Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! March 12, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing Russia's updated World Cup roster and results from the U23 European Championships and the Dan Kolov. Also looking at the updated world rankings after the first two Ranking Series events, and United World Wrestling's Hanuman: Hindu God of Wrestling. 

1. World Cup Beings On Saturday
The 2019 Freestyle World Cup begins this Saturday in Yakutsk, Russia, and 
head freestyle coach Dzambolat TEDEEV announced that Russia's roster will now include three-time world and Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (97kg). In addition to the inclusion of Sadulaev, two-time world runner-up Gadshimurad RASHIDOV (65kg) was also added to the updated roster. 

Also of note, reigning world champions Zaur UGUEV (57kg) and Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (70kg), and 2018 third-place finishers Akhmed CHAKAEV (65kg) and Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (79kg) were excluded from Russia's World Cup rosters. 

The host nation will compete this weekend in Group A. For Russia to earn top-billing in 2019, the home side will need to win a Group A side which includes a resurgent Cuban team, Japan, and Turkey. 

The United States heads up Group B but faces steep competition from a Georgia squad rife with former world and Olympic champions, including two-time defending heavyweight world champion Geno PETRIASHVILLI. A young Iranian team and ever-improving Mongolia squad fill out Group B. 

Group A - RUS (1), CUB (4), JPN (5), TUR (8)
Group B - USA (2), GEO (3), IRI (6), MGL (7)

Russia’s Updated World Cup Roster
57kg - Muslim SADULAEV                   
57kg - Aryian TIUTRIN             
61kg - Zelimkhan ABAKAROV
61kg - Ramazan FERZALIEV                    
65kg - Gadshimurad RASHIDOV 
65kg - Viktor RASSADIN                        
70kg - David BAEV                  
70kg - Anzor ZAKUEV   
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV                    
74kg - Timor BIZHOYEV        
79kg - Magomed RAMAZANOV          

79kg - Husej SUUNCEV
86kg - Vladislav VALIEV                      
86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV                  
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV             
92kg - Alikhan ZHABRAILOV               
97kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV                 
97kg - Vladislav BAITSAEV 
125kg - Zelimkhan KHIZRIYEV 
125kg - Pavel KRIVTSOV 

Unofficial Schedule 
March 16 (Saturday) 
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh in 
11:00 - First round matches 
16:00 - Opening ceremony 
16:30 - Second round matches

March 17 (Sunday) 
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh in 
11:00 - Third round matches  
13:30 - Fifth - sixth, seventh-eighth place matches 
15:15 - Third-fourth place match 
17:00 - Final, award ceremony

2. Russia Dominates U23 European Championships
Russia wrapped up the U23 European Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, with the women’s wrestling and freestyle team titles, while also finishing in second place behind Georgia in the Greco-Roman competition. 

In total, the Russian Federation claimed an impressive 11 overall gold medals after putting 19 wrestlers into the championship match.

In freestyle, Russia had six champions, eight finalists, and finished 77 points ahead of second-place Turkey (132 points). Ukraine (110 points), Georgia (109 points), and Belarus (82 points) rounded out the top-5 respectively.

In women’s wrestling, Russia (180 points) narrowly edged Ukraine (168 points) by 12 points and won the team title. The difference in the team race came down to Russia’s six finalists to Ukraine five finalists. The other three teams who finished in the top-5 respectively were Turkey (118 points), Belarus (95 points), and Romania (85 points). 

In Greco-Roman, Georgia (178 points) won the team title, 11 points ahead of second-place Russia(167 points). Georgia closed out the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament with five of the ten gold medalists and only dropped one of their six gold-medal bouts. Turkey (141 points), Romania (78 points), and Ukraine (70 points) finished third through fifth respectively. 

Click here for full results 

3. China and the United States win Dan Kolov Team Titles 
The second freestyle and women’s wrestling Ranking Series event, the Dan Kolov, concluded last weekend in Ruse, Bulgaria, and the United States and China won the team titles.

The United States, on the backs of their pair of Olympic champions Jordan BURROUGHS and Kyle SNYDER, won the freestyle team title 32 points ahead of Russia, while China rode the coattail of their 2018 world champion RONG Ningning to the top of the women’s wrestling podium.

