Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2020

Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 10:38 By Eric Olanowski

Discussing Shiraev shinning in win over Olympic Champ Ramonov at the Ivan Yariguin and Aleksanyan's return to competition. Also looking at entries for the African Championships (February 04-09) and the updated rankings after the Matteo Pellicone.

1. Youngster Shiraev Shines in Win over Olympic Champ Ramonov
Kurban SHIRAEV (RUS) just showed the wrestling world that he has the potential to be Russia’s next up and coming star and is a serious contender to be his nation’s representative at 65kg at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The 20-year-old captured his first gold medal on the senior circuit after picking up massive wins over U23 world medalists Islam DUDAEV (RUS) and Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), before taking out Rio Olympic champion Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) in the 65kg finals.

Against Romanov, the baby faced Shiraev trailed 1-1 on criteria with under 10 seconds left when he struck late with a throw-by and got behind Romanov for the match-deciding takedown. But the pair went out of bounds, and with three seconds left in the match, Shiraev said he knew Ramonov had one last attack in him. “I was wrestling till the end, even for the last 3 seconds.” The 2019 junior world silver medalist stopped Ramonov’s bulldozing attack and gave up a stepout, and hung on to win Ivan Yariguin title, 4-2.

“I am happy. I could make my relatives happy; I could make all my supporters happy. Thanks a lot, to all of them,” Shiraev said after his surprising victory.

Meanwhile, Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) proved that he belongs in the discussion with Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) as Russia’s top guy at 74kg after winning the loaded bracket in Krasnoyarsk.

Gazimagomedov made his second appearance down at 74kg in the last 19 months and captured back-to-back Ivan Yariguin titles. The two-time 70kg world champion, made his ascent to 74kg starting at last year's Russian National Championships, nabbed a notable 10-0 win over 2014 world champion Khetig TSABOLOV (RUS), then edged reigning U23 world champion Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS), 3-1, in the finals.

“I was fine-tuned as it was time to declare myself for the Olympic Games. I hope that I will be taken to the European Championships,” Gazimagomedov said. “In Russia, many understand that I will win against Sidakov, but perhaps we will not be allowed to meet on the mat because we don’t have a very transparent selection system.”

Ivan Yariguin Freestyle Results
57kg – Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS) df. Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS), 10-3
61kg – Aleksander BOGOMOEV df. Ramazan FERZALIEV, 11-5
65kg – Kurban SHIRAEV (RUS) df. Soslan RAMONOV, 4-2
70kg – Israil KASUMOV df. David BAEV, 5-5
74kg – Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Razambek ZHAMALOV, (RUS), 3-1
79kg – Magomed RAMAZANOV (RUS) df. Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS), 1-1
86kg – Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) df. Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS), 2-1
92kg – Batyrbek TSAKULOV df. Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) 6-3
97kg – Bladislav BAITSAEV (RUS) df. Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 6-5
125kg – Baldan TSYZHYPOV (RUS) df. Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS), 14-6

Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) was one of five Russian women who won gold at the Ivan Yariguin. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

2. Russia Wins Five Women’s Wrestling Golds at Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix
Unlike the freestyle side of the Ivan Yariguin where the Russian Federation swept the competition, the women’s gold medals were divvied up between Russia, Mongolia, Japan, and China.

But, still, the Russian Federation inserted seven wrestlers into the finals and reached the top of the podium in five weight classes.

Led by 55kg reigning world bronze medalist, Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS), the host nation went a perfect four-for-four in gold-medal matches against Japanese opponents. Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS), Maria KUZNETSOVA (RUS) and Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) were the other three Russian wrestlers who downed Japanese opponents on their way to winning gold in Siberia's central city.

Ksenia BURAKOVA (RUS) was the lone Russian gold-medal winner who didn't beat a Japanese opponent in the finals. She pinned Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) in their finals meeting at 72kg.

TSOGTOCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL), BAATARJAV Shoovdor (MGL) and KHURELKHUU Bolortuya (MGL) were the trio of Mongolian wrestlers who won women’s wrestling titles in Krasnoyarsk. They nabbed gold at 50kg, 59kg, and 62kg respectively.

Japan and China each had a solo gold medalist.

