#ChinaOpen2018

Three-Time Olympian and World Champion Tkach Cruises to China Open Finals

Saturday, June 23, 2018 - 06:28 By Eric Olanowski

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TAIYUAN, China (June 23) - In her first competition back since missing the European Championships in Dagestan, Russia, three-time Olympian and 2014 world champion Yuliia TKACH (UKR) cruised to the 62kg China Open finals with three dominant wins. 

In her opening round match-up, Tkach stuck Fengfeng CUI (CHN) in the second period while leading 1-0. “Against the Chinese wrestler, I wasn’t happy only scoring one point in the first period. She was smart and waited for me to attack, and it slowed me down.” 

Tkach followed that win up with another second-period fall, but this time it was over Russia’s Elizaveta SOROKINA. 

In the semifinals, Tkach blanked HANG Jungwon (KOR), 8-0, locking up her spot in tonight’s finals, which begin at 5:30 pm local time. 

The Ukrainian wrestler will take on BAO Lingling (CHN) in the 62kg championship bout.

“I know she’s a smart wrestler and likes to attack legs. I have to wrestle my match, use my technique, be quick and I think I can win,” said Tkach after being asked about her Chinese opponent. 

Tkach, the Klippan Lady Open silver medalist said “This is my second finals of the year. I lost in the Klippan Open finals, but I learned from that loss. I didn’t wrestle smart – I wrestled stupid, and I can’t do that in tonight’s finals.” 

#ChinaOpen2018 Medal Matches 
62kg 
GOLD - Yulia TKACH (UKR) vs. BAO Lingling (CHN)

BRONZE - HANG Jungwon (KOR) vs. CUI Fengfeng (CHN)

65kg
GOLD -  Chuying TANG (CHN) vs. Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) 

BRONZE - Na LU (CHN) vs. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)

68kg
GOLD -  Xiaoqian WANG (CHN) vs. Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) 

BRONZE - Suning QIN (CHN) vs. Jiao WANG (CHN)

72kg
Round Five 
Juan WANG (CHN) vs. Duishan ALEDAGULI (CHN) 
Kunming WANG (CHN) vs. Kristina EREMINA (RUS)

76kg
GOLD - Xiaoqian WANG (CHN) vs. Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR)

BRONZE - Suning QIN (CHN) vs. Jiao WANG (CHN)

#WrestleNoviSad

Mesenbrink takes steady steps to win U23 Worlds gold

Saturday, October 25, 2025 - 17:22 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 25) -- Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) remembers his last year's U23 World Championships campaign. He won a bronze medal, left Tirana a little frustrated and missing his training room in Penn State.

With lessons from that tournament and surrounded by his Penn State teammates and coaches, Mesenbrink made sure he did not return home without a medal. The former U20 world champion became U23 world champion after beating Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2, in the 74kg final.

Mesenbrink was a leg-attack machine in the final and Ozmus did little to defend those, giving up the final in 2:59, just on the stroke of the break.

"It's just about constantly getting better, technically, and emotionally, too," Mesenbrink said. "If I'm just running in there, trying to grab onto his head, he can get in. So just being able to constantly improve. I think that's a strong testament to the people around me and to the coaches that I have and the teammates that I have at Penn State."

Seven wrestler out of the 10 on the United States Freestyle team are part of the same training center -- the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club, Penn State, which Mesenbrink said made a lot of difference this year.

"It's fun, because last year I came by myself. It was just me at the U23s. So it was fun this year that we had seven out of 10 guys," he said. "Last year, I knew the guys, but it wasn't my teammates, right? Now it's my teammates, the guys that I'm literally in the room with every day. We go over and it's almost like, are we even in Serbia right now? It feels like we're in America, because we got so many guys here."

In Tirana, the American wrestler lost to Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) in the quarterfinals but bounced back to win the bronze medal. But in Novi Sad on Friday, Mesenbrink faced Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) in the semifinals and came out on top 6-4, with a buzzer beating takedown.

The win boasted Mesenbrink's confidence who was close to make the U.S. senior team for World Championships in Zagreb where Takahashi won gold, but lost to David CARR (USA) domestically.

However, that loss made Mesenbrink think about his aims and how he wants to improve his wrestling on the mat.

"I think the big thing of not making the world team, it was just, I got to get better in those specific areas," he said. "That's the most fun part. I thought this is all this is, is a title. This is gonna be fading so quick. So I thought I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work on the things that I've been working on and I've been working really hard since Final X to get those improvements."

Mobin AZIMI (IRI)Mobin AZIMI (IRI) celebrates after winning the 92kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In the only other final of Freestyle, Mobin AZIMI (IRI) earned the first gold medal for Iran after beating Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3, in the 92kg final. Azimi broken Khaniev down in the final and scored three stepout points to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) df. Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2

BRONZE: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. PARVINDER (IND), 8-2
BRONZE: Manuel WAGIN (GER) df. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), 8-4

92kg
GOLD: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3

BRONZE: Sherzod POYONOV (UZB) df. Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR), 11-1
BRONZE: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 10-0

Semifinals

57kg
GOLD: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

SF 1: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) df. Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB), 6-1
SF 2: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Aiandai ONDAR (UWW), 7-1

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) vs. Sina KHALILI (IRI)

SF 1: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. PJ DUKE (USA), 14-4
SF 2: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 8-2

79kg
GOLD: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) vs. Levi HAINES (USA)

SF 1: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) df. Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW), 5-2
SF 2: Levi HAINES (USA) df. Davud DAUDOV (UWW), 11-4

125kg
GOLD: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) vs. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) df. Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (UWW), 5-0
SF 2: Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) df. Daniel HERRERA (USA), 12-2