Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! March 12, 2019

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 13:58 By Eric Olanowski

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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

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly Five! November 12, 2019

Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - 16:17 By Eric Olanowski

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Discussing the Women’s World Cup team race, wrestlers and weights to watch and Iran hosting the Greco-Roman World Cup (November 28-29).

1. The Road to the Finals 
In the 18-year history of the Women’s World Cup, Japan, China and the United States are the only teams to hoist the annual dual meet team trophy. But, dating back to 2003 when the United States claimed their lone team title, Japan or China has had a stronghold on women’s wrestling -- claiming 14 consecutive World Cup championships. 

Japan and China met in the previous two World Cup finals, with Japan coming out on the winning end of both of those meetings. But, this year is slated to be a different story, as Japan and China will wrestle on Saturday night in Group A action for a potential spot in Sunday night’s gold-medal dual. That is, of course, if they both get past a fairly young and inexperienced Ukrainian team that’s looking to send shock waves through the wrestling world and make their first finals appearance since 2005. 

Russia, the United States and Mongolia are the three Group B teams.

Though Mongolia has a pair of returning world bronze medalists, they likely won’t have enough firepower to match that of the Russian Federation or the United States -- who both have at least one world champ on their squad. 

The premier Group B matchup between Russia and the United States, which will take place on Saturday afternoon, will feature four of the ten women’s wrestling world champions. 

Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS), this year’s 62kg world champion, will lead the Russian Federation in the dual, while reigning world champions Jacarra WINCHESTER, Tamyra MENSAH and Adeline GRAY headline the entries for the Stars and Stripes. 

The two teams with the best record after their pair of group matches will meet in Sunday’s gold-medal match. The third and fourth-place match will feature the two teams with the second-best record in their groups and the remaining teams will meet for fifth and sixth place. 

Number of World Cup Titles 
Japan: 10 
China: 6
United States: 1

SCHEDULE
Saturday (November 16) 
10:30 – Mat A: JPN vs. UKR / Mat B: RUS vs. MGL 
12: 00 – Mat A: RUS vs. USA / Mat B: CHN vs. UKR 
16:30 – Opening Ceremony 
17:00 – Mat A: JPN vs. CHN / Mat B: USA vs. MGL

Sunday (November 17) 
8:00 – Medical Examination & Weigh-in
10:30 – Finals 5/6
13:00 – Finals 3/4
14:30 – Finals 1/2
16:00 – Award Ceremonies

Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) is one of five world champions that'll be wrestling at this weekend's Women's World Cup. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

2. Wrestlers to Watch: The Five World Champs
Five of the six teams entered into the Women’s Wrestling World Cup bring at least two returning world medalists – totaling 17 podium finishers from this year’s World Championships (Ukraine is the lone team without a 2019 world medalist entered). But, without a doubt, the five newly-crowned must-watch world champions are: 

55kg - Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
57kg - Risako KAWAI (USA)
62kg - Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS)
68kg - Tamyra MENSAH (USA)
76kg - Adeline GRAY (USA)

Risako KAWAI (JPN) and Ningning RONG (CHN) met in the world finals at 57kg just over a month ago. They could square off again at this weekend's Women's World Cup. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

3. Weights to Watch: 57kg and 76kg 
The two can't-miss weights at this weekend’s Women’s Wrestling World Cup will be 57kg and 76kg. Both weight classes will feature the reigning world champion and the wrestler they defeated to win their world title. This means, there could be a pair of world finals rematches that take place this weekend.

Risako KAWAI (JPN) and Ningning RONG (CHN), who met in Nur-Sultan for the 57kg world title, could square off on Saturday night when Japan takes on China. That match will take place at 17:00 (local time).

Kawai is widely regarded as the top women’s wrestler in the world. Since winning her Rio Olympic title in 2016, Kawai has won three consecutive world titles. Her potential Chinese opponent, Ningning Rong, is a 2018 world champion and 2019 world runner-up. The highly emotional Chinese star is coming off a second consecutive year where she made the world finals, claimed a continental title and won at least three tournaments. 

Two other wrestlers that could cause Kawai and Rong fits at 57kg are ALTANTSETSEG Battsetseg (MGL) and Olena KREMZER (UKR). The 25-year-old Mongolian wrestler was a 2017 U23 world runner-up, while the Ukrainian wrestler was a 2018 U23 world bronze medalist. 

At 76kg, the two best women’s heavyweights in the world, Adeline Gray and Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN), could square off in a rematch of September’s 76kg finals, but that all depends on how the group stage plays out. Additionally, Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS) and ZHOU Qian (CHN) will also wrestle at 76kg. Bukina is a Rio Olympic bronze medalist, and Zhou is a 2015 world runner-up. 

Reigning world champion Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) leads a loaded Russian team into Tehran for the Greco-Roman World Cup. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

4. Iran Set to Host Greco-Roman World Cup (November 28-29) 
Iran is gearing up to host the Greco-Roman World Cup for the seventh consecutive time. The two-day Greco-Roman World Cup kicks off November 28-29 in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium and will feature six teams -- which is the first time the event has housed less than eight teams since 2008. 

The Russian Federation, who are the defending champions, are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Iran did it in 2011 and ’12.  To earn their eighth overall World Cup team trophy, they’ll rely heavily on reigning world champion Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS), who’ll wrestle at 72kg. 

In addition to Mantsigov, Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN, Stepan MARYANYAN and Sergey SEMENOV are will also compete on Russia's team at the Greco-Roman World Cup. The trio were all 2018 world champions, but Maryanan, who finished with a silver medal at this year’s World Championships, is the lone reigning medalist in the group of three. 

Outside of Russia’s loaded squad, six reigning world champs will travel to Tehran to compete in the Greco-Roman World Cup. 

The biggest storyline heading into the dual meet event is the potential Rio Olympic finals rematch between Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) and Shinobu OTA (JPN), which could be looming at 67kg. 

Borrero and Ota both won world titles in Nur-Sultan, but the Japanese wrestler will begin his ascent from his title-winning non-Olympic weight of 63kg to the Olympic weight of 67kg, where the Cuban wrestler is the current world-title holder. Shortly after winning his world title last month, Ota announced that he'd climb up 4kg to 67kg to make a run at improving his silver medal from the Rio Olympic Games, where he fell to Borrero in the finals.

In addition to Borrero, Mantsigov and Ota, the Greco-Roman World Cup will also welcome three other world champs. The returning world champs are: Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) and Lasha GOBADZE (GEO). 

Reigning World Champions Entered
55kg - Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg - Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) 
67kg - Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB)
67kg - Shinobu OTA (JPN)
72kg - Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
82kg - Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)

Two-time world and Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) highlights the list of entries at the Bill Farrell. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

5. Bill Farrell Live on FloWrestling.org 
The New York Athletic Club will host the first qualifier for America’s Olympic Team Trials, the Bill Farrell Memorial (November 16-17). The highest finisher at the six Olympic weight classes in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling will cement their spot at April’s Tokyo Olympic Team Trials. 

Our friends at Flowrestling.org have the streaming rights to the event and have provided an early list of participants who are expected to compete. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- Khoroshavtseva O. (RUS) -- Senior Worlds 2019
2. ‪Iszmail MUSZHKAJEV ??: World Championship Highlights
3. Hassan YAZDANI ?? World Championship Highlights
4. Behind the Scenes: Sadulaev and 97kg at #WrestleNurSultan
5. Kazakhstan ?? put on a show at the #WrestleNurSultan World Championships — on and off the mat.