#WrestleHammamet

Thirty-Six Olympic Berths Secured by 10 Different Nations at African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier

Monday, April 5, 2021 - 19:08 By United World Wrestling Press

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (April 5) -- Thirty-six Olympic berths were secured by 10 different nations this past weekend at the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Hammamet, Tunisia. Wrestlers who finished in the top two in their respective weight categories qualified their nations for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Host nation Tunisia secured the most Olympic berths with 10 across the three styles. Algeria qualified eight weight categories, while Egypt qualified seven.

Below is a brief recap from each of the three styles.

Greco

Greco-Roman 

Tunisia tallied a quartet of Tokyo berths in Greco-Roman. They claimed the team title, finishing five points ahead of second-place Algeria, who also nabbed four Olympic berths.

The four wrestlers who earned Tunisian tickets to the Olympic Games were: Souleymen NASR (TUN), Lamjed MAAFI (TUN), Haikel ACHOURI (TUN) and Amine GUENNICHI (TUN). Nasr and Maafi won titles, while Achouri and Guennichi finished second. 

Algeria had a solo champion and three runner-ups and also booked four tickets to Tokyo. Their four berths came at 60kg, 67kg, 87kg and 97kg. Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) won gold at 97kg, while Abdelkarim Fergat (60kg), Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG) (67kg) and Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) (87kg) closed out the day with silver-medal finishes.

Egypt won three golds and finished third place in the team race. Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY), Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) and Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) were crowned champions at 60kg, 87kg and 130kg, respectively.

Women's wrestling

Rio Olympic bronze medalist Marwa AMRI (TUN) assisted her country in winning three gold medals and a silver and grabbed the team title 45 points ahead of second-place Nigeria, who earned three women’s wrestling Olympic berths on the day.

Sarra HAMDI (TUN), Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) and Amri won golds at 50kg, 57kg and 62kg, while Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) won silver at 76kg.

Cameroon’s Joseph ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR) stole the show on Saturday night en route to winning the 53kg gold medal. The now-two-time Olympian obliterated her three competitors – scoring back-to-back falls before capturing the crown with a 53-second technical superiority win over Rckaela AQUINO (GUM) in the finals.

Other gold medals in women's wrestling went to Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) and Samar HAMZA (EGY).

Freestyle

Freestyle

Six countries combined to secure the 12 Olympic berths in freestyle that were on the line on the final day of the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier on Sunday.

Algeria led the way by capturing four quotas while Egypt, Tunisia and Guinea-Bissau claimed two each. Senegal and Nigeria also registered their names by claiming a berth each for the Tokyo Olympics.

Egypt edged host nation Tunisia for the freestyle team title despite both countries having 105 points. The former had two gold medal finishes compared to the one of Tunisia.

Amr HUSSEN (EGY) led his country's charge as he defeated three-time Olympian Augusto MIDANA (GBS), 10-0, in the 74kg final. Another gold medal for Egypt was earned by Rio Olympian and African champion at 125kg Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB in the Nordic style bracket.

At 57kg, 19-year-old Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) stole the show as he claimed the gold medal in stunning fashion by pinning two-time African champion Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) in just 57 seconds.

Tunisia also had two finalists but managed to claim only one gold. Rio Olympian Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) won the 97kg gold after Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) pulled out midway with an injury.

Adama DIATTA (SEN), who is now a three-time Olympian, claimed the lone spot for his country by edging Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN) to win gold at 65kg.

At 86kg, Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) could not have scripted a better finish for himself. Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) surprised Agiomor with a five-point throw after starting with a single attack. Trailing 6-5 in the final 10 seconds of the bout, the Nigerian got an exposure over the Algerian to claim the gold medal. 

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD - Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) df. Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG), 10-3
BRONZE -  Fouad FAJARI (MAR) df. Mehdi JOUINI (TUN), 8-0 

67kg
GOLD - Souleymen NASR (TUN)
SILVER - Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
BRONZE - Gert COETZEE (RSA) 

77kg
GOLD -  Lamjed MAAFI (TUN) df. Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR), 3-3
BRONZE - Wael ABDELRAHMAN (EGY) df. Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG), 8-4

87kg
GOLD - Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), via injury default
BRONZE - Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN) df. Edward LESSING (RSA), via fall 

97kg
GOLD -  Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) 
SILVER - Haikel ACHOURI (TUN) 
BRONZE - Mohamed Ali Elsayed GABR (EGY)

130kg
GOLD - Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
SILVER - Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) 
BRONZE - Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)

Women's wrestling

50kg
GOLD – Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
SILVER – SAdijat Avorshai IDRIS (NGR)
BRONZE – Nada MOHAMED (EGY)

53kg
GOLD – Joseph ESSOMBE (CMR) df. Rckaela AQUINO (GUM), 10-0
BRONZE – Siwar LOUATI BEN ALI (TUN) df. Elisa RASOANANTENAINA (MAD), via fall
BRONZE –  Bose SAMUEL (NGR) df. Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG), 10-0

57kg
GOLD –  Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) df. Fatoumata CAMARA (GUI), 9-3
BRONZE – Rayane HOUFAF (ALG) df. Eman EBRAHIM (EGY), via inj. def.

