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Weekly FIVE! January 21, 2019

Monday, January 21, 2019 - 15:22 By Eric Olanowski

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In a Russia-heavy week, we review the Mindiashvili Grand Prix and Russian Greco-Roman National Championship results. We also review this week's first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin. 

1. Final Yariguin Qualification Tournament, Mindiashvili Concludes in Krasnoyarsk 
In order to qualify for the Ivan Yariguin as a Russian wrestler, you had to be a 2018 world team member, an Alany Tournament champion or a Mindiashvili finalist. 

This weekend, the final qualification tournament for the Ivan Yariguin, the Mindiashvili Grand Prix, concluded in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, just three days before the first Ranking Series event begins in Siberia. The Mindiashvili finalists locked up their spot at the Yariguin and placed heavy importance on the Ranking Series event later this week, only wrestling four of the ten finals matches. The four matches that were wrestled  were the 61kg, 65kg, 74kg, and 86kg gold-medal bouts. 

Of the four finals matches, the most notable match came at 65kg. Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), the 2017 U23 world champion and 2018 U23 world runner-up, avenged his 2-1 loss Alay loss to Kurban SHIRAEV (RUS) and grabbed the Mindiashvili gold medal with a 3-2 victory. 

RESULTS
57kg – Aryian TYUTRIN df. Amirkhan GUVAZHOKOV, via forfeit 
61kg –  Eduard GRIGOREY df. DONGAK, 6-1 
65kg – Nachyin KUULAR df. Kurban SHIRAEV, 3-2 
70kg – Razambek ZHAMALOV df. Anzor ZAKUEV, via forfeit 
74kg – Nikita SUCHKOV df. Arslan BUDAZHAPOV, 5-3 
79kg – Alan ZASSEEV df. Khalil AMINOV, via forfeit 
86kg – Soslan KTSOEV df. Omar ZIYAUTDIOV, 10-0 
92kg – Alikhan ZHABRAILOV df. Magomed KURBANOV, via forfeit 
97kg – Magomedov df. Tamerlan RASUEV, via forfeit 
125kg – Pavel KRIVTSOV df. Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV, via forfeit 

2. Olympic Champions Vlasov and Chakvetadze win Russian Greco-Roman Nationals 
The Russian Federation wrapped up their 2019 Russian Greco-Roman National Championships in Kaliningrad, Russia, and the pair Olympic champions, Roman VLASOV and Davit CHAKVETADZE, inched closer to regaining their top position on the Russian Greco-Roman ladder after winning the 77kg and 87kg gold medals respectively. 

The six current Greco-Roman world champions, Sergey EMELIN, Stepan MARYANIAN, Artem SURKOV, Alexander CHEKHIRKIN, Musa EVLOEV, and Sergey SEMENOV, were exempt from the Russian Greco-Roman National Championships and will take on last weekend's winners at a later date for a trip to the 2019 World and European Championships. 

For Vlasov to regain the 77kg spot, he’ll have to defeat reigning world champion Alexander Chekhirkin, while 87kg didn’t have a world medalist, so Chakvetadze will represent Russia at the World and European Championship. 

Another interesting note coming out of the Greco-Roman National Championships, Alexander KOMAROV, the four-time age-level world champion, made his domestic debut on the senior-level and beat Vaah MARGARYAN, 8-1 in the 82kg gold-medal bout. 

RESULTS 
55kg – Vitaly KABALOEV df. Victor VEDERNIKOV, 5-1 
60kg – Zambolat Lokyaev df. Dmitry Lyustrickski, 7-3
63kg – Marat GARIPOV df. Alexey TADYKIN, 10-3 
67kg -  Alexey KIANKIN df. Saur KABALOEV, 4-2 
72kg – Abuazid MANCIGOV df. Adam KURAK, 7-1 
77kg – Roman VLASOV df. Islam OPIEV, 8-0 
82kg – Alexander KOMAROV df. Vaah MARGARYAN, 8-1 
87kg – Davit CHAKVETADZE df. Sosruko KODZOKOV, via fall
97kg – Alexander GOLOVIN df. Nikita MELNIKOV, 1-1 
130kg – Vitaly SHCHUR df. Rafael Tsistuashvili, 2-0 

The first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin, begins Thursday. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

3. Ivan Yariguin Begins Thursday 
The 30th Annual Ivan Yariguin, United World Wrestling's first freestyle and women's wrestling Ranking Series event of the year, begins this Thursday in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. 

