#GC2018

Sushil Snags Third Commonwealth Games Gold, Wiebe Wins Second

Thursday, April 12, 2018 - 12:11 By Eric Olanowski

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GOLD COAST, Australia (April 12) - Olympic gold medalist Erica WIEBE (CAN) and two-time Olympic medalist Kumar SUSHIL (IND) capped off day one at the Commonwealth Games with yet another gold medal. For Wiebe, this is her second time grabbing gold while this is Sushil's third championships performance. 

In the final bout at 76kg, Wiebe found herself fighting back after Blessing Joy ONYEBUCHI (NGR) struck first to take the early 2-0 lead. But it was Wiebe who remained disciplined and used an arm spin to put Onyebuchi on her back, picking up the first-period fall. 

At 74kg, 34-year-old Kumar Sushil made quick work of Johannes Petrus BOTHA (RSA). He started the match off double legging Botha to his back for four. After three gut-wrenches, Sushil was awarded his third Commonwealth Games gold medal. 

The first bronze-medal bout at 74kg saw Ebimienfaghe ASSIZECOURT (NGR) take the 8-0 lead over Curtis DODGE (WAL) after a takedown and three turns off a trapped arm gut. Dodge, the former Judo player remained composed and used a Judo throw to pick up a fall shortly after the start of the second period. This was Dodge's first Commonwealth Games wrestling medal. 

In the second bronze-medal match, Connor EVANS (AUS) picked up the first takedown, but Jevon BALFOUR (CAN) went on an 8-2 run to end the first period. At one point during the first period, Balfour was in on a single leg when Evans tried a backflip only to land directly on his head, giving Balfour four points. Balfour’s two additional takedowns in the second period secured his bronze medal as he beat Evans, 14-4. 

The 57kg final was a battle of two-time world team representatives in Steven TAKAHASHI (CAN) and Rahul AWARE (IND). 

Aware took the first points with a takedown, but that was followed by a four-point throw from Takahashi, giving him the 4-2 lead. Aware ended the first period on a 4-0 run and took the 6-4 lead. 

In period two, it was Aware who opened the match up, outscoring Takahashi 9-3, ultimately giving him the 15-7 victory in the gold-medal bout. 

The first bronze-medal bout at 57kg was a rematch of the African championships gold-medal match where Jan Louwrens COMBRINCK (RSA) defeated Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR). Welson's two takedowns were enough to scoop up his third Commonwealth Games medal and avenge his loss from earlier in the year.  

Muhammad BILAL (PAK) used three takedowns to beat George Anthony RAMM (ENG), 6-1 in the second bronze medal bout at 57kg. 

In the 53kg ‘Nordic tournament’ gold-medal match, Diana Helen WEICKER (CAN) took the 1-0 lead after returning champion Kumari BABITA (IND) failed to score while being placed on the activity clock. After a two-and-two exchange and a chest wrap, Weicker was victorious by a score of 5-2.  Weicker, the mother of two outscored her opponents 36-2 on her way to her first Commonwealth Games championship. 

Freestyle
57kg 
GOLD - Rahul AWARE (IND) df. Steven TAKAHASHI (CAN), 15-7.

BRONZE - Muhammad BILAL (PAK) df. George Anthony RAMM (ENG), 6-1. 
BRONZE - Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR) df. Jan Louwrens COMBRINCK (RSA), 5-2. 

74kg 
GOLD - Kumar SUSHIL (IND) df. Johannes Petrus BOTHA (RSA), 10-0. 

BRONZE - Jevon BALFOUR (CAN) df.. Connor EVANS (AUS), 14-4
BRONZE - Curtis DODGE (WAL) df. Ebimienfaghe ASSIZECOURT (NGR), via fall. 

Women’s Wrestling 
53kg - Nordic Tournament - Only one bronze  
GOLD - Diana Helen WEICKER (CAN) df.  Kumari BABITA (IND), 5-2. 

BRONZE - Bose SAMUEL (NGR) df. Deepika WEERABAHU MUDIYANSELAGE (SRI), via fall. 

76kg 
GOLD - Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN) vs. Blessing Joy ONYEBUCHI (NGR), via fall. 

BRONZE - Kiran KIRAN (IND) df.  Katouskia PARIADHAVEN (MRI), via fall. 
BRONZE - Georgina NELTHORPE (ENG) df. Hajaratu KAMARA (SLE), via fall.

