World Champion Azizli Headlines Hungarian Grand Prix Entry List

Thursday, February 14, 2019 - 14:57 By Eric Olanowski

GYOR, Hungary (February 14) - Azerbaijan's reigning world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI headlines a Hungarian Grand Prix field of 175 wrestlers from 25 different nations which boasts an impressive eight returning world medalists (listed in bold below).

Though they only enter three wrestlers, Azerbaijan has arguably the most successful team in the tournament. Their three entries are Azizli, Rasul CHUNAYEV, and Sabah SHARIATI.

Azizli is coming off a run to his first world title and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world at 55kg, while Chunayev and Shariati both hold Rio Olympic bronze medals.

Chunayev, who's 25 points is good enough for the No. 4-ranking in the world at 72kg, has three world medals to go along with his Rio bronze-medal finish. In 2015, he won the world title and grabbed bronze medals at the 2014 and 2018 world championships.

The last Azeri entry is Sabah Shariati, who will be making his 2019 season debut at 130kg.

Korea and Serbia are two other nations that enter stacked squads into the second Ranking Series event of the year.

Korea's team features Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo, two-time world champion RYU Hansu, and reigning 130kg world bronze medalist KIM Minseok.

Kim Hyeonwoo brings 25 Ranking Series points into the Hungarian Grand Prix and is ranked third in the world after a bronze-medal finish at last weekend's Zagreb Open.

Kim Minseok, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the world at 130kg, is looking to bounce back after failing to medal at the Zagreb Open, and two-time world champion Ryu Hansu will make his season debut at 67kg.

Serbia's team will be led by 2017 world champion Viktor NEMES and reigning world bronze medalist Mihail KAJALA. Both wrestlers are ranked fourth in the world at 77kg and 97kg respectively.

The Hungarian Grand Prix begins on February 23 at the Olimpiai Sportpark in Gyor, Hungary.

Early Entries

Algeria
55kg - Abdelkarim FERGAT
60kg - Abdennour LAOUNI
67kg - Ishak GHAIOU
72kg - Tarek Aziz BENAISSA
77kg - Akrem BOUDJEMLINE
87kg - Bachir SID AZARA
87kg - Adem BOUDJEMLINE
97kg - Hemza HALOUI

Azerbaijan
60kg - Eldaniz AZIZLI
72kg - Rasul CHUNAYEV
130kg - Sabah SHARIATI

Belarus
60kg - Maksim KAZHARSKI
67kg - Soslan DAUROV
77kg - Pavel LIAKH
77kg - Tsimur BERDYIEU
82kg - Viktar SASUNOUSKI
87kg - Mikalai STADUB
87kg - Radzik KULIYEU
97kg - Aliaksandr HRABOVIK
130kg - Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA
130kg - Georgi CHUGOSHVILI

Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ, the 2017 world bronze medalists, moved up to No. 3 in this months world rankings after his bronze-medal performance at the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event, the Zagreb Open. (Photo: Tony Rotundo )

Chile
67kg - Cristobal Alonso TORRES NUNEZ
130kg - Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ

China
60kg - WALIHAN Sailike
63kg - TUO Erbatu
63kg - HU Di
67kg - ZHANG Gaoquan
67kg - TIAN Qiye
72kg - ZHANG Hujun
77kg - ZHANG Ridong
82kg - QIAN Haitao
87kg - NA Junjie
87kg - PENG Fei
97kg - ALIMUJIANG Abudourexiti
97kg - XIAO Di
97kg - ZHANG Gang
130kg - MENG Lingzhe

Czech Republic
72kg - Daniel VARGA
77kg - Petr NOVAK
77kg - Oldrich VARGA
97kg - Artur OMAROV
97kg - Ondrej DADAK
130kg - Stepan DAVID

