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Russia and Georgia Grab Pair of Greco-Roman Olympic Berths

Saturday, March 20, 2021 - 19:25 By Eric Olanowski

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 20) --- Russia and Georgia collected a pair of Olympic berths through Saturday’s Tokyo qualification round at the European Olympic Qualifier.  

Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) and Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) reached Saturday’s finals and brought Russia’s Greco-Roman Olympic berths total to five out of six weights, while Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) and Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) guaranteed a pair of Georgian Olympic licenses at 67kg and 87kg, respectively, after they each scored nine points en route to their semifinal victories.

At 77kg, Chekhirkin stepped up big after replacing two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) on less than a weeks notice. He squeezed out a 7-6 win over Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL). Chekhirkin, the ’17 world champion, faced a 4-0 deficit in the first period but scored six unanswered points and gained the two-point lead. He surrendered a takedown and fell behind 6-6 on criteria but snatched a stepout and earned Russia's 77kg Olympic berth, 7-6.

His finals opponent will be now-two-time Olympian Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO). Starcevic qualified Croatia for the Olympic Games at 77kg with a 3-1 win over Oldrich VARGA (CZE).

Semenov was the second Russian Greco-Roman wrestler to book a ticket to Tokyo on Saturday. He was in such a hurry to get off the mat that he pinned Adam VARGA (HUN) in 98 seconds. 

Semenov will take on Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU), who punched Lithuania’s 130kg Olympic ticket with a controlling 4-1 semifinal win over Knystautas KRAJEWSKI (POL).

Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) was one of two Georgian wrestlers who earn an Olympic berth on Saturday. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Georgia was the second nation that had a pair of wrestlers earn Olympic berths on Saturday.

Zoidze was the first Georgian to win a semifinal bout. He eased his way to a 9-1 win over the slim and slender Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM). He'll wrestle Hungarian world champion Balint KORPASI (HUN) in Sunday’s finals.

Korpasi dominated Donior ISLAMOV (MDA), 6-0, and handed Hungary a spot at 67kg at the Olympic Games. He has world medals trickled throughout his resume, but the one thing the former world champion's resume was missing was an Olympic appearance. At 33-year-old, that's all going to change as he’s expected to be Hungary’s representative in Japan later this year.

Gobadze was Georgia’s second wrestler to claim an Olympic license on Saturday. Despite trailing early, the ’19 world champ emptied his gas tank and earned the 9-5 win over Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS). Gobadze’s come-from-behind win stopped Russia from earning an Olympic berth at each of the six weight classes.


Kerem KAMAL (TUR) was Turkey's lone wrestler to punch an Olympic ticket on Saturday. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, and Turkey each earned a solo Tokyo berth on Saturday night.  

Turkey came into the European Olympic Qualifier with four wrestlers who had high hopes of adding to their nation’s pair of Olympic berths. But after failing to reach the semifinals at 67kg, 77kg and 87kg, they turned to 21-year-old Kerem KAMAL (TUR) to save the day.

With the pressure of a nation on his back, the energetic spark plug dug deep against Erik TORBA (HUN) and ended Hungary’s 60kg bid for an Olympic berth with a one-point victory.

As always, Kamal came out on fire. He tossed everything he had into an early correct throw (six seconds into the first period) and controlled the slim 2-0 advantage. His Hungarian opponent was hit with inactivity and placed down in the par terre position. The two-time European medalist lost focus for a split second and surrendered a reversal and an exposure. Trailing on criteria, Kamal picked up what ultimately proved to be the match-deciding takedown before the first period came to an end.

He stayed composed in the second period and became the third Turkish Greco-Roman wrestler (97kg and 130kg) to punch his ticket to the Olympic Games with a 5-4 victory.

Kamal will wrestle Etienne KINSINGER (GER) for gold on Sunday night.

The German hit one of the craziest four-points throws to steal the Olympic berth from Murad MAMMADOV (AZE).

Kinsinger trailed 3-1 late in the second period when he took a peek over at the clock and realized there was only ten seconds left. In what appeared to be a "flying squirrel" attempt, he left his feet, got his hands locked on a side headlock and tossed everything he had into one final attempt. Kinsinger rolled his Azeri opponent over his back and picked up four points. As the clock struck zero, he realized he punched Germany's ticket to the Olympic Games at 67kg and let out a massive roar in excitement.

Although it wasn’t pretty by any means, Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) got the job done at the end of the day and qualified Finland for the Olympic Games at 97kg.  Despite having two cautions against him and trailing 5-1 with less than a minute left, the Finnish wrestler stunned Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) with a four-point throw to earn the 5-5 criteria victory.

Savolaninen will take on ’18 world silver medalist Kiril MILOV (BUL) in the finals. Milov qualified Bulgarian for the Olympics after he walked to a 9-0 shutout win over Artur OMAROV (CZE), 9-0.

The Greco-Roman finals begin at 18:00 on Sunday and can be followed live on www.uww.org.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD - Kerem KAMAL (TUR) vs. Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
SEMIFINAL - Etienne KINSINGER (GER) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 5-3
SEMIFINAL - Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Erik TORBA (HUN), 5-4

67kg
GOLD - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) vs. Balint KORPASI (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM), 9-1
SEMIFINAL - Balint KORPASI (HUN) df. Donior ISLAMOV (MDA), 6-0

77kg
GOLD - Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) vs. Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), 7-6
SEMIFINAL - Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) df. Oldrich VARGA (CZE), 3-1

87kg
GOLD - Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL - Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Ramon BETSCHART (SUI), 6-1
SEMIFINAL -  Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) df. Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS), 9-5

97kg
GOLD - Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) vs. Kiril MILOV (BUL)
SEMIFINAL - Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Artur OMAROV (CZE), 9-0
SEMIFINAL - Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 5-5

130kg
GOLD - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) vs. Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
SEMIFINAL - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) df. Adam VARGA (HUN), via fall
SEMIFINAL - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) df. Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL), 4-1

#WrestleBudapest

LIVE BLOG: European Olympic Qualifier, Day Two (Tokyo Qualifying Session)

Friday, March 19, 2021 - 14:55 By Eric Olanowski

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 19) --- The #WrestleBudapest freestyle medal matches will start at 16:00 (local time) and will be followed by the women's wrestling #Tokyo2020 qualifying round at 18:00. 

20:07: That'll do it for Friday's coverage. We'll see you back here on Saturday at 11:00 as Greco-Roman actions gets underway at the European Olympic Qualifier.

20:04: Obviously two inactivity points was not the ideal way that Vorobeva wanted to earn Russia's Olympic spot, but sometimes the results is more important than the performance. She defeated Kuenz, 2-1, and will wrestle Marzaliuk in Saturday night's 76kg finals.

19:55: Olympic champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) and world bronze medalist Martina KUENZ (AUT) will close Friday's women's wrestling semifinals. 

19:53: That was quick! Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) pinned Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL) in just over two minutes and helped Belarus punch their fifth overall ticket to Tokyo and second in women's wrestling.

19:48: Here's the final weight for women's wrestling. Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) and Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL) are up first!

19:46: The future is bright at 68kg! First, it was 22-year-old Larroque who qualified for the Olympics. Now, 21-year-old Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) just qualified Russia for the Olympics with her 6-0 victory over fellow European champion Elis MANOLOVA (AZE).

19:31: Larroque is on first early in the first period. She's scored three takedowns and leads 6-0 heading into the second period.

19:25: We'll move into the 68kg semifinals. First up will be Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) and Dalma CANEVA (ITA). 

19:24: WHAT A COMEBACK! Grigorjeva trailed 3-0 in the second period but scored a pair of takedowns to pick up the come-from-behind win over Yesilirmak and Olympic berth, 4-4.

19:20: European champions Elif Jale YESILIRMAK (TUR) and Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT) will wrestle in the second semifinal match at 62kg.

19;19: Koliadenko secured Ukraine's second Olympic license of the day with a 10-0 win over Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA) in the 62kg finals.

19:11: Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) are up next in the 62kg semifinals.

19:07: Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) put on a flawless performance in the 57kg semifinals and ended Sara LINDBORG'S (SWE) hopes of qualifying Sweden for the Olympic Games. She won the match, 10-0.

18:55: Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) and Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) will wrestle in the second 57kg semifinals.

18:54: What a performance by Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)! She scored a pair of takedowns against Bediha GUN (TUR) in the 57kg semifinals and punched Bulgaria's 57kg ticket to this summer's Games.

