#wrestlebishkek

Tkach reignites Olympic hope with Bishkek gold

Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 23:16 By Vinay Siwach

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (June 3) -- For some moments in the 59kg final, Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) thought she could overcome the Yuliia TKACH (UKR) challenge. Both Ukrainians had met in Round 2 of the Nelson bracket and Tkach pinned Vynnyk. As the two faced each other in the final, Vynnyk managed to race to a 6-0 lead. It looked like she would upset Tkach with ease and win the competition.

But Tkach is a willy veteran. She worked her way back in the final and managed to switch gears to score points with ease. She ultimately won the gold medal by a 9-6 scoreline.

Later, Tkach said that it was a deliberate attempt to go slow in the final before mounting a comeback to beat Vynnyk.

"I already wrestled Solomiia earlier today and I won via fall," Tkach said. "But in our second match, I started a little bit at ease and gave up points, then I realized it was time to score and I turned my turbo button on and won."

Tkach winning the gold brings further proof that the former world champion is still one of the best in the world. But with Paris Olympics just over a year away, she will have to move to an Olympic weight class.

"I will definitely go up at 62kg," she said. "Olympic Games is a gift from God."

Tkach has wrestled at the 2008 Beijing Games, 2012 London Games and 2016 Rio Games but failed to win a medal at any of the Olympics. But Paris gives her a new hope.

"I wrestled at three Olympics but never made a medal. For sure, I would love to have one, but it’s all about God’s will."

And she is leaving no stone unturned for it as the Ukraine team will fly to Japan for a training camp and then participate in the Budapest Ranking Series event. Tkach also said that one should believe in oneself till the end.

"It’s important to believe in yourself till the very end," she said. "As Oksana LIVACH won against the Chinese wrestler in the last two seconds, that was an amazing win."

Meng FAN (CHN)Meng FAN (CHN) celebrates after beating Oksana LIVACH (UKR). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 50kg, Livach was trailing against Zigi FENG (CHN) but she rallied to beat her 5-4 to reach the final against Meng FAN (CHN). Livach would be cursing her luck as she ended up losing the final in the last 10 seconds against Fan.

Fan was trailing 4-2 with only 10 seconds remaining when she brought Livach down and got the match-winning two points.

While Fan won gold, Feng won bronze and the second bronze was also won by a Chinese wrestler Chun LEI (CHN). This marks the second time that all three Chinese wrestlers are on the podium in 50kg at a Ranking Series event.

Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) defeated fellow Mongolian Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL) in the 53kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 53kg, three Mongolians -- Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL), Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL) and Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) -- reached the semifinals. World silver medalist Batkhuyag faced Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) and won via fall. The second semifinal also saw a similar result as Ganbaatar pinned Olympic bronze medalist Bat Ochir.

In the final, Batkhuyag gave no chance to Ganbaatar and won 8-0 in the gold medal bout. The Asian silver medalist from 2022 defended any attempts from Ganbaatar as well and countered them with takedowns of her own to blank her and win the final.

Kazakhstan won two gold medals in women's wrestling as Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ) won the 55kg gold while Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) won the gold at 72kg.

Sedneva won her career's fifth Ranking Series medal and third gold as she came out on top against world bronze medalist Karla GODINEZ (CAN) 3-1 in the final.

In a Nelson brack, Sedneva faced compatriot Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ) and won 6-1, pinned Melda DERNEKCI (TUR) next round and followed that with another pin to win against Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) despite trailing 4-0 in the semifinals.

Bakbergenova was one of the three wrestlers at 72kg but the world silver medalist was a level above the other two. In her first two bouts, she defeated Dalma CANEVA (ITA) 6-0 and then defeated REETIKA (IND) 4-0 in Round 3 to win the gold medal.

Since Reetika defeated Caneva 7-0, the Indian won a silver medal at 72kg.

India also won a gold medal as MANISHA (IND) made her way through a tough Nelson bracket with four dominating wins to win the 65kg weight class.

She began with a 15-4 win against Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ) before adding an 11-0 victory over another Kazakhstan wrestler Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ). She won via technical superiority over Purevsuren ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL), 10-0 before clinching the gold by beating Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR) 6-2 in Round 5.

Tazhudinov wins gold

Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) emerged as the breakout star on Saturday as the 20-year-old followed his Asian Championships gold with another gold in Bishkek.

Opening his day, Tazhudinov wrestled Serik BAKYTKHANOV (KAZ) and won 10-0 before beating another Kazakhstan wrestler Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ) 5-2 in the quarterfinals. The semifinals saw him emerge 10-0 victorious against veteran Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB).

The final at 97kg was against Awusayiman HABILA (CHN) who he had wrestled in the Asian Championships final around two months ago. Tazhudinov had won that bout 11-0 and there was no change in the story as the Bahrain wrestler once again defeated Habila. Tazhudinov won 10-1 to capture his first Ranking Series gold.

