Rio Medalist Saritov Keeps Olympic Hopes Alive While Demirtas' Bid Ends

Thursday, May 6, 2021 - 15:37 By Ken Marantz

SOFIA, Bulgaria (May 6) -- Rio Olympic bronze medalist Albert SARITOV (ROU) moved one win away from qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, while Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) saw his dream of another Olympic medal end when he failed to survive in the cut-throat 74kg division.

Saritov had one close call but managed to advance to the semifinals at 97kg as the freestyle competition opened the final world Olympic qualifying tournament with a marathon morning session on Thursday in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The winners of the semifinals in the night session at the spectator-less Arena Armeec Sport Hall earn tickets to Tokyo for their countries, and in most cases, themselves.

Russia and the United States both kept their bids alive to field a complete lineups at the Tokyo Games. Sergei KOZYREV (RUS) secured a place in the final four at 125kg, the only freestyle weight class the European powerhouse had not yet filled, while Jordan OLIVER (USA) did likewise at 65kg.

Kazakhstan, however, will have to be content with entrants in five of the six weight classes in Tokyo after Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) suffered a heartbreaking 2-2 loss to Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) at 86kg in a clash between former world U23 silver medalists.

Slovenia moved closer to having its first-ever Olympic wrestler when 2017 European bronze medalist David HABAT (SLO) stormed into the 65kg semifinals with a 10-0 technical fall over Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA). He will face Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) for the Tokyo ticket.

"I am happy about my wrestling," Habat said. "Usually I would give a good interview but I am really focused on the next match right now. The past matches were good because I got here [semifinal]. So that's why I can say that I am happy about how I wrestled. It's good to reflect back and say that I am doing the right thing."

Asked about his dominant victory in the quarterfinals, he replied, "I can improve here and there. I am taking a lot of shots and I want to convert all of them. I am good in those positions but against world class-level guys, it's hard to takedown."

The Russian-born Saritov posted a workmanlike 4-0 victory over Samuel SCHERRER (SUI) to advance to the 97kg semifinals, where he will face Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR), who placed fifth at the Rio Olympics. Andriitsev barreled into the last four with a 10-0 technical fall over Timofei XENIDIS (GRE) that took less than a minute.

Saritov survived a scare in the second round, when he was losing 6-5 to Radoslaw BARAN (POL) before catching him with a back trip for 4 points wtih 28 seconds left for a 9-6 win.

In the other smeifinal at 97kg, ex-Russian Ahmed BATAEV (BUL), who placed third at last year's Individual World Cup, will face Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA).

Olympic host Japan could add two more to its lineup as 2017 world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) at 57kg and Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN) at 86kg both advanced to the semifinals.

Yuki TAKAHASHI World Olympic Qualifier

Takahashi, who was dispatched to Sofia after Rio 2016 silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) failed to make weight at last month's Asian Olympic qualifier in Almaty, was hardly challenged as he chalked up a pair of technical falls, including an 11-0 rout of Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) in the quarterfinals.

"I went at my pace from beginning to end [in my two matches]," Takahashi said. "If I win in the
semifinal, it will clinch an Olympic place, so I will go all out."

Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) will face Reineri ANDREU (CUB) with the Olympic ticket on the line, a rematch of the bronze-medal match at the 2018 World Championships won by Takahashi.

If Takahashi wins, he will have to face Higuchi in a playoff later this monty for the Tokyo berth.

In the other 57kg semifinal, three-time European champion Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE) will face 2018 Asian Games champion Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL) Takatani also won by technical fall in the round-of-8, overwhelming Istvan VEREB (HUN) 12-0, but that came after a nailbiting win in the previous round. Against Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP), he gave up a 4-point takedown at the edge that was awarded on challenge to fall behind on criteria, but scored a stepout with :05 left to win 5-4.

Blocking his path to a third career Olympic appearance is Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), who defeated Hovhannes MKHITARYAN (ARM) by 12-2 technical fall in the quarterfinals.

Abakarov will take on Boris MAKOEV (SVK), who scored a takedown in the final :10 to eke out a 4-2 win over Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB).

"I needed to reassess my wrestling for this tournament as this is a big one," Abakarov said. "All the bouts were so tough apart from the second one."

