#NFRoundup

NF Roundup: Nov. 16-20

Monday, November 16, 2020 - 17:08 By United World Wrestling Press

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Nippon Sport Science University won the freestyle title at the All-Japan Collegiate Championships (Photo: Tateo Yabuki/Japan Wrestling Federation)

Yamaguchi Leads NSSU to Japan Collegiate Freestyle Title
World junior champion Kaiki YAMAGUCHI made a successful move up to 65kg, helping lead Nippon Sport Science University to the team title as one of the school's three gold medalists at the All-Japan Collegiate Championships.

Bakhdaulet ALMENTAY (KAZ) etched his name in Japan wrestling history when the Yamanashi Gakuin University senior captured the 125kg gold to become the ninth four-time champion in the history of the freestyle tournament, which was held Nov. 7-8 in Osaka. 

Yuto TAKESHITA, last year's Asian junior champion, won the 57kg gold and Kodai OGAWA triumphed at 61kg as NSSU swept the three lightest weight classes, and had three silver medalists in winning the team title for the 21st time with 71 points. 

Takushoku University, with two champions in Takuma TANIYAMA at 70kg and Kojiro SHIGA at 74kg, finished second with 46.

Yamanashi Gakuin picked up a second title as Takuma OTSU, the national senior champion and Asian silver medalist at 92kg, won the 97kg crown, while world U-23 bronze medalist Hayato ISHIGURO of Nihon University repeated as 86kg champion. 

Kaiki YAMAGUCHI led NSSU to the Japan collegiate freestyle title (Photo: Tateo Yabuki/Japan Wrestling Federation)

Yamaguchi, the 2018 champion and 2019 runner-up at 61kg -- the weight class in which he won the world junior gold last year in Thailand -- was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler. 

He chalked up three technical falls before knocking off defending champion Ryoma ANRAKU of Waseda 3-1 in the semifinals, then edged Shinnosuke SUWAMA of Kokushikan University 2-0 in the final. 

Takeshita, the Asian junior champion, pulled off the biggest win of the tournament in the quarterfinals, when he posted a 6-2 win over world junior champion Toshiya ABE of Kokushikan. He took the gold with a 7-0 victory over Senshu University's Daiki ARAKI.

Almantay, coming off winning a third straight Greco title in October, maintained his domination of the college heavyweights, winning three of his four matches by technical fall, including a 10-0 win in the final over NSSU's Haroon ABID of Pakistan. The former world junior bronze medalist did not surrender a point. 

By winning a fourth title in a row, Almentay joined a elite group that includes two-time Olympic medalist Kosei AKAISHI (Nihon, 1983-1986) and 2014 world silver medalist Sosuke TAKATANI (Takushoku, 2008-2011), who will be aiming to qualify for a third Olympics in March. Of the nine who have accomplished the feat, he is the fourth from Yamanashi Gakuin.

Kojiro SHIGA claimed the title at 74kg (Photo: Tateo Yabuki/Japan Wrestling Federation)

In the 74kg final, Takushoku's Shiga overwhelming NSSU freshman Yudai TAKAHASHI by 10-0 technical fall for his third straight title in a clash between two of Japan's national team members at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan.

Shiga, the Asian silver medalist at 70kg, finished seventh in that weight class in Nur-Sultan, while Takahashi dropped down from 79kg, the weight in which he finished second at the All-Japan Championships last year as a high school senior. 

The national-level tournament was latest in recent months to be held employing strict restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. That included prohibiting spectators and testing all competitors. 

So far, there have been no reports of infections in the weeks following any of the tournaments. 

Final Results
57kg: Yuto TAKESHITA (NSSU) df. Daiki ARAKI (Senshu), 7-0
61kg: Kodai OGAWA (NSSU) df. Keita SHIMIZU (Takushoku), 7-5
65kg: Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (NSSU) df. Shinnosuke SUWAMA (Kokushikan), 2-0
70kg: Takuma TANIYAMA (Takushoku) df. Kazuki SAITO (Meiji) by TF, 10-0, 1:31
74kg: Kojiro SHIGA (Takushoku) df. Yudai TAKAHASHI (NSSU) by TF, 10-0, 3:45
86kg: Hayato ISHIGURO (Nihon) df. Tatsuya SHIRAI (NSSU), 4-1 
97kg: Takuma OTSU (Yamanashi Gakuin) df. Keiwan YOSHIDA (Nihon), 8-6
125kg: Bakhdaulet ALMENTAY (Yamanashi Gakuin) df. Haroon ABID (NSSU) by TF, 10-0, 4:19

Coronavirus Crashes Olympic Party for Wrestler-Coach Couple
LINK: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/11/cb0540320eda-coronavirus-crashes-olympic-party-for-wrestler-coach-couple.html

Despite these most uncertain of times, when the Tokyo Olympics might not even take place, Japanese wrestler Mayu Mukaida has seized control of her situation, preparing step by step for whatever comes next.

Had the global health crisis not disrupted her life and the sports calendar, the 23-year-old would have made her Olympic debut at the games this past summer and then married her coach Shota Shidochi.

"I want no regrets later, whether the Olympics go ahead or not. I will prepare the best I can," Mukaida told Kyodo News in a recent interview.

In February, Mukaida and Shidochi moved their training base to Tokyo from Aichi Prefecture in central Japan to get used to the host city environment, but in March the Olympics were postponed until 2021.

After the initial disappointment of having to wait another year for her shot at Olympic glory as well as her wedding day, Mukaida finally came to terms with the reality of having to re-plan everything in August.

Vinesh Phogat Gets Surprise Help in Solving Mukaida Problem

"But the tenacious Indian champion and her coach has now got a helping hand from Japan to solve the puzzle named Mayu Mukaida. During their training trip in Norway, Vinesh who has already qualified for Tokyo Olympics with the help of her Hungarian coach Woller Akos trained with multiple time world champion Haruna Okuno of Japan. Okuno who fights in the same category as Mukaida in 53kg recently won the Under 23 world championship and also has two senior world championship titles to her name. Training sessions with Okuno has given Vinesh insight into the wrestling style of her nemesis Mukaida. According to Vinesh’s coach Akos practicing in the Japanese style, wrestling has really helped the Indian champion."

 

FULL STORY: https://wrestlingtv.in/vinesh-phogat-gets-helping-hand-from-japan-itself-to-solve-the-mayu-mukaida-puzzle/

UWW Launches Legends v. Stars Freestyle Bracket on Instagram

Click HERE to visit the UWW Instagram feed and vote for your favorite wrestlers.

Free Download Available for Bundesliga Magazine:
HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j8ivQ5bTSgK69oVXVeK5XmQpbeXCQy0u/view 

ALT91A

 

#WrestleNoviSad

Farokhi, Hedayati lead Iran's golden charge at U23 Worlds

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 - 15:58 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 21) -- Iran’s Greco-Roman dominance shows no signs of slowing down. After winning team titles at the U17 World Championships in Athens, the U20 Worlds in Samokov, and the senior event in Zagreb, Iran looks poised to complete a clean sweep in Novi Sad as Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) claimed gold medals at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2025 on Tuesday.

World champion Farokhi and defending champion Hedayati, who celebrated his birthday as well on Tuesday, won gold medals in dominant fashion at 87kg and 130kg respectively.

"I was able to win two back-to-back tough matches at the World Championships and bring home two gold medals," Farokhi said. "These were high-level competitions."

Farokhi, a gold medalist at 82kg in Zagreb, moved up to 87kg for Novi Sad but had no troubles in switching weights. As he did in Zagreb, Farokhi brought his best game in par terre and rolled to his second gold in one month after a 9-0 victory in the final against Ivan CHMYR (UKR), his fifth technical superiority victory.

After being put on top in par terre, Farokhi launched a trap-arm gut and turned Chmyr four times for the win. Ukraine threw one of those ever increasing challenges for no reason but lost it to add one more point to Farokhi's score.

"When you move up a weight class, the opponents are definitely stronger and tougher," Farokhi said. "It was a good experience, and it gave me a better sense of how I can perform at 87 kg -- an Olympic weight class"

Hedayati, who has not lost an international bout since his 2022 U20 World Championships finals loss, showed why he will dominate the 130kg weight class for years to come.

Up against Razmik KURDYAN (ARM) in the final, Hedayati began with takedown on the edge for two points. Kurdyan was put in par terre and from there Hedayati turned him twice to extend his lead to 7-0. With just 23 seconds left before the break, Hedayati scored a stepout to finish the final 8-0 and claim his second straight U23 world title.

At 63kg, Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) upended returning 63kg U23 world champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3, in the final using a four-point suplex from par terre to score his points.

Eriomenco, who had defeated Babashov in the U23 European finals, looked very dominant in run up to the final while Babashov had some tough bouts on Monday. But the Azerbaijan wrestler began aggressively and managed to earn first par terre advantage.

