#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships Day 2 semis set

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 08:38 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 18) -- The second day of the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra will see the action in five Greco-Roman weight classes -- 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg. The day will go on with the qualification and semifinals of these weight classes before the evening session has the gold medal bouts of the previous day.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The semifinals for the evening session

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) vs. Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR) vs. Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)

67kg
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) vs. Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) vs. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)

72kg​​​​​​​
VIKAS (IND) vs. Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) vs. Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)

82kg
Mats AHLGREN (SWE) vs. Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO) vs. Beka GURULI (GEO)

97kg
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) vs. Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Alex SZOKE (HUN) vs. Igor ALVES (BRA) 

15:30: At 97kg, Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) and Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) put on a show. Ragginger got the early advantage. But Olgun got a stepout to level it. Ragginger got one for himself which was neutralized by Olgun before he added another to lead 3-2. But Ragginger scored a takedown and a turn to win 6-3 and move into the semifinals.

15:15: Seyed SHORABI (IRI), the U20 world champion, is into the semifinals at 67kg. He pins Amanat SAMAT UULU (KGZ) after developing a 7-0 lead.

15:05: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) takes out Amir ABDI (IRI). Both wrestlers got the passivity calls but Gurbanov got the advantage as Abdi was called passive in the second period. Gurbanov moves into the 72kg semifinals

14:45: Alex SZOKE (HUN) looks unstoppable here in Pontevedra. He moves into the 97kg semifinals with another technical superiority win. He beats NITESH (IND) in the quarterfinals 

14:10: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) moves closer to the final of 60kg in Pontevedra. Melkamu FETENE (ISR) got the early lead with a takedown but Kamal answered with a stepout and four to lead 5-2. Fetene scored a takedown with 30 seconds left but Kamal hung on for a 5-4 win.

13:35: U23 European champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) was in all sorts of trouble trailing 2-0 with a minute left in the bout. But Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) was called passive which allowed Chkhikvadze to return in the bout. He scores via a throw out of bounds. It was called clean but Georgia challenged and get the two extra points for a defensive foul from Joergensen. Chkhikvadze also got another stepout which Norway challenged but lost. A final attempt from Joergensen saw him jump over Chkhikvadze to get a four he lands on his to give up four. Chkhikvadze wins 10-2

13:20: Amir ABDI (IRI) is keeping the Iran juggernaut rolling today. He beats  Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) 6-0 and advances to the quarterfinal at 72kg.

13:00: Kaito INABA (JPN) brought out the front suplex and got five for that. It is undoubtedly the move of the tournament. He pins Aser EBRO (ESP) at 60kg,

12:30: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and his streak of pinning Iran wrestlers. After Belgrade, he now pins Omid ARAMI (IRI) in the 60kg bout in Pontevedra. Arami got the passivity call and was trying to score a head pinch but Kamal held him for the fall. 

12:20: Alex SZOKE (HUN), the silver medalist at 97kg from Oslo World Championships, gets the par terre advantage against Nicholas BOYKIN (USA) and then gets the turns to win 9-0 at 97kg.

12:00: Iran has not had the best of the tournaments so far but day two looks promising. At 67kg, Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) with a fall over Julian HORTA (COL).

11:45: Another U23 European champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) has a very different start. He wins 8-0 against Ashu BAZARD (IND) at 67kg.

11:30: Returning bronze medalist Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) is up against U23 European champion Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO). A takedown and turn for Khachatryan. But Chkhikvadze stops in the middle of the second period to get exposure. After an exchange, Khachatryan led 6-5 and that will remain the final scoreline for this 72kg bout.

11:00: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) will be a strong contender at 60kg in the coming years. A strong wrestler with some clean techniques and an understanding of the mat. He begins his U23 Worlds campaign with a technical superiority win over Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ).

10:30: Welcome to the second day of the U23 World Championships. It's a pleasant day here in Pontevedra with the sun out. Let the wrestlers shine!

Stadnik retires: Europe's best who rewrote history

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - 11:06 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

BAKU, Azerbaijan (February 4) -- Four Olympic medals, six World Championships medals, 10 European titles, two European Games golds, many triumphs and heartbreaks later, Mariya STADNIK (AZE) has called it a day.

Stadnik, who debuted 22 years ago in 2003, announced her decision to retire from wrestling in an event organized by Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Baku on Monday. In an emotional video, Stadnik can be seen removing her shoes on the mat in front of a crowd and then speaking about her career.

