#HungarianGP2019

Olympic Silver Medalist Ota Headlines Saturday Night's Hungarian Grand Prix Finals

Saturday, February 23, 2019 - 12:34 By Eric Olanowski

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GYOR, Hungary (February 23) -  Rio Olympic runner-up Shinobu OTA (JPN) headlines Saturday night's Hungarian Grand Prix finals, where he'll wrestle China's fifth-ranked TUO Erbatu for the 63kg gold medal.

Ota reached the finals handling Olympic bronze medalist Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR), 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Ota and Berg's Hungarian Grand Prix quarterfinals bout was their second meeting since 2016. Their first match came in the quarterfinal round match at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Ota won 4-0. 

Japan's 2018 Asian Games champion defeated Iran's Meysam DALKHANI, 5-2 in the semifinals, reaching his first career Ranking Series gold-medal bout. 

Ota will wrestle China's fifth-ranked Tuo Erbatu in the 63kg gold-medal bout. Tuo upset the 2018 world bronze medalist WALIHAN Sailike (CHN), 7-3 in the quarterfinals. Walihan won his world bronze medal down at 60kg, where he's currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Tuo then rolled into the finals thumping America's Travis RICE (USA), 9-0 in the semifinals. 

Ota and Tuo's Saturday night matchup will be their first career meeting.

The Hungarian Grand Prix opening day finals begin at 18:00. 

SCHEDULE

Saturday (February 23) 
17:00 - Opening Ceremony 
18:00 - Finals for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg Award ceremonies 

Sunday (February 24) 
8.30 - Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
10.00 - Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16.00 - Finals for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg and Award ceremonies

Day One Finals 
63kg - Erbatu TUO (CHN) vs. Shinobu OTA (JPN) 
72kg - Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO) vs. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) 
82kg -  Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) vs. Rajbek Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN) 
97kg -  Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) vs. Fatih BASKOY (TUR) 

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Olympic champ Jamalov to miss 2025 World Championships

Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - 16:03 By Eric Olanowski

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (May 14) -- Paris Olympic champion Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) will miss the 2025 World Championships.

Jamalov told United World Wrestling that he will undergo knee surgery on May 19 in Moscow and will be sidelined for the rest of the 2025 season.

This is the second surgery for Jamalov in last eight months, and 10th of his career, as he also had a shoulder surgery shortly after his win in Paris in August 2024.

"This will be my fifth surgery on my knee," Jamalov told UWW. "I've also had three surgeries on both shoulders, one on my neck, and one for tonsils.

"This is very difficult news because I was hoping to be ready for the 2025 World Championships. It's an old injury that I suffered before the Ranking Series tournament in Hungary [last year]. It's a complete tear of the cruciate ligament."

Despite the physical and mental toll of ten surgeries, the 26-year-old is gearing up for the wrestling season in 2026.

"Even after 10 surgeries, I want to keep wrestling," he said. "I'm aiming to be back in action at the beginning of 2026. Without wrestling, life feels boring to me. Of course, there are doubts sometimes, but I try to work hard and keep believing."