Freestyle 
GOLD - United States (147 points)
SILVER - Russia (115 points)
BRONZE - Turkey(100 points)
Fourth - Ukraine (88 points)
Fifth - Georgia (80 points)

Final Results 
57kg - Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) df. Suleyman ATLI (TUR), 6-4
61kg - Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) df. Sandeep TOMAR (IND), 10-0
65kg - Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) vs. Jordan OLIVER (USA), 12-3
70kg - Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) df. Anzor ZAKUEV (RUS), 10-0
74kg - Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA) df. Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB), 4-3
79kg - Alexander DIERINGER (USA) df. Omaraskhab NAZHMUDINOV (ROU), 10-0
86kg - Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) df. Ali SHABANAU (BLR), 16-5 
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. Irakli MTSITURI (GEO), 9-5
97kg - Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) df. Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR), 4-0 
125kg - Parviz HADI (IRI) df. Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR), 6-4 

Women’s Wrestling 
GOLD - China (112 points)
SILVER - Ukraine (92 points)
BRONZE - United States (77 points)
Fourth - Turkey (75 points)
Fifth - India (65 points)

Final Results 
50kg - Iwona Nina MATKOWSKA (POL) df. Erin Simone GOLSTON (USA), 4-1 
53kg - PANG Qianyu (CHN) df. Vinesh VINESH (IND), 9-2 
55kg - Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) df. Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ), 10-0
57kg - RONG Ningning (CHN) df. Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR), via fall 
59kg - Pooja DHANDA (IND) (Round-robin winner) 
62kg - Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) df. Taybe YUSEIN (BUL), 4-2
65kg - Henna JOHANSSON (SWE) df. Sakshi MALIK (IND), 8-3
68kg - Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA) df. Bakhtigul BALTANIYAZOVA (UZB), 11-1 
72kg - Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR), 6-4
76kg - Yasemin ADAR (TUR) df. Paliha PALIHA (CHN), via fall

Turkey's 2018 world runner-up Fatih Erdin (TUR) takes over the No. 1 spot in the latest world rankings after a runner-up finish at the Ivan Yariguin and a fifth-place finish at the Dan Kolov. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka) 

4. New Updated Rankings Posted on United World Wrestling's Homepage 
The newest set of freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling rankings have been updated on United World Wrestling’s homepage. 

The freestyle and women's wrestling rankings take into account results from the 2018 World Championships, and the first two Ranking Series events, the Ivan Yariguin, and Dan Kolov. 

Freestyle and women's wrestlers will have their Continental Championships, and the final two Ranking Series events, the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial (May 24-25), and the Yasar Dogu (July 11-14), to earn points towards their seeding at the 2019 Astana World Championships. 

The Greco-Roman rankings take into account results from the 2018 World Championships, the Zagreb Open, and the Hungarian Grand Prix. Greco-Roman wrestlers will also have three opportunities to earn seeding points prior to the 2019 World Championships. In addition to the Continental Championships, the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial (May 24-25), and Oleg Karavaev (July 26-28) are the two remaining Greco-Roman Ranking Series events. 

5. United World Wrestling Releases Hanuman: Hindu God of Wrestling
Find out why the popular Hindu god Hanuman is so well respected by Indian wrestlers. You'll never guess which star Indian wrestler shares Hanuman's more common name!

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 
1. 
Wrestling Fans! Today marks #500DaysToGo until #Tokyo2020 and #WrestleTokyo2020. Check out wrestling's pictogram for the 2020 Games! Любители борьбы, сегодня начинается обратный отсчет осталось ровно 500 дней до начала Олимпийских Игр Токио-2020! Пиктограмма борьбы к вашему вниманию! #Токио2020
2. Big Move Monday -- @kyledake444 (USA) -- 2018 Freestyle World Cup По традиции, бросок понедельника?Кубок Мира по вольной борьбе 2018
3. Strong. Dedicated. Stars of our Sport . UWW supports our Women Wrestlers this #womensday and every day! Be sure to watch this clip and all our women’s wrestling content on our YouTube channel: /unitedworldwrestling. 
4. Watch as @suples.wrestling heads a workout with @wrestlingcanada using their one-of-a-kind Bulgarian Bag and Suples Ball. #uww #unitedworldwrestling#wrestlingcanada #suplestrainingsystems
5. Razambek ZHAMALOV ?? secures his place in the finals tomorrow with this win at 70KG. Разамбек Жамалов (Россия) данной победой в весе 70 кг забронировал себе место в завтрашнем финале. #uww #unitedworldwrestling #wrestling#WrestleNoviSad‬ #борьба #Новисад

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 3 Results: Morikawa, Ozaki in final

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 6) -- The third day of the Zagreb Open will see Women's Wrestling in four weight classes and Greco-Roman in two weight classes. Women's Wrestling will be competed in 59kg, 62kg, 65kg and 68kg while GR will be in 63kg and 67kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | YAZDANI vs BUCHANAN FINAL

14:05: GR 67kg semifinals - Two top class matches! Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB), world champion at 63kg, beats Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN), 11-5. He began with an arm-throw for four and added a turn for a 6-0 lead. Sogabe managed to come back a few times but failed to take the lead. Eventually, Khalmakhanov threw Sogabe for two correct throws and win the semifinals.

He will face Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) who defeated another Japanese Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 11-3. Chkhikvadze scored multiple correct throws in his semifinals to complete the victory.

