#WrestleOlegKaravaev

Sasunouski Stops No. 1 Kus; Belarus Wins Oleg Karavev Team Title

Sunday, July 28, 2019 - 16:28 By Eric Olanowski

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MINSK, Belarus (July 28) --- Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR) gave the host nation one of their four Oleg Karavaev golds and sealed up the third seed at September’s World Championships with a late clutch throw in the 82kg finals against the No.1-ranked wrestler in the world Emrah KUS (TUR). 

In the opening period of the gold-medal match, Sasunouski conceded an inactivity point and an exposure and fell behind 3-0 to last year’s Budapest world runner-up. Sasunouski scored first in the second period and trailed 3-1 when he threw a desperation headlock -- which was good enough to pick up two correct throw points. Sasunouski hung on to edge Kus, 3-3 on criteria. 

Sasunouski came into the Oleg Karavaev as the fourth-ranked wrestler in the world at 82kg, but after his title-winning efforts in his home country, he’s passed Iran’s Saeid ABDVALI for the third seed heading into Nur-Sultan. 

The three other Belarusians gold medalists were Pavel LIAKH, Radzik KULIYEU and Siarhei STARADUB. They won their titles at 77kg, 87kg and 97kg, respectively.

In 77kg gold-medal match, Liakh cruised to an 11-0 win over Japan’s Shohei YABIKU and earned his second career Oleg Karavaev gold medal, but first since the 2016 season. 

Kuliyeu earned the hard-fought victory in the 87kg finals over Dogan GOKTAS (TUR) and will move into the fourth seed at the World Championships. Hungary’s Erik SZILVASSY and Viktor LORINCZ are ranked third and fourth, respectively, but will have to forfeit one of the top-four spots because each nation can only enter one wrestler per nation into the World Championships. Hungary’s forfeiture of one of their top-four seeds moved Islam ABBASOV (AZE) into the fourth seed, but since he’s didn’t compete this weekend, Kuliyeu needed nine points to overthrow the Azeri for the fourth spot. He ended up collecting 16 Ranking Series points and is now the fourth-ranked wrestler in the world at 87kg. 

The final Belarusian gold medal of the tournament went to Siarhei Staradub who took down Suleyman DEMIRCI (TUR), 6-1 in the 97kg finals. 

Belarus (147 points), on the backs of the four gold medalists, won the team title two points ahead of second-place Russia (145 points). Turkey rounded out the top three of the team race with 113 points. 

KIM Seunghak (KOR) won his third consecutive Ranking Series title with a 3-1 win over Ahmet UYAR (TUR) in the 60kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Kim Wins Third Consecutive Ranking Series Title
KIM Seunghak (KOR) came into Minsk riding one of the hottest streaks in all of wrestling and added yet another Ranking Series title to his resume with a 3-1 victory over Ahmet UYAR (TUR) in the 60kg gold-medal bout.

Kim started his season off with a fifth-place finish at the Grand Prix of Zagreb, but has since won Ranking Series golds at three straight events. He's had title-winning performances at the Hungarian Grand Prix and the City of Sassari tournament in Sardinia and now the Oleg Karavaev. 

Kim has now earned the second seed at 60kg. He was stationed 14 points behind Victor CIOBANU (MDA), last year’s world runner-up, but with the 16 points he earned at the Oleg Karavaev, the Korean passed the Moldovan wrestler for the world’s second Ranking. 


Mohamed ELSAYED stuck two-time world champion Hansu RYU (KOR) in the 67kg finals.

ElSayed Wins Battle of Past World Champs 
In a battle of past world champions, Egypt’s Mohamed ELSAYED stuck RYU Hansu (KOR) in the 67kg finals after dominating the match from whistle-to-whistle. 

ElSayed, the reigning U23 world champion, had a large lead on Ryu, the two-time world champion, before tossing the Korean wrestler to his back for the fall.

Ryu was clearly frustrated when he got up to his feet and demanded that his corner challenge the initial four-point action -- saying it was a leg four. Ultimately, an additional point was tacked on for the failed challenge and ElSayed grabbed his first Ranking Series title of his career.

RESUTLS

Final Team Standings 
GOLD - Belarus (147 points) 
SILVER - Russia (145 points) 
BRONZE - Turkey (113 points) 
FOURTH -Kazakhstan (88 points) 
FIFTH - Uzbekistan (67 points) 

Gold Medal Results
55kg - Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS) df. Manjeet MANJEET (IND), 9-0 
60kg - Seunghak KIM (KOR) df. Ahmet UYAR (TUR) , 3-1 
63kg -  Shinobu OTA (JPN) df. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), 11-1 
67kg - Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY) df. Hansu RYU (KOR), via fall 
72kg - Magomed YARBILOV (RUS) df. Narek OGANIAN (RUS), 3-2 
77kg -  Pavel LIAKH (BLR) df. Shohei YABIKU (JPN), 11-0 
82kg -  Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR) df. Emrah KUS (TUR), 3-3
87kg - Radzik KULIYEU (BLR) df. Dogan GOKTAS (TUR), 2-2 
97kg - Siarhei STARADUB (BLR) df. Suleyman DEMIRCI (TUR), 6-1 
130kg - Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) df. Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY), 9-0 

#WrestleUlaanbaatar, #OffTheMat

Purevdorj reignites Olympic quest with Ulaanbaatar Open gold

Friday, June 20, 2025 - 09:31 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 18) -- The last time Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) wrestled in front of home crowd in Ulaanbaatar, she was one of the top wrestlers in the world at 62kg.

She was the 2017 world champion and a year before that, she had ended Kaori ICHO's (JPN) 13-year long unbeaten streak at the Ivan Yaryguin Grand Prix. Then in 2018, she won the Asian Championships in Bishkek and the Mongolian Open gold medal in Ulaanbaatar.

Few months later, she failed a dope test at the Asian Games, where she had won the gold medal in 62kg. Her rise turned into a fatal fall and Purevdorj was left to serve the four-year ban. During her long hiatus, Purevdorj focused on personal life.

“I was very sad but I decided to just live and raised my son. I kept myself busy with him,” Purevdorj says. “The most important thing is my mind. It's important to be strong.”

Purevdorj, who still remains Mongolia last world champion in wrestling, made her comeback in 2022 and was part of the Mongolian team to the World Cup. She won silver medal at the Asian Championships in 2023 and qualified for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Seven years since the ban and now in the twilight of her wrestling career, Purevdorj is hoping to reignite the fire to wrestle. She took the first step by winning a gold medal at hte Ulaanbaatar Open. The 31-year-old won in 62kg in front of her family and local fans to once again stamp herself as the best wrestler in Mongolia and even Asia.

"I am wrestling for the second time [first time internationally] this year but it's hard," she says after her gold-medal bout against compatriot and rival Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) who she defeated 11-2 to win the gold medal.

At the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Purevdorj is joined by her husband, son and even parents as they watch her wrestle live after a long time. It's not an ideal start for her as she gets hammered 10-0 by Alina KASABIEVA (UWW), a wrestler she has defeated multiple times in her career before.

That's not what Purevdorj or her family expected in the first bout itself. But she runs back to the warm-up hall and prepares for the second bout, this time against Asian champion MANISHA (IND). And Purevdorj looked in form against the Indian, winning via fall. [The 62kg bracket at the Ulaanbaatar Open was a round-robin bracket, hence giving Purevdorj the second chance].

The fall helps Purevdorj get five classification points and a place in the semifinal over Manisha. She will wrestle Ekaterina KOSHKINA (UWW) for a spot in the final. Her son, six years old, keeps cheering every time he sees his mother on the mat.

Koshkina takes Purevdorj to the limits scoring via counters. Still, Purevdorj led 9-7 at the break and both resumed their dynamic wrestling. Purevdorj managed to defend some of the attacks from Koshkina and ultimately won 15-11.

In a high-affair all-Mongolian final at 62kg, Purevdorj put on a defensive masterclass to beat Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL), 11-2, and capture the gold medal.

"I was able to win because I played calmly," she said after the final. "In the first match, I was not good mental state and was not ready. But next match I was better."

Purevdorj celebrated with a few photos with her family and coaches. She looked visibly tired after the four bouts and could use some rest days.

"As I said, it's hard. I am not sure about anything," said Purevdorj, who was wrestling a UWW tournament for the first time since the Paris Games.

Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL)Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) celebrating after becoming a world champion in 2017. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

When she began wrestling 17 years ago in Ulaanbaatar after her cousins introduced her to the sport, Purevdorj did not think she will reach this level. So being a world champion makes her feel happy and she is proud that she choose this sport.

“I'm seventh child in my family and only I am a wrestler. My cousins were wrestlers but they stopped soon but I never stopped. I really loved it."

But she regrets not having an Olympic medal. She has been on that stage twice but fell short. In Rio 2016, she lost in the repechage while in Paris, she lost to her long-time rival Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) in the bronze-medal bout.

Now, the only motivation to be at the 2028 Los Angeles is to get an Olympic medal which may complete her journey. A medal will make her the third Mongolian wrestler to win a medal in Women's Wresting.

“I'm not sure about wrestling till Los Angeles. But I'm just trying,” she said. “The last Olympics were so hard for me in my career. I'm trying again, and I've started this year. There are many wrestlers in 62kg who are better but I have to train more.”