"I recorded my name in the history of Women's Wrestling. Thank you to everyone who created this story together with me," Stadnik wrote on Instagram. "Now it's time to close this page of my life and write a new history."

Back in 2003, Stadnik began with a gold medal at the U17 European Championships, won a U20 world title two years later, added senior one as well and had a storied Olympic career which was laden with heartbreaks.

"I always had the motivation and will to win," Stadnik said last year. "I have had this will since early childhood, and this is endless."

READ MORE: Stadnik, 34, remains unbeaten in Europe

Though her will has stretched her career over two decades, Stadnik's decision to retire came after a lot of thought.

"In wrestling, I used all my chances," Stadnik said. "Now I understand that the time has come when I can be useful for wrestling in another role."

The 36-year-old, who was born in Ukraine but competed for Azerbaijan, will be moving into a caretaker role with the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Women's Wrestling and will be responsible for churning out new stars.

When Stadnik made her debut in 2003, Japan, China, United States and Canada were top nations. However, Stadnik changed that. She won her first World Championships medal in 2007 and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in which she won a bronze medal as an 18-year-old.

Soon, she won her first world title in 2009 and emerged as the new force from Europe. She went on to win the European Championships as well. Stadnik brought competition to Women's Wrestling.

"For these countries, the competition with me was always serious," she said. "We always had tense and intriguing fights that were followed by the whole world. Mariya Stadnik from Azerbaijan was always a danger for them."

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Perhaps it was no surprise that she was in the final of 2011 World Championships and 2012 London Games. However, she came up short both times to Hitomi OBARI (JPN).

"I give a lot of respect to Obara because she was stronger than me at that moment and the London gold was hers," she said. "She was my strongest opponent whom I respect very much."

Barring those Japanese hurdles, Stadnik was unstoppable. She added more medals at the continental level and always stood on the podium at the World Championships.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)A dejected Mariya STADNIK (AZE) at the 48kg medal ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Then came the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Stadnik was at the peak of her wrestling her. A Olympic gold would take so much off her back. She was in the final of the 48kg in Rio and the gold medal was within touching distance as she was leading Eri TOSAKA (JPN) 2-1 in the final. But Tosaka crushed those dreams in the final five seconds, beating Stadnik 3-2.

Stadnik till today has no explanation as to what happened in those last five seconds of the final against Tosaka.

"I didn't watch my match from Rio for two years and still can't find an explanation why that competition ended like that," Stadnik said. "I knew and felt that the Rio gold should have been mine."

Stadnik geared up for one more time. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics would have been perfect ending for her. But by then, wrestling had changed with two-day weight ins, a newer generation of wrestlers had come up and Yui SUSAKI (JPN) was on a mission.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) lost her first meeting with Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 2-2 at the Klippan Lady Open in 2018. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fynn)

The first time Stadnik and Susaki faced each other was in the Klippan Lady Open final in 2018. Stadnik was winning the final but Susaki scored a stepout in the final second to shock Stadnik.

People doubted Stadnik and her mental strength. The 2019 World Championships gave a huge boost of confidence for Stadnik who won her second of the two world titles in Astana, exactly ten years after winning her first.

The Tokyo Olympics were just 10 months away and Stadnik was ready for it. However, with COVID-19 pandemic, it got pushed to 2021 and Susaki went on to win the gold medal with a 41-0 record in four bouts including a 10-0 rout of Stadnik in the semifinals.

Stadnik still managed to win a bronze medal, her fourth of the Olympics, tying her with Kaori ICHO (JPN) and Saori YOSHIDA (JPN). Icho was four golds and Yoshida has three silver and one bronze.

"I know people talk about the gold medal but I am so happy with this bronze. It's satisfying," she said back in 2021.

But Stadnik wasn't satisfied with wrestling. After being away from the mat in 2022, she returned in 2023 and won her ninth European title, the most in Women's Wrestling, extending her unbeaten streak in European Championships to 34 bouts.

Then she made a run for the Paris Olympics and though that meant taking losses to opponents she used to toy with in the past, the mother of two secured her place for Paris in the final qualifiers in Istanbul. Her body was ageing, reducing weight was becoming gruesome and her opponents were becoming quicker.

She returned home without a medal but became the first female wrestler to compete at five Olympics. Soon after Paris, Stadnik reflected on what she has left for wrestling and decided that a role off the mat was more suited now. Letting go off something so big in her life was hard and emotional for her.

"When I watched the video in which I take my shoes off, I had tears," she said. "This is the end of an important part of my life. What I loved so much for many years is ending."