#WrestleTunis

World champ Maroulis suffers shock loss at Zouhaier Sghaier

By Vinay Siwach

TUNIS, Tunisia (July 15) -- Helen MAROULIS (USA) was closing in on a routine win. She was 7-2 against Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) and had 45 seconds to defend to make the 57kg final.

But Maroulis got hit with a single leg as Kamaloglu built up momentum. Dragging Maroulis to the zone, Kamaloglu scored a takedown and turned the world champion on her back before securing a fall. The U23 European champion celebrated the win, making the final over the Olympic bronze medalist and in a convincing manner.

A gold would have been a cherry on the cake but Kamaloglu could not finish the day on a high as Giullia DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) kept her quiet before securing a fall with two seconds left in the bout.

Kamaloglu led 1-0 at the break as De Oliveira was called passive in the first period. But the Brazil wrestler got the criteria lead 1-1 after Kamaloglu was called for inactivity. With just 30 seconds left on the clock, the Turkey wrestler got on a one-on-one but De Oliveira tossed with her leg and secured the fall.

Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA)Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) dominated her way to 68kg gold in Tunis. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

The USA did win two gold medals in women's wrestling as four weight classes were contested on day two of the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series in the Tunisian capital.

Olympic champion Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) and Yelena MAKOYED (USA) came home with the gold medals at 68kg and 76kg respectively. The fourth gold went to Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) at 62kg.

Mensah Stock was making a comeback since the shock loss at the Oslo World Championships. But on Friday it seemed that she was never on a break, winning her three bouts with technical superiority. Silver went to Nisha DAHIYA (IND) who lost only to Mensah Stock while dominating her other bouts.

Makoyed, who had stunned everyone by winning the gold at Matteo Pellicone last month, had to work hard for her gold medal at 76kg as she was up against the USA World team member Dymond GUILFORD (USA).

The two had met in a Round 2 bout which Guilford won 7-6. Both then qualified for the final and it looked like Guilford will once again come out on top but a late takedown turned the bout in favor of Makoyed who won 5-2.

Makoyed broke the deadlock with a stepout despite Guilford getting on a single leg. But she was then called passive and Guilford led 1-1 at the break. In the second period, Guilford was called passive but as soon as the activity period ended, she scored a stepout to maintain the criteria lead of 2-2.

But with 22 seconds remaining, Makoyed managed to takedown Guilford and score the all-important two points. A lost challenge added the final point.

Guilford would rue the missed chances to score a takedown especially when she got behind Makoyed early in the bout but instead of putting her on the mat, she turned and scored a stepout.

For Makoyed, the win meant that she has now finished at the top of the podium in the three international tournaments she has been part of. Last year, she won the U20 Pan-Am Championships before the Matteo Pellicone high two weeks back.

World bronze medalist Samar HAMZA (EGY) won the bronze medal after beating Francy RAEDELT (GER) 3-1.

At 62kg, Niemesch defeated Lais NUNES (BRA) 4-2 in Round 2 and followed that up with a 4-2 win over Sakshi MALIK (IND) to win the gold. Nunes had earlier pinned Malik which proved crucial as she secured the silver.

Tunisian star Marwa AMRI was also entered in the draw but she did not take the mat and all her bouts were forfeited.

Emrah KUS (TUR)Emrah KUS (TUR) won the 82kg gold for Turkey. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Turkey wins 2 GR gold

The three remaining Greco-Roman weight classes were also in action on Friday and Turkey added two more golds to the three it won on Thursday.

Murat DAG (TUR) won the gold at 72kg while Emrah KUS (TUR) sneaked through to win the gold at 82kg based on classification points.

Dag faced Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN) in Round 3 and in a tense bout, he came out on top 4-0. He was awarded a stepout before Tarhouni was called passive which made Dag's lead 2-0. He then got a turn from par terre to make it 4-0 and maintained that lead for the win.

At 82kg, Kus had lost a bout to Lamjed MAAFI (TUN) while Harpreet SINGH (IND) came into the third round with two wins under his belt. A win for Kus would tie him with Singh with two wins each.

He led 1-0 when Singh was called passive and then a front chest wrap got him four points to make it 6-0. A takedown then confirmed his 8-0 win and the gold. Since Singh and Kus were the only wrestlers with two wins each, the gold went to Kus due to the head-to-head win.

At 77kg, Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) first defeated Furkan BAYRAK (TUR) 6-1 in the morning session and later dominated Belhasan AZAOUZI (TUN) in an 8-0 win.

The remaining six women's and two freestyle weight categories will be in action Saturday.

