World Championships day one semis set

Saturday, September 10, 2022 - 08:03 By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 10) -- The first day of the World Championships is here. Belgrade is all set for the biggest event of the year. Greco-Roman kicks off the competition with a lot of anticipation from the local crowd as they hope to win two of the four gold medals.

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What a session we had on the first day of the competition. The semifinals for the evening session are set.

55kg
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) vs. Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) vs. Max NOWRY (USA)

72kg
Selcuk CAN (TUR) vs. Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB) vs. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)

77kg
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) vs. Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) vs. Viktor NEMES (SRB)

87kg
Ali CENGIZ (TUR) vs. Turpan Ali Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) vs. David LOSONCZI (HUN)

14:30: The final bout of the morning session is a thriller. Olympic champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) began with a four but Yunus BASAR (TUR) got the exposure in the same move before adding a four for himself. Makhmudov with a takedown before challenging for another. Basar held 7-7 criteria lead before he was cautioned for a singlet pull when Makhmudov was attacking. Makhmudov got the 9-7 lead and the win.

14:25: Veteran Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) showed he still has medal-winning potential when the 33-year-old scored all of his points early in the first period and cruised to a 6-0 victory over Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) in the 77kg quarterfinals.

14:25: Viktor NEMES (SRB) is moving into the 77kg semifinals. The former world champion gets a 7-0 win over Rui LIU (CHN). The local fans are absolutely thrilled with it.

14:24: Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), who started the day by knocking off the 2021 world 72kg champion, continued his mission at 77kg by routing Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) by 9-0 technical fall. Levai scored 4 points in the par terre in the first period, then ended the match with a takedown in the second.

14:15: Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) kept his hopes alive of regaining the world title he won in 2019, but he came dangerously close to missing out. The 2021 world bronze medalist had to fight off his back in the first period, then scored a 2-point throw in the second to clinch a 5-2 quarterfinal victory over Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB).

14:09: Top seed Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) powered his way into the 55kg semifinals, scoring three gut wrenches from the par terre before putting away Asian champion Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) with a second-period takedown for a 9-0 technical fall.

14:07: Max NOWRY (USA) with a fall in the quarterfinals! Fabian SCHMITT (GER) cannot come out of the headlock after par terre.

14:05: 55kg quarterfinals and Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) is wrestling Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) who gets the 1-0 lead for the passivity of Dad Marz. In the second period, Bekbolatov begins with a takedown before a point for Dad Marz.

13:59: If Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) takes home a medal from Belgrade, at best it will only be the same as the bronze he won in Oslo last year. Selcuk CAN (TUR) scored a 2-point throw from par terre in the second period, giving him a 3-1 victory and the final place in the 72kg semifinals.

13:55: On Mat D, Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) built a 4-0 lead before adding two more stepouts to lead 6-0 against Valentin PETIC (MDA). No more score in that bout as Ghanem reached the semifinals.

13:53: European bronze medalist Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) takes full advantage of par terre, scoring a pair of 4-point throws to overwhelm Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL) by 10-0 technical fall in just over two minutes to make the 72kg semifinals.

13:50: At 72kg, Ali ARSALAN (SRB) and top seed Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) in the quarterfinal. Arsalan gets the advantage with par terre. He gets two turns to lead 5-0. He then goes behind Sleiva for a takedown before continuing the move to get the 9-0 win and a place in the semifinal.

13:40: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), aiming to become Denmark's first world Greco medalist since 2015, stayed in the running at 87kg when he scored a stepout midway through the second period and held on for a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Asian champion Naser ALIZADEH (IRI).

13:42: 87kg quarterfinal between Damian VON EUW (SUI) and Ali CENGIZ (TUR) and it's Von Euw who gets the first par terre position. Cengiz commits a leg foul while defending which gives Von Euw a 3-0 lead. Chengiz with a stepout and he tries a body lock throw. It's only a stepout but Switzerland is asking for exposure but lost the challenge. Von Euw lead 3-3 on criteria. But Chengiz with a turn from par terre and caution against Von Euw. Chengiz wins 8-3

13:38: Defending champion Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) kept alive his hopes of a golden repeat at 87kg, scoring three points in the first period and a stepout in the second to defeat Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) 4-1 and advance to the semifinals.

13:35: The first quarterfinal win! David LOSONCZI (HUN) with a huge four-pointer against Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) and it's a technical superiority 12-3 win for him at 87kg.