At 74kg, Rio 2016 bronze medalist Demirtas met his match in Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV (BLR), the 2020 European champion at 79kg who advanced to the semifinals with an 8-4 victory.

"My wrestling is better than ever and now I just want to win the gold medal here," Kadimagomedov said. "Soner is a very nice guy and a good wrestler, his record talks for itself."

Just to set up that match, Demirtas first had to get past Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) in the second round, coming back from a 3-0 deficit against the native Russian by scoring three takedowns and a roll in the second period to win 8-3.

Kadimagomedov will hardly have it any easier in the semifinals, where he will face red-hot Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), another Russian transplant who is coming off an impressive run to the gold at the European Championships.

Salkazanov, a 2019 world bronze medalist at 79kg, survived a scare in the quarterfinals against Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL). He was still trailing on criteria when he knotted the score at 4-4 late in the second period, then scored a takedown with :25 left for a 6-4 win.

"In the beginning of the quarterfinal, I was not good as I conceded four points but as I continued wrestling, I was able to defeat him," Salkazanov said. "I have wrestled him before and he is very tough. I lost to him in the European qualifiers but this time I defeated him.

"There is no secret to my wins or my good wrestling. I just focus on winning and I fight continuously to defeat my opponent."

For Umarpashaev, it was deja vu all over. At the European Olympic qualifier, he lost after leading 6-0 in the semifinals against 2018 world silver medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO).

American-born Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR), a European bronze medalist who wrestled at Duke University in the U.S., put together three solid matches to earn a clash with Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) in the other semifinal at 74kg.

In the 65kg quarterfinals, Oliver snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when he scored a takedown with :35 left, then held on to edge Gor OGANNESYAN (UKR) 3-3.

Jordan Oliver World Olympic Qualifier

"The Ukrainian is a tough competitor, very good with his hands and hard to penetrate [his defense]," said Oliver, the silver medalist at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone tournament. "If I am being honest with myself I need more attacks, more attempts, put myself in more scoring positions.

"The push was there the whole match, I took it when I needed it. There were a couple of more times I could have put myself in scoring positions."

Oliver said it was particularly difficult to come back on such an opponent.

"These are situations that we go through when we train," he said. "I knew it was coming, I had to make contact. The shot was there to take and I took it. His was very feisty defensively to hold the guy like that in the last 24 seconds. I knew he was bringing everything he had."

Oliver still has a tough hill to get over in semifinal opponent Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL), another former Russian and a two-time former world medalist. Gadzhiev had to get past a formidable foe himself to set up the clash, beating three-time European silver medalist Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) 2-1, with all of the points coming on the activity clock.

"The quarterfinal was definitely a tough fight, but the semifinal is tougher," Gadzhiev said. "So I am going to focus on that."

At 125kg, the young Kozyrev, coming off a silver medal finish at the European Championships, set up a clash in the semifinals with Daniel LIGETI (HUN). Kozyrev topped Robert BARAN (POL) 7-1 in the quarterfinals, while Ligeti made short work of Dilmukhammed NURMUKHAMEDOV (UZB), notching a 10-0 technical fall.

The other semifinal pits Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN) and Sumit MALIK (IND). Diaz Robertti hanged on for a 3-3 win over Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE), while Malik ousted fellow Asian Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK) 10-5.

With this the last chance for Olympic qualifying, it is understandable that tensions are high, and it caused one wrestler to snap.

In a qualification round bout at 97kg, Minwon SEO (KOR) took exception to being slammed into the matside advertising boards by Altangerel CHINBAT (MGL) as they went out of bounds. Seo kicked out at his opponent, for which he was disqualified.

Freestyle Results

57kg
Semifinals
Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) vs Reineri ANDREU (CUB)
Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE) vs Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)

Quarterfinals
Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) by TF, 11-0
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL) df. Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA), 3-2
Reineri ANDREU (CUB) df. Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ), 7-5
Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE) df. Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK), 11-4

65kg
Semifinals
Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) vs David HABAT (SLO)
Jordan OLIVER (USA) vs Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)

Quarterfinals
Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) df. Juan GONZALEZ (ESP) TF, 10-0
Jordan OLIVER (USA) df. Gor OGANNESYAN (UKR), 3-3
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) df. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), 2-1
David HABAT (SLO) df. Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA) by TF, 10-0

74kg
Semifinals
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) vs Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) vs Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV (BLR)