Denmark
67kg - Fredrik Holmquist BJERREHUUS
82kg - Rajbek BISULTANOV

Heiki NABI, the two-time world champion is set to make his 2019 Ranking Series debut at the Hungarian Grand Prix. (Photo: Martin Gabor )

Estonia
60kg - Helary MAEGISALU
67kg - Denis BOLUNOV
130kg - Heiki NABI

Finland
60kg - Lauri Johannes MAEHOENEN
77kg - Niko Olavi Oskari ERKKOLA
77kg - Tero Antero Matias HALMESMAEKI
82kg - Jarno Krister AALANDER
87kg - Rami Antero HIETANIEMI
97kg - Antti Matias MAEKINEN
130kg - Tuomas Heikki Juhani LAHTI

Georgia
60kg - Ramaz SURMANIDZE
60kg - Gizo MELADZE
72kg - Sachino DAVITAIA
77kg - Demuri KAVTARADZE
82kg - Lasha GOBADZE
82kg - Gela BOLKVADZE

Germany
72kg - Michael Felix WIDMAYER
82kg - Marius BRAUN
130kg - Jello KRAHMER

Iran
55kg - Reza Kheirollah KHEDRI
60kg - Shirzad Ali BEHESHTITALA
63kg - Meysam Karamali DALKHANI
63kg - Mohammad Naser NOURBAKHSH
67kg - Mohammad Hossein ELYASI
72kg - Mohammadreza Alireza AGHANIACHARI
77kg - Payam Abdeh Saleh BOVEYRI PAYANI
82kg - Jamal Yadollah ESMAEILIKHATOONABAD
87kg - Yousef Ahmad GHADERIAN
97kg - Hassan Ali ARYANEZHAD
130kg - Shahab Morteza GHOUREHJILI

Italy
60kg - Jacopo SANDRON
67kg - Ignazio SANFILIPPO
77kg - Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA
87kg - Fabio PARISI
87kg - Mirco MINGUZZI
97kg - Daigoro TIMONCINI

Rio Olympic silver medalist Shinobu OTA (JPN) will compete at 63kg at the Hungarian Grand Prix. (Photo: Martin Gabor )

Japan
63kg - Shinobu OTA
67kg - Katsuaki ENDO
67kg - Shogo TAKAHASHI
67kg - Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA
72kg - Tomohiro INOUE
77kg - Naotsugu SHOJI
77kg - Masato SUMI
77kg - Kodai SAKURABA
87kg - Takahiro TSURUDA
97kg - Masaaki SHIKIYA
130kg - Arata SONODA

Korea
60kg - KIM Seunghak
60kg - LEE Jungbaik
67kg - KIM Dohyeong
67kg - RYU Hansu
77kg - KIM Hyeonwoo
87kg - PARK Heageun
97kg - LEE Seyeol
130kg - KIM Seungjun
130kg - KIM Minseok

Moldova
63kg - Alexandru BICIU
63kg - Donior ISLAMOV
77kg - Daniel CATARAGA
77kg - Igor BESLEAGA

Nowary
63kg - Stig-Andre BERGE
67kg - Haavard JOERGENSEN
130kg - Oskar MARVIK

Romania
55kg - Alexandru Vasile BOTEZ
60kg - Virgil MUNTEANU
63kg - Mihai Radu MIHUT
72kg - Ilie COJOCARI
130kg - Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU
130kg - Constantin HUTULEAC

Viktor NEMES, the 2017 world champion confirmed that he'll be wrestling in Hungary next weekend. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Serbia
63kg - Tamas NAD
67kg - Mate NEMES
77kg - Viktor NEMES
87kg - Nikolaj Georgiev DOBREV
87kg - Vladimir STANKIC
97kg - Mihail KAJALA

Slovakia
77kg - Leos DRMOLA
97kg - Tamas SOOS

Sweden
67kg - Danielo Giuseppe DI FEOLA
72kg - Oskar Simon ERLANDSSON
77kg - Alex Michel BJURBERG KESSIDIS
97kg - Pontus Johan LUND
97kg - Kristoffer Zakarias BERG

