#WrestleHammamet

Tunisia Tops Egypt, Wins African Freestyle Team Title

By Eric Olanowski

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (March 31) – Tunisia was one of three teams who entered into the final session of wrestling with a quartet of finalists, but their trio of gold medalists helped the host nation hoist the freestyle team trophy on the last day of wrestling in Hammamet’s Omni Sports Hall. 

Tunisia, who finished with 183 points, had three champions and seven overall medalists who assisted them in narrowly edging Egypt (180 points) by three points for the tournaments top spot. 


Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN) won his third consecutive African title with a win in the 79kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Their trio of champions were Ayoub BARRAJ, Sabri MNASRIYA, and Mohamed SAADAOUI. 

In the 79kg finals, two-time defending champion Ayoub Barraj dismantled Algeria’s Fateh BENFERDJALLAH, 10-0 and won his third consecutive title. 

Tunisia’s second freestyle title of the day went to Sabri Minasriya who hung on to defeat Oussama REGANI (MAR), 2-1, in the 86kg finals. Their third and final championship performance came at 92kg where Mohamed Saadaoui shutout Egypt’s defending African champion Hosam MERGHANY, 6-0.

Egypt finished in second place, thanks to their three champions, Amr HUSSEN,  Khaled ELMOATAMADAWI, and Khaled ABDALLA. 

At 70kg, returning silver medalist Amr Hussen trailed 1-0 after the opening period but ignited for eight second period points before planting 2018 African bronze medalist Fares LAKEL (ALG) on his back for the fall. 

Elmoatamadawi and Abdalla, the 97kg and 130kg winners respectively, went undefeated in their Nordic system tournaments, claiming Egypt’s second and third freestyle titles.

Abdelhak KHERBACHE won the 57kg gold medal and improved on his bronze-medal finish from a year ago. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Algeria’s Abdelhak KHERBACHE claimed the 57kg title and helped his nation finishing in third place with 117 points. Kherbache improved on his bronze medal finish a season ago, winning his first continental title with a 3-1 victory over Chakir ANSARI (MAR) in the 57kg gold-medal bout. 

Morocco, who had 117 points, and Nigeria, who had 90 points, rounded out the top-five of the freestyle team scores. 

The Final Three Golds 
The final three nations who had a solo gold-medal winner were Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria. 

Senegal’s Adama DIATTA claimed his fifth consecutive African Championship title and tenth overall continental gold medal with a 12-0 thumping of Egypt’s Yasser AHMED in the 61kg finals. 

In the 65kg finals, Guinea-Bissau’s Mbunde CUMBA MBALI easily claimed the gold medal with an 11-0 routing of Egypt’s Aly ABDELHAMID. 

Lastly, in the 74kg gold-medal bout, two-time defending champion Ogbonna JOHN (NGR) put together a seven-point second period that went unanswered and won his third consecutive African title with a 7-1 victory over Tunisia’s Maher GHANMI. 

What's Next?
The African Championships were the first senior-level continental championships of the year. The next continental championships are the European Championships, which begin April 8 in Bucharest, Romania. 

RESULTS 
Freestyle Team Scores
GOLD – Tunisia (183 points)
SILVER – Egypt (180 points)
BRONZE – Algeria (117 points)
Fourth – Morocco (90 points)
Fifth – Nigeria (63 points)

57kg 
GOLD -  Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) df. Chakir ANSARI (MAR), 3-1 
BRONZE - Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY) df. Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR), via inj. def. 

