World Champion Tkach Closes out China Open with First Gold of the Year
Saturday, June 23, 2018 - 14:34 By Eric Olanowski
TAIYUAN, China (June 23) - Yuliia TKACH (UKR), the 2014 world champion improved on her second-place finish at the Klippan Lady Open, stopping China’s BAO Lingling (CHN), 4-1 in the 62kg finals to claim her first gold medal of the year.
“I thought about the mistakes I made at the Klippan Lady Open and just wanted to win here. This is wrestling, and wrestling is my work and my life. I like wrestling and I’m happy that I took first place.”
Tkach‘s lack of activity in the opening period of the finals put her in a 1-0 hole heading into the break. The three-time Olympian said, “I have to start wrestling if I want to win.”
Last year's world runner-up got to work in the second period, scoring four points off a high crotch and a leg lace. “Overall, I thought I was aggressive. In the first period, not so much. But in the second period, I was go-go-go, and I was able to pick up the win.”
At 68kg, fellow Ukranian Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) joined Tkach as a gold medalist after sticking Xiaoqian WANG (CHN) in the second China versus Ukraine match-up of the night.
China wrapped up the final day of competition in Taiyuan with three gold medals, bringing their tournament total to four overall championship performances.
TANG Chuying (CHN) captured the host nations first gold medal of the day, pummeling Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS), 11-0 in the 65kg finals.
In the first period, Tang led 1-0 before transitioning into two leg laces from a low-single. The Chinese wrestler held the 7-0 advantage heading into the final period.
Tang closed out the match with a four-point throw, giving her an eleven-point technical superiority victory and China their second overall gold medal of the tournament.
China's second gold medal went to WANG Juan (CHN) who won the 72kg Nordic tournament with four wins on the day, including a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Japan’s Masako FURUICHI (JPN).
In the final bout of the tournament, Paliha PALIHA’s (CHN) second-period takedown helped her stop HUANG Yuanyuan (CHN), 3-1 in the all-China battle at 76kg, handing China their fourth gold medal of the tournament.
TEAM SCORES
GOLD – China (210 points)
SILVER – Russia (119 points)
BRONZE – Japan (110 points)
Fourth – Korea (90 points)
Fifth – Ukraine (65 points)
RESULTS
62kg (One bronze)
GOLD - Yulia TKACH (UKR) df. BAO Lingling (CHN), 4-1
BRONZE - CUI Fengfeng (CHN) df. HANG Jungwon (KOR), 5-1
65kg (One bronze)
GOLD - Chuying TANG (CHN) df. Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS), 11-0
BRONZE - Na LU (CHN) df. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN), 6-4
68kg (One bronze)
GOLD - Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) df. WANG Xiaoqian (CHN), via fall
BRONZE - QIN Suning (CHN) df. WANG Jiao (CHN), 12-2
72kg (One bronze)
GOLD - WANG Juan (CHN)
SILVER - Masako FURUICHI (JPN)
BRONZE - WANG Kunming (CHN)
76kg (One bronze)
GOLD - Paliha PALIHA (CHN) df. Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN), 3-1
BRONZE - Zsanett NEMETH (HUN) df. Eunju HWANG (KOR), 6-1
Gold medalist at 79kg in 2024, Nan CAO (CHN) will be wrestling at 86kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov) 
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) is the defending champion at 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)
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