Weekly FIVE! May 14, 2018

Monday, May 14, 2018 - 12:31 By

Reviewing Thursday's Beat the Streets, the Youth Olympic Games qualifiers and Yazdani making Iran's world team.

1. Cadet European Championships Begin Monday
The 2018 Cadet European Championships begin Monday, May 14 in Skopje, Macedonia.

The second cadet continental championship will serve as a qualifier for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games which take place this October.

The first place finisher in freestyle and Greco-Roman will qualify their countries spot in the five designated weight classes, while the first and second place finishers in women's wrestling will qualify their nations spot for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

European Championship Schedule

Youth Olympic Weight Classes
Freestyle - 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg, and 110kg
Greco-Roman - 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg, and 92kg
Women's Wrestling - 43kg, 49kg, 57kg, 65kg, and 73kg

Amir ZARE (IRI) closes out the 2018 Cadet Asian Championship with a 10-0 win over Kumar ANIRUDH (IND). (Photo by Sachiko Hotaka)

2. Iran's Cadets Illuminate Uzbekistan
Iranian freestyle wrestlers left the 2018 Cadet Asian Championships with medals in all but one weight class.

Iran claimed an impressive six golds and three bronzes to close out the first cadet continental championship of the year.

Even more impressive, in their six finals bouts, Iranian wrestlers picked up four technical superiority wins and averaged nearly ten points a match!

Full Cadet Asian Championship Results

3. Beat the Streets Match-up Order Announced
The wait is almost over!

Three Olympic champions in Togrul ASGAROV (AZE), Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Helen MAROULIS (USA) are set to compete at Beat the Streets which begins this Thursday, May 17 at 2:30 PM in New York, New York.

The final two duals, USA vs. Nigeria and USA vs. Cuba start at 6:30 PM.

Women's Freestyle
USA vs. Nigeria
57kg: Helen MAROULIS (USA) vs. Odunayo ADEKUROYE (NGR)
59 kg: Alli RAGAN (USA) vs. Adeniyi AMINAT (NGR)
68 kg: Tamyra STOCK (USA) vs. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)

FREESTYLE
USA vs. Cuba
57kg – Josh RODRIGUEZ (USA) vs. Reineri ORTEGA (CUB)
70kg – James GREEN (USA) vs. Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB)
79kg – Kyle DAKE (USA) vs. Livan LOPEZ AZCUY (CUB)
92kg – J’den COX (USA) vs. Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB)
97kg – Kyle SNYDER (USA) vs. Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
125kg– Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) vs. Yudenny ESTEVEZ (CUB)

Age-level Match-up - Patrick GLORY (USA) vs. Gavin TEASDALE (USA)

Co-Main Event – Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) vs. Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Main Event – Jordan OLIVER (USA) vs. Togrul ASGAROV (AZE)

4. Olympic Champion, Yazdani Locks up Another Iranian World Team Spot
The world and Olympic champion, Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) defeated 2018 Takhti Cup champion, Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) twice in the best of three series to make Iran’s 2018 Asian Games and 2018 World Championship roster.

In the first match-up, Yazdani was tested early, giving up the first two points. The reigning world champion came back to outscore Ghasempour, 8-0 to take the first match, 8-2.

The Olympic champion remained undefeated in Iran for the fourth consecutive year with a 5-0 victory in the second match.

FULL RESULTS

5. Youth Olympic Qualifications by Country
The 2018 Youth Olympic Games will take place October 12-14 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The highest placing athlete from the Asian Championships qualified their countries spot for the Games in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

In women's wrestling, the top two athletes from the Asian Championships qualified their nations spot for the Buenos Aires Games.