Japan’s lone champion was Umi IMAI, who defeated ERDENECHIMEG Sumiya (MGL), 7-2, in the 53kg finals. China’s solo champion was WANG Juan (CHN), who picked up a 7-5 win over OCHIRBAT Burmaa (MGL) in the 76kg gold-medal match.

Ivan Yariguin Women’s Wrestling Results
50kg – TSOGTOCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL) df. Nadeshda SOKOLOVA (RUS), 7-2
53kg – Umi IMAI (JPN) df. ERDENECHIMEG Sumiya (MGL), 7-2
55kg – Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) df. Kana HIGASHIKAWA (JPN), 6-3
57kg – Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS) df, Andoria SAWA (JPN), 8-4
59kg – BAATARJAV Shoovdor (MGL) df. Khadizhat MURTAZALIEVA (RUS), 8-0
62kg – KHURELKHUU Bolortuya (MGL) df. ULZISAIKHAN Purevsuren (MGL), 5-5
65kg – Maria KUZNETSOVA (RUS) df. My IMAI (JPN) , 8-0
68kg – Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Rin MIYAJI (JPN), 12-2
72kg – Ksenia BURAKOVA (RUS) df. Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), via fall (4:46)
76kg – WANG Juan (CHN) df. OCHIRBAT Burmaa (MGL), 7-5

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) returned to action for the first time since injury defaulting out of world finals in Kazakhstan. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

3. Aleksanyan Returns from Injury, Wins Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) returned to the mat for the first time since injury defaulting out the 97kg world finals in Nur-Sultan with an apparent rib injury and reached the top of the podium in France at the Henri Deglane.

“I felt good about (my performance), taking into account that it was my first tournament back,” Aleksanyan told United World Wrestling.

The three-time world and Rio Olympic champion went 4-0 on his way to the 97kg gold medal in Nice, France. He outscored Kevin MEJIA (HON) and Valerian MURVANIDZE (GEO) 18-0 in his first two matches and locked up a spot in semifinals.

"The White Bear" scored a one-point (2-1) semifinal win over Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR), then downed Orkhan NURIEV (AZE), 3-1, in the gold-medal match.

“It took a while to recover after my injury, but I feel much better now. This is why I decided to participate in Nice, so after that, I can participate in the European Championships,” said Aleksanyan.

Greco-Roman Results
55kg – Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) df. Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
60kg – Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO), 9-0
63kg - Levan KAVJARADZE (GEO) df. Kerim MACHALIKASHVILI, via default
67kg - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO), 8-0
72kg - Ulvu GANIZADEH (AZE) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV, 6-2
77kg – Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) df. Karapet CHALYAN (ARM), 5-2
82kg – Rafik HUSEYNOV (AZE) df. Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO), 2-1
87kg – Kiril MASKEVICH (BLR) df. Nikolai STADUB (BLR), 8-1
97kg – Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Orkhan NURIEV (AZE), 3-1
130kg – Sabah SHARIATI (AZE) df. Nurmakhan TINALIEV (KAZ), via default

Two-time U23 world champion Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) is the headlining Greco-Roman athlete entered into the African Championships (February 04-09). (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

4. African Championships Begin Next Tuesday
We’re seven days out from the start first of three continental championships that’ll take place in February. The African Championships are up first and kick-off February 04-09 in Alger, Algeria.

In total, 23 of last year’s 30 champions return to action looking to defend their crowns from a season ago.

Second-ranked Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) headlines a group of nine women’s wrestling returning champions.

Adama DIATTA (SEN), who is searching for his tenth African title, highlights a list of stars that includes eight reigning gold-medal winners.

Egypt’s pair of top-five ranked wrestlers, Mohamed ELSAYED and Abdellatif MOHAMED, are two of the six Greco-Roman wrestlers who are looking to win a second consecutive title.

The African Championships begin (with cadet and junior action) next Tuesday (February 4) at 10:30 local time and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

Click HERE for the full set of entries for the 2020 African Championships.

SENIOR AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday (February 7)
14:00 - Technical conference – all SENIOR teams

Saturday (February 8)
8:30 - Medical examination and Weigh-in WW – GR / SENIOR
10:30 - Qualification rounds and repechage WW – GR / SENIOR
17: 00 - Finals WW – GR / SENIOR

Sunday (February 9)
8:30 - Medical examination and Weigh-in FS / SENIOR
10:30 - Qualification rounds FS / SENIOR
17:00 - Finals FS / SENIOR

Bajrang PUNIA (IND) inched his way closer to locking up a seed at the Olympic Games after winning the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

5. Updated Rankings Published on United World Wrestling Homepage
With the Olympic Games seeding the top-four ranked wrestlers at each weight, the rankings couldn't hold any more weight than they do in 2020. The first set of 2020 rankings, which combine points from the Nur-Sultan World Championships and Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, have been published on the homepage of www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

Full breakdowns of each style will be released this week:
Wednesday: Freestyle
Thursday: Greco-Roman
Friday: Women’s Wrestling

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- Geraei M. (IRI) @aligaraii -- Senior Worlds 2019 #WrestleNursultan
2. Four-time world and Olympic champion @sadulaev_abdulrashid is only 14K followers away from becoming the FIRST wrestler with 1,000,000 @instagram followers!
3. Best throws ✈ of 2020 Greco-Roman tournament 'Takhti Cup'
4. #ScoreThat: How would you score this exchange for ? and ??
5. #tbt Jordan Burroughs First World Championship!

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! December 3, 2019

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - 14:10 By Eric Olanowski

Previewing the Canadian Wrestling Trials and Alans Tournament. Also looking at the results from the Alrosa Cup and Indian National Championships.

1. Russia Dominates Alrosa Cup, Takes Down World, 11-1
Russia’s star-studded squad closed out the Alrosa Cup in Moscow by winning 11 of 12 matches against an all-star world team that featured wrestlers from seven different nations.

Roman VLASOV (RUS) edged his London Olympic finals opponenet Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), 3-2, in the headlining match of the dual, which came at 77kg (Greco-Roman).

Vlasov, the two-time Olympic champion, scored his three points from an inactivity then tacked on two additional points with a right-side gut wrench and commanded the 3-0 lead. Julfalakyan made it a match with under a minute left, as he picked up a late second-period takedown and closed the Russian’s lead to one point. But, it wasn’t enough to avenge his Olympic finals loss, as Vlasov hung on to edge the Armenian, 3-2.

On the freestyle side of the dual, arguably the most impressive performance of the night came at 97kg when Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) scored a 5-2 upset victory over Olympic champion, Sharip SHARIPOV (AZE).

In addition to Zhabrailov’s win, another significant victory for the Russian Federation came at 125kg, where Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS) continued his quest to improve his Olympic silver medal with a 2-0 shutout win over an undersized Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO), who was wrestling up from his Nur-Sultan weight of 97kg.

Azerbaijan’s three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE) was the lone non-Russian wrestler to seize a win in the 12-match dual. Aliyev scored a last-second takedown to move past Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), 5-4, in the 65kg matchup.

Russia df. World, 11-1
Freestyle (5-1)
57kg – Ramis GAMZATOV (RUS) df. Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE), 8-4
65kg – Haji ALIYEV (AZE) df. Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), 5-4
74kg – Timur BIZHOEV (RUS) df. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), 2-1
86kg – Magomed RAMAZANON (RUS) df. Ahmad BAZRI (IRI), 3-2
97kg – Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) df. Sharip SHARIPOV (AZE), 5-2
125kg – Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS) df. Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO), 2-0

Greco-Roman (6-0)
60kg – Sergey EMELIN (RUS) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 7-0
67kg – Artem SURKOV (RUS) df. Atakan YUEKSEL (TUR), 6-1
77kg – Roman VLASOV (RUS) df. Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), 3-2
87kg – Alexander KOMAROV (RUS) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR), 2-1
97kg – Nikita MELNIKOV (RUS) df. Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR), 8-3
130kg – Vitali SCHUR (RUS) df. Nurmakhan TINALIEV (KAZ), 3-1

2. Wiebe’s Quest for Second Olympic Gold Kicks off Friday at Canadian Wrestling Team Trials
Erica WIEBE (CAN) has been on the record saying she thought chasing her first Olympic gold was the hardest thing she’d ever do. But after winning gold in Rio, the Canadian’s tone changed, saying pursuing her second Olympic title is a more difficult task.