13:12: At 77kg, Idris IBAEV (GER) is in some trouble as Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) builds a 7-0 at the break. Ibaev begins with a takedown in the second period but Shadukayev with an arm throw for four and he wins 11-2

13:08: Max NOWRY (USA) assured an American presence in the quarterfinals on the opening day with a stunning victory at 55kg over Arjun HALAKURKI (IND). Trailing 3-1, Nowry launched a spectacular arm throw for 4, then clamped down for a fall with just under a minute left.

13:05: Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) with a roll from par terre against Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)to lead 3-0 in their 77kg bout. Geraei can't do the same from par terre as no control when he was trying to roll Kim. A 4-1 win for Kim

13:03: Asian silver medalist Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) books his place in the 55kg quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)

12:58: At 55kg, Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) rallies from a 5-0 deficit, scoring a stepout with :06 left to knock off Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) 6-5 and advance to the quarterfinals.

12:52: Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), aiming to keep the 55kg title in Japanese hands, couldn't turn Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR) from par terre, but came right back with a takedown and 2-point exposure to lead 5-0 after one period. A front headlock roll in the second gave him a 9-0 victory and a showdown in the quarterfinals with Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE).

12:51: Home hero Viktor NEMES (SRB) with a four from par terre and he leads Yasaf ZEINALOV (UKR) at 77kg. Zeinalov gets a stepout and then a passivity advantage but gets no points. Nemes wins the bout 6-2

12:48: The returning bronze medalist at 55kg, Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), had no problem in putting away Mostafa ALQADE (JOR) 10-0 in just under two minutes to make the last eight.

12:47: Here are the quarterfinals at 87kg

David LOSONCZI (HUN) vs. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Damian VON EUW (SUI) vs. Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) vs. Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) vs. Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)

12:42: European champion and 2021 world bronze medalist Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) makes short work of Giovanni FRENI (ITA), gaining a takedown and three gut wrenches for an 8-0 technical fall in 1:32.

12:39: At 72kg, 2021 world U23 bronze medalist Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) secures a place in the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 4-2 win over Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ).

12:36: In a clash of continental bronze medalists, Asia wins out as Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB) caps his 9-0 technical fall over Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM) with a leaping 4-point roll to advance to the 55kg quarterfinals.

12:32: Fabian SCHMITT (GER) became the first into the quarterfinals at 55kg with a close 3-2 win over Artiom DELEANU (MDA).

12:30: Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU), a bronze medalist at 72kg a year ago in Oslo, began his campaign with a 6-3 victory over Matias LIPASTI (FIN). Sleiva was trailing 0-1 in the second period when he started a scramble with an arm throw; when the dust cleared and the referees sorted it out, he ended with six points and his opponent two.

12:15: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) rides on the local support to come back from 3-0 down and beat Robert FRITSCH (HUN) 7-3 at 72kg. He is into the quarterfinals. That bout is followed by Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) beating Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) at 72kg.

12:11: European champion Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), aiming to improve on his fifth-place finish in 2021, took as much time waiting for the result of Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD)'s an unsuccessful challenge to be announced than he did in scoring his 9-0 victory to make the quarterfinals at 87kg.

12:10: World champion Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) up against Hannes WAGNER (GER) in the 87kg pre-quarterfinals. He gets the early point for Wagner's passivity. He leads 1-0 at the break. Wagner tries a tie but Datunashvili gets the takedown for two. One point for fleeing the mat. Wagner challenges but lost. Datunashvili wins 5-0.

12:06: Asian silver medalist Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) makes short work of Haitao QIAN (CHN), winning 8-0 to secure a place in the 87kg quarterfinals. He will face David LOSONCZI (HUN).

12:01: Georgio PREVOLARAKIS (GRE), trailing 4-1 against Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB), uses a front headlock roll for six points and advances at 77kg with a 7-5 victory. The Greek squirmed out of a takedown attempt in the final seconds to secure the win.

11:55: Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) got the four over Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) but the two-time World Championships bronze medalist Iran wrestler wins 5-4 as he had the throw from par terre.

11:50: At 77kg, 2021 world U23 bronze medalist Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE) hit a 4-point back suplex with :20 left to grab a 5-1 victory over European bronze medalist Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL). That sets up a second-round clash with the red-hot Zoltan LEVAI (HUN).

11:41: In a thriller at 77kg, 2021 world U23 champion Idris IBAEV (GER) stormed out to a 7-0 lead in the first period against the senior world silver medalist, Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), only to allow him to come back with 7 points in the second. But Ibaev held the advantage by criteria, and a late unsuccessful challenge gave him an 8-7 victory.

11:26: Two-time Asian champion Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), who knocked off 2021 world champion Ken MATSUI (JPN) in a playoff to make the squad at 55kg to Belgrade, used a 5-point throw to finish off an 8-0 technical fall over Jiahao LIU (CHN) and advance to the round of 16.