18:45: Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) was in disbelief as she picked up a late fall against Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) in the 53kg semifinal to punch Sweden's ticket to Tokyo.

18:36: Two-time world champion Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) blasted through Iulia LEORDA (MDA), 9-1, in the first 53kg and helped Belarus book their fourth ticket to the Olympic Games. This week, Belarus claimed three spots from freestyle wrestlers and now one in women's wrestling.

18:23: The second 50kg Olympic berth went to Miglena SELISHKA (BUL). The reigning European champion caught Iwona MATKOWSKA (POL) off balance with just over two minutes left and gained the 2-1 advantage. She tacked on a second takedown after fighting off a late flurry of Polish attacks and won the match, 4-1

18:11: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) reached the final of the 50kg bracket and qualified Turkey for the Olympic Games with her 5-1 win over Julie SABATIE (FRA). 

Women's Wrestling Olympic Qualification Round

17:27: That'll do it for freestyle action. We'll take a short 30-minute break and see you back here for the women's wrestling Tokyo qualification round. action at 18:00.

17:25: Belarus crowned a third champion on the day as Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER) injury defaulted out of the 125kg title bout giving gold to  Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR).

17:10: Karadeniz grabbed a takedown and put the pressure on late, but Huyshtyn came up clutch with a short-time takedown to win back-to-back golds for Belarus. The final score of the match was 5-4.

17:06: It was a pretty even first period between Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR) and Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR) in the 97kg finals. They both scored a point, but the Belarusian has criteria heading into the final three minutes.

16:55: Shabanau continues to roll with that smoothing underhook. He's used it to pick up three takedowns in the finals, and after a lost Turkish challenge, the Belarusian walked away with a 7-0 win and the 86kg gold medal.

16:50: It's not something that'll show up on the results page or highlight clip, but let's give props to the refs for being extra cautious with knees and shoulders during these finals matches. The main objective of this competition was chasing the Olympic quota, and although a gold medal would be nice, the most important thing is the long-term safety of these competitors.

16:45: Shabanau, the four-time world medal-winner, is controlling the ties early in the match with his patented left-side underhook. He's so calculated with his attacks off that hook.

16:44:  Ali SHABANAU (BLR) and Osman GOCEN (TUR) are the next finals match up. They'll wrestle for 86kg gold. 

16: 41: It doesn't look like Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) will compete in the 74kg finals, which means the European OG Qualifier gold goes to Georgia's '18 world runner-up  Avtandil KENTCHADZE.

16:36: What a performance by Tevanyan. He has to be looked at as a serious contender to win the Tokyo Olympic Games at 65kg. Since December, he has wins over Olympic champion Vlad KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO), world bronze medalist Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN), two-time world medalist Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL), and now three-time world champion Aliyev.

16:24: Tevanyan just opened the match-up and leads 7-0. He was on the inactivity clock but snapped Aliyev down for a takedown. He caught the Azeri's left arm and roll twice with a trapped arm gut. He added another takedown and claimed 65kg gold, 9-0.

16:22: Nothing much to talk about in that first period outside of the inactivity point. Aliyev has to attack, and for us fans, that's a positive! This is where things are going to get interesting!

16:18: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) has had a lot of tough tests since December, but none like three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE). This should be a great gauge for the '20 Individual World Cup champion.

16:16: The Bulgarian tried everything he could to close the gap, but Harutyunyan takes the safe route out and concedes a takedown and flattens out. Harutyunyan wins 57kg gold with an 8-3 victory over Vangelov. 

16:14: The Armenian built a comfortable 8-1 lead after a counter-offensive go behind and a pair of below the hip exposures.

16:12: Harutyunyan scored the lone first-period takedown and leads 2-1 at the break. The 21-year-old used a textbook head outside single to take the one-point lead into the closing period. 

16:08: Just over a minute into the 57kg finals and we have a stoppage due to a cut on the head of Georgi VANGELOV (BUL). Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) is staying loose -- bouncing around the medical stall as the tape up the Bulgarian's head.

16:00: Please keep in mind that there could a good amount of medical forfeits in this session. Wrestlers who made it to the finals have already qualified their nations for the Tokyo Olympic Games. For now, we'll have to wait and see who is going to take the mat.