Qualifiers After the Cadet Asian Championships
Freestyle
48kg - UZB
55kg - JPN
65kg - IRI
80kg - IRI
110kg - IRI

Greco-Roman
45kg - IRI
51kg - JPN
60kg - UZB
71kg - JPN
92kg - IRI

Women's Wrestling
43kg - JPN and MGL
49kg - JPN and UZB
57kg - JPN and IND
65kg - JPN and CHN
73kg - JPN and UZB

Full Cadet Asian Championship Results

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday! @vlasovroma90 #kaspeuro2018
2. Happy Mother’s Day, wrestling fans!
3. One of the most anticipated matches in years will go down May 17th in NYC. If you live in the area go ahead and support @beatthestreets, which provides wrestling opportunities to disadvantaged youth around the city. —>http://bit.ly/rotr-tix
4. Preparing for the match #wrestling #sportsgirl #cadet #asia #борьба
5. A few Black and Whites from the 2018 European Championships Kaspiysk. #wrestling #kaspiysk2018 #unitedworldwrestling

#WrestleBratislava

Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 13:29 By United World Wrestling Press

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 22) -- Khadzhimurat GATSALOV was in Bratislava, Slovakia for the European Championships as the coach if the UWW wrestlers and returned with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in 10 weight classes.

United World Wrestling caught up with Gatsalov after the tournament and he reflected on the performance of the wrestlers and his plans for the World Championships which will be held in September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Excerpts:

- On the performance of his wrestlers

Gatsalov: Overall, we are satisfied with the results. We haven’t had a performance like this in a long time -- five gold medals out of ten, plus two silver and one bronze. That means eight out of ten athletes came home with medals. Both the coaching staff and the athletes did a great job and prepared well for this European Championships.

We were counting on four or five gold medals. The guys wrestled really well and followed the instructions. For us coaches, that’s the most important thing that the wrestler steps on the mat and follows the game plan.

- On competition with Iran and the United States

Gatsalov: I believe there’s still room for improvement. This will help strengthen both our technical and physical foundations. When I look at Iranian and American wrestling, they put a lot of emphasis on physical conditioning. We’ve never really focused on that. We’ve always prioritized technique. But moving forward, we’ll also be physically prepared to endure tough matches and handle heavy loads without wearing out.

- On Sidakov's return and performance at 74kg

Gatsalov: Sidakov just couldn’t make it happen this time, maybe it’s because they know each other so well. [Chermen] VALIEV had a very strong motivation to win. You could feel it, it was clear on the mat. But as a coach, I believe this loss will serve as a driving force for Sidakov's future wins. It’s a significant psychological moment. Honestly, it’s better to experience this now than at the World Championships or the Olympics. I think once he recovers from his injury, we’ll get back to training and keep moving forward.

- On former world champion Baev winning gold

Gatsalov: Since 2019, he hadn’t shown any results on an international level. But today, he was better than anyone. He’s been working towards this moment for a long time, training hard, and he showed solid, confident wrestling. He wrestled like a true master — precise, and without mistakes. We were genuinely very happy for him.

- On the 65kg champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV

Gatsalov: Ibragimov demonstrated a strong performance, despite losing at the Ranking Series in Albania less than a month ago. Today, he came in well-prepared. He was in good form physically, technically, and mentally. That previous loss likely became a stepping stone toward this victory.

Khadzhimurat GATSAKOV Khadzhimurat GATSALOV at the European Championships in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

- On preparations for World Championships

Gatsalov: We have a clear understanding of how we’re going to prepare. I can’t reveal all the secrets of our training plan, but we know exactly who we’re preparing for. That’s why we’ll be focusing on targeted, individual work against specific opponents. Our coaching staff is strong. We have real professionals on board, including experienced coaches from the old Soviet school and younger ones who are stepping up and bringing fresh energy.

I think our wrestlers are also friendly with each other, which is very important. The atmosphere in the team is productive. We are waiting for the World Championships. We want competition on the mat with big countries like Iran, America. The Japanese have also improved a lot. Therefore, we want to compete with the strong ones, and we want to settle things on the mat.

(The interview was conducted by Karina MIRZOIAN)

Weekly FIVE! May 14, 2018

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Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships