#WrestleNewDelhi

Pair of Indian World Medalists Fall Short of Finals on Last Day in New Delhi

Sunday, February 23, 2020 - 10:36 By Ken Marantz

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NEW DELHI (Feb. 23)—It was a tough day for a pair of Indian world medalists, as neither Rahul AWARE (IND) nor Deepak PUNIA (IND) advanced to the gold-medal matches on the final day of the Asian Championships on Sunday.

Indian hopes in the five freestyle finals in the night session at New Dehli’s K.D. Jahrav Wrestling Stadium will lie in Jitender JITENDER (IND), who earned a meeting with defending champion Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) for the 74kg title.

Kazakhstan, Japan and Iran all put two wrestlers into the finals, while Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Mongolia have one each. 

Aware, a bronze medalist at last year’s World Championships in Nur-Sultan, was upended in the semifinals by world U-23 champion Ulubek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ), who sewed up a 5-3 win with a takedown with 21 seconds left.

In the final, Zholdoshbekov, who won Asian bronzes in 2016 and 2018, will face Muhammad IKROMOV (TJK), a 4-4 winner on criteria over Ryuto SAKAKI (JPN). Ikromov will attempt to end Tajikistan’s 17-year quest for a second Asian gold medalist.

Against Zholdoshbekov, Aware trailed 2-0 when he challenged an exposure that was not called. He lost that challenge, but came back with a takedown that cut the deficit to 3-2. Except that he got the scores mixed up. 

“I thought I was leading 3-2, but it was him that was leading 3-2,” Aware said. “In my challenge, I wanted the points for my second action, but in the replay, they saw only the first action and finished. I was disturbed and wanted them to see the second action and I lost my focus. 

“I heard my name from the stands and I looked up to see who it was and then at the scoreboard to see the score. I have never lost my focus like this before in a bout. “

Zholdoshbekov then put the nail in the coffin with a takedown, although he also gave up a late penalty point. 

Aware had to survive a scare in the quarterfinals against Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB). Trailing 8-6 heading into the second period, Aware came back to take a 10-9 into the final seconds. Turobov got in deep on a tackle and, with Aware atop his back, tried everything to expose him to the mat. With Aware pirouetting on his head on the mat, time ran out. A lost challenge point made it an 11-9 victory.

Shutaro YAMADA (JPN) defeated No. 3 Deepak PUNIA (IND) en route to the 86kg gold-medal match. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Punia, coming off winning the world junior title and the world senior silver medal over a one-month span last year at 86kg, met his match in unheralded Shutaro YAMADA (JPN), who wrapped up a 4-1 victory with a takedown with just under a minute to go.

“I’m so happy,” said Yamada, a sophomore at Yamanashi Gakuin University. “I knew that he wrestles like sumo or Greco-Roman. I watched many videos of him. My wrestling is similar. But more than techniques, it came down to a clash of wills.”

On gaining the late takedown, Yamada said, “To be sure of victory, I thought to put priority on defending rather than scoring points. This is the home of the opponent, which could be a disadvantage for me.”

Yamada appeared at both the world cadet and junior championships twice each, but never finished higher than fifth. Whether his first foray into an international senior event results in a gold or silver will depend on how he fares against Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI).

Bazrighaleh, the 2019 Asian U-23 champion, advanced with a 16-5 technical fall over Isa SHAPIEV (UZB).

Jitender made the 74kg final with a razor-thin 2-1 victory over Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL), while Kaisanov swept aside Daichi TAKATANI (JPN), 9-4

“I never want to give up points, it doesn’t matter how many I score,” Jitender said. “If it’s 2-1 or 10-1, I still win.”

Most significantly, Jitender has clinched his first medal in five trips to the Asian Championships. “It cannot be a better platform to win my first medal, in front of the home crowd.”

Takuma OTSU (JPN) will take on Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) in the 92kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

The fight for the 92kg title has come down to a clash between 2018 Asian champion Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) and Takuma OTSU (JPN), the Asian junior silver medalist that year. 

Ebrahimizivlaei advanced with a 10-2 win over Ajiniyaz SAPARNIYAZOV (UZB), while Otsu dominated Tsogtgerel MUNKHBAATAR (MGL) to win by 11-1 technical fall.

The final match of the tournament, for the 125kg gold, will pit 2019 world U-23 bronze medalist Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) against Khuderbulga DORJKHAND (MGL).

In the semifinals, Batirmurzaev made short work of Parviz HADIBASMANJ (IRI), locking up his arms and slamming him onto his back with a lateral drop for a fall in 28 seconds. Dorjkhand, a 2016 Asian bronze medalist, ousted NAM Koungjin (KOR) 8-0.

Day 6 Results

Freestyle

61kg (13 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Muhammad IKROMOV (TJK) df. Ryuto SAKAKI (JPN), 4-4
SEMIFINAL – Ulubek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df. Rahul AWARE (IND), 5-3

74kg (12 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) df. Daichi TAKATANI (JPN), 9-4
SEMIFINAL – Jitender JITENDER (IND) df. Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL), 2-1

86kg (9 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) df. Isa SHAPIEV (UZB) by TF, 16-5, 5:24
SEMIFINAL – Shutaro YAMADA (JPN) df. Deepak PUNIA (IND), 4-1

92kg (8 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Takuma OTSU (JPN) df. Tsogtgerel MUNKHBAATAR (MGL) by TF, 11-1, 2:25
SEMIFINAL – Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) df. Ajiniyaz SAPARNIYAZOV (UZB), 10-2

125kg (12 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Khuderbulga DORJKHAND (MGL) df. NAM Koungjin (KOR), 8-0
SEMIFINAL – Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) df. Parviz HADIBASMANJ (IRI) by Fall, :28 (4-0)

#BeachWrestling

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

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

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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.