This will be the first Ranking Series event where the revamped point structure will be used. This tournament is especially important because the seeding process at the 2019 Astana World Championships takes into account the number of points competitors accumulate from last year's World Championships, along with the Continental Championships and the Ranking Series events.  

2019 Ranking Series Point Structure
GOLD - 8 points  
SILVER - 6 points 
BRONZE - 4
Fifth - 2 

*The number of points awarded at a competition will also be impacted by the number of wrestlers entered in each bracket. For weight categories with 10 or fewer entries, an additional six (6) points will be added. For categories with 11-20 wrestlers entered an additional eight (8) points will be added. Ten (10) points will be added to any weight category with more than 20 entries.

SCHEDULE (Local time) 

January 23 (Wednesday)
08.00 - Arrival of delegations
15.30 - Referees clinic
15.30 - Press conference with the Organizing Committee representatives, main referees body, team leaders and coaches
16.30 - Draw: Women: cat: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: cat: 57,61,70 kg

January 24 (Thursday)
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh-in cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
11.00 - Elimination rounds cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
16.00 - Draw cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
17.00 -1⁄2 finale cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg

January 25 (Friday)
08:15 - Weigh-in cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh-in cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
11.00 - Elimination rounds and 1⁄2 finale cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg  - Repechage cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
16.30 - Draw cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
16.00 - Opening ceremony
17.00 - Finals cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg

January 26 (Saturday)
08:15 - Weigh-in cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh-in cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
11.00 - Elimination rounds and 1⁄2 finale cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg - Repechage cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
18.00 - Finals cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg

January 27 (Sunday)
09:00 - Weigh-in cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
11.00 - Repechage cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
13.00 - Finals cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg

January 28 (Monday)
Until 12.00 - Departure of delegations 


China's 2018 world champion RONG Ningning kicked off her year by winning the Ivan Yariguin. (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

4. Yariguin Rewind: Chinese Women Claim Five Gold Medals
United World Wrestling's first Ranking Series event of 2019 kicks off in three days with the Ivan Yariguin Grand Prix. While women's wrestling was featured in 2018, it was not a Ranking Series event. Fast forward a year and the 2019 edition will see women's wrestlers competing for sought after ranking points. 

Four different nations claimed a women’s wrestling gold medal at last year’s Ivan Yariguin, but the Chinese women made the best of their trip to Krasnoyarsk and put seven wrestlers in the finals and finished with five champions. Of the five Chinese champions, Asian champion ZHOU Qian was the only Yariguin champion who didn’t represent China at the 2018 World Championships. 

Rising star RONG Ningning captained the Chinese success in Krasnoyarsk. The 2018 Ivan Yariguin was a coming out party for Rong, who was relatively unknown coming into last year’s tournament. Rong, the Yariguin rookie, kick-started her year by knocking off reigning world runner-up Allison RAGAN (USA), 10-0 in the 59kg gold-medal bout. She later dropped down to 57kg and continued her dominance, winning the Asian Championships, the China and Poland Opens, and the 2018 Budapest World Championships. In addition to her title-winning performances at the above-mentioned tournaments, Rong was also a U23 world runner-up and an Alexander Medved Prizes bronze medalist.

Japan, Mongolia, and the United States were the other nations who had at least one wrestler reach the top of the podium at the 2018 Ivan Yariguin. 

Japan, who had five finalists, grabbed gold medals from Yuki IRIE, Yu MIYAHARA, and Andoriahanako SAWA (JPN), while Mongolia's PUREVDORJ Orkhon and the United States' Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK gave their nation a solo gold medalist. 

With just four days left to register, Mensah-Stock is the only returning champion registered to wrestle in Krasnoyarsk, where she'll be looking for her third Ivan Yarigiun title.