He performed a suplex for four points to make his lead 5-0 and take huge step towards winning his first ever world title. He further consolidated his position when he defended from par terre in the second period and gave up only stepout to Eriomenco as the score changed to 5-2.

Babashov then countered an attack from the Moldova wrestler and forced him to stepout outside to extend his lead to 6-2. He gave up one more stepout but held on to the 6-3 lead to win the gold medal.

With the win, he now leads the head-to-head against Eriomenco 2-1 as both have traded victories at 2024 U23 European Championships and its 2025 edition with the Moldovan one being the more recent winner.

Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) holds off Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO) in the 77kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

A silver medalist from 2023 at the U23 Worlds, Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) managed to win gold at 77kg as he defeated Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1, in the final.

Orjonikidze was himself to blame for the loss as he committed a defensive leg foul in the first period when Mirzoiev got the par terre position and as he was trying to lift, Orjonikidze blocked him with his leg, giving a 3-0 lead to the Ukrainian.

Georgia challenged the decision but on review, it was confirmed that a leg foul was indeed committed. The lost challenge gave one more point to Mirzoiev.

Orjonikidze got the par terre position in the second period but he failed to score any points and Mirzoiev easily defended his 4-1 lead to eventually claimed the gold medal.

Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) defeated Richard KARELSON (EST) in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Yakushenko closer to U23 title

U20 world champion Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) is a win away from winning his second world tittle three months after he reached the 97kg final at U23 World Championships. He defeated European Championships silver medalist Richard KARELSON (EST) 6-3 in the semifinals.

Karelson tried to make a match of it but Yakushenko scored a four-pointer from par terre to lead 5-0 before Karelson scored a takedown. But Yakushenko got a stepout to lead 6-2. He defended his lead despite Karelson getting par terre in the second period.

He will face Asian U23 champion Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) who rolled to a 9-1 win over Maksim AVERIN (UWW), scoring four turns from par terre in the second period.

At 55kg, U23 European champion Alibek AMIROV (UWW) will face Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) in the final after he defeated Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ) in the semifinal. Amirov was down 2-1 when he got the 

Aliyev hit a beautiful headlock for four against 2024 U17 world champion Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) before securing the fall in the semifinal.

Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) will take on Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) for the gold medal at 67kg after he defeated Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1, having the criteria from the first point score in a 1-1 finish.

Andelrehim led 4-1 when his opponent in the semifinal, Attila JOZSA (HUN), injury default for a leg injury.

Seven years after winning the U17 World Championships gold medal, Abror ATABAEV (UZB) will have a chance to win a second world title after he reached the 72kg final. After getting the first par terre and 1-1 lead against Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), Atabaev defended his par terre position and kept the 1-1 criteria lead.

Maulitkanov threw everything at Atabaev in the final two minutes but the Uzbekistan defended all the attacks. Atabaev was close to giving up a takedown in the final 15 seconds but he managed to keep himself up and then score a pushout to lead 2-1. Kazakhstan challenged the call but it was a clear stepout and the lost challenge made it 3-1 for Atabaev.

He will face former Asian champion Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) for gold after the Iranian defended his 1-1 criteria lead against Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM). The final will be battle of two Asian champion as Atabaev won that title in 2023.

RESULTS

63kg
GOLD: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3

BRONZE: Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (UWW) df. Servet ANGI (TUR), 6-1
BRONZE: Adham ELSAYED (EGY) df. Kuttubek ABDURAZAKOV (KGZ), 3-2

77kg
GOLD: Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1

BRONZE: Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) df. Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), 3-3
BRONZE: Levente LEVAI (HUN) df. Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN), 4-2

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Ivan CHMYR (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE: Payton JACOBSON (USA) df. Lachin VALIYEV (AZE), 5-3
BRONZE: Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Yassine BEN LABED (POL), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Razmik KURDYAN (ARM), 8-0

BRONZE: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Aleksandr MELEKHOV (UWW) df. Artur SARKISJAN (CZE), 9-1

Semifinals

55kg
GOLD: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)  vs. Alibek AMIROV (UWW)

SF 1: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) df. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall (5-1)
SF 2: Alibek AMIROV (UWW) df. Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ), via fall (7-2)

67kg
GOLD: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) vs. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY)

SF 1: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1
SF 2: Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) df. Attila JOZSA (HUN), via inj. def. (4-1)

72kg
GOLD: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

SF 1: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM), 1-1
SF 2: Abror ATABAEV (UZB) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) vs. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)

SF 1: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) df. Richard KARELSON (EST), 6-3 
SF 2: Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) df. Maksim AVERIN (UWW), 9-1