61kg 
GOLD – Adama DIATTA (SEN) df. Yasser Eshhata Abady AHMED (EGY), 12-0 
BRONZE - Mohamed Al Amine LAKEL (ALG) df. Farouk JELASSI (TUN), 4-0 

65kg 
GOLD – Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS) df. Aly Ibrahim Abdelhamid ABDELHAMID (EGY), 13-0 
BRONZE - Reagan NDOMBASI MATADI (COD) df. DJEKOUNDAKOM DJERAYOM Elie (CHA), via forfeit 
BRONZE - Kaireddine BEN TELILI (TUN) df. Chems BOUCHAIB (ALG), 16-6 

70kg 
GOLD – Fares LAKEL (ALG) df. Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY), 8-3
BRONZE - Rabii REGANI (MAR) df. Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN), via fall 

74kg 
GOLD – Ogbonna JOHN (NGR) df. Maher GHANMI (TUN), 8-1 
BRONZE - Saifeldin ELKOUMY (EGY) df. Essam ELHAG (SUD), via forfeit  
BRONZE - Augusto MIDANA (GBS) df. Kasimir MADJADOUM (CHA), 10-0 

79kg 
GOLD – Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN) df. Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG), 10-0 
BRONZE - Aboubakr GADELMAWLA (EGY) df. Alberto da Silva GUNZA (ANG), 15-5 
BRONZE - Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) df. Zander GERINGER (RSA), 12-1 

86kg 
GOLD – Sabri MNASRIYA (TUN) df. Oussama REGANI (MAR), 2-1
BRONZE - Melvin BIBO (NGR) df. Blaise DIATTA (SEN), via fall
BRONZE - Bedopassa BUASSAT DJONDE (GBS) df. Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA), 10-2 

92kg 
GOLD – Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) df. Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY), 6-0 
BRONZE - Aron Isomi MBO (COD) df. Francisco Nkunga NGONDA (ANG), 18-4 
BRONZE - Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) df. Johan MOSTERT (RSA), 10-0 

97kg (Round Robin) 
GOLD –  Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY)
SILVER – Meher DAHMANI (TUN)
BRONZE – Mohamed Saliou CAMARA (GUI)

125kg (Round Robin) 
GOLD – Khaled Omr Zaki Mohamed ABDALLA (EGY)
SILVER – Abdelmoneim ADOULI (TUN)
BRONZE – Ahmed SEREHALI (MAR)

#Grappling

World Grappling Championships: AINs shine, Great Britain wins first-ever gold

By Vinay Siwach

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (October 11) -- Six Individual Neutral Athletes won gold medals in World Grappling Championships in Astana on Friday with Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia winning the remaining three in men's Grappling in Astana.

In women's grappling, the United States won two golds out of five. Spain, Great Britain and one AIN won three other gold medals. Injana GOODMAN (GBR) created history in grappling as she became the first Great Britain athlete to win the World Championships gold medal.

In team rankings, as AIN points are not considered, Kazakhstan won the team title in men's with 84 points. The U.S. finished second with 75 points and Poland finished third with 70 points.

In women's grappling, the U.S. won the team title with 85 points, well clear of second-placed Poland which could only get 56 points. Spain was third with 46 points.

RESULTS

Men's Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Farhad BAGIROV (AZE) df. Illia SVIATUN (UKR), via submission (9-0)

BRONZE: Alikhan ALSHINBAY (KAZ) df. Bohdan CHORNEI (UKR), 8-6
BRONZE: Jerzy IZDEBSKI (POL) df. Denis BEENEN (CAN), via submission (0-2)

62kg
GOLD: Magomedbek TEMEEV (AIN) df. Ruslan RADZHABKHANOV (AIN), 3-3

BRONZE: Arulan KURMANALIYEV (KAZ) df. Loris ZANOLINI (ITA), 3-3
BRONZE: Mayis NERSESYAN (ARM) df. Mykola NYKYFORUK (UKR), 6-2

66kg
GOLD: Bakhtiiar IAKHIEIAEV (AIN) df. Syimyk MAKHMEDOV (KGZ), 5-0

BRONZE: Bekzat KAPASHOV (KAZ) df. Vincenzo BUSSOLOTTI (ESP), 4-3
BRONZE: Yurii CHERKALIUK (UKR) df. Artur AGASHIRINOV (AIN), 2-2