13:55: GR 63kg semifinals - Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) drops his semifinal against Erfan JARKANI (IRI) 3-1 as the Iranian enters the final. He will face a surprise finalist in CHETAN (IND) who stunned former world champion Meysam DALKHANI (IR), 14-5.

13:40: 68kg semifinals - A fall for Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the semifinals over Aleah NICKEL (CAN) after building a 5-0 lead. Morikawa will face her first tough battle against Nesrin BAS (TUR) who stunned Kennedy BLADES (USA) in the other semifinal. In a low scoring bout, Blades went up 1-0 after a activity clock point. In the second period, Bas got the same point and then a stepout to lead 2-1, a lead she defended till the end.

13:25: 62kg semifinals - European silver medalist Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) with a quick 10-0 victory over ANJLI (IND). Lindborg with a drag for four before rolling to a technical superiority. For the gold medal, Lindborg will face Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) who had a tough time beating Macey KILTY (USA), 5-2, in the other semifinal.

13:15: 59kg semifinals - Alexis JANIAK (USA), a former U20 world bronze medalist, gets the better of U20 world silver medalist Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) in the semifinals. Janiak with a takedown and turn to make it 4-0. She then counters Hurbanova on three different occasions and wins 10-0. A lost challenge from Azerbaijan makes it 11-0.

Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) stops the final from being all-USA as she beats Abigail NETTE (USA) 11-0 and secures a place in the final

12:55: Kennedy BLADES (USA) survives a scare against Mansi LATHER (IND) in the 68kg quarterfinal. Blades took a 5-1 in the first period but Lather scored a takedown to close the gap to 5-3. Blades challenged the decision and got it overturned on review. But Lather's pressure made Blades passive, though she defended well. Blades gave up a takedown but that was all as Blades wins and makes it to the semifinals.

12:28: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) puts a show and beats Valentin PETIC (MDA), 12-4, at 67kg. After leading 6-4, he hit a four-pointer and then a turn to finish the bout via technical superiority

12:20: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), U23 world champion, scores two turns from par terre and beats world champion Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) at 63kg. Sultangali was down 5-2 but scored an exposure to make it 5-4. However, he failed to score another point which would have given him the win.

12:15: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) continues her campaign with yet another 10-0 victory at 68kg. She beats Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) and moves into the semifinals.

12:10: Nesrin BAS (TUR) who got a walkover in her first bout, leg laces NISHA (IND) for a 10-0 win and make her place in the 68kg semifinal. Bas took a 4-0 lead and then decided to sit on it. But in the last minute, she got a takedown and two turns to win.

12:00: Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) is checked up Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND) but the Japanese star manages to hold on for a 4-2 victory and move into the quarterfinals at 67kg against Morten THORSEN (NOR). 

11:45: World champion at 65kg Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN), now wrestling at 68kg, takes her own time but manages to beat Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 10-0, in her opening bout in Zagreb

11:35: Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) failed to score any points from par terre in the first period but he gets the takedown and moves to a 9-0 victory at 67kg against Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO).

11:30: World champion at 63kg Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) has moved up to 67kg. And he has no trouble in winning his first bout via technical super superiority. He tries to score a throw when Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY) commits a leg foul. Back in par terre, Khalmakhanov completes the turn and wins 10-0

11:25: Kennedy BLADES (USA), world bronze medalist at 68kg, was flying against Karolina POK (HUN) having taken an 11-2 lead. However, she decided to not end the bout via technical superiority and kept her distance in the second period and won with the same scoreline.

11:20: NISHA (IND) stays in total control of her bout against Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE) and posts an 8-1 victory. While Soltanova did get on a few scrambles, Nisha managed to defend the positions and scored her eight points.

11:15: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), a world champion at 65kg in 2023 and Paris bronze medalist at 68kg, is back at 62kg. She begins with a 12-2 technical superiority win over Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)

11:10: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ), world champion at 60kg, now wrestling 63kg gets going with an 8-2 victory over Adham ELSAYED (EGY).

11:00: Former age-group world champion Eniko ELEKES (HUN) gets a 10-0 technical superiority win over Marilyn GARCIA (USA) at 62kg. Excellent control throughout the bout for Elekes.

10:45: Early explosive Greco-Roman action here. Oybek SHARIBJONOV (UZB) gets the technical superiority win over Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) at 67kg in just over two minutes. Mohsen Nezhad, a U20 world champion, tries to front headlock Sharibjonov and score a throw but the Uzbek wrestler gets the control and sends Mohsen Nezhad to danger to get four points. Mohsen Nezhad tries to get another move but lands on his back and gives up two points. Sharibjonov scores a turn and wins 8-0. Iran challenges for the first action for four points but the challenge is lost.

10:30: Another big day of wrestling coming up in Zagreb. The 68kg weight class in Women's Wrestling has a few big names with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN), Kennedy BLADES (USA), NISHA (IND), Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW), Nesrin BAS (TUR) competing among others.