Titan Mercury, Kashan into Semis

Friday, December 8, 2017 - 03:07 By Ali Feizasa

The 2017 World Clubs Cup semifinalists were determined in Tehran, Iran, as two-time champion, Bimeh Razi (IRI) was eliminated.

13 teams from four pools competed in the fourth edition of World Clubs Cup with the best teams of each group advancing to the semifinals.

In the first semifinal, Titan Mercury (USA) matches up with Khimori (MGL). Two Iranian sides in Setaregan Sari and Easy Pipe Kashan will meet in the second semifinal.

Pool A: Titan Mercury advance to the semifinals with three consecutive wins

Defending champions, Titan Mercury (USA) advanced to the semifinals with three straight victories. Four Olympic and world medalists picked up wins for TMWC including Kyle SNYDER (USA), Thomas GILMAN (USA), Franklin GOMEZ (PUR), and Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA).

The Iranian fans treated Snyder like a true hero, even taking a few selfies with him. “Iranian fans take wrestling seriously, so it’s one of the best places to wrestle”, Snyder said. “I would have really liked to wrestle Reza YAZDANI (IRI) and Abdurashid SADULAEV (RUS) this weekend. They are among the best wrestlers in the world and it would be a challenge to wrestle them, but it didn’t happen here” he added.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) is close to picking up a fall at 97kg of the World Clubs Cup.

Pool B: Mongolian team edged Hungary and Tajikistan clubs

In pool B, Khimori (MGL) downed Budapest SC (HUN) and Tajikistan to advance to semifinals to take on Titan Mercury (USA).

Pool C: Elimination of Bimeh Razi (IRI) in battle of Russian wrestlers

Everyone expected to see two-time World Clubs Champion Bimeh Razi (IRI) in the semifinals, but Setaregan Sari (IRI) defeated Bimeh Razi (IRI) in an early battle.

Five Russian wrestlers competed for Bimeh Razi, including Olympic champion Abdurashid Sadulaev, Olympic silver medalist Aniuar GEDUEV (RUS), and 2014 world champion Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS). Tsabolov and Geduev both found themselves in trouble as they lost their bouts. Tsabolov (Bimeh Razi) was defeated by 2015 world champion, Magomed Rasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 8-4. Geduev suffered a 10-7 loss to Omid HASSANTABAR (Setaregan Sari).

Abdurashid Sadulaev kept Bimeh Razi’s hopes alive as he beat Abazar ESLAMI (11-0), but Esmaeil NEJATIAN sealed the match with a narrow 4-3 victory over recent U-23 World Champion, Mojtaba GOLEIJ.

Two other important results from the match were Asian champion Meysam NASIRI (Bimeh Razi) defeating three-time world champion Haji ALIEV (AZE) at 65kg, and Magomed KURBANALIEV (Setaregan) pinning Hamed RASHIDI.

Abdualrashid SADULAEV (RUS) looks to pick up a takedown at the 2017 World Clubs Cup.

Pool D: Iranian Easy Pipe Kashan goes to semifinal

Another tournament favorite, Easy Pipe Kashan (IRI) came in strong as they beat Kirgizstan (10-0) and Georgia (7-3). Easy Pipe didn’t have as difficult of a time on their way to the semifinals as they enjoyed success from Georgian stars Geno PETRIASHVILI and Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI. They also received success from 2015 world bronze medal winner Alireza KARIMI and Russian Vladislav BAITSAEV (RUS).

The semifinals of the World Clubs Cup start Friday morning 10 a.m. local time and the third place and final matches starts at 4 p.m. in Azadi Sport Complex of Tehran.

RESULTS

Titan Mercury (USA) df. Montreal (CAN), 9-1
57kg- Thomas GILMAN (Titan) df. Steven TAKAHASHI (Montreal), 13-6
61kg- Ghara MANIVA (Montreal) df. Alan WATERS (Titan), 7-6
65kg- B.J. FUTRELL (Titan) df. Hashem MOKHTARI (Montreal), 7-2
70kg- Franklin GOMEZ (Titan) – No wrestler (Montreal)
74kg- Nazariy KULCHYTSKYY (Titan) TF. Guseyn RUSLANZADA (Montreal), 10-0
79kg- Kyle DAKE (Titan) TF. Ahmed SHAMIYA (Montreal), 11-0
86kg- David TAYLOR (Titan) TF. Alexander MOORE (Montreal), 14-4
92kg- Nickolas HEFLIN (Titan) TF. Jordan STEEN (Montreal), 10-0
97kg- Kyler SNYDER (Titan) df. Masoud KHAJE SALEHANI (Montreal), 9-2
125kg- Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (Titan) TF. Korey JARIVS (Montreal), 10-0