71kg
GOLD: Gasan TEMEEV (AIN) df. Nico PULVERMUELLER (GER), 5-0

BRONZE: Jedrzej LOSKA (POL) df. Baiastan OROLBEK UULU (KGZ), 6-2
BRONZE: Nurbek TALBUDIN (KAZ) df. Iker CAMARA (ESP), 2-2

77kg
GOLD: Dumitru CEBAN (MDA) df. Arthur LEROY (FRA), 5-4

BRONZE: Efgan GALOEV (AIN) df. Shamil KUMRATOV (AIN), via submission (11-0)
BRONZE: Sam Eli SCHWARTZAPFEL (USA) df. Kamil ROSIAK (POL), 3-0

84kg
GOLD: Murad ABDULATIPOV (AIN) df. Pawel JAWORSKI (POL), 2-1

BRONZE: Ruslan VALIEV (FRA) df. Jay HILDRETH (USA), 4-2
BRONZE: Maxim COTE (CAN) df. Igor DZIAG (POL), 2-1

92kg
GOLD: Alibek SULEIMANOV (AIN) df. Amirani SVIMONISHVILI (GEO), 5-1

BRONZE: Mantas DAUBLYS (LTU) df. Joris ROOKHUIJZEN (NED), 0-0
BRONZE: Imran KHAMIDOV (AIN) df. Wilfried EDMUND (FRA), via submission (5-0)

100kg
GOLD: Aleksandre TEVZADZE (GEO) df. Henry ZACHARY (USA), 2-2

BRONZE: Ivan MALIN (UKR) df. Kamil WOJCIECHOWSKI (POL), 3-2
BRONZE: Islam ASKHABOV (AIN) df. Roman LUKASHEVICH (AIN), via walkover

130kg
GOLD: Khamzat STAMBULOV (AIN) df. John HANSEN (USA), 7-5

BRONZE: Nasrutdin DZHAFAROV (AIN) df. Yerlan SHAKISHOV (KAZ), 6-2
BRONZE: Travis CLARK (USA) df. Amir Ali FARHADPOR (IRI), via submission (4-0)

Injana GOODMAN (GBR)Injana GOODMAN (GBR), second from left, became the first-ever gold medals from Great Britain in World Grappling Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Women's Grappling

53kg
GOLD: Carlota PRENDES LARIOS (ESP) df. Alicja STYPULKOWSKA (POL), via submission (2-1)

BRONZE: Anorbi GRISHINA (AIN) df. Yuliia ZASULSKA (UKR), via submission (9-1)
BRONZE: Polina KRUPSKAIA (AIN) df. Breanna STIKKELMAN (USA), 2-2

58kg
GOLD: Alexandria ENRIQUEZ (USA) df. Nuraiym MUNAITBAS (KAZ), via submission (2-0)

BRONZE: Minerva MONTERO PEREZA (ESP) df. Tetiana ASTAKHOVA (UKR), 6-0
BRONZE: Nikolett KIS (HUN) df. Rachel GUTIERREZ (USA), via submission (3-0)

64kg
GOLD: Injana GOODMAN (GBR) df. Ekaterina PLITKINA (AIN), via submission (2-2)

BRONZE: Alycia QUENEE (FRA) df. Viktoriia PANCHENKO (UKR), via submission (2-1)
BRONZE: Sheliah LINDSEY (USA) df. Giulia RODIO (ITA), via submission (6-0)

71kg
GOLD: Anna REMNEVA (AIN) df. Sandra TRIEBEL (GER), via submission (3-2)

BRONZE: Emily GUENZLER (GER) df. Valeriia PROKOPIUK (UKR), 12-0
BRONZE: Weronika ROT (POL) df. Christina HANSEN (USA), via submission (6-0)

90kg
GOLD: Kendall REUSING (USA) df. Vlada BOIAKHCHIEVA (AIN), via submission (6-0)

BRONZE: Alena VLASOVA (AIN) df. Annabelle BOURGAULT (CAN), in overtime
BRONZE: Justyna SITKO (POL) df. Aikorkem IKHSANOVA (KAZ), via submission (9-0)