11:20: He defeated Amoyan and now Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) beats Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) at 77kg with a 4-1 score line. Huge win for Levai

11:10: At 72kg, Matias LIPASTI (FIN) scores a big 4-point throw with :40 left, giving him a 5-5 victory over Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), who slammed the mat in disgust.

11:12: Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) was facing some trouble with a 5-5 criteria against Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA) but lets the lead 6-5 to win his 87kg opening bout

11:07: Two-time European bronze medalist Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM) advanced out of the qualification round at 55kg with an 8-0 technical fall over Hyeokjin JEON (KOR). He will next face an Asian bronze medalist, Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB).

10:56: Continuing the first-round matches at 87kg, Damian VON EUW (SUI) used a massive lift-and-dump for 5 from par terre, then added a 2-point exposure for an 8-0 technical fall over Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) in 2:01.

10:51: In a battle of Tokyo Olympians, Jinhyeok KIM (KOR) had a successful challenge overturn a 4-point move in the final 30 seconds, preserving his 3-1 victory over Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) to send him into the round of 16.

10:45: A world champion goes down early. Malkas AMOYAN (ARM) got the turn from par terre in the first period but Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) also got the turn for a 3-3 win. Amoyan won the gold medal at the 2021 Worlds at 72kg.

10:42: Alex KESSIDIS (SWE), the silver medalist at 77kg in 2019, gets his campaign started at 87kg by tossing about Masato SUMI (JPN) from the par terre to post an 11-2 technical fall.

10:30: The first whistle at the World Championships! Mat A has Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) going up against Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) at 77kg. Mat B has Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO) vs Hannes WAGNER (GER) at 87kg, Masato SUMI (JPN) vs Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) at 87kg and Mat D has Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB) vs Yoan DIMITROV (BUL).

10:25: Greetings from Belgrade! The sun is playing hide-and-seek with the clouds, but the action will be in full view on the four mats. We're about to get the opening day started with the morning session through the quarterfinals at Greco 55kg, 72kg, 77kg and 87kg.

#JapanWrestling

Ozaki grabs Paris ticket at 68kg with thrilling win over Ishii

Sunday, January 28, 2024 - 02:51 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (January 27) -- Ever since she started wrestling as a schoolgirl, the single-leg takedown has been Nonoka OZAKI's most reliable weapon. It didn't let her down when she needed it most -- with a ticket to the Paris Olympics on the line.

Ozaki launched a last-ditch single-leg in the final nine seconds and it paid off with a takedown, giving the two-time world champion a dramatic 5-4 victory over Ami ISHII in a playoff for Japan's spot in Paris at women's 68kg on Saturday at Tokyo's National Training Center.

"I'm really happy, but it still hasn't sunk in that I've taken a step closer to my dream," said a jubilant Ozaki, for whom the road to Paris has been a roller-coaster of emotions.

Ozaki was the 2022 world champion at 62kg, but missed out during the domestic qualifying process for Paris in that weight class. She then decided to take a shot at 68kg when that became her only remaining option.

Ozaki set up the playoff with Ishii by winning the 68kg title at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships last December. Ishii, the world silver medalist in 2022, had finished fifth at last year World Championships in Belgrade -- good enough to secure a Paris berth for Japan but not enough to fill it herself.

The victory gave Ozaki her fifth win in five career meetings between the two, who are only three months apart in age. The older Ishii turned 22 in December. Ozaki threw down the gauntlet in their most recent clash, defeating Ishii 6-2 in the first round of the Emperor's Cup.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) Ami ISHII scores a go-ahead takedown late in the second period. (Photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

On Saturday, Ishii looked like she might have finally found an answer. Trailing 3-0 in the second period, she received a passivity point, then broke through Ozaki's defenses to score a takedown at the edge in the final seconds that was upheld in an unsuccessful challenge (the Ozaki side wanted it called a stepout) to take a 4-3 lead.

"She got the points in the last 10 seconds and I thought for a moment all was lost," Ozaki said. "During the challenge, I thought, 'I don't want the match to end this way.' Those on my side had a look on their faces of 'you can still do it.'...There was nothing left but to go for it."

During the challenge, the mat chairman also had the clock reset from four seconds and change to 9.89. Ozaki wasted none of it, lunging for the single-leg and quickly finishing it off with a few seconds to spare.