2018 WOMEN'S WRESTLING RESULTS 
50kg – Yuki IRIE (JPN) df. Sonhyang KIM (PRK), 9-8 
53kg – Yu MIYAHARA (JPN) df. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS), 4-4
55kg – Andoriahanako SAWA (JPN) df. Mengyu XIE (CHN), 10-8 
57kg – ZHANG Qi (CHN) df. Gantuya ENKHBAT (MGL), 6-4 
59kg – RONG Ningning (CHN) df. Allison Mackenzie RAGAN (USA), 10-0 
62kg – PUREVDORJ Orkhon (MGL) df. Kiwa SAKAE (JPN), 10-0
65kg – TANG Chuying (CHN) df. Yulia PRONTSEVITCH (RUS), 4-1 
68kg – Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) df. HAN Yue (CHN), 3-3 
72kg – WANG Juan (CHN) df. Masako FURUICHI (JPN), 4-1 
76kg – ZHOU Qian (CHN) df. Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS), via injury default 

David Taylor was one of three wrestlers to win the Ivan Yariguin and the World Championships. (Photo by Tony Rotundo) 

5. Yariguin Rewind: Six Yariguin Medalists Eventually Won Budapest World Titles
The 30th Annual Ivan Yariguin, United World Wrestling’s first Ranking Series event of the year, begins 8 days from today (on January 24),  in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Seven eventual world champions made the trip to Siberia twelve months ago to compete at the “Toughest Tournament in the World,“ but only six left with a medal.  

The seven Budapest gold medalists who competed at the 2018 Ivan Yariguin were Zaur UGUEV (RUS) (57kg), Yowles BONNE RODRIGUES (CUB) (61kg), Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) (70kg), Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) (74kg), Kyle DAKE (USA) (79kg), David TAYLOR (USA) (86kg), and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) (97kg). 

Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) (65kg), J’den COX (USA) (92kg), and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)(125kg) were the three world champions who missed last year's Yariguin. 

Uguev, Taylor, and Sadulaev were the only three wrestlers to win gold medals at both the Yariguin and World Championships. Uguev and Taylor won their Yariguin titles at their World Championship weights, while Sadualev won his Yariguin title at 92kg and his world title at 97kg.

Zaurbek Sidakov, Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov, and Kyle Dake were the trio of Yariguin silver medalists who traveled to Budapest and claimed world titles. 

On the flip side, Gadzhimurad Rashidov and Kyle Snyder won titles in Krasnoyarsk but fell short in the Budapest World Championship finals.

Cuba’s Yolwes Bonnes Rodrigues was the only 2018 world champion to depart the 2018 Yariguin empty-handed. It should be noted that Bonne competed at 65kg, 4kg heavier than his Budapest World Championship weight of 61kg. 

Bonne went 1-1 and lost to Mongolia’s BATCHULUUN Batmagnai, who fell to Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) and Nachyn KUULAR (RUS) and finished in fifth-place. 

Early registration for the 2019 Ivan Yariguin closed last week but has since reopened. The updated deadline for registrations is January 21.

Results 
57kg -  Zavur UGUEV (RUS) df. Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS), 4-1 
61kg - Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)df. Ismail MUSUKAEV (RUS), 3-2 
65kg -  Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS)df. Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS), 3-3
70kg - Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS)df. Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS), 2 - 2
74kg - Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS)df. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS), 3-1
79kg - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Kyle DAKE (USA), 8-2
86kg - David TAYLOR III (USA) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), via fall. 
92kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) df. Anzor URISHEV (RUS), 6-0 
97kg - Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) df. Rasul Magomedovitch MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 4-1 
125kg - Muradin KUSHKHOV (RUS) df. Anzor Ruslanovitch KHIZRIEV (RUS), 1-1 

*2018 world champion are in bold.