"This was our third match in the last two months," Tazhudinov said. "I had a confident win back at the Asian championships, but it doesn’t mean that it made it any easier for me. I was preparing a lot for it."

Despite his top wins, Tazhudinov struggles with stamina in a bout. He accepts that there is scope for improvement in his game.

"There are things I have to still work on and improve," he said. "There is no time to relax. We will be back and keep training for the next tournament which will be in Armenia. I’ll wrestle there and then we will decide with the coach what’s next for us."

Tazhudinov expressed his desire to wrestle world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. 

"At 97kg there are many great wrestlers. But most of all I would like to wrestle with Kyle Snyder as I want to give it a try."

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) met Zhiwei DENG (CHN) in the first round at 125kg and the former continued his unbeaten record over the Chinese with a narrow 4-3 win.

An 8-3 win against Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) in the quarterfinals put him against Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) in the semifinal but Petriashvili was up to the task with a 10-0 thrashing.

In the final, Petriashvili raced to a 12-1 win over Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB).

fd

RESULTS

Women's wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Meng FAN (CHN) df. Oksana LIVACH (UKR), 4-4

BRONZE: Ziqi FENG (CHN) df. Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ), via fall
BRONZE: Chun LEI (CHN) df. Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB), 2-1

53kg
GOLD: Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) df. Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL), 8-0

BRONZE: Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) df. Meiying JIANG (CHN), via fall
BRONZE: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN), 4-0

55kg
GOLD: Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
BRONZE: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

59kg
GOLD: Yuliia TKACH (UKR)
SILVER: Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
BRONZE: SARITA (IND)

65kg
GOLD: MANISHA (IND)
SILVER: Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
BRONZE: Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR)

72kg
GOLD: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
SILVER: REETIKA (IND)
BRONZE: Dalma CANEVA (ITA)

Freestyle

97kg
GOLD: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) df. Awusayiman HABILA (CHN), 10-1

BRONZE: Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) df. Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ), 5-2
BRONZE: Nursultan AZOV (KAZ) df. Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN), 2-2

125kg
GOLD: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB), 12-1

BRONZE: Zhiwei DENG (CHN) df. Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB), 5-0
BRONZE: BUHEEERDUN (CHN) df. Reheman RUSIDANMU (CHN), 4-2

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024 Day 6 Preview: FS 65kg and 97kg; WW 76kg

Saturday, July 27, 2024 - 10:26 By Eric Olanowski

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PARIS, France (July 27) --- Kyle SNYDER (USA) has thought about his revenge day on Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) ever since that September loss in Belgrade where the 'Wonder Kid' stormed past 'Captian America' in the quarterfinals of the World Championships.

Snyder has locked August 11 as his revenge date, when FS 65kg, FS 97kg, and WW 62kg will take center stage at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

PARIS 2024 SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 NEWS

Meanwhile, four world champions -- Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Zain RETHERFORD (USA) will battle it out for 65kg Olympic supremacy.

On the women's side, Yuuka KAGAMI (JPN) will begin her quest to future Japan's dominance in the women's wrestling world and become their first-ever heavyweight Olympic champion.

97kg: Snyder, from champion to challenger

For Tazhudinov, the match against Snyder was a coming-out party, while it was a "back to the drawing board" moment for the American. In just over two minutes, Snyder gave up back-to-back four-pointers, ultimately losing the match 11-0.

Since that September loss, Snyder has been in the lab at Penn State University with fellow Olympic champion Cael SANDERSON (USA), cooking up a game plan for how he'll take out Tazhudinov in the Paris 2024 semifinals. 

Tazhudinov and Snyder are seeded No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, putting them together on the bottom side of the bracket, setting up a potential semifinal clash.

Kyle SNYDER (USA)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) defeated Kyle SNYDER (USA) in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan) 

Another youthful threat standing in Snyder's way is Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI), who is unseeded and will be randomly drawn into the bracket.

Azarpira, the 22-year-old, beat Snyder earlier this year. The two met in the finals of the Zagreb Open Ranking Series, where Azarpira took Snyder down twice to not only win the Ranking Series title but also lock up his spot on Iran's Olympic team over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI).

With Snyder and Tazhudinov on the bottom of the bracket, the three guys to keep an eye on the top side of the bracket are Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR) and Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO).

With all the discussion in this 97kg bracket always around Snyder and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN), these three guys often take a back seat in the debate. Still, one is about to catapult themselves to a level of stardom they never imagined.

Despite being the lowest-seeded of the three, Matcharashvili is the betting favorite in his rivalries with Magomedov and Ciftci. 

Matcharashvili has had four matches with Magomedov and five against Ciftci and has a 7-2 combined record against both guys. He's also coming off wins against the duo at this year's European Championships.