Quarterfinals
Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL), 6-4
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) df. Aimar ANDRUSE (EST) by TF, 11-0
Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV (BLR) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), 8-4
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR) df. Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), 9-2

86kg
Semifinals
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) vs Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) vs Boris MAKOEV (SVK)

Quarterfinals
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), 2-2
Boris MAKOEV (SVK) df. Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB), 4-2
Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN) df. Istvan VEREB (HUN) by TF, 12-0
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Hovhannes MKHITARYAN (ARM) by TF, 12-2

97kg
Semifinals
Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) vs Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR) vs Albert SARITOV (ROU)

Quarterfinals
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL) df. Satywart KADIAN (IND), 5-5
Albert SARITOV (ROU) df. Samuel SCHERRER (SUI), 4-0
Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) df. Ulrich MANOUAN (CIV) by TF, 10-0
Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR) df. Timofei XENIDIS (GRE) by TF, 10-0

125kg
Semifinals
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS) vs Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN) vs Sumit MALIK (IND)

Quarterfinals
Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN) df. Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE) 3-3
Sumit MALIK (IND) df. Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK), 10-5
Daniel LIGETI (HUN) df. Dilmukhammed NURMUKHAMEDOV (UZB) by TF, 10-0
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS) df. Robert BARAN (POL), 7-1

#WrestleSofia

Takahashi Aims to Make Most of Renewed Shot at Olympic Qualifying

Monday, May 3, 2021 - 12:19 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO --- For the second time, a former world champion in Japan whose dream of making it to the Tokyo Olympics had all but crushed, found it suddenly revived through a twist of fate over which they had no control.

Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) will get a chance that he never thought would come to qualify Japan for the Tokyo Olympics at freestyle 57kg when he takes the mat at the Final World Olympic Qualifying Tournament on May 6-9 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The opportunity arose when Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) surprisingly failed to make weight at the Asian Olympic qualifier held in early April in Almaty. The Japan federation decided soon after to dispatch Takahashi to Sofia.

"Honestly speaking, as an athlete I was happy that the chance came my way," the 27-year-old Takahashi said during a recent online press conference with the Japanese media. "Up to now, the coronavirus pushed everything back and it was difficult for me to keep going. At times I thought, 'What am I doing this for?'"

Takahashi, who had figured his fate would be decided at the time that Higuchi either made the final in Almaty or didn't, instead got the news much earlier. He said he was eating lunch with his wife when he was informed that Higuchi had been disqualified.

"It was like a dream," the 2017 world champion said. "It was a Sunday and I had the day off. I was relaxing and eating when the news came. But I can't suddenly rush into things and change gears. I need to go at my own pace and start preparing."

Takahashi faces a substantially higher hurdle to overcome than the one cleared by Yui SUSAKI (JPN), the former two-time world champion who secured a Tokyo berth in the women's 50kg division at Almaty.

For one thing, Susaki had just four other entrants in the Asian qualifier from which the top two earned tickets to Tokyo; Takahashi could have as many as 26 rivals in Sofia, based on the preliminary entry list, for the same number of spots.

On top of that, even if he finishes in the top two, Takahashi will then have to face Higuchi in a playoff for the Tokyo Olympics ticket later in May. But it's a situation that he has accepted.

"I'm the [original] loser, so even if I win [in Sofia], it doesn't decide things yet," Takahashi said. "It can't be helped, that's the rule. It's quite clear."

Takahashi lost out to Higuchi for a place on the team to the Rio Olympics, but came back later that year to win his first national title. In 2017, he made his mark globally, triumphing at the Asian Championships before winning the gold at the World Championships in Paris. He followed that with a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest.

But Takahashi's Olympic hopes went awry at the 2019 World Championships in Nursultan, where a medal would have clinched a place for Japan and himself at the Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a fourth-round loss left him in 10th place and empty-handed on all counts.

Meanwhile, Higuchi had dropped back to 57kg after going up a weight class after Rio and then making an unsuccessful run at qualifying for Tokyo at 65kg (although he won the world U-23 gold in that weight class along the way).

With the right to fight for the Olympic place in the Asian qualifier on the line, Higuchi defeated Takahashi in the final of the All-Japan Championships in December 2019.

