Shirai gives Japan special gold; Georgia win team title

Monday, October 24, 2022 - 02:02 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 23) -- Not only Japan won a freestyle gold at the U23 Worlds after four years, but it was also a historic one.

No Japanese freestyle wrestler has won a world title in over 80kg at any age group. Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) changed that Sunday with gold at 86kg in Pontevedra, Spain.

On the final day of the U23 World Championships, he stunned one and all to beat Trent HIDLAY (USA) to win 3-3 in the gold medal bout to end a long drought for Japan.

With gold and two bronze medals, Japan finished eighth in the team race which was surprisingly won by Georgia with 141 points. Favorites Iran finished second with 134 points while the USA managed to get third with 112 points.

Georgia crowned two championships while Iran had four but only one wrestler of the former did not reach the medal bouts. Iran had a rather tricky tournament with only five wrestlers reaching the medal bouts.

The USA failed to crown a world champion for the first time since the 2018 U23 World Championships. It won three silver and two bronze medals.

One of the silver medals was won by Hidlay who was surprised by a strong defensive final by Shirai.

"The final was tiring," Shirai said. "After all, it was against the USA. I have never done this before so there was excitement and I had fun."

Shirai did not start on a positive note as Hidlay scored a stepout before making it 2-0 with Shirai's passivity points. But the Japan wrestler scored a stepout before a takedown gave him the lead with two minutes remaining.

He never engaged again. Hidlay, who backs himself with his underhook and pushout, was frustrated as his attacks were easily blocked by Shirai. The referee warned Shirai for not engaging and even penalized him for that.

But Shirai managed to hang on for the win. In freestyle, Hiroaki TAKAGI (JPN) made the 82kg final in the Espoir division (U20) but he was one of the eight wrestlers who failed to win the title.

"My focus is on weight training and sparring," he said. "That's all for me. And I want to improve my training."

At the Japan collegiate championships in August, Shirai won titles in both freestyle [92kg] and Greco-Roman [87kg} at Nippon Sports Science University.

He now hopes to win a spot on the Japan team for the senior world championships next year. For that, Shirai will wrestle at the Emperor's Cup in December.

"There are many rivals," he said. "I will train hard and win."

Iran's dominance

Out of the five gold medals on offer Sunday, Iran won three of them. U20 world champions Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) and Amirreaza MASOUMI (IRI) added a U23 world title to their respective age-group gold medals.

The third gold was won by Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI) who defeated Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE), 5-2, at 74kg.

Firouzpour gave up a takedown against Gadzhiyev but roared with his own takedown to lead 2-2 at the break, before hitting another own one in the second period to all but seal it for him.

Last year, Firouzpour fell in the final of the tournament but redeemed himself with the gold medal in Pontevedra.

At 92kg, the elder Firouzpour continued his unparalleled domination in age-group world championships. He finished with a bronze medal in the U23 Worlds last year but Firouzpour made sure he amends that record by winning the 92kg gold against Jacob CARDENAS (USA), 10-0.

The third gold medal was won by Masoumi who defeated Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO), 13-2, in the 125kg final. Manasvili scored two stepouts to open the scoring but that was all he would score.

Masoumi exposed the poor conditioning of Manashvili, and scored 13 answered points with ease to win his third gold at age-group tournaments.

The fifth gold was captured by Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) who became a two-time world champion at the U23 level.

Wrestling Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) in the 61kg, Harutyunyan led 1-0 with the point for passivity. But he started the second period with a takedown to make it 3-0. But Zhumashbek Uulu scored a takedown using duck under in the activity period to lead 3-3 on criteria.

Harutyunyan then rallied for a takedown and leg lace to make it 7-1. A late stepout against Harutyunyan just changed the score of the win. The two-time world bronze medal took home with gold medal 7-5.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ), 7-5

BRONZE: Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) df. Aaron NAGAO (USA), 9-4
BRONZE: Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) df. Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO), 12-4

74kg
GOLD: Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE), 5-2

BRONZE: Vasile DIACON (MDA) df. Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM), 7-3
BRONZE: Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR) df. Temuri BERUASHVILI (GEO), via inj. def.

86kg
GOLD: Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) df. Trent HIDLAY (USA), 3-3

BRONZE: Emre CIFTCI (TUR) df. Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO), 12-5
BRONZE: Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA) df. Maksat SATYBALDY (KAZ), 4-3

92kg
GOLD: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Jacob CARDENAS (USA), 10-0

BRONZE: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df. Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), 14-3
BRONZE: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Denys SAHALIUK (UKR), 5-3

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO), 13-2

BRONZE: Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA) df. Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) df. Milan KORCSOG (HUN), 6-1

#WrestlePontevedra

Bakir Bullies His Way to Second Consecutive European Title

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 19:20 By Eric Olanowski

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (June 4) – When you talk about unstoppable Turkish forces competing in the heavyweight division, you often hear names like Yasemin ADAR, Taha AKGUL, or Riza KAYAALP, all of which hold either world or Olympic titles. A name that soon may be added to that list of unstoppable Turkish greats could be Muhammet BAKIR (TUR). Though he doesn’t quite have the resume to stack up to those other Turkish superstars, Bakir, the son of 2001 European runner-up Fatih BAKIR (TUR), is well on his way to adding his name into those discussions.

Bakir, who holds an undefeated international record, just added a second consecutive European title to his resume and did so without surrendering a single point. En route to his 130kg Junior European title, Bakir outscored his four opponents 24-0, including a 4-0 shutout win in the gold-medal bout against Russia’s Osman SHADOV. He also blanked cadet world bronze medalist Tomasz Jacek WAWRZYNCZYK (POL), along with Robinzon ESADZE (GEO) and Dariusz VITEK (HUN).

