Susaki Aims to Gain Olympic Spot with Golden Performance

Thursday, April 8, 2021 - 14:15 By Ken Marantz

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 8) --- Two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) can see a silver lining in the year-long postponement of the Asian qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics.

And while a silver medal in Almaty would be good enough to earn her a first trip to Olympics, the 21-year-old star has no intention of coming home with anything but the gold.

"When the Asian qualifying and Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, I felt I was given that amount of time to get stronger and I kept practicing," Susaki said in an online press conference earlier this week.

"As for not having matches, it gave me time to address the little issues that I couldn't do up to now. I was able to work on fine points and from that standpoint, I feel like I've grown in the past year."

Susaki will be aiming to secure a berth for Japan at 50kg, the only one of the six women's weight classes in which the Asian powerhouse did not clinch a spot at the 2019 world championships.

The women's tournament will be on the second day of the three-day tournament April 9-11, which will start with Greco-Roman and end with freestyle.

"It's good and I'm ready for matches," Susaki said of her current condition. "From the start of the year, I've had good practices in preparation as the tournament gets closer."

The tournament will mark her first international event since the 2019 World Cup, and first overall since the All-Japan Championships in December 2019, where she defeated rival Yuki IRIE (JPN) to earn the right to enter the Olympic qualifier.

"It's my first tournament in awhile, so I'm really looking forward to it," Susaki said. "The Olympics are on the line, so everyone is putting everything into this tournament. I will concentrate on each match as it comes and work my way to the title.

"I'm grateful to be able to make the challenge for the Tokyo Olympics. I want to definitely win and gain an Olympic berth, and come home with a smile."

Susaki will certainly be favored to grab one of the two spots available for Asia at the qualifying tournament. She will not contend with opponents from host Kazakhstan or China, as both of those countries qualified at the Nursultan worlds.

Regardless of the competition, and notwithstanding the fact that she does not need to do it, going for the gold has been her mantra since she started the sport, and has many more times than not also been the result. Since junior high school, she has lost only three times --- all to compatriot Irie. She is undefeated against the rest of humanity.

"To have come this far, no matter how it's done, I want to win the title and make the Olympic team," Susaki said. "From the time that the Tokyo Olympics were decided, I've regarded it as an event I definitely want to participate in and win the gold medal."

Susaki's main competition looks to come from 2020 Yarygin Grand Prix champion Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) and 2019 Yasur Dogu winner Seema SEEMA (IND).

Following the postponement, Susaki tried to stay focused on the task at hand, even though it was difficult as the Tokyo region went through two states of emergency and there were limited opportunities for match experience, as no Japanese wrestlers made trips abroad for competition.

"Over this past year, so many things happened, like there was a state of emergency declared and I had to go back home," Susaki said. "Would the Olympics be held or not? The situation was changing all the time. So it was a hectic year.

"But I could see my family and meet my friends, so as long as there was this 'support', I could stay strong through now. A lot happened, but because of those around me, I realized that they made me what I am today. As such, I want to repay them even in a small way by making it to the Olympics."

Without getting ahead of herself, Susaki is already looking forward to what awaits her after the tournament.

"When the Asian qualifying is over, I want to come back to Japan and eat all kinds of goodies, like sushi, pizza, cake. After I secure the Olympic spot, I think that everything will taste great."

U23 Asian and world champion Mohammad Reza GERAEI (IRI) will compete at 67kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Paths to Olympic spots varies

Of the Asian nations, host Kazakhstan and Japan secured the most Olympic berths at the world championships with eight each. Iran has sewn up six places, followed by China (5), India (4), Uzbekistan (3) and Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and the People's Republic of Korea (2).

For some hopefuls in Almaty, the path to the Olympics will be somewhat easier. There is one weight class in each style in which Asian nations have already secured four spots---freestyle 65kg, Greco 60kg and women 53kg.

Conversely, the Greco 67kg and 97kg divisions had no qualifiers, meaning all nations will be vying for the coveted spots, while there was only one qualifier each at freestyle 97kg and Greco 130kg.

Greco 67kg will feature veteran RYU Hansoo, the 2013 world champion at 66kg who has won a combined five titles at the Asian Games and Asian Championships, most recently in 2020 in New Delhi. Now 33, he is looking for one more trip to the Olympics, having finished fifth at Rio 2016.

Also entered in that weight class is Mohammad Reza GERAEI (IRI), the 2019 world U-23 and Asian champion at 72kg, and Meirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ), who finished second to Ryu at the 2019 Asian Championships, as well as 2020 Asian bronze medalist Ashu ASHU (IND) and 2019 world 72kg silver medalist Aram VARDANYAN (UZB).

Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), a 2019 Asian bronze medalist, has the added incentive of attempting to qualify for an Olympics on home soil.

Along with Rio 2016 silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN), who is aiming to qualify at freestyle 57kg, another Japanese wrestler in the spotlight is Sosuke TAKATANI (JPN), the 2014 world silver medalist at freestyle 74kg who will try to make it to a third Olympics, this time at 86kg.

Like Susaki, his goal is to not only to qualify, but to win the tournament. His reasoning is that he took second the two previous times, but failed to medal at the Olympics. "It is bad luck," he said. "Now I'm going to be in 1st place and go to the Olympics."

Among those standing in his way are Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), a 2018 Asian bronze medalist who was fifth last year, and Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL), an Asian bronze medalist in 2019.

Also worth watching will be American-born Domenic ABOU NADER (LBN), a silver medalist at the 2018 Asian Games. The former All-American at Michigan University will aim to become the first wrestler from Lebanon to qualify for the Olympics since 1980 and seventh in history.

In women's wrestling, it will be interesting to see how up-and-coming Sonam MALIK (IND) fares at 62kg. The 2019 world cadet champion at 65kg knocked off Rio 2016 silver medalist Sakshi MALIK (IND) 8-7 at the Indian national trials in Lucknow.

"Sakshi Malik is our role model, she won the medal at the Olympics," Sonam told Indian media. "My coach said, 'You have nothing to lose' and give your best in the match. It was in my mind that I want to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics."

In Almaty, she can expect tough competition from Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ), the silver medalist at last year's Asian Championships, and Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB), a 2019 Asian bronze medalist along with Sakshi.

#WrestleZagreb

Olympic champ Saravi reclaims world title in stacked 97kg division

Sunday, September 21, 2025 - 00:52 By Ken Marantz

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 19) -- Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) ended a four-year wait to regain the title of world champion. He had his share of triumphs in the meantime -- a gold at the Paris Olympics, to say the least -- just not on this stage.

Saravi ended the drought by scoring an early takedown and going on to defeat Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) 3-1 in the 97kg final at the World Championships in
Zagreb on Saturday night, when three Greco titles were decided.

"In my opinion, this tournament wasn’t easy at all; it was one of the most exciting and diverse competitions I’ve ever been part of," Saravi said. "There were new opponents, and some wrestlers reached the finals and repechage rounds that I honestly hadn’t expected. The level was much higher than I thought it would be."

In other finals, Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) gave Kazakhstan its first Greco world champion since 1999 with a quick victory at 60kg, while Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) defeated Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) in a headache-inducing clash at 72kg that was a repeat of the 2024 world final.

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) scores a takedown on Artur SARGASIAN (UWW) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

After winning the world gold in Oslo in 2021, Saravi had to settle for bronze medals at the 2022 and 2023 worlds in Belgrade, falling in the semifinals both times.

But he righted the ship for the Paris Olympics, where he defeated long-time rival Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in the final to add the gold to the Olympic bronze he won at Tokyo in 2021. And from 2023 to this year, he three-peated as Asian champion.

In Zagreb, while Aleksanyan and Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB), who defeated Saravi in the 2023 world semifinals, fell by the wayside, Saravi marched into the final without pomp or drama, winning his matches by such scores as 4-0, 1-1 and 3-1.

"In this weight class, the champions are among the greats of wrestling: Artur Aleksanyan, the Cuban Rosillo, and of course, my final opponent, Artur Sargsian, who is a very well-known and skillful wrestler," Saravi said. "But with my preparation, I was able to execute my plans and win."