Ukraine
60kg - Viktor PETRYK
67kg - Ruslan KUDRYNETS
67kg - Bohdan KOVERNYUK
72kg - Artur POLITAIEV
77kg - Volodymyr YAKOVLIEV
77kg - Dmytro PYSHKOV
82kg - Yaroslav FILCHAKOV
82kg - Oleksandr BELOTSKYI
87kg - Andrii ANTONIUK
87kg - Iurii SHKRIUBA
97kg - Yevhenii SAVETA
97kg - Mykola KRYSOV
97kg - Zielimkhan DZIHASOV
130kg - Vladyslav VORONYI
130kg - Mykola KUCHMII

Kamal BEY, the United States' 2017 junior world champion, is looking to rebound after being disqualified from the Zagreb Open. (Photo: Kadir Kaliskan)

USA
60kg - Dalton ROBERTS
63kg - Travis RICE
72kg - Patrick SMITH
77kg - Ravaughn PERKINS
77kg - Kamal BEY
87kg - Patrick MARTINEZ
87kg - Kevin RADFORD JR
87kg - Benjamin PROVISOR
97kg - Nicholas BOYKIN
97kg - Tracy HANCOCK
130kg - Robert SMITH

SCHEDULE

Friday (February 22)
Till 12:00 - Final entries for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97 kg
15:00 - Referee meeting
16:00 - Technical conference – all teams
17:00 - Draw – GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97 kg

page3image1443946080 Saturday (February 23)
08:00 - Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg
10:00 - Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg
Till 12:00 - Final entries/ Inscriptions définitives pour GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16:30 - Draw – GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
17:00 - Opening Ceremony
18:00 - Finals for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg Award ceremonies

Sunday (February 24)
8.30- Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
10.00-15.00- Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16.00-19.15- Finals for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg and Award ceremonies

Monday (February 25)
Departure of the delegations

#WrestleAcapulco

Gray falls as Ecuador wins 2 golds; Dake dominant at Pan-Ams

Saturday, February 24, 2024 - 04:28 By Gaurav Bhatt

ACAPULCO, Mexico (February 23) -- Day three of the Pan-American Championships saw two wrestling phenoms take the mat in Acapulco. But while four-time world champion Kyle DAKE (USA) rag-dolled his opponents to win his fourth straight 74kg title at the event, six-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) stumbled against eventual 76kg champion Genesis REASCO (ECU) and had to settle for a bronze.

Nick SURIANO (61kg) and Chance MARSTELLER (86kg) also struck gold to make it three for Team USA, while Macey KILTY (USA) grabbed the 65kg gold.

Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) blanked her 53kg opponents to take Ecuador's second gold of the day.

Kyle DAKE (USA) dominated his way to the 74kg gold. (Photo: UWW / William Bains)

Dake stayed levels apart in the 74kg field as the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist earned victories via fall over Angel CORTES (PAN) and Anthony MONTERO (VEN).

The 32-year-old, who won his first two world titles at 79kg, is not only strong for the 74kg division but also dazzles the field with his explosiveness. He had Bonilla squirming against a pin attempt in less than 5 seconds. Bonilla's desperation only delayed the inevitable, as Dake flattened him inside the first period.

Montero, a former South American champion, made it a scrappy affair but couldn't stop Dake from racking up points. Up against the clock, the Venezuelan went for a last-gasp shot, only for the American to counter into a four-point throw to complete the victory.

Marsteller defeated Jorge LLANO (ARG) in the quarterfinal but didn't get a chance to test his mettle against four-time champion Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB). The 34-year-old withdrew from the competition, paving the way for Marsteller to take home the 86kg gold. He also received a forfeit win from Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN).