Day 2 Results

Greco-Roman

72kg
Round 3: Murat DAG (TUR) df. Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN), 4-0

Final standings
GOLD: Murat DAG (TUR)
SILVER: Kenedy PEDROSA (BRA)
BRONZE: Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN)

77kg
Round 3: Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) df. Belhasan AZAOUZI (TUN), 8-0
Round 3: Furkan BAYRAK (TUR) df. Joilson DE BRITO (BRA), 8-0

Final standings
GOLD: Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
SILVER: Furkan BAYRAK (TUR)
BRONZE: Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)

82kg
Round 3: Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Harpreet SINGH (IND), 8-0 
Round 3: SAJAN (IND) df. Lamjed MAAFI (TUN), via fall

Final standings
GOLD: Emrah KUS (TUR)
SILVER: Harpreet SINGH (IND)
BRONZE: SAJAN (IND)

Women's Wrestling

57kg
GOLD: Giullia DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), via fall 

BRONZE: Mansi AHLAWAT (IND) df. Helen MAROULIS (USA), via injury default

62kg
Round 3: Lais NUNES (BRA) df. Marwa AMRI (TUN), via forfeit
Round 3: Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) df. Sakshi MALIK (IND), 5-2 

Final standings
GOLD: Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
SILVER: Lais NUNES (BRA)
BRONZE: Sakshi MALIK (IND)

68kg
Round 3: Nisha DAHIYA (IND) df. Ranim SAIDI (TUN), 10-0
Round 3: Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) df. Grabriela DA ROCHA (BRA), 10-0

Final standings
GOLD: Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA)
SILVER: Nisha DAHIYA (IND)
BRONZE: Grabriela DA ROCHA (BRA)

76kg
GOLD: Yelena MAKOYED (USA) df. Dymond GUILFORD (USA), 5-2

BRONZE: Samar HAMZA (EGY) df. Francy RAEDELT (GER), 3-1 

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran shines, U.S. surprises in Greco-Roman on Day 1

By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 2) -- Seven years after it crowned a world champion at U20 level, the United States will have a chance to end that drought on Tuesday.

Two wrestlers, Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) and Otto BLACK (USA), reached the finals of 55kg and 63kg in Greco-Roman at the U20 World Championships which kicked off in Pontevedra, Spain on Monday. Kamal BEY (USA) won the gold medal in 2017 at 74kg and since then the U.S. has been looking for a world champion. It was also the last time the U.S. had two wrestlers in the final.

Cortez had three back-and-forth bouts in the morning session but was at his best in the semifinal against Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ). He took the par terre position in the first period and finished the bout 9-0 after getting four turns over Aitbekov using the trap-arm.

In his earlier bouts, Cortez pulled off a 9-8 win against Anil MOR (IND), and defeated Peter TOTOK (HUN) 7-4 before going past Maxim SARMANOV (MDA) 9-6.

He will wrestle former U17 world champion Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) for the gold medal. Ahmadi Vafa overcame Alibek AMIROV (AIN), 6-3, in the other semifinal at 55kg.

Black took out Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM) in the semifinal at 63kg after battling hard to keep his 3-2 lead. Hoveyan tried jumping over Black to get a four-pointer but Black defended it and slammed Hoveyan on the mat for four points to win 7-2.

For the gold, he will face Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) who had to win the semifinal twice. Zakriev pinned Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) very early in the semifinal but Georgia challenged and won as Khozrevanidze's head was outside the zone when Zakriev was trying to pin him.

Khozrevanidze used his second life in the bout to perform a headlock and got four points. However, Zakriev avoided any fall position and reversed the position and turned Khozrevanidze three times. After a challenge and consultations from referees, Zakriev led the bout 11-4.

He scored four points using a big throw and a lost challenge from Georgia gave him another point as he won 16-4.

Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) will wrestle for the 77kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran had two other finalists, taking the total to three. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) scored a controlled 3-1 win over Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO) at 77kg and will take on Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) for the gold. Iarbilov defeated Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 6-4, in the other semifinal.

At 130kg, Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) joined a long list of top Iranian super heavyweights in Greco-Roman as he reached the final after beating Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) 2-1 in the semifinal. He scored a takedown against Harutyunyan's point for forced par terre.

For the gold medal, he will face former U17 world champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) who won 3-1 against Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN) in the other semifinal.

Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) defeated returning champion Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) at 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Kyrgyzstan, a country that has grown leaps and bounds in wrestling over the last decade, sent one wrestler in the final. Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) had an epic run at 87kg to reach the final. In the semifinal, he took less than two minutes to beat Patrik GORDAN (ROU) 8-0.

Joju SAMADOV (AZE) will look to stop him from becoming Kyrgyzstan's first U20 world champion in Greco-Roman since 2018. Samadov had a close semifinal against Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ) but managed to win 4-2.

df

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) vs. Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)

SF 1: Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) df. Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ), 9-0
SF 2: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Alibek AMIROV (AIN), 6-3 

63kg
GOLD: Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) vs. Otto BLACK (USA)

SF 1: Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) df. Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 16-4
SF 2: Otto BLACK (USA) df. Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM), 7-2

77kg
GOLD: Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) vs. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)

SF 1: Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) df. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 6-4
SF 2: Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) df. Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Joju SAMADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Patrik GORDAN (ROU), 8-0
SF 2: Joju SAMADOV (AZE) df. Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ), 4-2

130kg
GOLD: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) vs. Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)

SF 1: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN), 3-1
SF 2: Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) df. Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 2-1