His meeting with Sargsian in the final was a rematch of their first-round match at the 2021 World Championships, which Saravi won 6-4 en route to his first world gold. Sargsian took a bronze.

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On Saturday, the 27-year-old Saravi drew early blood when he used an arm drag to get behind and force Sargsian down at the edge for a 2-0 lead. He made it 3-0 with a passivity point, but was unable to turn Sargsian from par terre.

That left the door open for Sargsian, the winner of the Zagreb Ranking Series event in the same arena in February, when he was put in par terre in the second period. But he also could not budge the Iranian, who then ran out the clock for the win.

"As we had planned with my coaches, even though some of my expected rivals didn’t make it to the later rounds, with the analysis we had done we were able to plan well and make it to the final," Saravi said.

"I had wrestled [Sargsian] twice before, and with the strategies we had, I managed to beat him. Thankfully, this time, too, I was able to execute my plans perfectly on
the mat and win the match."

Saravi reflected on coming up short at the two previous World Championships.

"I think in the two World Championships where I won bronze, I had some technical weaknesses," Saravi said. "I was able to fix those before the Olympics and
keep that level through this year’s worlds.

"I hope I can keep improving for the upcoming tournaments and continue winning big medals."

Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) scores a four-pointer on Alisher GANIEV (UZB) in the 60kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

At 60kg, Sultangali, who won two world bronze medals over the five-year span between 2018 and 2022, snared his first gold with a masterful 9-0 win over Asian silver medalist Alisher GANIEV (UZB).

"Today is a historic day for our country because the last gold medal for Kazakhstan came in 1999, 26 years ago," said Sultangali, who also beat the reigning Asian
champion, Se Ung RI (PRK), in the quarterfinals. "I am happy that my country is happy."

Sultangali started the rout in the final by spinning behind for a takedown against Ganiev, then adding a roll for a 4-0 lead.

He used an arm drag to great effect to score two more takedowns to finish off the victory in 1:07. The Uzbekistan challenged the final move, but it failed, making the
final score 9-0.

"I didn’t plan to win the final match so easily and quickly," Sultangali said. "But it happened."

It was a much more fortuitous outcome for Sultangali than in their previous meeting at the Budapest Ranking Series event in July. Ganiev was leading that match 5-1 when Sultangali hit an arm throw, then continued to spin while clamping on the arm. That caused an injury to Ganiev's shoulder and got Sultangali automatically disqualified.

The 72kg final evolved into a messy affair when Ganizade was head-butted by Ghanem in the second period, a painful clash that not only drew blood, but induced a 2-point penalty that would be instrumental in the Ganizade's 4-2 victory.

The Egyptian-born Ghanem received the first passivity point in the first period, but could not score. In the second period, Ganizade was put on top in par terre, but he missed on an attempted throw, then was low on a second attempt at the edge.

The Azerbaijan side challenged the call on the second throw, but it was deemed "not a total lift," giving Ghanem a point for a 2-1 lead.

Had Ghanem just rode out the rest of the match, the gold would have been his. Instead, with :42 left, he rammed Ganizade's head, sending Ganizade sprawling to the mat in pain with blood spurting from the cut. The 2-point penalty gave him a 3-2 lead.

As if to add insult to injury, at the restart Ghanem flopped backwards, allegedly from a head to the chin from Ganizade. He challenged, but the match chairman was having none of his shenanigans, saying there was no contact and nixing the challenge to put Ganizade up 4-2.

"The competition was very tough," said Ganizade, a four-time European medalist. "Even though it was difficult, we had prepared a lot for this event and had attended many training camps. Because of the effort I put in, I believed I could become the champion at this competition -- and that is how I became champion."

It was Ganizade's third straight win in four career meetings with Ghanem, who won the world title in 2023. Previous to last year's 3-2 win in the world final, Ganizade pulled out a close 7-7 victory in the final at the 2023 European Championships.

In their first meeting, Ghanem came out on top, winning 2-1 in the first round of the Individual World Cup in 2020, a tournament set up during the pandemic.

"I have now become world champion for the second time," Ganizade said. "I also hope that after this, I will become world champion a third time and make our nation and people proud. For that reason, I will do my best."