SCHEDULE
April 13 (10:30am LOCAL TIME) 
Freestyle - 65kg and 97kg 
Women's Wrestling - 57kg and 68kg 

April 14 (10:30am LOCAL TIME) 
Freestyle - 86kg and 125kg 
Women's Wrestling - 50kg and 62kg

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Tazhudinov wins gold; Sujeet, Suda champions in Budapest

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 08:07 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 17) -- The final Ranking Series of the season begins Thursday in Budapest with seven Freestyle weight classes -- 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg and 125kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | FREESTYLE PREVIEW

19:55: Bahrain gets a second gold medal as Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) hangs on for a 5-3 win over Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) in the 125kg final.

19:35: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) makes it another 11-0 victory and wins gold medal at 97kg. That is his fourth technical superiority win today. Since his Paris gold, Tazhudinov wrestled in Spain and won gold and now adds a second in two weeks.

19:10: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) is so good in his defense and he uses it to great effect and beats Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) 5-0 and takes the gold medal at 79kg at the Budapest Ranking Series.

18:35: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) wins Ranking Series gold medal at 70kg after beating Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) 8-0 in the final. Just a really strong performance overall as he gets ready for World Championships.

18:10: SUJEET (IND) gives India a Ranking Series gold medal in Freestyle after beating Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE). A bit of Bajrang PUNIA (IND) in Sujeet as he only gives up a activity point in the first period and upped the pace in the second scoring two takedowns and point for activity to win the gold medal.

17:45: Takara SUDA (JPN) with a buzzer-beating four-pointer in the 61kg final to win gold medal! Suda was down 3-1 against Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) with 10 seconds remaining. Suda snaps Zhumashbek Uulu and then brings him down on the mat. Zhamashbek Uulu tries to defend but in clearly on his back and Suda has control. Suda is awarded a 3-3 criteria win.

Kyrgyzstan challenges but that is awarded four points to Suda and he wins 5-3

17:20: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) is the champion at 57kg after he pulls off a takedown in the last 25 seconds against Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE). Both wrestlers exchanged activity points and Lilledahl led 1-1 on criteria but he scored a takedown to pull off a clear 3-1 victory.

17:00: The medal bouts in all weight classes begin now. The bronze medals will be held on Mat B and C while the gold-medal bout will be on Mat B.

Budapest Ranking Series 2025 Day 1 Semifinal Report

Olympic champions Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), who wrestled at the Grand Prix of Spain last week in his first tournament since Paris Olympics, reached the 97kg final at the Budapest Ranking Series on Thursday.

Wrestling only in his third-ever Ranking Series, Tazhudinov posted three straight technical superiority wins and entered the final against Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL).

Opening his day with a 14-2 win, Tazhudinov manhandled Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) and capitalized on the half-hearted attacks of the French wrestler. He hit a big double-leg attack for four points but Viskhanov got two points for exposure.

But that was only opening Tazhudinov allowed for the rest of the bout. Viskhanov tried a few leg attacks but Tazhudinov scored a takedown and two turns to be up 10-2 before an arm-bar attempt turned into takedown for his win.

Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW) was next and Tazhudinov needed just a minute to beat him. In the semifinals, he took 1 minute and 48 seconds to see off Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO), 10-0.

Baranowski had a contradictory run to the final as he won 6-6 on criteria against Jonathan AIELLO (USA) before a 7-5 victory over VICKY (IND) in the quarterfinals. He improved the score line to 7-3 in the semifinal against Juhwan SEO (KOR).

In other weight classes, world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) needed two last-second wins in quarterfinals and semifinals to book a place in the final. He defeated Niklas STECHELE (GER) 4-2 with a pushout in the last second and then handed RAHUL (IND) a 7-6 loss with a takedown in the final moments.

He will take on Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) for the gold medal after the Azerbaijan wrestler beat Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), 5-2.

Asian champion at 61kg Takara SUDA (JPN) showed why he one of the medal threats at the World Championships in Zagreb. Suda wrestled two bouts before reaching the final and won them without much trouble. He began with a 12-2 win over Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and then posted a 4-3 win over Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ).

He will face Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) in the final after the Kyrgyzstan beat his compatriot Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 3-2. A win against Suda in the final can be a huge confidence booster for the Kyrgyz wrestler.

At 65kg, SUJEET (IND) was a surprise finalist after he got the better of Paris Olympic medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB), 11-0, and then beat Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), 6-1, in the semifinals.

He will take on Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) in the final who defeated Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN), 9-2, in the other semifinal.

At 70kg, Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) and Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) set up the final which will be a clash between two continental silver medalists. Aoyagi was in red-hot form in Budapest and outscored his opponents 28-3 before the final.

Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), after his small quest at 86kg, returned to 79kg and made it to the final in Budapest after a 2-0 win over Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) in the semifinal. He will face Asian silver medalist Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) in the final. The Tajik stunned Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) in the semifinal using a cradle in just 21 seconds.

Kougioumtsidis dominated his matches till the semifinals but could not stop Evloev from finishing the cradle and had to make his way to the bronze-medal bout instead of gold.