#WrestleDortmund

Record-Breaking Ukraine Wins WW Team Title at #WrestleDortmund

By Vinay Siwach

DORTMUND, Germany (July 2) --- If three gold, a silver and a bronze were not enough on Thursday, Ukraine women went a notch better and captured four gold and a silver medal on the final day of women's wrestling in Dortmund.

In a dominant show on the mat, five Ukraine wrestlers were competing for the gold medal at the junior European Championships on Friday and all but one failed to win the top medal, giving the country the team title ahead of Russia.

This is the second time that each wrestler from the Ukraine women's team has won a medal at the junior Euros, a feat they had achieved in 2008 in Kosice, Slovakia.

The night in Dortmund could not have begun better as Natalya KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR) won the gold medal with a fall against Venera NAFIKOVA (RUS) at 4:06 in the 53kg final. Two quick takedowns in the first period made it 4-0 for the Ukrainian before she used a double leg and pinned Nafikova to the mat.

Throughout the tournament, both Klivchutska and Nafikova were the best wrestlers at 53kg with the latter winning all her bouts via fall or techical superiority while the Russian showed some exceptional defence in crunch situations to pull off close wins.

The 57kg final was even quicker as Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) gave no chance to Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL) and claimed the gold medal in a minute and 45 seconds with a 10-0 score.

In the first 30 seconds, Vynnyk, a silver medalist at senior Euros, got a takedown and gut to lead 4-0. Then she performed a quick go behind to lead 8-0. Her unmatched speed gave her another take down and a lace made it 10-0. The Ukrainian outscored her opponents 30-2 in four bouts.

Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) df Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) defeated Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) 12-2 in the 62kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In another Ukraine-Russia final, this time it Russia which came out on top. At 62kg, Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) gave a counter-attacking masterclass to beat Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) 12-2.

Both exchanged takedowns early with Zelenykh, a U23 Euro silver medalist in May, leading 2-0 but Kasabieva hit back with a takedown and a leg-turk to make it 4-2, the score at the break. Zelenykh continued to hit blank attacks which gave the Russian many openings for takedowns and she completed them with ease.

In the end Kasabieva, a bronze medalist at cadet Worlds, easily secured a technical superiority win against her more accomplished wrestler. This denied Ukraine a chance to have a perfect day.

In one of the bronze medal bouts at 62kg, Iva GERIC (CRO) created history by defeating Nadzeya BULANAYA (BLR) 1-1. The win made her the first Croatian to win a medal in women's wrestling at junior Euros.

Iva GERIC (CRO)Iva GERIC (CRO) is the first Croatian to win a medal in women's wrestling at junior Euros. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Incidentally, she was the first-ever woman wrestler from Croatia to win a medal at European Championships at any age-group. She achieved the feat in 2019 when she won a bronze medal at the cadet level in Faenza, Italy.

Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) survived a scare at 65kg as Noemi SZABADOS (HUN) mounted a comeback from 0-8 down to make it 7-8 in the final but time ran out before she could script an stunning win.

It was a shock surrender from Skobelska as she led 8-0 at the break and gave up all seven points in the second period. She began with a takedown and caught the Hungarian in a leg lace to lead 6-0. She added two more points with another takedown.

But Szabados' efforts in the second period were not enough as she failed to get one more point for the win. But this was an improvement for her as she won her first silver medal at European Championships after winning two bronze before.

Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) df. Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) won the gold medal at 65kg in Dortmund. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The final gold medal bout was between Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) and Individual World Cup bronze medalist Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK) but it turned out to be anti-climatic.

The Ukrainian began with an ankle pick to lead 2-0 and added a double leg takedown to make it 4-0. At the break, she was leading 6-0 against the former cadet European champion.

The second half began with a powerful double leg and Alpyeyeva exposed the Slovak to a pin. With both shoulders firmly on the mat, the referee called it a fall, giving the Ukrainian the gold in just 3:55.

RESULTS WW

53kg
GOLD: Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR) df Venera NAFIKOVA (RUS), via fall

BRONZE: Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA) df Emine CAKMAK (TUR), 13-3
BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df Nikolett NAGY (HUN), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) df Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL), 10-0

BRONZE: Anastasia KOZLOVA (RUS) df Alesia HETMANAVA (BLR), 4-2
BRONZE: Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE) df Jannicke STROEMNES (NOR), 4-2

62kg
GOLD: Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) df Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR), 12-2

BRONZE: Iva GERIC (CRO) df Nadzeya BULANAYA (BLR), 1-1
BRONZE: Viktoria OEVERBY (NOR) df Chiara HIRT (GER), 4-3

65kg
GOLD: Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) df Noemi SZABADOS (HUN), 8-7

BRONZE: Alina MAKSIMAVA (BLR) df Amina CAPEZAN (ROU), 4-2
BRONZE: Viktoria VESSO (EST) df Luisa SCHEEL (GER), via fall

72kg
GOLD: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK), via fall

BRONZE: Nazar BATIR (TUR) df Jennifer ROESLER (GER), 10-3
BRONZE: Mariam GUSEINOVA (RUS) df Urszula PIOTROWSKA (POL), via fall

#WrestleAthens

U17 World Wrestling Championships: Day 2 Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

ATHENS, Greece (July 29) -- The second day of the World U17 Championships in Athens will see five more Greco-Roman weight classes -- 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

READ THE SEMIFINALS REPORT HERE

The semifinals will begin at 17:00 hours local time and the medal bouts from Monday's weight classes will start at 18:00 hours.

15:50: Asian bronze medalist Otabek TURSUNOV (UZB) takes out European champion Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) 5-2 in the 51kg quarterfinal.

15:45: Ionut PATRU (ROU) stuns Mamuka BIDZINASHVILI (GEO) in the 92kg quarterfinals and reaches the semifinal. Earlier in the day, he had said that he will become the world champion tomorrow.

15:30: In a match that took forever, Asian U17 champion Damir AKAN (KAZ) has been cautioned out after his second defensive four against Abolfazl ZARE (IRI) at 60kg. Akan led 7-0 as he scored from par terre and Zare fouled. But in the second period, Zare scored a turn and one foul from Akan made it 7-5. As the bout resumed in par terre, Akan made a second defensive leg foul which handed Zare the win.

15:15: Asian U17 champion Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) defends from par terre and holds on to his 1-1 criteria lead against Hossein KAZEMI (IRI) to enter the semifinal at 71kg. Kazemi challenged for a stepout from par terre but lost it and Valiev won 2-1.

15:05: Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI) with gut-wrench from par terre and he beats Juntao LUO (CHN) 9-0 at 45kg to enter the semifinals at 45kg.

15:00: In a rematch of the European final, Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE) comes back from 6-0 deficit and beats Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO) 9-6. Abashidze hit a big four and then a turn to lead 6-0. But Huseynli scored a takedown and two arm-trap guts to make it 6-6. Another gut-wrench made it 8-6. Huseynli got par terre in second period but did score. Abashidze could not turn around the 9-6 score and lost the quarterfinal.  

14:42: Down goes European U17 champion Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO) at 71kg. Yusif AHMADLI (AZE) beats the Georgian 7-2. He got going in the second period with a takedown and four-pointer.

14:35: Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE) with a banger of a throw to finish all hopes of Daniyar BAZARBEK (KAZ) in their 51kg match. Tsentidis was leading 5-0 when Bazarbek jumped for a big move. Tsentidis grabbed and locked him and slammed him on the mat for four! Great throw

14:25: Asian champion and returning bronze medalist Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) with a beautiful suplex for five and then pins Radoslav PERYANSKI (BUL) at 71kg. He looks good to upgrade his bronze to gold this year.

14:15: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM), European champ at 51kg, reaches the quarterfinals with a 8-0 quick win over Yuvraj KAMANNA (IND).

European bronze medalist Abu Bakar SAGA (NOR) takes a minute and 26 seconds to win 10-2 over Kaloyan BORISOV (BUL)

13:45: Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI) wins a tough battle against Said PASHAYEV (AZE) at 92kg, 6-1. Just better defense from Mohammadi as he beats Pashayev, who is actually a European champion in Freestyle.

13:30: Asian champion Damir AKAN (KAZ) rolls to a 10-0 win over RITESH (IND) at 60kg and Mika LABES (GER) blanks Imre JUHASZ (HUN) 6-0 in the next bout.

13:15: Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI) pulls off a great win over European bronze medalist Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM) 8-1 at 45kg. Another big win for Iran.

13:00: Asian champion Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) takes 2 minutes and 48 seconds to win his 71kg bout against Matias ONNENLEHTO (FIN)

12:45: Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO), European champion at 71kg, just keeps his calm and despite losing a challenge in the bout, he roars in the second period to beat Balaz UJHELJI (SRB) 7-1 

12:15: Abu Bakar SAGA (NOR) hangs on for a 6-3 win over Herman BASARAB (UKR) at 51kg. Saga won bronze medal at the European Championships in Skopje

12:00: Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE) sends the local crowd in a frenzy with a final-second throw against Carter SHIN (USA) and wins hi 51kg bout 3-2. USA challenge but lose it on review.

11:45: Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI) looks so good at 92kg! He rolls Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA) and wins his bout 8-0.

11:35: Denys SEREDIN (UKR) with a massive throw on the edge to get five points and Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE) is called for leg foul as well which give two more points to Seredin. The Ukraine finishes the 60kg bout 10-3

11:25: Amangeldi YSAKBAEV (KGZ) rallies to win 11-7 against Zaven MEZHLUMYAN (ARM) after being down 7-1 at 60kg. Ysakbaev throws Mezhlumyan for a four and adds a two to lead 7-7 on criteria and when the Armenian tries a flying squirrel, Ysakbaev throws him down for four more

11:15: Asian U17 champion Damir AKAN (KAZ) was never in danger against Kodai HIHARA (JPN). Akan manages an 8-1 lead before winning his 60kg bout 8-2

11:00: Abolfazl ZARE (IRI) begins day two for Iran with a big 9-0 win over Wail BEN AISSA (ALG) at 60kg. Zare got the par terre and two exposure for the lead. He then gets the par terre in the second period as well and wins with another turn.

10:30: The repechage matches will kick off day two in Athens before we move into the qualification rounds of 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg.