#wrestlenursultan

Olympic Champ Borrero Survives ‘Bracket of Death’ to Make 67kg Semis, Secure Tokyo 2020 Spot

Sunday, September 15, 2019 - 10:40 By Ken Marantz

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NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (Sept. 15)– Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) survived the mine field that was the lower bracket of Greco-Roman 67kg to secure a place for Cuba at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, although he still has one more barrier to get over if he wants a shot at first world title in four years.

Borrero knocked off in succession three-time world champion Frank STAEBLER (GER) and two-time former world champion RYU Hansu (KOR) to advance to the semifinals of the Greco-Roman 67kg weight class, when he will next face 2018 world U23 champion Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY). 

The other semifinal at 67kg, to be held at the start of the night session at the Barys Arena, will pit reigning champion Artem SURKOV (RUS) against Fredrik BJERREHUUS (DEN).

By advancing to the semifinals, the quartet assured themselves of at worst a top-six finish – which brings with it a berth for their country at Tokyo 2020. Sunday’s day session marked the start of competition in three Olympic weight classes in Greco, and Russia was the only country to secure more than one berth.

Musa EVLOEV (RUS) moved into the 97kg semifinals with a 9-0 win over Tadeusz MICHAELIK (POL). (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

Musa EVLOEV (RUS), the defending champion at 97kg, had little trouble advancing the semifinal, topping his afternoon with two big throws in storming to a 9-0 technical fall in 2:00 over Tadeusz MICHAELIK (POL). 

Evloev will face 2018 world bronze medalist Mihail KAJAIA (SRB), while the semifinal will be a clash between 2017 world champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) and Giorgi MELIA (GEO).

Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) will meet Denis KUDLA (GER) in a semifinal battle of Rio Olympic medalists. Beleniuk was a silver medalist and Kudla finished with a bronze medal. (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

At 87kg, top seed Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), the silver medalist a year ago in Budapest and this year’s European champion, put together a string of solid matches to make the semifinals, where he will face European bronze medalist Denis KUDLA (GER). 

In the other semifinal, Viktor LORINCZ (HUN), the 77kg silver medalist in Budapest, set up a final-four match with Asian bronze medalist Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), who knocked off defending champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) by fall, then repeated that result against Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS).  

The highlights of the day came at 67kg, where any number of matches could have been for a gold under different circumstances. 

Ryu, the 2013 and 2017 world champion, had his hands full right off the bat by having to face 2015 gold medalist Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE), but slipped through with a 2-1 win. A win over European champion Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) put him into the quarterfinals against Borrero.

Borrero, meanwhile, posted a pair of technical fall wins to set up a third-round clash with Staebler, the 72kg world champion who dropped down to the Olympic weight class. On this day, Borrero was totally dominant, building up a 6-0 lead, then ending the proceedings with a flashy 5-point reverse throw. 

Borrero had a far tougher time against Ryu, as neither could score big points and the Cuban held on for the 3-1 win. 

Elsayed was not immune to dodging a few bullets himself. In the third round against European bronze medalist Karen ASLAYAN (ARM), Elsayed was trailing 3-3 on criteria when the Armenian was penalized 2 points with :33 to go. An unsuccessful challenge gave Elsayed a 6-3 win. 

Following the three semifinals, the night session will feature the medal matches in the four non-Olympic weight classes of 55kg, 63kg, 72kg and 82kg. 

Day 2 Results

Greco-Roman Pairings

55kg (20 entries)
Gold – Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) vs Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Bronze – CAO Liguo (CHN) vs Shota OGAWA (JPN) 
Bronze – Max NOWRY (USA) vs Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)

63kg (18 entries)
Gold – Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS) vs Shinobu OTA (JPN)
Bronze – Tynar SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) vs Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Bronze – Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) vs Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)

67kg (41 entries)
Semifinal – Artem SURKOV (RUS) vs Fredrik BJERREHUUS (DEN)
Semifinal – Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) vs Ismael BORREO (CUB) 

72kg (25 entries)
Gold – Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) vs Abulazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
Bronze – LEE Jiyeon (KOR) vs Balint KORPASI (HUN)
Bronze – Michael WIDMAYER (GER) vs Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)

82kg (23 entries)
Gold – Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) vs Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Bronze – Iurii SCKRUIBA (UKR) vs Saied ABDVALI (IRI)
Bronze – QIAN Haitao (CHN) vs Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB)

87kg (39 entries)
Semifinal – Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) vs Denis KUDLA (GER)
Semifinal – Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) vs Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

97kg (37 entries)
Semifinal – Musa EVLOEV (RUS) vs Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Semifinal – Giorgi MELIA (GEO) vs Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 

#WrestleBratislava

Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 13:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 22) -- Khadzhimurat GATSALOV was in Bratislava, Slovakia for the European Championships as the coach if the UWW wrestlers and returned with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in 10 weight classes.

United World Wrestling caught up with Gatsalov after the tournament and he reflected on the performance of the wrestlers and his plans for the World Championships which will be held in September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Excerpts:

- On the performance of his wrestlers

Gatsalov: Overall, we are satisfied with the results. We haven’t had a performance like this in a long time -- five gold medals out of ten, plus two silver and one bronze. That means eight out of ten athletes came home with medals. Both the coaching staff and the athletes did a great job and prepared well for this European Championships.

We were counting on four or five gold medals. The guys wrestled really well and followed the instructions. For us coaches, that’s the most important thing that the wrestler steps on the mat and follows the game plan.

- On competition with Iran and the United States

Gatsalov: I believe there’s still room for improvement. This will help strengthen both our technical and physical foundations. When I look at Iranian and American wrestling, they put a lot of emphasis on physical conditioning. We’ve never really focused on that. We’ve always prioritized technique. But moving forward, we’ll also be physically prepared to endure tough matches and handle heavy loads without wearing out.

- On Sidakov's return and performance at 74kg

Gatsalov: Sidakov just couldn’t make it happen this time, maybe it’s because they know each other so well. [Chermen] VALIEV had a very strong motivation to win. You could feel it, it was clear on the mat. But as a coach, I believe this loss will serve as a driving force for Sidakov's future wins. It’s a significant psychological moment. Honestly, it’s better to experience this now than at the World Championships or the Olympics. I think once he recovers from his injury, we’ll get back to training and keep moving forward.

- On former world champion Baev winning gold

Gatsalov: Since 2019, he hadn’t shown any results on an international level. But today, he was better than anyone. He’s been working towards this moment for a long time, training hard, and he showed solid, confident wrestling. He wrestled like a true master — precise, and without mistakes. We were genuinely very happy for him.

- On the 65kg champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV

Gatsalov: Ibragimov demonstrated a strong performance, despite losing at the Ranking Series in Albania less than a month ago. Today, he came in well-prepared. He was in good form physically, technically, and mentally. That previous loss likely became a stepping stone toward this victory.

Khadzhimurat GATSAKOVKhadzhimurat GATSALOV at the European Championships in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

- On preparations for World Championships

Gatsalov: We have a clear understanding of how we’re going to prepare. I can’t reveal all the secrets of our training plan, but we know exactly who we’re preparing for. That’s why we’ll be focusing on targeted, individual work against specific opponents. Our coaching staff is strong. We have real professionals on board, including experienced coaches from the old Soviet school and younger ones who are stepping up and bringing fresh energy.

I think our wrestlers are also friendly with each other, which is very important. The atmosphere in the team is productive. We are waiting for the World Championships. We want competition on the mat with big countries like Iran, America. The Japanese have also improved a lot. Therefore, we want to compete with the strong ones, and we want to settle things on the mat.

(The interview was conducted by Karina MIRZOIAN)