Weekly FIVE in Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday -- BONNE Y. (CUB) -- 2018 Ivan Yariguin #wrestling #wrestler #monday #motivation#throw #takedown #mma
2. Yariguin Rewind: Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) used a six-point opening-period and a second-period takedown to defeat eventual world champion Kyle DAKE (USA), 8-2 in the 79kg finals.
3. Thanks for the #SundaySmiles, @pascal.eisele.
4. #ScoreThat - Before watching, who do you think comes out on top of this exchange? Was it red or was it blue? ?: @krakatauf
5. Yariguin Rewind: In the All-Russian 74kg finals, 2017 world runner-up Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) stopped eventual 74kg world champion @zaurbek_sidakov from winning his second Yariguin title. 

#WrestlePontevedra

Begenjov wins Turkmenistan's historic world title in Freestyle

Saturday, September 7, 2024 - 23:12 By Vinay Siwach

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 7) -- After falling agonizingly short of a World Championship medal two years in a row, Alp BEGENJOV (TKM) made amends in the most impressive way possible -- winning Turkmenistan's first-ever world title in Freestyle.

Begenjov won the gold medal in 79kg weight class at the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on Saturday, becoming the first Freestyle world champion of his country. It is only the second time Turkmenistan has won a gold medal at any World Championships. Shorat KHODAYEV (TKM) won a U17 world gold in 1994.

"It was my dream," Begenjov said. "I made my dream come true. I’ve become a world champion. It’s the first time in the history of my country [in Freestyle]."

Begenjov had competed at the U17 World Championships in 2022 and 2023, finishing 12th and fifth respectively. This year, he finished fifth at Asian Championships, 12th at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers and won bronze at the U23 Asian Championships. The loss at the Asian Championships hurt Begenjov.

"I was so disappointed after losing at the Asian Championships," he said. "I started training harder and last month I won the U20 Asian Championships and now the World Championships."

Not only did he win gold, Begenjov did so without conceding a point in the tournament. He outscored his opponents 46-0, including the 5-0 win over Jackary RYDER (USA) in the final.

He led 1-0 at the break after Ryder failed to score after being put on the activity clock. Begenjov used his fake attacks to keep Ryder on check and scored a stepout to extend his lead to 2-0.

Ryder did get on Begenjov's leg a couple of times but failed to finish those attacks. On one occasion, Ryder was trying to lift after a single-leg attack but Begejnov grabbed Ryder's leg and he fell on his back, giving up two points as Begenjov extended his lead to 4-0. A lost challenge made it 5-0.

The 18-year-old plans to compete at the U23 World Championships but doesn't plan to compete at the senior level yet.

"I have to train harder to repeat this and win the senior world title," he said. "I am physically not strong enough yet for senior level."

Trained by his uncle in Ashgabat, Begenov graduated from school earlier this year and joined the university.

"I will start my first year," he said. "I will study stock exchange. We have this faculty in Turkmenistan."

Apart from Ryder's silver medal, the United States won gold and three bronze medals. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) upgraded his silver from last year to gold, winning the 57kg weight class by beating Lev PAVLOV (AIN) in the final.

This was Lilledahl's fourth straight age-group world final after he made two at U17 level and one at U20. He won silver in 2021 and upgraded to gold in 2022 at the U17 Worlds.

In the final against Pavlov, who he had beaten on his way to the final last year in Amman, Lilledahl got two activity points while Pavlov got one. Pavlov failed to find a perfect opening to score a point in the final seconds and dropped the final 2-1.

"When I wrestled him before, it was a lot more wide open," Lilledahl said. "With it being the finals [this year], he would kind of just wrestle to win. That's what you have to do. You're here to win. 

"That's pretty much what I figured would happen. He doesn't really like to create a lot of action, which kind of plays against me because I like the action. It was a stylistic matchup. Having wrestled him before, we kind of knew each other and knew how each other felt and stuff like that."

Aitmukhan adds U20 title

World champion at 92kg Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) gave the U20 World Championships a try and went home with a gold medal. Aitmukhan became Kazakhstan's first Freestyle world champion at the senior level last year at 92kg in Belgrade.

By winning the 97kg gold medal in Pontevedra, Aitmukhan as became only the fourth wrestler from Kazakhstan, and first in 24 years, to win a gold in Freestyle at U20 World Championships.

Aitmukhan was so dominant in the final that Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) could not stop him from winning the final 10-0.

Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) completes a takedown in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Iran won the gold medal at 65kg as Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) shut out Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN), and won the final 10-2. Khorramdel lost his semifinal to Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (AIN) last year but won a bronze medal in the 61kg weight class.

The U20 Asian champion had a difficult path to the final as he had to make a comeback in his opening bout against Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), winning 12-11. Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE) also fought hard but lost 9-6 before Khorramdel hung on for a 6-4 win over Adam ARKHIEV (AIN) in the semifinals.

Hosokawa was displeased with his performance as Khorramdel blocked him from the right side and Hosokawa failed to score from his strong position. 

While Hosokawa lost, his Nippon Sports Science University teammate Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN) won the gold medal at 70kg. Two days before his bouts, Yamashita had announced in the dining hall that he could "only see the gold medal". Yamashita made sure he took it home.

In a high-paced final, Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) failed to challenge Yamashita's speed and style and lost 6-0 in the 70kg final.

"This was my first international world tournament," Yamashita said. "I played with the intention of having fun and had a lot of fun. This is my goal for this year, but after competing, I realized that the senior world championships or the Olympics would be even more amazing. "

It was not all fun for Baitukaev on the mat as Yamashita showed his A game. Yamashita got the first point via stepout and earned a second when the 30-second activity clock against Baitukaev ended. Yamashita blasted a double in the second period to get two points and turned using head-in-middle lace to lead 6-0. Baitukaev had no energy left to attack and Yamashita won the gold medal.

Yamashita celebrated by gesturing like he was taking out the imaginary Samurai swords. 

"I came up with it when I was thinking of doing a performance based on Japanese culture," he said. "It's a Japanese tradition since ancient times. I did it because I admired it."

Yamashita trains with Olympic champions Rei HIGUCHI (JPN and Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) at NSSU and wants to replicate the success his teammates had.

"I realized that what I was doing was correct," he said. "It was a great environment to have someone close to me that I was aiming for. I was really moved by watching the matches. I was inspired by that."

For him to be at the Olympics, Yamashita will have to wait at least four years and jump to 74kg to make the team for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

"I'm still thinking about it, but I guess I can only be 74kg to qualify for the Olympics," he said "I would like to be at 74kg for Los Angeles."

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Lev PAVLOV (AIN), 2-1

BRONZE: Luka GVINJILIA (GEO) df. Myktybek UKIMETULY (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: ANKUSH (IND) df. Hayko GASPARYAN (ARM), 6-2

65kg
GOLD: Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)  df. Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN), 10-2

BRONZE: Bowen BASSETT (USA) df. Nikoloz BESHIDZE (GEO), 10-0
BRONZE: Adam ARKHIEV (AIN) df. Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN) df. Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN), 6-0

BRONZE: Ali KARAMPOUR (IRI) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), via fall (9-0) 
BRONZE: Peter DUKE (USA) df. Aikyn BOLATULY (KAZ), 18-7

79kg
GOLD: Alp BEGENJOV (TKM) df. Zackary RYDER (USA), 5-0

BRONZE: Leandro ARAUJO (BRA) df. Said SAIDULOV (AIN), 5-4
BRONZE: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) df. AMIT (IND), 13-2

97kg
GOLD: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) df. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE), 10-0 

BRONZE: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE), 10-0
BRONZE: Adam JAKSIK (SVK) df. Rifat GIDAK (TUR), 2-1

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) vs. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)

SF 1: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Marcus BLAZE (USA), 7-2
SF 2: Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) vs. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)

SF 1: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Shingo ANDO (JPN), 10-0
SF 2: Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 3-1

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) vs. Joshua BARR (USA)

SF 1: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI), 12-2
SF 2: Joshua BARR (USA) df. Ahmet YAGAN (TUR), 10-0

92kg
GOLD: Sali SALIEV (BUL) vs. Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN)

SF 1: Sali SALIEV (BUL) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 5-4
SF 2: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 5-0

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Benjamin KUETER (USA)

SF 1: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Benjamin KUETER (USA) df. Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL), 13-3