Even with year delay, the odds were certainly in Higuchi's favor --- three Asian nations had earned 57kg berths in Nursultan, and there were just nine entries. But not even making it to the mat was a development nobody had foreseen.

Higuchi's misfortune became a gift for Takahashi, who had started a new job as a coach at his alma mater Yamanashi Gakuin University in April after leaving the wrestling team at security company ALSOK.

Up to then, Takahashi had found it difficult to remain motivated, although the competitive juices flowed again at the All-Japan Championships in December last year, where a victory put him first in line if Higuchi faltered in Almaty.

"While I was practicing, I never knew if I would be able to take part [in the qualifiers]," Takahashi said. "It was not so much that I gave up hope as my heart just wasn't in it. I went though the usual routine in practice, but I didn't care.

"I got back into it at the All-Japan Championships because it was competition again. I think it was important to have that change of heart."

Takahashi acknowledged that the Olympics were always in the back of his mind as he toiled away over the past year, helplessly waiting for the door to either reopen or be permanently closed.

"Of course I kept it in mind," he said. "Nobody could say there was zero possibility. In sports, you don't know what will happen. I kept going with the notion to never give up to the end."

While he has had to take a circuitous and uncertain path to keep his Olympic dream alive, Takahashi feels the setbacks along the way have made him stronger.

"I hit rock bottom," he said. "Aside from someone dying, there can't be a more painful experience in a lifetime. But it's become a strong point for me. I've never thought of myself as unlucky. In life there are good times and bad, and if I go to the Tokyo Olympics and I am successful, that will be good."

To get there, he will need to defeat some equally determined opponents. Among those on the preliminary list, the one who stands out is Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB), a two-time World U-23 champion who placed third at the Pan American Olympic qualifying tournament.

Takahashi beat Andreu Ortega in two previous meetings, both in 2018 and both close matches. The Japanese came out on top 7-5 in a clash at that year's World Cup, then again 5-4 in the bronze-medal match at the World Championships.

Others expected to be in the running are 2018 European champion Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE), 2018 Asian Games gold medalist Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL) and Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK), the 2020 Asian silver medalist at 61kg who finished third in the Asian Olympic qualifier.

"Japan is traditionally strong in the lightweight classes and I've added a few medals myself," Takahashi said. "I will fight with a feeling of responsibility, and stay relaxed and do my style of wrestling. If I properly prepare, I can come out on top."

When the call came and the national team coach told Takahashi, "It's your turn," the main concern was whether a little more than three weeks was enough time to get ready. Even though he had been practicing all that time, it is different than working toward peaking at a tournament.

"I've never had this experience," Takahashi said. "But I knew it was possible. It's always been that if Higuchi didn't produce a result at the Asian qualifier, I could be going. It was only natural that I was preparing. There's no extra burden to getting in shape."

Asked how he would describe his current condition, he replied, "It's not bad, it's not great. It just as usual. Now that I've been selected to be sent to the tournament, I have put all my worries behind and can focus."

Takahashi said his new job as coach at Yamanashi Gakuin has given him a fresh perspective on the sport. Yamanashi Gakuin is one of Japan's collegiate powerhouses, and among its many decorated alumni is 2018 world champion Takuto OTOGURO, who has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics at freestyle 65kg.

"For me, it's really a change," Takahashi said. "When I was at ALSOK, I could think only of myself. But when you become a coach, you must keep in contact with the students."

His new situation really hit home when the JOC Cup, a junior-level tournament that includes younger collegians, was recently canceled due a surge in the coronavirus that led to Tokyo declaring a state of emergency for the third time since the start of the pandemic.

"It was a qualifier for the world junior and Asian junior championships," he said. "As a wrestler, I would have been thinking, 'What am I doing this for?' But now, my thinking has to be, how should we proceed with wrestling? What kind of advice can I give them? It's really made me think."

As a active wrestler, Takahashi also keeps in mind the importance of leading by example.

"They see the position I am in now and the tough times that I had to go through," he said. "What I want to tell them is, if you don't give up, your chance will come. Not through words, but through your actions."

Coming home with an Olympic berth for his country would provide the perfect example of making the most of an opportunity.

Rio Medalist Saritov Keeps Olympic Hopes Alive While Demirtas' Bid Ends

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Takahashi Aims to Make Most of Renewed Shot at Olympic Qualifying