62kg
GOLD – Marwa AMRI (TUN)
SILVER – Aminat ADENIYI (NGR)
BRONZE – Berthe ETANE NGOLLE (CMR) 

68kg
GOLD – Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
SILVER – Enas AHMED (EGY) 
BRONZE – Khadija JLASSI (TUN) 

76kg
GOLD – Samar HAMZA (EGY)
SILVER – Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) 
BRONZE – Amy YOUIN (CIV)

Freestyle

57kg
GOLD: Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) df Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG), via fall
BRONZE: Kossai AJIMI (TUN) df Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM), 2-0
BRONZE: Chakir ANSARI (MAR) df Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY), 16-14

65kg
GOLD: Adama DIATTA (SEN) df Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN), 1-1
BRONZE: Reynhardt LOUW (RSA) df Aime Mbolalalaina Joel RAKOTONIAINA (MAD), 11-0
BRONZE: Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY) df Mostafa REZAEIFAR (AUS), 10-4

74kg
GOLD: Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY) df Augusto MIDANA (GBS), 10-0
BRONZE: Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN) df Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG), via fall
BRONZE: Ogbonna Emmanuel JOHN (NGR) df Elias Lauofo VAOIFI (ASA), 6-2

86kg
GOLD: Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) df Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG), 7-6
BRONZE: Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY) df Bedopassa Buassat DJONDE (GBS), 7-0
BRONZE: Maher GHANMI (TUN) df Jayden Alexander LAWRENCE (AUS), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) df Mohammed FARDJ (ALG), via VIN
BRONZE: Martin ERASMUS (RSA) df Soso TAMARAU (NGR), via fall
BRONZE: Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY) df Thomas John Mcglinchey BARNS (AUS), 6-4

125kg
GOLD: Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
SILVER: Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG)
BRONZE: Abdelmoneim ADOULI (TUN)
4th: Johannes Jacobus KRIEL (RSA)
 

#WrestleAstana

Asian Championships day one finals set

Sunday, April 9, 2023 - 05:33 By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

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ASTANA, Kazakhstan (April 9) -- The Asian Championships are underway in Astana. Greco-Roman will kick off the continental championships with five weight classes. The tournament has same-day finals.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The finals are set. Like always, Greco-Roman threw some stunning bout. Here are the pairs

55kg - RUPIN (IND) vs. Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
63kg - Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB) 77kg - Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) vs. Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
87kg - Naser Ghasem ALIZADEH (IRI) vs. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
130kg - Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Lingzhe MENG (CHN) 

14:26: In the final semifinal match, Alikhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) ran out of gas and lost his chance to defend his title after losing with three cautions to Zagreb Open bronze medalist Lingzhe MENG (CHN). Syzydkov was leading 3-0 in the second period when he had no energy to withstand Meng, who would have won anyway by technical fall as the score was 11-3 after Syzdykov received his third caution for fleeing during a stepout.

14:25: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) with a par terre to gut wrench and wins his 130kg semifinal against Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB) 9-0.

14:15: Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) has got the home crowd excited. He sends A. AZISBEKOV (KGZ) to two big throws and wins his 87kg semifinal 11-0. He will wrestle Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) for the gold.

14:12: The 7-point lead that Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) built up in the first period provided more than the cushion he needed when he gave up a second-period takedown to Sunil KUMAR (IND), and the 7-2 win gives him the chance a winning a second straight 87kg title. Kumar will have a chance for a second straight bronze.

14:04: World champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) proved too much for Kodai SAKURABA (JPN), storming to a 9-1 technical fall in 2:41 to give him a shot at a third senior Asian title. Sakuraba will be wrestling for a second straight bronze. 

14:01: Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) led 1-0 at the break after the forced par terre position before Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) got the lead 1-1 for his par terre. He managed to roll Zhadrayev and lead 3-1. Kaviyaninejad was called for passivity but did not give up any points. He wins 3-1 to reach the final.

13:58: Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB), the Asian U23 champion, will have a shot at the senior title after coming back with a dramatic victory by fall over Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ) in the other 63kg semifinal. Mamurbek had taken a 5-2 lead before Sharibjanov stormed back.

13:52: No surprises there as Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) rolls Jinseub SONG (KOR) to a 9-0 win. He uses his gut wrench from par terre to reach the final at 63kg.