The title continues the remarkable life turnaround for the 28-year-old, whose childhood dreams of dominating the wrestling world were derailed by substance addiction. Addicted to alcohol and opioids — Marsteller, who amassed a 166-0 record in his Pennsylvania high school — went into rehab in 2016. He went back to rehab in 2020 after an under-the-influencer bender saw him wreck his and his wife’s cars in one night. The 28-year-old has been clean since July 2020 and the gold in Acapulco would serve to boost both his morale and profile.

Suriano defeated two-time silver medallist Joseph SILVA (PUR) on his way to the 61kg gold. The 26-year-old, who was one of the main contenders to make the American Olympic team in 2021 before testing positive for COVID-19, also beat Jose VASQUEZ (PER) 12-2, Edwin SEGURA (GUA) via forfeit, and Juan LAVAT (MEX) with a fall (10-2).

Genesis REASCO (ECU) blanked Adeline GRAY (USA) 10-0 at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / William Bain)

Gray was outpowered by Reasco in their meeting which saw the Ecuadorian secure two tremendous double-leg takedowns within the opening few seconds. The explosive 25-year-old, a four-time medallist at the event, completed the superiority victory over the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist in little over a minute.

Joining Reasco on top of the podium for Ecuador was Yepez, who continues her meteoric rise with a successful title defense in the 53kg category.

The stage was set for a rematch from last year's final against Betzabeth ARGUELLO (VEN), before the five-time medallist pulled out from the gold-medal clash.

Yepez, who also struck gold at the Pan-American Games last November, was the first Ecuadorian woman to win a wrestling world title at the 2021 U23 Worlds, and medalled at last year's senior World Championships.

Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) won the 59kg women's gold. Beauregard — a four-time medallist at the event, including 2019 and 2022 champion — ran roughshod on Friday. The 26-year-old didn't give up a single point over four bouts.

Kilty grabbed the 65kg gold with two dominant wins. Kilty set the tone with a one-sided rout of 2022 silver medallist Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN).

After a tight opening minute, Kilty set up the Canadian with quick feints before securing a single-leg takedown. After netting five points from the sequence, Kilty wasted little time in getting another takedown, this time attacking Rowbottom's left leg, and completed the fall victory shortly thereafter.

Against Andrea LOPEZ (MEX), Kilty showed both speed and strength. After earning a 7-0 lead in the first period, the 22-year-old overwhelmed the hometown favorite and earned the fall win with more than 2 minutes left on the board.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. Arguello BETZABETH (VEN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Gonzalez MARIA (DOM) df. Samantha STEWART (CAN), via fall
BRONZE: Katie GOMEZ (USA) df. Laura HERIN (CUB), 10-0

59kg
GOLD: Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
SILVER: Michaela BECK (USA)
BRONZE: Ana PEREIRA (BRA)

65kg
GOLD: Macey KILTY (USA)
SILVER: Andrea LOPEZ (MEX)
BRONZE: Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN)

76kg
GOLD: Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) df. Renteria TATIANA (COL), 9-0

BRONZE: Adeline GRAY (USA) df. Shauna KUEBECK (CAN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Linda MACHUCA (ARG) df. Bautista EMELYN (DOM), 11-0

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Nicholas SURIANO (USA)
SILVER: Joseph SILVA (PUR)
BRONZE: Juan LAVAT (MEX)

74kg
GOLD: Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Julio RODRIGUEZ ROMERO (DOM), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Jones SHANE (PUR) df. Thomson ADAM (CAN), 16-5
BRONZE: Anthony MONTERO (VEN) df. Angel CORTES (PAN), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Chandler MARSTELLER (USA) df. Ceballos PEDRO (VEN), via fall

BRONZE: Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL) df. Pool AMBROCIO GREIFO (PER), 3-1
BRONZE: Jorge LLANO (ARG) df. Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB), via inj. def.

World Champion Azizli Headlines Hungarian Grand Prix Entry List

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Gray falls as Ecuador wins 2 golds; Dake dominant at Pan-Ams