Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2019

Monday, January 28, 2019 - 16:51 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

#WrestleSamokov

U.S. puts 2 in U20 Worlds finals; Kurugliyev closer to title

Monday, August 18, 2025 - 15:01 By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 18) -- Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) earned himself a chance to win his first U20 world title after he made it to 92kg final Monday in Samokov, Bulgaria.

Kurugliyev, a former world U17 champion, has made the trip to World U20 Championships twice before this year but finished fifth in 2023 and won bronze in 2024, both at 97kg. He moved down to 92kg for this year's tournament and already upgraded his medal.

In a tough semifinal against returning bronze medalist Anar JAFARLI (AZE), Kurugliyev won a close bout 9-6, thanks to an early four-pointer move which gave him a huge advantage. Jafarli got a couple of takedowns but never seemed to trouble the Kazakhstan wrestler.

Kurugliyev will now face Sherzod POYONOV (UZB) in the final after the Uzbekistan wrestler pinned Gadzhimurad GADZHIBATYROV (UWW) in the other semifinal at 92kg.

Poyonov, the Asian U20 champion, blocked Gadzhibatyrov in one of the attacks and then kept him on the mat, pinning his shoulders for the win. Poyonov will look to become the first Uzbekistan wrestler to win gold since 2022.

The U.S. got two finalists on Monday at 65kg and 79kg. At 65kg, Luke STANICH (USA) defeated European U20 and U23 champion Amal DZHANDUBAEV (UWW) with some of the best wrestling in Samokov. Stanich kept his positions and defense and ultimately managed to score a takedown in the second period to beat Dzhandubaev 3-1 in the semifinals.

He will face Reiji UCHIDA (JPN) for the gold medal after the Japanese wrestler blanked Viktor BOROHAN (UKR), 10-0, using a series of stepouts and lace. Uchida is a product of the Yamanashi Gaikun University, the same university that produced world champion Masanosuke ONO (JPN) and Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN).

Pan-American U20 champion William HENCKEL (USA) defeated Asian U20 champion AMIT (IND), 5-4, using a takedown and gut-wrench in the first period. He scored a stepout when put on activity period and then added a takedown and turn. Amit blocked the second turn attempt for two points but Henckel led 5-2 at the break.

Amit managed a stepout and point for passivity from Henckel but that was all for him as the U.S. wrestler moved into the final in which he will face returning bronze medalist and senior Asian champion Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI).

At one point in the semifinal, Yousefi was down against European U20 bronze medalist Said SAIDULOV (UWW). But he managed to score takedowns at regular intervals to defeat Saidulov 15-7.

At 57kg, Sumit MALIK (IND) dominated his semifinal against Ion BULGARU (MDA) and won 11-3 and booked place in the final against Magomed OZDAMIROV (UWW) who held on to a nervous 3-1 win over Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ) in the other semifinal.

Malik got on board first when he scored a stepout during his activity clock. He added a stepout and takedown to make it 4-0 at the break. He kept his attacks and got another takedown and stepout in the second period to build a 7-0 lead.

Bulgaru finally hit back with a takedown on the edge to cut the lead to 7-2 but Malik kept relentless forward pressure, scoring a stepout and takedown to lead 10-2. Both wrestlers were cautioned for open hands on faces but that did not affect Malik, who won 11-3 win.

Ozdamirov, who showed some crafty wrestling throughout the day, denied Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ), 3-1, thanks to a takedown in the second period.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Magomed OZDAMIROV (UWW) vs. Sumit MALIK (IND)

SF 1: Magomed OZDAMIROV (UWW) df. Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ), 3-1
SF 2: Sumit MALIK (IND) df. Ion BULGARU (MDA), 11-3

65kg
GOLD: Luke STANICH (USA) vs. Reiji UCHIDA (JPN)

SF 1: Luke STANICH (USA) df. Amal DZHANDUBAEV (UWW), 3-1
SF 2: Reiji UCHIDA (JPN) df. Viktor BOROHAN (UKR), 10-0

79kg
GOLD: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) vs. William HENCKEL (USA)

SF 1: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) df. Said SAIDULOV (UWW), 15-7
SF 2: William HENCKEL (USA) df. AMIT (IND), 5-4

92kg
GOLD: Sherzod POYONOV (UZB) vs. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)

SF 1: Sherzod POYONOV (UZB) df. Gadzhimurad GADZHIBATYROV (UWW), via fall
SF 2: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) df. Anar JAFARLI (AZE), 9-6

Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2019

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U.S. puts 2 in U20 Worlds finals; Kurugliyev closer to title