Top-seeded Magomedov and No. 5 Matcharashvili have met four times in their careers, with the Georgian owning a 3-1 match advantage.

Matcharashvili won the opening pair of meetings before taking his lone loss of the series in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships. In their last meeting, Matcharashvili returned to his winning ways, winning the European finals against his Azeri rival, 7-1.

Matcharashvili and Ciftci have met five times in their careers -- twice as underclassmen and three times on the senior level. 

Matcharashvili first defeated Ciftci at the 2017 U20 European Championships before losing to the Turkish wrestler at the 2019 U23 European Championships. Matcharashvili has since beaten Ciftci at the European Championships in back-to-back years and at the 2023 World Championships.

65kg: Tough road to gold

Regarding stacked weight classes at Paris 2024, 65kg ranks near the top. The weight features four world champions and a slew of other competitors who could end up making a run to the podium.

Since last year's World Championships, reigning world champ Muszukajev has taken out Amouzad and Aliyev at least once and will have to do it against them in order to end Hungary's 76-year freestyle Olympic gold-medal drought.

Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) has a perfect record against Haji ALIYEV. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Muszukajev and Aliyev, seeded No. 3 and 6, respectively, will meet in the quarterfinals, and then the Hungarian will face the Iranian in the semifinals.

The Paris 2024 quarterfinal meeting between Musukaev and Aliyev will be their fourth career meeting, with the former Russian-turned-Hungarian owning a 3-0 advantage. In their last meeting at the Hungarian Ranking Series, Muszukajev picked up arguably his most dominant win over Aliyev. He scored a 9-3 victory that included a beautiful four-point throw, a takedown, a trapped arm gut and a step out.

If Muszukajev can defeat Aliyev, it will set up a third meeting with 2022 world champion Amouzad. They've split their previous meetings, with Muszukajev getting revenge on Amouzd in last year's world semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) is favored to meet world runner-up Sebastian RIVERIA (PUR) in the semifinals.

The meeting between Rivera and Tevanyan will be a rubber match after the pair split their 2023 World Championship and 2024 Zagreb Open Ranking Series meetings. Riveria trailed 6-0 in Belgrade with two minutes left but picked up a shocking 9-8 win to push himself into the world finals. Then, in Croatia earlier this year, Tevanayan evened the score with a 9-1 victory.

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) defeated Toyko Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) to be on the Japan team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

On the non-seeded front, Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) and Retherford are the most dangerous guys who can blow up a bracket. 

Kiyooka, who took out reigning Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) in Japan's wrestle-offs, is 7-1 this season. More importantly, the 23-year-old has 2024 wins over Olympians Muszukajev and Austin GOMEZ (MEX).

Retherford, down from his 2023 world title-winning weight of 70kg, will be tasked with trying to win America's first Olympic medal at 65-66kg since Jamill KELLY's (USA) Athens 2004 silver medal. This season, Retherford has had seven international bouts, winning every match except the one he had with Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) at the World Olympic Qualifier.

WW 76kg: Japanese sweep in Paris?

It's no secret that everyone is chasing Japan in the women's wrestling race. Japan has had 24 women wrestle at the Olympic Games; winning 15 of 24 Olympic titles. However, they've never reached a gold-medal bout at WW 76kg (formerly 72kg).

Kagami will be tasked with ending Japan's five Olympic Games drought of gold medals. "There has never been a Japanese gold medal in the 76kg heaviest weight class at the Olympics before," said Kagami. "I want to be the first." 

As unbelievable as it seems, it's not unrealistic that Japan's squad will sweep the Olympics, but Kagami, who says there's no pressure, knows it all comes down to her. When asked how many Olympic titles Japan will win in Paris, Kagami replied without hesitation, "Six. Now it's up to me. If I do my best, I think Japan can win six gold medals."

The reigning world champion must get through familiar foes Yasemin ADAR YIGIT (TUR) and Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) to complete her historic run. The Japanese star has a winning track record against Medet Kyzy but has yet to solve the puzzle of Adar. 

At the 2022 World Championships, Kagami lost to Adar and has not wrestled the Turkish star since. What makes this interesting is that Adar is unseeded, which means she'll be randomly drawn into the bracket, leaving the possibility of a second meeting with Kagami.

Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) defeated Adeline GRAY (USA) en route her 76kg gold at the World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Kagami has two wins between a loss to Medet Kyzy, but her latest win is a washy one. In the world finals, Kagami won after Medet Kyzy injury defaulted due to a knee injury. The pair split their previous meetings, with the Japanese wrestler winning at the 2022 U23 World Championships and the Kyrgyz wrestler winning at the 2022 Asian Championships.

The sixth day of wrestling at Paris 2024 starts on August 10. Follow @unitedworldwrestling on all social channels to stay updated on what's happening in Paris.