The future hall of famer’s quest to become the first non-Japanese woman to win two Olympic gold medals officially begins this Friday at the two-day Canadian Wrestling Team Trials in Niagara, Ontario, Canada.

The process for Wiebe to make it to the Tokyo Olympic Games is relatively simple, but it'll be no easy task to do so. First, she has to win the Canadian Wrestling Team Trials. Then, she has to qualify the weight at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier (March 13-15).

Wiebe's first step in repeating her run to an Olympic gold begins this week in Ontario, where she’s entered at 76kg. Her weight class will feature five other wrestlers, including Canada’s last two world team representatives at 72kg, who are moving up to the Olympic weight of 76kg.

Wiebe’s strongest competition this week will be 2019 Pan-American champion Dejah SLATER and her biggest domestic rival, Justina DI STASIO, a 2018 world champion.

Wiebe and Di Stasio met earlier this year in the finals of the Canada Cup in Calgary, where Wiebe scored the 7-5 come-from-behind win. In that June meeting, Wiebe trailed 3-2 heading into the closing period, but the Olympic champion outscored the world champion, 5-2, and secured the gold medal with the 7-5 victory.

Outside of the massive storyline at 76kg, another weight to follow will be 57kg. Linda MORAIS, the reigning world champion at 59kg, will make her descent down to the Olympic weight with hopes is chasing Olympic gold in Tokyo. Morais will be met at 57kg by Hannah TAYLOR and Alexandra TOWN. Taylor is fresh off a bronze-medal finish at the U23 World Championships, while Town is a year removed from handing Canada their first-ever women's wrestling U23 world gold medal.

The Canadian Wrestling Team Trials begin Friday and can be followed live on www.wrestling.ca and CBC Sports! You can also follow Wrestling Canada Lutte on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for live updates.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) will lead Team USA to Vladikavkaz, Russia, for the Alans International Tournament. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

3. Snyder Leads Experienced USA Squad Headed to Russia for Alans International Tournament
Kyle SNYDER (USA) is set to lead a highly experienced American team to Vladikavkaz, Russia, for the Alans International Tournament. The Menezh Sports Palace will host the three-day tournament from December 5-8.

Thomas GILMAN, James GREEN and Nick GWIAZDOWSKI are the trio of world medalists that'll join Snyder, the two-time world and Olympic champion, in Vladikavkaz over the weekend. In total, the American team that's entered combines for nine world medals and an Olympic title.

Gilman, a 2017 world silver medalist, will wrestle in Russia for the third time in the last three months. In October, Gilman went 5-0 and won the 57kg gold medal at the Yusup Abdulsalamov Tournament in Dagestan, Russia. He followed that up a week later with a bronze-medal finish at the Intercontinental Cup in Khasavyurt, Russia.

Green, a two-time 70kg world medalist, will try to improve his bronze medal from last year’s Alans Tournament. But, he won’t be doing so at his normal weight of 70kg. Green will make his first appearance at the Olympic weight of 74kg, where he’ll look to challenge teammate Jordan BURROUGHS for the Tokyo Olympic spot.

The fourth world medalist on USA’s team is two-time world bronze medalist Nick GWIAZDOWSKI, who’ll wrestle at 125kg.

Zain RETHERFORD and Mike MACHIAVELLO round out the six-man roster for the United States. Retherford, a two-time world team representative, will compete at 65kg, while Machiavello will wrestle at 92kg.

USA Alans Teams
57kg – Thomas GILMAN ('18 silver)
65kg – Zain RETHERFORD
74kg – James GREEN ('17 silver, '15 bronze)
92kg – Mike MACHIAVELLO
97kg – Kyle SNYDER ('15 and '17 gold, '18 silver, '19 bronze) ('16 Olympic gold)
125kg – Nick GWIAZDOWSKI ('17 and '18 bronze)

Prize Money
GOLD - $5000 $ + $1000 to the coach
SILVER - $2000
BRONZE - $1000 (each bronze medalist)

Vinesh VINESH (IND) (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

4. Vinesh and Malik Shine at Tata Motors Indian National Championships
Indian stars Vinesh VINESH and Sakshi MALIK shined bright over the weekend, winning gold medals in their respective weight classes at the 64th Annual Tata Motors Indian National Championships in Punjab’s northern city, Jalandhar.

Vinesh, India’s most prominent women’s wrestling star, followed up her bronze-medal finish at the World Championships with a gold medal at the Indian National Championships. Vinesh, who qualified India for the Olympic Games at 53kg, downed Anju ANJU, 7-3, in the 55kg gold-medal match.

Sakshi Malik was the second superstar to win a national title over the weekend. Malik, the Rio Olympic bronze medalist, got back to her winning ways after a disappointing 17th-place finish at the World Championships. Malik defeated Radhika RADHIKA, 4-2, in the finals at 62kg.

In freestyle, India’s two 2019 world medalists, Bajrang PUNIA and Deepak PUNIA, elected to sit out of the competition. Bajrang, who medaled at his second straight World Championships, is preparing for the 2020 Toyko Olympics, while Deepak, the world silver medalist at 86kg, is nursing the same injury that kept him from wrestling Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) in the 86kg world finals.

The winners of the Tata Motors Indian National Championships will now travel to Nepal to compete in the South Asian Games. Wrestling at the South Asian Games begins on December 6.

Women’s Wrestling
50kg – Sheetal TOMAR df. Nirmal NIRMAL, 7-3
53kg – Pinki PINKI df. Ankush ANKUSH, 7-3
55kg – Vinest VINESH df. Anju ANJU, 7-3
57kg – Sarita MOR df. Neetu NEETU, via default
59kg – Anshu ANSHU df. Lalita SHERAWAT, 4-4
62kg – Sakshi MALIK df. Rashika RADHIKA, 4-2
65kg – Nisha DAHIYA df. Navjot KAUR, 4-1
68kg – Anita Sheoran df. Divya KAKRAN, 5-1
72kg – Kiran KIRAN df. Naina NAINA, 4-1
76kg – Gursharan PREET KAUR df. 4-2 POOJA, 4-2

Freestyle
57kg – Rahul RAHUL df. Abasaheb ABASAHEB, 7-6
61kg – RAVINDER Sonaba df. Tanaji TANAJI, 12-2
65kg – Amit KUMAR df. Rahul RAHUL, 12-2
70kg – Naveen NAVEEN df. Vishal VISHAL, 2-1
74kg – Gourav BALIYAN df. Praveen RANA, 5-3
79kg – Sandeep MANN df. Jutender JITENDER, 7-4
86kg – Pawan KUMAR df. Deepak SAROHA, 4-1
92kg – Monu MONU df Sunil SUNIL, 10-2
97kg – Satyawart KADIAN df. Kapil Chaudhary, 9-0
125kg – Sumit MALIK df. Abhijut ABHIJIT, 5-0

Shinobu OTA (JPN) (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

5. Rio Silver Medalists Ota, Higuchi Take Drastic Measures in Quest to Make Tokyo 2020
A pair of Japanese silver medalists from the Rio 2016 Olympics, denied during their preferred routes to Tokyo 2020, will be trying desperate measures in last-ditch efforts to make Games in their host country---which presents a weighty problem for both.

Shinobu OTA, the Rio 2016 silver medalist at Greco-Roman 60kg, has moved up to two divisions to 67kg for the upcoming All Japan Championships, which will serve as the final qualifier for either filling an Olympic berth that Japan has already secured, or earning the chance to win a spot at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in March.

Conversely, Rei HIGUCHI, who failed to gain an Olympic ticket at freestyle 65kg, has gone the other way, dropping two weight classes down to 57kg, the division in which he won the silver in Rio, according to the list of entries recently released by the Japan federation for the tournament to be held Dec. 19-22 in Tokyo.

Click here for Ken Martantz' full breaks down of the All Japan Championships.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media
1. Big Move Monday -- Islamova V.
2. Mijain LÓPEZ is a three-time Olympic champion, is on a quest to become the first-ever male to win four Olympic titles.
3. The most dominant wrestling nation in the world, Russia ??.
4. Happy Friday, wrestling fans! ‬
5. World Champion Spotlight: Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) outscored his four #WrestleNurSultan opponents 29-0 and captured his first world title. The 26-year-old scored a 53 second 9-0 technical superiority victory over Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) in the finals.

Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2020

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Weekly FIVE! December 3, 2019