#BudaWrestle2018

Sidakov Caps Magnificent Run with Gold, Petriashvili Repeats

By Andrew Hipps

BUDAPEST, Hungry (October 21) -- Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) capped off a magnificent performance in Budapest, claiming the 74kg gold medal at the World Championships on Sunday night. 

Sidakov edged Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) 2-2 on criteria in the gold-medal match. On Saturday, Sidakov defeated a pair of multiple-time world champions, Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), en route to the finals.  

On Sunday, Sidakov, a 2015 junior world bronze medalist, found himself in an early 2-0 hole against Kentchadze after giving up two first-period step out points in the span of 10 seconds. With just over a minute remaining in the opening period, Sidakov fired off a shot and scored a takedown to grab the lead on criteria. A scoreless final period gave Sidakov the 2-2 victory on criteria. 

In a highly-anticipated bronze-medal match at 74kg, Burroughs edged Chamizo 4-4 in their third meeting of the year. Burroughs scored first off the shot clock and took a 1-0 lead in to the break. A second-period flurry resulted in a 2-2 exchange, which made the score 3-2 in favor of Burroughs. Chamizo took a 4-3 lead after scoring with a step out and unsuccessful challenge by USA. With just under 30 seconds left, Burroughs retook lead on a step out and held for the victory. 

With the victory, Burroughs has now claimed seven world or Olympic medals. It's his second world-level bronze medal to go along with five gold medals. 

Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) picked up his second world bronze medal at 74kg, defeating Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) 3-2. 

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) repeated as world champion at 125kg, shutting out Zhiwei DENG (CHN) 6-0 in the gold-medal match. Petriashvili scored a first-period takedown and led 2-0 at the break. He added two more takedowns in the second period to pull away. 

Last year, Petriashvili stunned Taha AKGUL (TUR) in Paris to win his first gold medal at the senior level. Many expected the two world champions to meet again in Budapest, but Akgul was beaten by Parviz HADIBASMANJ (IRI) in the quarterfinals. 

Petriashvili now has five world-level medals.

Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) defeated Sumit SUMIT (IND) 7-2 to win his second consecutive world bronze medal. Also winning a bronze medal at 125kg was Hadibasmanj.

At 60kg, in a battle of returning world medalists, Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB) gave up an early takedown to go down 2-0 in the gold-medal match against Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS). But an explosive five-point throw by Bonne Rodriguez late in the first period gave him a 5-2 lead at the break. 

Rashidov, a returning world silver medalist, kept the pressure on in the second period, scoring with three consecutive step outs, but the 34-year-old Cuban held on for a 6-5 victory

It's the third world medal for Bonne Rodriguez. He won bronze medals in 2015 and 2017. 

In the bronze-medal matches at 61kg, Joe Colon dominated Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI (IRI) 13-2, while Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) topped Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) 6-3. 

David TAYLOR captured the gold medal at 86kg, giving USA its first gold medalist in Budapest. He rolled to a 12-2 technical fall in the finals over Fatih ERDIN (TUR). 

Taylor built a 6-2 lead in the first period on the strength of three takedowns. He continued his offensive onslaught in the second period, scoring two more takedowns before ending the match with a gut wrench turn. 

The 27-year-old American outscored his opposition 48-13 over the two days in his first World Championships. 

Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) bounced back from a first-round loss to Taylor to claim a bronze medal at 86kg. He defeated Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) 11-5 in the bronze-medal match. It's Yazdanicharati's fourth senior level medal. Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP) won the other bronze medal at 86kg.

USA leads in both the team race (120 points) and medal count (4) after the second day at the World Championships. Russia sits in second place, followed by Iran. 

61kg
GOLD: Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB) df. Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) by VPO1, 6-5
BRONZE: Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) df. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) by VPO1, 6-3
BRONZE: Joseph Daniel COLON (USA) df. Mohammadbagher Esmaeil YAKHKESHI (IRI) by VSU1, 13-2

74kg
GOLD: Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) by VPO1, 2-2
BRONZE: Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) by VPO1, 3-2
Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA) df. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) by VPO1, 4-4

86kg
GOLD: David Morris TAYLOR III (USA) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR) by VSU1, 12-2
BRONZE: Hassan Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) df. Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) by VPO1, 11-5
BRONZE: Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP) df. Gwanuk KIM (KOR) by VPO1, 7-2

125kg
GOLD: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Zhiwei DENG (CHN) by VPO, 6-0
BRONZE: Parviz Khodavirdi HADIBASMANJ (IRI) df. Anzor Ruslanovitch KHIZRIEV (RUS) by VPO1, 11-2
BRONZE: Nicholas Edward GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) df. Sumit SUMIT (IND) by VPO1, 7-2
 

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Five years after third, Kinjo earns shot at fourth gold

By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 29) -- Two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO (JPN) earned a shot at a fourth world title and first in five years, but Jia LONG (CHN) denied the powerful Japanese team a potential sweep of the women's golds.

Kinjo broke open a tight semifinal at 59kg against Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN), scoring eight points in the second period for a 9-0 victory at the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Tuesday in Tirana.

Japanese hopes of winning all four of the women's titles on Wednesday ended when Asian champion Long rode a second-period surge to an 11-1 victory over Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at 65kg, avenging a loss to the Japanese in the final at the 2022 World Championships.

The two other Japanese in action, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) at 55kg and Ami ISHII (JPN) at 72kg, had little trouble advancing to the finals of their respective weight classes.

At 59kg, Kinjo earned just an activity point in the first period against Lipatova, but came out firing in the second, scoring a takedown off a low-ankle shot that she topped off with an exposure and gut wrench for a 7-0 lead. Kinjo then added a double-leg takedown.

Kinjo, who needed a dramatic last-second victory in a domestic playoff with 18-year-old Sakura ONISHI (JPN) to earn her ticket to Tirana, will be aiming to add to her consecutive world titles from 2017 to 2019 in Wednesday's final against veteran Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL).

Sukhee, a world champion in 2014 and silver medalist in 2015, scored a late takedown to clinch a 4-1 victory over MANSI (IND) in the other semifinal. Both Kinjo and Sukhee were bronze medalists this year at the Asian Championships, with the Mongolian's coming at 62kg.

Kinjo could have been expected to retire after failing to make Japan's team to Paris 2024 in a bid for an Olympic three-peat, but she has often said that she wants her daughter, now 2 1/2, to see
how good her mother was, not just hear about it.

The 30-somethings Kinjo and Lipatova's careers had crossed paths before, meeting in the semifinals at the 2018 World Championships. Kinjo won that one 10-0 en route to the second of her three consecutive gold medals.

Kiyooka, winner of both the world U23 and U20 golds in 2022, will be aiming to capture her first senior global title, after seeing her brother Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) and Ikuei University teammates Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) and Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) all strike gold at the Paris Olympics.

She got the parade into the final started by scoring a takedown in each period for a 4-0 victory over reigning European champion Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN), who was the losing finalist to Kinjo in the 57kg final at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the final, Kiyooka will face world U20 champion Jin ZHANG (CHN), who advanced with a victory by fall over Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA). Zhang got in on a deep single for a takedown that led to two quick exposures, then levered the American over before securing the fall.

At 65kg, Morikawa was ahead 1-1 on criteria in the second period when Long used a counter lift for 2 points (originally ruled 4, but later changed on the challenge). She had Morikawa's arm locked and used that for three rolls. After the match was resumed following the challenge, Long ended it with 43 seconds left with another counter lift.

In the final, Long will face European silver medalist Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), who scored a second-period fall over Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN) after building up an 11-6 lead.

Morikawa and Long were meeting for the second time, but one round earlier than before. Morikawa edged the Chinese 2-0 in the final at the 2022 World Championships.

The two finalists at 62kg at the World U23 Championships held last week at the same venue, champion Iryna BONDAR (UKR) and runnerup Macey KILTY (USA), lost to Morikawa and Zelenykh, respectively.

Ishii, the 2022 world 68kg silver medalist, won a battle of newly crowned world U23 champions by overwhelming Kylie WELKER (USA) with a 12-1 technical fall that she concluded in the final seconds. Ishii had won the U23 68kg title, while Welker had triumphed at 72kg.

In the final, Ishii will face three-time former Asian champion Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), who will be looking to take home a first world gold after winning two silvers and a bronze over the past three years.

Bakbergenova prevailed in an entertaining 8-6 victory over Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL), scoring 4 points in a first-period scramble and clinching the win with a late takedown in the second.

Both Morikawa and Ishii lost out on the place at the Paris Olympics at 68kg to Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), who ended up with a bronze medal.

For Ishii, the pain of missing out on Paris was particularly sharp, as she had earned the quota for Japan by placing fifth at the 2023 World Championships, only to lose in the last second of a playoff against Ozaki.

Morikawa rebounded from her disappointment by making the team at 72kg to the 2023 worlds, from which she took home a bronze. Now she is back at her normal weight class, in which she won the world gold in 2022 and finished second in 2021.

Women's Wrestling Results

55kg (18 entries)
SF: Jin ZHANG (CHN) df. Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA) by Fall, 1:28 (8-0)
SF: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN), 4-0

59kg (22 entries)
SF: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. MANSI (IND), 4-1
SF: Risako KINJO (JPN) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN), 9-0

65kg (19 entries)
SF: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN) by Fall, 1:59 (11-6)
SF: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) by TF, 11-1, 5:17

72kg (18 entries)
SF: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) df. Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL), 8-6
SF: Ami ISHII (JPN) df. Kylie WELKER (USA) by TF, 12-1, 5:58