#WrestleSofia

U20 World Championships Day 1 semis set

By Vinay Siwach

SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 15) -- The U20 World Championships return to Bulgaria with the Arena Armeec Sports Hall hosting it in Sofia. The tournament begins with freestyle and five weight classes will be in action. Wrestlers from 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg will be on the mat.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

14:00: Here are the semifinals for the evening session

57kg
Heorhii KAZANZHY (UKR) vs. Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Jore VOLK (USA) vs. Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)

65kg
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. SUJEET (IND)
Robert CORNELLA (USA) vs. Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) vs. Mulaym YADAV (IND)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) vs. Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA)

79kg
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ) vs. Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO) vs. Sobhan Hooshang YARI (IRI)

97kg
Rifat GIDAK (TUR) vs. Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Luka KHUTCHUA (GEO) vs. Benjamin KUETER (USA) 

13:40:  Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) with another come-from-behind win for the USA. He trailed Hossein AGHAEI (IRI) in the 70kg quarterfinal but completely broke the Iranian and won the bout 9-7. He will now wrestle Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) in the semifinals as Papikyan beat Harun SOYLER (TUR) 8-2

13:30: Jore VOLK (USA) continues his winning run and has reached the semifinal at 57kg with an 8-2 win over Azizbek NAIMOV (UZB). In the other quarterfinals, U20 Asian champion Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) scores a late takedown and lace to beat Abhishek DHAKA (IND), 5-1 

13:16: Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) was leading 5-2 with 15 seconds left when Robert CORNELLA (USA) hits a four-pointer and lead 6-5 and wins the quarterfinal at 65kg. The USA team likes it. Huge win for Cornella who will now face U17 world champion Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB).

In the other semifinal, U20 Asian champion SUJEET (IND) beats 11-0 Ayub MUSAEV (BEL). He sets up the semifinal against returning silver Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) 

13:10: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) looks strong at 97kg. He wins via technical superiority over Zelimkhan MUSSIKHANOV (KAZ). Benjamin KUETER (USA) beats NIRAJ (IND) 8-1 to enter the semifinals as well

12:57: At 79kg, Sobhan YARI (IRI) controls most of the bout against Braydew THOMPSON (USA) and wins 6-1. He will wrestle Bekir OVEC (TUR) in the quarterfinal as the Turkey wrestler beat Johannes HATTINGH (RSA) 10-0

12:53: We have another quarterfinalist at 57kg as Abhishek DHAKA (IND) beats Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) 11-3. On Mat A, Tolga OZBEK (TUR) pins Harutyun HOVHANNISYAN (ARM) to move on as well

12:40: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) and Jore VOLK (USA) wrestling for a spot in the 57kg quarterinal. Volf with exposure and he gets two points. Javan with a reversal and roll to lead 3-2 but Volk also gets a reversal. In the second period, Volk takes the lead 5-3 but Javan scores a takedown with 36 seconds left. He tries to defend the criteria lead but Volk has a sequence where he got Javan's one knee on the mat. He wins 7-7

12:03: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) giving France a good start at 57kg. He rolls over Ivaylo TISOV (BUL) 10-0 and into the pre-quarterfinals.

11:45: A top bout at 57kg on Mat C. Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) wrestling U20 European champion Simone PIRODDU (ITA). Piroddu is called passive and Javan scores a takedown in the activity period to lead 3-0 at the break. Another takedown in the second period as Javan wins 5-0 

11:35: Here are the results from the qualification round of 65kg

Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) df. Abderrahmane BENAISSA (ALG), via fall
Robert CORNELLA (USA) df. Olzhas OLZHAKANOV (KAZ), 8-0
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df. Myrza ZHYRGALBEK UULU (KGZ), 10-2
SUJEET (IND) df. Jonnathan PEREZ (GUA), via fall 

11:14: A solid start for the USA. Benjamin KUETER (USA) with a technical superiority win over Dmitrii DUSCOV (MDA). That bout is followed by U20 Asian champion Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) beating Toyoki HAMADA (JPN) 11-0. He will face NIRAJ (IND) who got past Joobin PARK (KOR) 11-0

11:00: Welcome to the first morning of the U20 World Championships in Sofia. Some young stars in action with Iran, the USA, India, Azerbaijan bringing strong teams to the competition

Development

Successful Level 1 Coaching Course held in Bulgaria

By United World Wrestling Press

PAZARDZHIK, Bulgaria (November 6) – The Bulgarian Wrestling Federation organized a Level 1 Coaching course to help improve and provide training for their coaches.  This 5-day course was held in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, Bulgarian Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling. 

The Level 1 course was led by UWW Certified Educator Mr. Georgi Sredkov (BUL).

The course was held from 15-20 October and was attended by 40 coaches and 6 athletes. “I point to my many years of experience to emphasize that, from a professional point of view, the seminar held by G. Sredkov was indeed at a very high professional level, with enormous benefit for all participants and especially for young coaches. The selection of the topics and issues in the sport of wrestling, the arrangement of the topics and the inclusion of free discussions submitted by the participants, greatly increases the quality and effect of this seminar.” said Mr. Georgi Kalchev (European Champion and World Medalist). 

This course focuses on the foundational skills to be a great coach.  The topics included: key factor analysis, introducing new techniques, communication skills, improving coaching skills, risk management and safety, and athlete safeguarding.  The participants learned and practiced their skills through theoretical and practical evaluations throughout the course. “Thanks to Georgi Sredkov for the seminar. Everything he offered us in the seminar was completely useful and beneficial.” said Emil Budinov (Olympic Coach).

Additional Comments from Participants

My participation was extremely useful for me as a coach. We exchanged experiences and I learned new practices with which I can upgrade my coaching activity.” – Miroslav Geshev (European Medalist and National Coach)

“I am personally very pleased that I had the opportunity to attend this seminar. I managed to learn many interesting things that will be useful for the development of our wrestling.” – Georgi Dumkov (Club Coach)

“Thanks for the fruitful seminar, especially the way of presentation. Special thanks to Georgi Sredkov - 5-day seminar full of content, excellently structured - balance between theory and practice.” – Vasil Popov (European Champion)