#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships day three semis set

By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 19) -- The third day of the U23 World Championships will see women's wrestling with five weight classes. Olympic and world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will be on the mat in her quest to win the gold.

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Semifinals for the evening session

50kg
Nada MOHAMED (EGY) vs. ANKUSH (IND)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA) vs. Yui SUSAKI (JPN)

55kg
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA) vs. Alisha HOWK (USA)
Virginie KAZE (CAN) vs. Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) 

59kg
Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN) vs. Lexie BASHAM (USA)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL) vs. Ramina MAMEDOVA (LAT) 

68kg​​​​​​​
Nesrin BAS (TUR) vs. Sienna RAMIREZ (USA)
Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) vs. Noémi SZABADOS (HUN) 

76kg
Inkara ZHANATAYEVA (KAZ) vs. Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) vs. Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) 

13:40: Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN), the only wrestler in the Japan team with no international experience, reaches the 59kg semifinal with a fall over Katherine RENTERIA (COL)

13:00: Yui SUSAKI (JPN) came on the mat and quickly finishes her first bout with a fall over Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE). She is smiling her way through the win.

12:45: Tokyo Olympian Sarra HAMDI (TUN) with another strong win. She takes out Nyla VALENCIA (USA) 3-0 at 50kg.

12:25: Stefania PRICEPUTU (ROU) stands stunned on the mat as Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR) pins her. Priceputu twice won the bout only to get it changed due to challenges. Demirhan passed out when Priceputu led 7-0. Then the Romanian scored a fall but it was outside the zone. A 12-2 score gave her the win but Demirhan challenged and it was clear that there was no foul from Demirhan and the score was reversed to 11-2. Demirhan, with just 29 seconds left, sprung a throw and held Priceputu to her back to secure the fall

12:00: Returning silver medalist Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) and Hui CHANG (TPE) left everything on the mat. Chang got a point for the passivity and then a stepout in the second period. Renteria with a big four at the end but Chang challenges and it's actually a stepout. A 3-3 win for Chang. They consult again and it's actually a 3-3 win for Renteria.

11:30: Nesrin BAS (TUR) scores the first takedown over Irina RINGACI (MDA) before the latter answers with her own. Bas with exposure and then Ringaci with a takedown to reclaim the lead. But Bas has a go behind after a scramble. Ringaci challenges the call and she wins the challenge. But Bas wins 11-6.

11:25: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) and Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) in a rematch of the U20 World Championships which Kiyooka won. Khomenets caught in a leg lace and Kiyooka runs to an 8-0 lead before Khomenets pulls out due to injury.

11:15: Lisa ERSEL (GER) with a close 4-3 win over Amanda TOMCZYK (POL) while Sarra HAMDI (TUN) with a technical superiority Svenja JUNGO (SUI).

On Mat A, Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA) comes from behind to beat Maria LEORDA (MDA) 12-6 at 50kg. 

11:00: Jiah PINGOT (PHI), the first woman from the country to compete at the age group World Championships, was down 6-0 against Jekaterina JERMALONOKA (LAT) but managed to come up with a big throw from win via fall.

10:30: Welcome to another rainy day here in Pontevedra. Women's wrestling begins with five weight classes.

#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0