#WrestleTallinn

Susaki Shines As Japan Puts Three into Thursday Night’s Finals

By Eric Olanowski

Tallinn, ESTONIA (August 14) – Japan, led by reigning two-time senior-level world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN), went 12-2 and inserted three wrestlers into Thursday night’s women’s wrestling finals. Susaki will be joined by teammates Sae NANJO (JPN) and Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN), who’ll wrestle for gold at 59kg and 68kg, respectively. 

Last year, Susaki outscored her four junior world opponents 40-0 en route to her first junior world title and outscored her senior-level opponents 37-0 at the Budapest World Championships. Even with her fall in the opening round on Wednesday, she’s still managed to outscore her four opponents 36-0 and remains on pace to shutout her 2019 junior world opponents, 46-0. 

In the opening round, Susaki was up 4-0 before she picked up a fall against 2018 U23 world bronze medalist Stefania PRICEPUTU (ROU), then grabbed technical superiority victories over Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) and Neelam NEELAM (IND) – which setup a semifinals match with Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU). 

In their semifinals match, Susaki was relentless in picking up her third consecutive opening period technical superiority win of the day. She inserted herself into the 50kg finals with another 10-0 victory,  where she’ll take on Daria KHVOSTOVA (RUS), who edged Natallia VARAKINA (BLR), 1-1 in the other semifinals match. 

Sae Nanjo was the second Japanese wrestler to lock up a spot in the finals. She nabbed a fall over Morena DE VITA (ITA) in the 59kg semifinals and arranged a rematch of last year’s junior world finals with Anastasia NICHITA (MDA). The Moldovan wrestler, who won the junior world title last year, took down Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) via fall in her semifinals match. 

The final Japanese wrestler who’ll wrestle for gold on Thursday night is Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN). She mauled Ewelina CIUNEK (POL), 13-2 in the semifinals and will wrestle Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) in the 68kg gold-medal match. Zhumanazarova thumped Jayden Leigh LAURENT (USA), 11-1 to make the finals, but that wasn’t her most impressive win of the day. In the second round, Zhumanazarova defeated four-time age-group world champion Khanum VELIEVA (RUS), 1-1.

Meanwhile, Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS) avenged her 2018 junior world loss against Saki IGARASHI (JPN) by scoring a 4-3 win in then 55kg semifinals. In the finals, Verbina, who’ll be wrestling in her first world title match, will take on Patrycja GIL (POL). The Polish wrestler defeated Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER), 8-4 to make the finals.

The remaining gold medal bout will take place at 76kg between Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE) and Milaimys MARIN POTRILLE (CUB). Chang became Chinese Taipei's first-ever junior world finalist with her fall over Bernadett NAGY (HUN) in the semifinals, while Marin Portille has a shot at becoming Cuba's first-ever women's wrestling junior world champion with a win on Thursday night.

The day four women’s wrestling finals begin at 18:00 local time and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS
50kg 

GOLD - Yui SUSAKI (JPN) vs. Daria KHVOSTOVA (RUS)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN) df. Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU), 10-0
Daria KHVOSTOVA (RUS) df. Natallia VARAKINA (BLR), 1-1

55kg
GOLD - Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS) vs. Patrycja GIL (POL)
Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS) df. Saki IGARASHI (JPN), 4-3 
Patrycja GIL (POL) df. Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER), 8

59kg
GOLD - Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. Sae NANJO (JPN)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)  df. Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR), via fall 
Sae NANJO (JPN) df. Morena DE VITA (ITA), via fall 

68kg
GOLD - Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) vs. Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Jayden Leigh LAURENT (USA), 11-1 
Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) df. Ewelina Weronika CIUNEK (POL), 14-3 

76kg
GOLD - Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) vs. Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) df. Qian JIANG (CHN), 4-0
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE) df. Bernadett NAGY (HUN), via fall 

#SportsDepartment

UWW organizes fourth edition Event Organizing Workshop

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (October 23) — Over the last decade, United World Wrestling (UWW) has focused on improving the quality of its events. To keep this improvement on track, UWW organized its fourth edition of the Event Organizing Workshop from October 17 to 22 in Tirana, within the framework of the U23 World Championship.

Nine countries, including China, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Namibia, participated in the workshop, which was held before the U23 World Championships.

Led by UWW Sports and Development Officer Yuri MAIER (ARG) and Senior Competition Manager Ramil AHMADOV (AZE), the workshop provided valuable insight into the complexities of organizing international wrestling events.

Participants arrived in Albania on October 17 and engaged in four theoretical sessions on October 18 and 19. On October 20 and 21, they had the opportunity to apply their knowledge practically by observing key event functions such as the technical meeting, draw, and weigh-in.

In addition to covering many relevant topics, the workshop featured contributions from UWW staff members specializing in Accreditation, Photography, Technology & Results, and Marketing and Communications. These sessions, which were held with the support of local organizing committees, helped participants understand the role of various departments in delivering a successful event.

KAKadir CALISKAN (GER), UWW's Photo Manager, presents at the Event Organizing Workshop. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Participants gave overwhelmingly positive feedback, praising the workshop’s structure and content. One attendee highlighted, "The level of engagement and interaction during the sessions was fantastic. The facilitators were knowledgeable, and the practical exercises were crucial in helping us understand how to apply the concepts in real-world scenarios."

Another participant added, "The networking opportunities were invaluable. Meeting professionals from different countries allowed us to exchange ideas and best practices, which will certainly help in future event organization."

Maier emphasized the importance of continuous learning, stating, "Workshops like this allow us to strengthen our network of event organizers across the world. By sharing experiences and knowledge, we ensure that every event is better than the last."

Ahmadov echoed this sentiment, adding, "The practical experience of seeing the U23 World Championship preparation up close is invaluable. It’s one thing to discuss logistics in theory but seeing them unfold in real time makes all the difference."

Overall, the Event Organization Workshop provided an excellent learning platform for participants, empowering them to organize events more efficiently and effectively in the future. It contributed to the growth and be capable of delivering better wrestling events worldwide.

United World Wrestling will continue to support and organize such Workshop in the years to come and already welcome all the interested Federations for the next editions.