Dating back to last year when Bakir won a world and European title at the cadet level, he’s compiled a 13-0 record and shutout 11 of those opponents. Maybe more impressive, Bakir has outscored his world and continental championship opponents 83-4.

The next time Bakir is expected to compete will be the Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia (July 12-18).

Ilia ERMOLENKO (RUS) ended the 87kg gold-medal match after 68 seconds of wrestling. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Russia Leads Georgia by 17 Heading into Final Day of Greco-Roman
The Russian Federation (100 points) heads into the final day of the Greco-Roman competition at the Junior European Championships with a 17-point lead over second place Georgia (83 points).

Russia medaled in all five weights on the second day of wrestling but fell short in three of their four gold-medal bouts. Their lone champion came at 87kg where Ilia ERMOLENKO (RUS) only need 68 seconds to put away David LOSONCZI (HUN) with a takedown and four consecutive gut wrenches.

Russia’s three silver-medal winners were Anvar ALLAKHIAROV, Khamid ISAEV, and Osman Shadov, who dropped the 55kg, 77kg, and 130kg gold-medal bouts, respectively. Their bronze-medal finisher was Adam GAUZHAEV who stuck Gytis KULEVICIUS (LTU) in the 63kg third-place match.

Pridon ABULADZE (GEO) scored seven unanswered points to steal the 55kg title from Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS). (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Abuladze Scored Seven Unanswered to win 55kg Title
Georgian coaches, towing their nation’s flag, poured onto the mat as time expired after Pridon ABULADZE scored seven unanswered points to stun Anvar Allakhiarov, 7-6 in the 55kg gold-medal bout.

Abuladze trailed 6-0 but put together an impressive 7-0 run to steal the gold medal from his Russian opponent.

Early in the first period, Abuladze, who was working off a left side underhook, allowed Allakhiarov to limp arm out and sneak behind for the 2-0 lead. Abuladze’s Russian opponent quickly jumped to a trapped arm gut wrench and extended his lead to 4-0. Abuladze conceded a second opening-period takedown, a slick misdirection duck under, and trailed 6-0.

Before the whistle sounded to end the first period, Abuladze got on the board with an exposure and a step out. After being down by six points, Abuladze only trailed by three points heading into the final three minutes.

The match-deciding points came from a four-point arm spin in the second period, giving Abuladze the one-point advantage and ultimately the 55kg gold medal.

U23 world bronze-medal finisher won his first international gold medal with a 4-1 victory over Khamid ISAEV in the 77kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Levai Wins 77kg Gold, His First International Title
Tamas LEVAI’s (HUN) resume is littered with top-three placements, and it may be hard to believe, but none have been gold-medal finishes. He’s a U23 world bronze-medal finisher, a multiple time European bronze medal finish, and now, Levai's a junior European champion.

Levai reached the top of the podium for the first time of his international career with a dominant 4-1 win over Russia’s Khamid ISAEV (RUS) in the 77kg finals. His Tuesday night win capped off arguably the most impressive and dominant runs to a 2019 Greco-Roman junior European title. To win his gold medal, Levai went 5-0, only surrendered one point and combined to outscore his five opponents 38-1.

Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) overpowered Leri ABULADZE (GEO) in the 63kg gold-medal bout, 8-2. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Toprak Torches Abuladze to Win 63kg Title
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) torched Leri ABULADZE (GEO) in the 63kg finals, scoring the overpowering 8-2 win.

The Turkish wrestler scored a step out and inactivity point in the first period and carried a 2-0 lead into the closing three minutes. To start the second period, Toprak found himself back peddling and tried to throw his Georgian opponent, but instead gave up two points and trailed 2-2 on criteria. In the second period, Torpak poured on the points, scoring two stepouts, and a tornado-like arm spin to win the gold medal, 8-2.

RESULTS

Team Scores (After Day 2)
GOLD - Russia (100 points)
SILVER - Georgia (83 points)
BRONZE - Turkey (66 points)
Fourth - Hungary (60 points)
Fifth - Belarus (50 points)

55kg
GOLD - Pridon ABULADZE (GEO) df. Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS), 7-6
BRONZE - Artium DELEANU (MDA) df. Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR), 6-0
BRONZE - Zaur ALIYEV (AZE) df. Gevorg SUKIASYAN (ARM), 3-1

63kg
GOLD - Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) df. Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 8-2
BRONZE - Aliaksandr PECHURENKA (BLR) df. Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM), 9-0
BRONZE - Adam GAUZHAEV (RUS) df. Gytis KULEVICIUS (LTU), via fall

77kg
GOLD - Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Khamid ISAEV (RUS), 4-1
BRONZE - Mikita KAZAKOU (BLR) df. Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR), 11-6
BRONZE - Nika SHERBAKOVI (GEO) df. Arminas LYGNUGARIS (LTU), 3-1

87kg
GOLD - Ilia ERMOLENKO (RUS) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 8-0
BRONZE - Ihar YARASHEVICH (BLR) df. Jacob Edward LOGAARD (SWE), 7-1
BRONZE - Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO) df. Michal Andrzej DYBKA (POL), 8-4

130kg
GOLD - Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) df. Osman SHADOV (RUS), 4-1
BRONZE - Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN) df. Tomasz WAWRZYNCZYK (POL), 10-1
BRONZE - Nikola MILATOVIC (NOR) df. Raman ULASAU (BLR), 3-2

Shirai gives Japan special gold; Georgia win team title

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Bakir Bullies His Way to Second Consecutive European Title