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

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the Ivan Yariguin and the Dave Schultz Memorial. Also looking at Punia's win over Aliyev and the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the season. 
 

1. Russia Sweeps Freestyle Competition at Ivan Yariguin 
The stars more than aligned for the Russian Federation as they erupted for an impressive ten out of ten freestyle gold medals at the first Ranking Series even of the year, the Ivan Yariguin, and won the team title 118 points ahead of second place Mongolia. 

The region of Dagestan led the way to a mind-blowing seven gold medalists. Anzor KHIZRIEV (125kg) and Muslim SADULAEV (57kg) handed Chechnya their pair of gold medals while reigning world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV gave Ossetia the remaining gold medal. 

Outside of Russia's dominating performance, one of the biggest storylines came at 97kg when two-time world champion and Rio Olympic gold medalist Kyle SNYDER (USA) failed to medal. Snyder was upset by Rasul MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 6-5 in the opening round, and was knocked out of the tournament after Magomedov lost to Mongolia’s ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul in the quarterfinals. 

Final Wraps 
Day One 
Day Two 
Day Three 
Day Four 

Team Scores
GOLD - Russia (250 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (118 points) 
BRONZE - Turkey (83 points) 
FOURTH - United States (64 points) 
FIFTH - China (53 points)

FINALS RESULTS 
57kg - Muslim SADULAEV (RUS) df. Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 4-4 
61kg - Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS) df. Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU), 7-0 
65kg - Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) df. Nachyn KUULAR (RUS), 2-1 
70kg - Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL), 10-0 
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Yakup GOR (TUR), 5-4 
79kg - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Magomed RAMAZANOV (RUS), 6-2 
86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), 12-1 
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. BAASANTSOGT Ulziisaikhan (MGL), 13-2 (Round 4) 
97kg - Shamil MUSAEV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR), 11-9 
125kg - Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) df. Taha AKGUL (TUR), 7-3 


Viktoriia VAULINA (55kg) smiles on her way to recieve her 55kg gold medal (Phot: Sachiko Hotaka) 

2. Russian Women Claim Three Golds, Yariguin Team Title 
The host nation Russia matched their freestyle countrymen's performance at the Ivan Yariguin and also claimed the women’s wrestling team title,  finishing 38 points ahead of second place Mongolia. 

Russian, along with Japan finished with a trio of women's wrestling champions, while Mongolia and the United States had a pair of gold medalists. 

Arguably, the most notable storyline from women’s wrestling came from the United States’ Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA), who scored a first-period fall over Japan’s Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) in the 72kg gold-medal bout and became the first American wrestler across any division to win three Yariguin titles. 

Final Wraps 
Day One 
Day Two 
Day Three 
Day Four 

FINALS RESULTS 
50kg - Kika KAGATA (JPN) df. Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS), 10-0 
53kg - Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS), 6-4 
55kg - Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS) df. Nao TANIYAMA (JPN), 7-0 
57kg - Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS), 10-5 
59kg - Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS), 4-3 
63kg - Anzhela FOMENKO (RUS) df. Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS), inj. def. 
65kg - Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) df. Misuzu ENOMOTO (JPN), 11-4 
68kg - SORONZONBOLD Battsetseg (MGL) df. Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL), 4-0 
72kg - Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA) df. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), 4-0 
76kg - Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) df. Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 3-1 

Team Scores
GOLD - Russia (191 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (153 points) 
BRONZE - Japan (145 points) 
FOURTH - United States (79 points) 
FIFTH - Uzbekistan (57 points)

3. Punia Knocks Off Three-Time World Champion Aliyev 
India’s 2018 world runner-up Bajrang PUNIA (IND) knocked off three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE), 8-6 in the India Pro League as returning PWL champions NCR Punjab Royals prevailed over M.P Yodah.  

The Indian wrestler was the aggressor in the opening period and grabbed an activity point and a takedown and commanded the 3-0 lead before Aliyev returned the favor and grabbed a takedown of his own. Punia led 3-2 with less than a minute until the break. Punia increased his lead to three points with a head-inside single and took the 5-2 lead into the final three minutes.  

In the second period, it was Aliyev who scored first, transitioning from a double to a single leg and converted the attack into two points, yet Punia still led 5-4. The pair traded takedowns, but the Indian wrestler controlled the 7-6 advantage with 50 seconds left. Punia received a point after the Azeri clearly pulled his singlet, and closed out the match with an 8-6 victory. 

Click here to watch Punia defeat Aliyev in the Indian Pro League. 


Aaron BROOKS (USA), 2017 cadet world champion, won the 79kg gold medal at the Dave Schultz, which was his first senior-level competition. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

4. Dave Schultz Concludes in Colorado Springs 
The Dave Schultz Memorial wrapped up in Colorado Springs, Co, USA, and the United States won nine of the ten gold medals. Moldova’s Anatolii BURUIAN was the lone non-American gold medalist. 

Of the eight American champions, two U23 world medalists and an age-level world champion were among the victors. 

Aaron BROOKS (USA), the 2017 cadet world champion and 2018 junior world finalist, captured the 79kg gold medal with a dominating 13-0 victory over Nathan JACKSON (USA) to win his first senior-level tournament. 

Richard LEWIS (USA), the 2017 U23 world champion at 70kg scored a 10-0 technical superiority win over Dan VALLIMONT (USA) in the 74kg finalists, while Ty WALZ (USA), the 2017 U23 world bronze medalist, scored the 11-0 shutout win over Blaize CABELL (USA) to win the 97kg title.

Another interesting note, Frank MOLINARO (USA), the 2016 Olympian,  returned to individual competition for the third time since falling to Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) in the bronze-medal bout at the Rio Olympic Games. Molinaro beat Brandon SORENSEN (USA), 3-1 and claimed the 70kg gold medal. 

Final results
57kg - Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA) df. Steven TAKAHASHI (CAN), 14-4
61kg - Cody BREWER (USA) df. Samat NADYRBEK UULU (KGZ), 10-0
65 kg - Bernard FUTRELL (USA) df. Evan HENDERSON (USA), 10-0
70 kg - Frank MOLINARO (USA) df. Brandon SORENSEN (USA), 3-1
74 kg - Richie LEWIS (USA) df. Dan VALLIMONT (USA), 10-0
79 kg - Aaron BROOKS (USA) df. Nathan JACKSON (USA), 13-0
86 kg - Pat DOWNEY (USA) df.  Kenneth COURTS (USA), 12-2
92 kg - Timothy DUDLEY (USA) df. Scottie BOYKIN (USA), 8-6
97 kg - Ty WALZ (USA) df. Blaize CABELL (USA), 11-0
125 kg - Michael KOSOY (USA) df. Jere HEINO (FIN), 10-0 

5. First Greco-Roman Ranking Series Event, Grand Prix Zagreb Open Begins February 9 
The first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Grand Prix Zagreb Open begins February 9-10 in Zagreb, Croatia and over 150 of the worlds best Greco-Roman wrestlers are registered to compete for the all-important Ranking Series points. 

The early registration Grand Prix Zagreb Open is closed and the preliminary entry list is set to be released later this week. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Day 3 warm-up of #yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
2. MAGOMEDOV (RUS) defeats SNYDER (USA) #yariguin2019 . #krasnoyarsk #uww #wrestling
3. FOCKEN (GER) gets the 4 pointer #yariguin2019 . #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
4.GOR (TUR) is on fire ??? #yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
5. Clean technique puts two Russian wrestlers into the final of the 79KG weight class #Yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk