Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! August 20, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing results from the Asian Games, and the 2018 Pan-American Junior Championships. Also taking a look at Lebanon's first continental medalist ever. 

1. Yazdani Captures 86kg Asiad Gold, Iran Lands Pair of Golds 
World and Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) stormed to the 86kg gold medal at the Asian Games, helping Iran grab one of their two gold medals on the opening day of competition. Yazdani, who earned his first career title at the Asian Championships in Bishkek earlier this year, completely overwhelmed Domenic ABOUNADER (LBN) in the 86kg finals, taking just 1:29 to score a 10-0 technical fall. 

Iran picked up its second gold when Ali KARIMI (IRI) scored with a 4-point move in the first period and cruised to a 6-0 victory in the 97kg final over five-time Asian medalist Magomed MUSAEV (KGZ). 

RESULTS 
57kg GOLD - Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL) df. KANG Kum Song (PRK), 8-2 
65kg GOLD - Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) df. Daichi TAKATANI (JPN), 11-8
74kg GOLD - Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ), 3-2
86kg GOLD - Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) df. Domenic ABOUNADER (LBN) by TF, 10-0, 1:29 
97kg GOLD - Alireza KARIMI (IRI) df. Magomed MUSAEV (KGZ), 6-0

Click HERE for full opening day recap 

2. USA Finishes Team Sweep with Nine Freestyle Champions at #Fortaleza2018
The United States produced nine freestyle champions at the 2018 Junior Pan American Championship in Fortaleza, Brazil, winning the team title 93 points ahead of second place Canada. Mexico, with its 100 points finished four points ahead of Brazil and grabbed the bronze medal. 

Jonathan PRATA ALAS (ARG) was the lone non-American to leave Brazil with a freestyle gold medal. 

Prata Alaz, the 2017 Cadet South American champion won the title with a thrilling victory over Kevin CHAVEZ BETANCUR (COL) that saw multiple points scored in the final 30 seconds.

Prata had his hand raised in a 10-6 win and earned the freestyle Golden Boot.

Team scores (top five)
1. USA – 240
2. Canada – 147
3. Mexico – 100
4. Brazil – 96
5. Colombia - 75

Click HERE for full freestyle recap 

3. Canada and Mexico Boast Three Champs, USA Wins Women's Freestyle Team Title at #Fortaleza2018
North America ran away with the top-three spots in the team race of the women’s freestyle tournament at the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships, with USA taking first, followed by Mexico and Canada.

Mariela ESCALANTE HERNANDEZ defeated Greidy ESTUPINAN PEREZ (COL) in the 50kg finals, 5-3 to give Mexico their first gold women's wrestling gold medal. Atzimba LANDAVERDE MORENO (65kg) and Miriam OLVERA GONZALEZ (76kg) also won continental gold medals, helping Mexico score 152 points and the silver medal in the team race. 

Three 2017 Junior Pan Am runner-ups made it to the top of the podium for Canada. Gold medalists included Jayd DAVIS at 53kg, Hannah TAYLOR at 57kg and Dejah SLATER at 68kg. 

Two additional bronze-medal performances and a silver pushed Canada onto the podium with 135 points and the third-place team trophy, edging out Brazil’s 131 points. 

Team results (top five)
1. USA – 172
2. Mexico – 152
3. Canada – 135
4. Brazil – 131
5. Colombia – 80

Click HERE for full women's wrestling recap 

4. Domenic ABOUNADER (LBN) Captures Lebanon's First Continental Medal Ever 
American-born Domenic ABOUNADER (LBN) may have fell to Hassan Yazdani in the 86kg finals, but he gave Lebanon its first-ever continental medal.

Abounader showed he could handle the added pressure as two of his victories came by one point---an 8-7 decision over Aligadzhi GAMIDGADZHIEV (KGZ) in the quarterfinals and a 10-9 thriller over Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ). 

Prior to Abounader's arrival in the final, the best previous finish at an Asian tournament was Khodr BCHARA's sixth place in Greco-Roman 130kg in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. 

Click HERE for full Asian Games recap

5. USA Wins Greco-Roman Team Title with Six Champions at #Fortaleza2018
The United States claimed the Greco-Roman team title at the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships, claiming six gold medals on Friday in Fortaleza, Brazil. 

Winning titles for the U.S. was 2017 Junior World silver medalist Cevion SEVERADO at 55kg, Dylan GREGERSON at 63kg, Lenny MERKIN at 72kg, Cameron CAFFEY at 87kg, Austin HARRIS at 9 kg and Anthony CASSIOPPI at 130kg. 

Cassioppi repeated the 2017 Junior Pan American Greco-Roman champion, defending his 2017 title when he pinned Paul MORALES (MEX) early in the finals. 

He was the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. 

Click HERE for full Greco-Roman recap

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday!

2. UWW Regional Development Officer and former Olympic wrestler Yuri Maier carries the Olympic flame before the start of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

3. Sick foot sweep from Enrique PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA) in men’s freestyle action of the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships #Fortaleza2018

4. It’s almost the weekend. Throw everything you have into today.

5. Faces of #AsianGames2018 Лица Азиатских Игр. #вольнаяборьба#АзиатскиеИгры#узбекистан#казахстан#кыргызстан#иран#монголия#лица#Faces#indonesia#freestylewrestling#korea#mongolia#uzbekistan#kazakhstan#kyrgyzstan

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! February 4, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing results from the Indian Pro League, the Hentri Deglane, and Swedish Nationals. Also looking at this season's first set of rankings and Saturday's Ranking Series event, the Zagreb Open. 

1. Haryana Hammers Nail Down 6-3  Win Against Punjab Royals in Indian Pro League Finals
The fourth edition of the Indian Pro League came to a close and the Haryana Hammers nailed down the 6-3 victory against the Punjab Royals in the finals. The Haryana Hammers won their second PWL title and made their fourth consecutive finals appearance.

The Haryana Hammers were defeated by the Punjab Royals in last years finals, 6-3, but returned their favor by flipping the script, winning six of the nine bouts at the Greater Noida Arena. 

The Haryana Hammers jumped out to a 5-0 lead and sealed up the Season 4 team title after the first five matches. The NCR Punjab Royals tallied off three straight wins, cutting the Hammers lead to 5-3 before Tayana OMELCHENKO closed out the finals, dismantling Anita ANITA, 13-0.  Omelchenko's win gave the Hammers their sixth win of the dual and their second team title in the last four years. 

Finals Results
FS 125kg - Aleksander KHOTSIANIVSKI (Haryana Hammers) df. Korey JARVIS (NCR Punjab Royals), 3-0 
FS 86kg – Ali SHABANOV (Haryana Hammers) df. Dato MARSAGISHVILI (NCR Punjab Royals), 8-4 
WW 76kg – Kiran KIRAN (Haryana Hammers) df. Cynthia VESCAN (NCR Punjab Royals), 3-2 
FS 57kg - Ravi KUMAR (Haryana Hammers)  df. NITIN RATHI (NCR Punjab Royals), 14-0 
WW 57kg – Anastasia NICHITA (Haryana Hammers)  df. Mimi HRISTOVA (NCR Punjab Royals), 8-4
FS 65kg – Bajrang PUNIA (NCR Punjab Royals) df. Rajneesh RAJNEESH (Haryana Hammers), 15-0 
FS 74kg – Amit DHANKAR (NCR Punjab Royals) df. Parveen RANA (Haryana Hammers), 7-2 
WW 53kg – Anju ANJU (NCR Punjab Royals) df. Seema SEEMA (Haryana Hammers), 20-9 
WW 62kg – Tayana OMELCHENKO (Haryana Hammers) df. Anita ANITA (NCR Punjab Royals), 13-0  

Indian Pro League Champions 
Season 4 - Haryana Hammers
Season 3 - NCR Punjab Royals
Season 2 - Haryana Hammers
Season 1 - Revanta Mumbai Garuda  

2. United World Wrestling Releases January Rankings 
United World Wrestling released January's rankings after the conclusion of the first Ranking Series event for freestyle and women’s wrestling, the Ivan Yariguin. 

Most Notable Changes in Freestyle: 
57kg - Thomas GILMAN (USA) (32 points) jumped 2018 world bronze medalists, Suleyman ATLI (TUR) (25 points) and Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) (25 points), after his bronze-medal performance in Krasnoyarsk. 

65kg - Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) (41 points) took the No. 2 spot from 2018 world runner-up Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) (40 points) after winning the Yariguin gold medal. 

86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) (36 points) commands the No. 3 spot after winning the 2019 Ivan Yariguin. Kurugliev jumped 2018 world bronze medalists Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP) (25 points) and Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) (25 points).

97kg - Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL) (26 points) moves behind Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) (60 points) and Kyle SNYDER (USA) (40 points) and takes over the third spot in the rankings after a fifth-place finish in Siberia. 

125kg - Anzor  KHIZRIEV (RUS) and Taha AKGUL (TUR) took over the third and fourth ranking after finishing first and second respectively at the Ivan Yariguin.

Most Notable Changes in Women’s Wrestling:
57kgGrace BULLEN (NOR) (30 points) leaped 2018 world bronze medalists, Emese BARKA (HUN) (25 points)  and Pooja DHANDA (IND) (25 points), after her bronze medal finish at the Yariguin.

59kg - Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) (32 points) takes over the third-ranking with her runner-up finish at the first Ranking Series event. 

65kg - Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) (26 points) moves up six spots to No. 4 after winning the Yariguin title at 65kg.

68kg - SORONZONBOLD Battsetseg (MGL) (32 points) moves from seventh to No. 3 in the rankings after her gold-medal performance at the Yariguin. 

76kg - Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) (41 points) overtook the No. 2 spot from 2017 world champion and 2018 world runner-up Yasemin ADAR (TUR) (40 points) with her title-winner performance in Krasnoyarsk. 

