#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships Day 2 semis set

By Vinay Siwach

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!

#WrestleBaku

Ringaci rules Baku; Ukraine best WW team at U23 Euros

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (May 24) -- For around 15 seconds in the first period, Ekaterina KOSHKINA (AIN) must have thought she had the 65kg gold medal bout in her control.

Koshkina had Irina RINGACI (MDA) exactly where she would have wanted: in the center, on the defensive and gripping her right leg firmly. The 22-year-old had done all these things right. But she couldn’t execute the most crucial thing, the takedown.

Instead, in that moment of desperation, Ringaci showed why at the young age of 22 she has already seen her reputation grow leaps and bounds. First, she mustered all her strength to ensure Koshkina couldn’t affect a takedown and then, combining that with her flexibility she staged a perfect escape to break free from her opponent’s grasp.

Irina RINGACI (MDA)Irina RINGACI (MDA) won the 65kg gold medal at the U23 European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In one motion, Ringaci freed her leg, got in a controlling position herself and flipped Koshkina on her back to score two points, adding to her 2-1 lead. That play, only two minutes into the final, set the tone for the rest of the bout as Ringaci won 11-3 to win her third U23 European Championship gold medal.

Conceding only five points and scoring 29, it was also quite a way for her to announce her readiness for the Paris Olympics. Only 22, Ringaci has won every possible title. In 2021, she won the senior World Championship gold (in 65kg) as a teenager and followed it up with two bronze medals in 68kg. She has two senior European Championship titles, a World Cup medal and U20 World Championship gold, apart from the third U23 continental crown.

Will the Olympic podium be the young wrestler’s next destination? We’ll know in August.

UkraineUkraine won the team title with 160 points. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Bondar leads Ukraine to team title

With three gold medals, Ukraine celebrated winning the women’s wrestling team title with 168 points. On Thursday, Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR) defeated Laura KUEHN (GER) 6-0 on Thursday to win the 76kg title. And in the first gold medal bout on Friday, Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) defeated Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE) to be crowned the champion in 53kg category.

Malanchuk found the going difficult and was trailing until a minute-and-a-half remaining in the match. That’s when she attempted a suplex but Mammadova didn’t land in danger. Malanchuk was rewarded with two points for that takedown and she got a couple more for the rollover.

From trailing by two points, she now had a lead of four after Mammadova lost a challenge and Malanchuk then built on the advantage, finishing strongly with three two-point takedowns to win the bout 13-2.

Later in the day, Iryna BONDAR’S (UKR) fearless wrestling in the 62kg gold medal match ensured the country would finish on top.

Yana TRETSIAK (AIN) tried to keep the scorelines tight in the hope of launching a late attack but in her attempt to stop Bondar from scoring, she conceded passivity points in the opening round. The match-defining moment, however, came at the halfway stage of the second period.

Bondar was rewarded for her patience as she found the tiniest of openings to launch a speedy single-leg attack. It got her into a dominant position to execute a four-point takedown. Bondar didn’t let of off Trtsiak’s grips and rolled her on the mat twice to win the bout by technical superiority (11-0).

Apart from the three gold medals, Ukraine also won three silver with Mariia VYNNYK (55kg), Manola SKOBELSKA (68kg) and Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (72kg) coming second best in their respective finals.

Turkiye finished second in the team standings with 118 points, followed by hosts Azerbaijan who ended with 76 points. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) won the gold at 57kg category, much to the happiness of the home fans.

Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) was one of the two finalists for Azerbaijan as he reached the 70kg gold medal bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Azerbaijan eye freestyle gold medals

The host nation will hope to add more gold medals to its account two of its freestyle wrestlers qualified for the finals.

In the 70kg category, Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) orchestrated a comprehensive drubbing of Mikita DZEMCHANKA (AIN) in the semifinals, winning 11-0 to put himself in contention for his maiden U23 title. Heybatov was in control for most parts of his bouts on Friday, but his resolve will be tested in the final where he will face Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN).

Sheriev is the reigning U23 World Champion and conceded only two points en route to the final while scoring 33 across the three bouts.

The other home favourite who will fight for the title is Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) in 79kg. The 21-year-old did not allow his opponents to score a single point as he spent a little more than 10 minutes on the mat to reach his maiden U23 European Championship final.

However, to win his first-ever gold medal in this competition, Tcokaev will have to get the better of defending champion Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), also a senior European Championship silver medallist.

 

df

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD: Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) df. Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE), 13-2

BRONZE: Venera NAFIKOVA (AIN) df. Sevval CAYIR (TUR), via fall (5-1)
BRONZE: Viktoryia VOLK (AIN) df. Laura STANELYTE (LTU), 12-1

57kg
GOLD: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), 5-3

BRONZE: Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Nesrin SYULEYMANOVA (BUL), 11-0
BRONZE: Volha HARDZEI (AIN) df. Jana PETROVIC (SRB), 5-0

62kg
GOLD: Iryna BONDAR (UKR) df. Yana TRETSIAK (AIN), 11-0

BRONZE: Viktoria VESSO (EST) df. Ineta DANTAITE (LTU), 13-0
BRONZE: Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) df. Iris THIEBAUX (FRA), via fall

65kg
GOLD: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Ekaterina KOSHKINA (AIN), 11-3

BRONZE: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Ingrid SKARD (NOR), 10-0
BRONZE: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Laura GODINO (ITA), via fall (9-0)

72kg
GOLD: Alina SHAUCHUK (AIN) df. Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR),

BRONZE: Bukrenaz SERT (TUR) df. Marziya SADIGOVA (AZE), 13-0
BRONZE: Olesia BEZUGLOVA (AIN) df. Gia KASTELAN (CRO), 

Freestyle Semifinals

57kg
GOLD: Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR) vs. Artem GOBAEV (AIN)

SF 1: Artem GOBAEV (AIN) df. Luka GVINJILIA (GEO), 12-1
SF 2: Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR) df. Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR), via fall (10-0)

65kg
GOLD: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) vs. Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN)

SF 1: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df. Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), 9-6
SF 2: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN) df. Serghei CILCIC (MDA), 11-0

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) vs. Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN)

SF 1: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. Mikita DZEMCHANKA (AIN), 11-0
SF 2: Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) df. Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR), 11-0

79kg
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) vs. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)

SF 1: Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) df. Marius RETCO (MDA), 10-0
SF 2: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Arsen BALAIAN (AIN), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Radu LEFTER (MDA) vs. Soslan DZHAGAEV (AIN)

SF 1: Soslan DZHAGAEV (AIN) df. Rifat GIDAK (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Radu LEFTER (MDA) df. Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO), 14-4