13:43: In a replay of the final at the Ranking Series Zagreb Open in February, Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) dispatched Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZ) 8-1 to advance to the 55kg final, assuring that he will improve on his bronze medal from 2021. 

13:40: RUPIN (IND) into the final at 55kg. He gets a gut wrench from par terre and then defends his par terre position to beat Haifeng ZHANG (CHN) 3-1 in the semifinal

We have the semifinals set. Here's how the order will be

Mat B
55kg - RUPIN (IND) vs Haifeng ZHANG (CHN)
63kg - Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Jinseub SONG (KOR)
77kg - Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) vs Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
87kg - A. AZISBEKOV (KGZ) vs. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
130kg - Amin MIRZAZADEH ((IRI) vs Temurbek NASIMOV (KAZ)

Mat C
55kg - Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) vs. Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
63kg - Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB) vs Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ)
77kg - Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) vs Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
87kg - Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) vs. Sunil KUMAR (IND) 
130kg - Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) vs. Lingzhe MENG (CHN)

13:20: 2020 Asian champion Sunil KUMAR (IND) is in the semifinal. He will face defending champion Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) at 87kg on Mat C

13:13: Iran made it a perfect 5-for-5 for getting its wrestlers into the semifinals, but Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) cut it as close as possible at 77kg. Kaviyaninejad, the 2020 Asian champion at 72kg, squeezed out a 1-1 victory over Rui LIU (CHN) by resisting from the bottom of par terre in the final minute.  

13:02: World silver medalist Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) is into the semifinals at 130kg after brushing aside Roman KIM (KGZ) by technical fall. Mirzazadeh is looking to add to the senior Asian title he won in 2020. 

12:56: World U23 champion Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) looked clinical in rolling to an 8-0 technical fall over Taiga ONISHI (JPN) to gain a place in the 55kg semifinals.

12:51: Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ), looking for his first Asian medal since 2015, showed how experience counts in this sport when he shrugged off an 0-5 deficit and came back for an 11-5 win over 2022 silver medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) in the quarterfinals at 87kg. Turynov topped off the win with a pair of gut-wrenches. 

12:48: Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) with a stunning head pinch to throw Kodai SAKURABA (JPN) in the first half. But they have called it a foul. A challenge from Kim. Reviews show that he committed a leg foul. A big throw from Kim but it's two each for both the wrestlers. Sakuraba scores another move and it's 7-5 for him. Kim will bow out.

12:38: World champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) begins his title defense at 77kg in style, rolling to a 9-0 technical fall over Jeyhun OVEZDURDYYEV (TKM) to advance to the semifinals. 

12:41: Another defending champion, Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) at 87kg, overcame the challenge of a gutsy Masato SUMI (JPN) to make the semifinals with a 1-1 victory. Neither wrestler could score from par terre, and Alizadeh got the win by last-point criteria. 

12:32: Defending 130kg champion Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) gut-wrenched his way to a technical fall over Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM) to book his place in the semifinals. 

12:26: At 130kg, world U20 bronze medalist Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB) fights out of a near go-behind takedown and hangs on for a 5-3 win over NAVEEN (IND) to make the semifinals.  

12:12: World U20 bronze medalist Taiga ONISHI (JPN), looking to keep the 55kg title in Japanese hands for the third straight year following the back-to-back golds by Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), cruised to a 5-0 victory over Mostafa ALQADE (JOR). Next up is world U23 champion Poya DAD MARZ (IRI). 

12:05: Masato SUMI (JPN) begins with a statement win. He moves to the quarterfinals with an 11-0 win over Shyhazberdi OVELEKOV (TKM).

12:01: 2022 bronze medalist Kodai SAKURABA (JPN) gets the big lift to finish off a technical fall over Lai Hsing YAO (TPE) at 77kg. That puts him into a quarterfinal clash with 34-year-old 5-time champion Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR).

11:58: Veteran Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), looking for his fifth career senior Asian medal, gets off to a good start with a technical fall over Amro SADEH (JOR) at 77kg. 

11:48: NEERAJ (IND), a bronze medalist in 2022, gets through his qualification round match at 63kg by holding on for a 7-6 win over Dastan KADYROV (KGZ) to advance to the quarterfinals. 

11:40: We did not expect that start! RUPIN (IND) wrestles back from 7-0 down to a 16-7 win over Sardarbek KONUSHBAEV (KGZ) as Rupin exposes Konushbaev's weak conditioning. 

11:30: Welcome to Astana for the start of the Asian Championships. We're kicking off the six days of action with five weight classes in Greco-Roman -- 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg, 130kg. There are three defending champions in action today, Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) at 77kg, Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) at 87kg and Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) at 130kg. Makhmudov is also the reigning world champion.