As for what lies ahead, he said, "I’m not thinking about anything else yet. I plan to go rest first. After resting, I’ll decide what comes next."

Se Ung RI (PRK) won a bronze medal at the 60kg weight class. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ri earns 1st Greco medal since 2015 for DPR Korea

In the bronze-medal matches, Paris Olympic bronze medalist Se Ung RI (PRK) gave the DPR Korea its first world Greco medal since 2015 and fourth overall with a victory by fall at 60kg over Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO).

Ri scored a takedown and 2-point throw for a 4-0 lead, then got in deep on a bear hug. When Shavadze tried to counter by lifting up and back, Ri just pressed forward and drove Shavadze to his back for a 4-pointer that would have ended the match anyway by technical superiority. The end came at 2:11 and the scenario was confirmed on challenge.

The other 60kg bronze went to Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM), a two-time world U23 bronze medalist who outlasted Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), winning 1-1 by earning the first of the two passivity points awarded in the match.

Both 72kg bronze-medal matches came to early and similar conclusions, with two-time Asian medalist Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) and reigning Asian champion Danial SOHRABI (IRI) both cruising to 8-0 victories for their first senior world medals.

Aliev defeated Yeonghun NOH (KOR), with the decisive points coming from an odd twist in a challenge following a 4-point throw by Aliev.

After scoring an early stepout, Aliev launched his 4-point throw from par terre. The Korean side issued a challenge, which it won -- except that the change was a 2-point leg foul against Noh, which made it an 8-point difference and ended the match at 1:40.

Sohrabi went the more traditional route in defeating Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ). The Iranian scored only a stepout on a throw attempt while in par terre, but rebounded to put on a six-point spree, finishing with a gut wrench to win in 2:51.

The 97kg bronze-medal matches proved to be wild affairs, with one having the rare occurrence of a fall being nullified on challenge, while the other had a fall confirmed.

Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) came out on top in a 5-5 decision over Alex SZOKE (HUN) in which the Azeri thought he had reversed to a fall, but was instead flagged for a foul that kept the bout going.

Ahmadiyev started the match with a 4-point arm throw, then stepped over to keep Szoke on his back and nearly secure a fall. The Hungarian side challenged, it was denied and Ahmadiyev led 5-0 going into the second period.

Szoke put the pressure on and gained an activity point, then executed a roll from par terre. But as he tried another, Ahmadiyev suddenly turned to face him and knocked him backward to the mat.

The referee called a fall, but on challenge, a leg foul was detected and Szoke was awarded a 2-point penalty that tied the score, but left him trailing on criteria. Due to the caution, Szoke got another chance at par terre, but couldn't turn Ahmadiyev.

Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) saw his fall of Giorgi MELIA (GEO) in the other 97kg bronze-medal match held up after, like Ahmadiyev, he used a stepover to get Melia onto his back.

Melia was on top in passivity, but when he attempted a roll, Maskevich stepped over to put him into a danger position. Melia temporarily spun out, but Maskevich reeled him back in and secured the fall in 1:54. The action was all upheld on challenge.

Day 8 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) df. Alisher GANIEV (UZB) by TF, 9-0, 1:07

BRONZE: Se Ung RI (PRK) df. Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) by Fall, 2:11 (9-0)
BRONZE: Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) df. Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), 1-1

63kg (26 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) df. Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI), 5-3
SEMIFINAL: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) by TF, 8-0, :36

67kg (34 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Daniial AGAEV (UWW) by TF, 10-0, 1:44
SEMIFINAL: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ), 3-1

72kg (30 entries)
GOLD: Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 4-2

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Yeonghun NOH (KOR) by TF, 8-0, 1:40
BRONZE: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) by TF, 8-0, 2:50

87kg (30 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 6-3
SEMIFINAL: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW), 1-1

97kg (29 entries)
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Artur SARGSIAN (UWW), 3-1

BRONZE: Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) df. Giorgi MELIA (GEO) by Fall, 1:54 (5-1)
BRONZE: Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), 5-5

Susaki Aims to Gain Olympic Spot with Golden Performance

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Olympic champ Saravi reclaims world title in stacked 97kg division