Titan Mercury (USA) df. India Club (IND), 8-2
57kg- Thomas GILMAN (Titan) df. Amit KUMAR (IND), 6-3
61kg- Ravinder (IND) TF. Alan WATERS (Titan),12-2
65kg- B.J. FUTRELL (Titan) df. Sonu (IND), 9-8
70kg- Vinod KUMAR (IND) df. Franklin GOMEZ (Titan), 6-5
74kg- Nazariy KULCHYTSKYY TF. (Titan) Ver Dev GULIA (IND), 10-0
79kg- Kyle DAKE (Titan) TF. Jitender (IND), 10-0
86kg- David TAYLOR (Titan) TF. Pawan Kumar (IND), 10-0
92kg- Nickolas HEFLIN (Titan) Pinned Viky (IND)
97kg- Kyler SNYDER (Titan) TF. Somveer (IND), 10-0
125kg- Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (Titan) TF. Pushpender Singh (IND), 10-0

Other results of Pool A:
Titan Mercury (USA) df. NSA Academy (Bulgaria),10-0
India Club df. Montreal (CAN), 6-4
Montreal (CAN) df. NSA Academy (BUL), 7-3
India Club df. NSA Academy (BUL), 9-1

Setaregan Sari (IRI) df. Bimeh Razi (IRI), 6-4
57kg- Nader HAJAGHANIA (Setaregan) pinned Younes SARMASTI (Bimeh Razi)
61kg- Iman SADEGHI (Bimeh Razi) df. Mohammad RAMEZANPOUR (Setaregan), 7-4
65kg- Meysam NASIRI (Bimeh Razi) df. Haji ALIEV (Setaregan), 8-4
70kg- Magomed KURBANALIEV (Setaregan)pinned Hamed RASHIDI (Bimeh Razi)
74kg- Magomed Rasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (Setaregan) df. Khetik TSABOLOV (Bimeh Razi), 8-4
79kg- Omid HASSANTABAR (Setaregan) df. Aniuar GEDUEV(Bimeh Razi), 10-7
86kg- Mohammad Javad EBRANHIMI (Bimeh Razi) df. Esmaeil MAHMOUDI (Setaregan), 5-0
92kg- Abdulrashid SADULAEV (Bimeh Razi) TF. Abazar ESLAMI (Setaregan), 11-0
97kg- Esmaeil NEJATIAN (Setaregan) df. Mojtaba GOLEIJ (Bimeh Razi), 4-3
125kg- Jaber SADEGHZADEH (Setaregan) df. Komeil GHASEMI (Bimeh Razi)by forfeit

Other matches of Pool C:
Setaregan Sari (IRI) df. BS Brothers (KAZ), 9-1
Bimeh Razi (IRI) df. BS Brothers (KAZ), 10-0

Easy Pipe Kashan (IRI) df. Raindi (GEO), 7-3
57kg- Reza ATARI (Easy Pipe) df. Roberti DINGASHVILI (Raindi), 8-0
61kg- Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (Easy Pipe) TF. Teimuraz VANISHVILI (Raindi), 10-0
65kg- Farzad Amouzad KHALILI (Easy Pipe) df. Edemi BOLKVADZE (Raindi), 6-0
70kg-Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (Raindi) df. Hamidreza ZARRINPEYKAR (Easy Pipe), 6-0
74kg- Hossein ELYASI (Easy Pipe) df. Giorgi LOBJANIDZE (Raindi), 10-2
79kg- Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (Raindi) df. Reza AFZALI (Easy Pipe), 6-4
86kg- Alireza KARIMI (Easy Pipe) TF. Zaur BERADZE (Raindi), 11-0
92kg- Hossein SHAHBAZI (Easy Pipe) TF. Saba CHIKLADZE (Raindi), 12-2
97kg- Vladislav BAITSAEV (Easy Pipe) TF. Zurabi AKHOBDZE (Raindi), 19-6
125kg- Levani GOGRICHIANI (Raindi) df. Geno PETRIASHVILI (Easy Pipe) by forfeit

#WrestleTirana

U23 World Championships 2024: Best storylines in Tirana

Monday, October 14, 2024 - 11:45 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 14) -- The U23 World Championships will kick off in Tirana next Monday with 661 wrestlers participating. Not only some returning champions are entered, but a few Paris 2024 Olympic wrestlers are also participating in the October 21-27 tournament.

Iran, which missed the tournament last year, will hopefully be there for the U23 World Championships.

Here are a few top storylines to follow from Tirana

Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) is one of the favorites at 74kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Freestyle

- The 61kg defending champion Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) will be the favorite for the gold medal. After winning the gold medal last year, Magomedov won the U23 European Championships this year. In the seven bouts in the two tournaments, Magomedov has won five bouts via technical superiorities.

- Another returning champion is Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN), defending his 65kg gold medal. Last year, Ibragimov gave up only one point in the tournament over five bouts. He is likely to dominate this year too. However, former U20 world champion Mohit KUMAR (IND) will look to avenge the semifinal loss to Ibragimov. Kumar failed to medal and finished fifth.

Another U20 world champion coming to Tirana is Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB). After winning the gold medal in Sofia in 2022, Jalolov is still trying to return to the top. He also suffered a back injury and recovery has been a tough road for him. He tried qualifying for the Paris Olympics but failed to do so. Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ) and Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) will be in the medal run as well.

- Perhaps the most competitive category, the 74kg weight class will see Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), Ali REZAEI (IRI), Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN), Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) and Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) among other stars. The last three U20 world champions are entered. Gadzhiev won the U20 gold in 2022, Mesenbrink in 2023 and Rezaei in 2024. Takahashi is the senior Asian champion and Toktomabetov is the U23 Asian champion.

- Unbeaten at the international level Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) will start as the favorite win the gold medal at 86kg. Kadiev has two U20 world titles, including the 2024 edition. Former U20 world champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) will be hoping for a successful run at the U23 level. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), who won bronze last year and participated in the Paris Olympics is competing as well.

- Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) will be in Albania for his third U23 World Championships. He won bronze in 2021 and gold in 2022. He will be the favorite for the gold with Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) offering competition. Malachdibirov won the gold medal at the U20 World Championships this year.

- 92kg world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) continues his successful run at 97kg and will be competing for the U23 world title. He won the U20 World Championships gold in September and this will be his second U23 World Championships, having finishing fifth in 2022.

Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR), a former world silver medalist, will be returning to international after more than a year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Women's Wrestling

- Defending champion at 50kg Umi ITO (JPN) will be in action after one year. Ito has been behind Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) domestically but has been a force at the international level. She is yet to lose a bout and has won U17, U20 and U23 world titles.

- The return of Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) will be a big news in Tirana. She last competed at the European Championships in 2023 and finished second. However, she has been nursing an injury for the last one year. She competed at the Valamar Cup and won the gold medal. But she will be test in Tirana as Paris Olympian and European champion Emma MALMGREN (SWE) is also competing.

- Irina RINGACI (MDA) will look to defend the gold medal at 65kg. She will also look to put her disappointing campaign at the Paris Olympics where she finished 10th. This will be her fourth U23 World Championships, the first being in 2019. She has two bronze medals and one gold medal.

- Ami ISHII (JPN) will be hoping to win her second career world title. She won the U20 gold in 2022 but finished second at the senior level. She won the Paris Olympic quota for Japan but failed to win the playoff in Japan as Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) beat her. She will be competing at 68kg.

- Croatia's first-ever world champion in wrestling, Veronika VILK (CRO) will be competing at her first U23 World Championships. Volk created history in 2023 when she won the U17 World Championships gold medal, becoming first wrestling world champion in Croatian history.

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated Riza KAYAALP (TUR) in June. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

- The only Paris Olympic medalist competing in Tirana is Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN). The bronze medalist at 87kg will be in Tirana hoping to win his first world title at any level. He will be in a strong field with U23 world champion at 82kg Aues GONIBOV (AIN) moving up to 87kg. Former U20 world champion Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM), Joju SAMADOV (AZE), Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO), Yasin Ali YAZDI (IRI), Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) also competing.

- The 130kg weight class may throw some interesting competition. Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI), who defeated Riza KAYAALP (TUR) in Budapest in June, will be the favorite to win the gold medal. However, Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), who defeated Hedayati in the 2022 U20 World Championships final, is also competing. Last year, Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) won the gold medal at 97kg but is moving up to 130kg, a weight class he won a Paris Olympic quota as well. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) will also be a big medal threat.

Titan Mercury, Kashan into Semis

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U23 World Championships 2024: Best storylines in Tirana