Click here for January's rankings

3. Hentri Deglane Concludes in France 
The 45th Annual Hentri Deglane wrapped up in Nice, France and more than 300 wrestlers from 30 different nations competed in freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling. 

In freestyle, six different nations claimed a gold medal, but Georgian wrestlers led the way, winning four of the ten gold medals. Six different nations also claimed a Greco-Roman gold medal, but Armenia, led by 2012 Olympic runner-up Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), won four gold medals. In women’s wrestling, there were only six gold medals up for grabs. Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan won a pair of golds, while Argentina and Romania won the remaining two titles. 

RESULTS 
Freestyle 
57kg - Otar GOGAVA (GEO)
61kg - Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
65kg - Bekkhan GOIGEREEV (RUS) 
70kg - Zurab IAKOBISHIVLI (GEO) 
74kg - Thomas GANTT (USA) 
79kg - Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) 
86kg - Samuel BROOKS (USA) 
92kg - Istvan VEREB (HUN) 
97kg - Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR) 
125kg - Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) 

Greco-Roman 
55kg - Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM) 
60kg - CHUNG Han Jae (KOR) 
67kg – Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) 
72kg - HRANT KALACHYAN (ARM) 
77kg – Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM) 
82kg - Hakim TRABELSI (TUN) 
87kg - Alan OSTAEV (RUS) 
97kg - Mélonin NOUMONVI (FRA) 
130kg -  Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) 

Women’s Wrestling Gold Medalists 
50kg - Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG) 
53kg - Andrea Beatrice ANA (ROU) 
57kg - Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) 
62kg - Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
65kg - Iryna NETREBA (AZE) 
76kg - Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) 

Click here for full results

4. Swedish Nationals Wrap Up in Sundsvall  
The Swedish Greco-Roman and Women’s Wrestling National Championships wrapped up in Sundsvall, Sweden last weekend, and the duo of Olympic bronze medalist Sofia MATTSON and Jenny FRANSSON claimed titles at 55kg and 72kg respectively. 

For most nations, a national title means you've locked in your spot for the continental and world championships, but that's not the case for Sweden. According to Fransson, the results from this past weekend are essential, but the results from the Klippan Lady Open and the second women's wrestling Ranking Series event, the Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov, will hold weight when it comes to the selection process for the 2019 European and World Championships. 

In Greco-Roman, Sweden will use the Zagreb Open, the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Thor Masters as qualification tournaments for the 2019 European and World Championships.  

RESULTS

Greco-Roman Champions
55kg - Abulfazeil HASHIMY 
60kg - Niklas ÖHLEN 
63kg - Ardit FAZLJIJA 
67kg - Danielo DI FEOLA 

72kg - Simon ERLANDSSON 
77kg - Alex KESSIDIS 
82kg - Bogdan KOURINOI 
87kg - Zakarias BERG 
97kg - Leon KESSIDIS 
130kg - Albin SODERSTJERNA 

Women’s Wrestling Champions
53kg - Fredrika PETTERSSON 
55kg - Sofia MATTSON 
57kg - Johanna LINDBORG 
59kg - Emma JOHANSSON 
62kg - Moa NYGREN
65kg - Elin FORSBERG 
68kg - Henna JOHANSSON 
72kg - Jenny FRANSSON 
76kg - Denise MAKOTA STROM 

Click HERE for full results.

5. Zagreb Open Begins Saturday 
The first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Zagreb Open, kicks off this Saturday (February 9) in Zagreb, Croatia. 

Right now, according to the unofficial pre-registration list, there are nearly 40 past age-level and senior-level world medalists that will be in action. Most notably, London Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR), two-time Olympic medalist and three-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR), and Rio Olympic bronze medalist Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) are all set to compete. 

The qualification and elimination rounds for all ten weight classes will be wrestled on Saturday, and the championship rounds will be on Sunday. 

Schedule 
Saturday (February 9) 
8:00 - 1st-day Medical examination & Weigh-in, all weight categories (No weight tolerance!) Sport Hall
10:30 - Qualification and elimination rounds, all weight categories (on 3 wrestling mats)

Sunday (February 10)
8:00 - 2nd-day weigh-in, all weight categories (No weight tolerance!) Sport Hall
10:30 - Repechage bouts and bronze medal matches (all categories)
17:30 - Opening ceremony and Final matches (all categories)

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday -- PYSHKOV D. (UKR) -- 2018 Dan Kolov #grecoromanwrestling #ukrainian #wrestler#suplex #throw #takedown #olympic #wrestling
2. #SundaySmiles ?
3. @wrestlerviktor, the 2017 world champion, will wrestle at the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Zagreb Open (February 9-10). He's entered at 77kg.
4. Miss the #Yariguin2019 finals? Don't stress. Here's every takedown from the freestyle finals. You’re welcome in advance ?!
5. How about the timing by @rasul_gazimagomedov70 on this outside trip? #Yarigyin2019#ThursdayTrips