ivan Yariguin. 

When asked what adjustment he needs to be make before the trip to Siberia, Gilman said he doesn’t believe much in adjusting and just needs to sleep. “When I’m tired, I need to sleep. When I’m awake, I need to be doing something. Get the sunlight in my eyes.” 

It'll be his Gilman's second trip to the Ivan Yariguin. Last year, he finished in third place at 57kg.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA) picked up a two-point victory over Alexander DIERINGER (USA) in the 86kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

At 86kg, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) went toe-to-toe with Alexander DIERINGER (USA), and snuck past his fellow American, 7-5, in the gold-medal bout. “It’s pretty awesome. I got to wrestle some good guys, and that guy in the finals I’m going to be battling it out with for the next few years. We have the trials coming up, so that’s a good win for me,” said Valencia after his win.

Valencia now plans to return to Arizona State to compete on the college scene where he's looking to win a third consecutive NCAA title.

Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) scored his second win over Jordan OLIVER (USA) in a Ranking Series final and claimed the 65kg gold medal. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Punia Wins Rematch Against Oliver, Grabs 65kg Gold; Ravi Wins Non-Olympic Gold at 61kg
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) and Kumar RAVI (IND) handed India a pair of golds on the closing day of wrestling in Rome. Bajrang won the 65kg gold, while Ravi went 3-0 in the 61kg Nordic style bracket.

Bajrang defeated Jordan Michael OLIVER (USA) in a rematch of the 2019 Dan Kolov finals. And for a second time, it was the Indian superstar who won the 65kg Ranking Series title after falling behind 3-0 to Oliver.

In their first meeting, Bajrang fell behind 3-0 in the first period and stormed back to score 13 unanswered points in the second period. On Saturday, Bajrang surrendered three first-period points but scored a brutality point and a stepout before catching Oliver on his back for over two minutes with an exposure to win, 4-3.

“I am feeling very good. It’s the first tournament of 2020 and I won gold. My progress is going up and up and I’m giving it my 100%,” said Bajrang after downing Oliver.

The final gold of the tournament went to Kumar Ravi, who won the Nordic style bracket at 61kg with a 3-0 record.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD - Thomas GILMAN (USA) df. Joseph COLON (USA), 4-3 
BRONZE - Minghu LIU (CHN) df. Daton FIX (USA), 3-2
BRONZE - Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) df. Andrii YATSENKO (UKR), 5-2

61kg
GOLD – Kumar RAVI (IND)
SILVER – Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE – Alexandru CHIRTOACA (MDA)

65kg
GOLD - Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) vs. Jordan OLIVER (USA), 4-3 
BRONZE - Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR) df/. Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR), 12-8
BRONZE - Zain Allen RETHERFORD (USA) df. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR), via fall 

74kg
GOLD - Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), 11-0
BRONZE - Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR) df. Azamat NURYKAU (BLR), 5-2 
BRONZE - Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) df. Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR), 3-2 

86kg
GOLD - Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Alexander DIERINGER (USA), 7-5 
BRONZE - James Patrick DOWNEY III (USA) df. Illia ARCHAIA (UKR), 13-7 
BRONZE - Fatih ERDIN (TUR) df. William RAFFI (ITA), 10-0