"I didn't practice that, shooting right off the whistle, but I believed in myself," Ozaki said. "It was good they put the clock back to 10 seconds, if it was four seconds, it would have been a problem. I can't say I was calm, but there was nothing else to do. The fact that I didn't have time to think, 'What should I do?' was a good thing."

Ozaki also cut it close with her first-period takedown, which she scored with six seconds left off a counter that she said she practiced in preparation for the match. Ishii likes to work an underhook, and as soon as she made a move for a leg, Ozaki dropped down and clamped on her head, then used her speed to spin behind.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) Nonoka OZAKI defeats Ami ISHII in the women's Olympic 68kg playoff. (Photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

For Ishii, the agony of defeat was excruciating. In disbelief, she dropped to the mat and sobbed uncontrollably, which continued even after she was escorted by teammates off the mat. Her wails of anguish reverberated throughout the room, in contrast to Ozaki's celebrations with her contingent.

The playoff was held on one of the six mats in the spacious wrestling room on the basement floor of the National Training Center. Aside from a smattering of media and federation officials, each wrestler was accompanied by a small contingent of fans or teammates.

Ishii just could not seem to process what had happened. Speaking in a barely audible voice through tears to the media, she said, "It's like someone you know has died, but you don't feel like they're gone. I don't feel like Paris is gone, but I have to accept that it is."

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) Nonoka Ozaki finishes up a quick-fire takedown in the final seconds of the second period to clinch the victory. (Photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Ozaki could commiserate with her vanquished opponent. She had been on the losing end in a battle for the 62kg place with Ishii's Ikuei University teammate Sakura MOTOKI, a 2022 bronze medalist at 59kg who moved up to the Olympic weight and made it hers. (Another Ikuei wrestler, world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI, will be going to Paris at 57kg.)

"This is a world of competition, and I came here to get the ticket [to Paris] also," Ozaki said. "I know how much she wanted to win, but the competition is harsh and one of us has to lose. I won in the last few seconds, but that could have gone either way. I could have just as easily lost. I am grateful to her for giving me such a high-level match."

Ishii had won the world silver at 68kg in 2022 and could have locked up her place in Paris with a repeat performance last year in Belgrade. The Japan federation had decreed that any wrestler who won a medal in an Olympic weight class would automatically fill the Paris berth themselves.

As it turned out, 68kg was the only women's weight class out of the six in which the Japanese entry did not medal.

Sadly for Ishii, an 8-8 loss in the bronze-medal match to Irina RINGACI (MDA) had dire consequences. Ishii would win the fifth-place playoff to secure the Paris berth for Japan, but it left the door open for others to poach.

Ozaki was also in Belgrade, having decided that she needed to move forward and put her failure at 62kg behind her. She won a spot on Japan's team at the non-Olympic weight of 65kg and picked up her second world gold. But her heart was hardly into it. Of more concern was seeing Motoki clinched her place in Paris by winning the 62kg silver.

"When I look back, it's enough to make me cry, it was so tough," Ozaki said. "Right now I'm happy, but up to last year's World Championships, there was no joy at all in my life. It's like the person I was up to then was lost, it was someone I didn't know like I had run into a wall. I wanted to fight hard but I couldn't make the effort.

"I thought that I don't even want to watch a Paris Olympics that I'm not in. When I won the 65kg playoff here, I had convinced myself that I had to keep moving forward. It wasn't an Olympic weight, but I thought if I could be No. 1 in the world again, it would be an opportunity to start over.

"That's how I felt going to the World Championships. But before my final, the 62kg [berth] was secured. I didn't take a victory lap and I was crying -- it makes me cry now to recall this -- because I was thinking, 'The Olympics is over for me.' I felt resentment. But as I told the media, I was the one responsible and had to accept it. 'I'm not going to retire, and I'll keep fighting,' I said. I had never thought that in the end, I would be going to the Olympics at 68kg."

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) Ikuei University teammates try to console a devastated Ami Ishii. (Photo by Ken Marantz / United World Wrestling)

Less than two years ago, Ozaki was on top of the world at 62kg, having won 2022 world golds on the senior, U23 and U20 levels over two months. Her eyes were firmly on Paris, and the Japanese press buzzed over her budding rivalry with Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ).

But her well-laid plans began to unravel just a few months later when Motoki decided to make a challenge for the Olympic spot at 62kg in a field that included Tokyo Olympic champion Yukako KAWAI.

After Motoki won their clash at the Emperor's Cup, they never got to meet in the second qualifier -- the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in June 2023 -- as Ozaki was handed a stunning 6-6 defeat in the quarterfinals by Yuzuku INAGAKI. Motoki won the title to clinch the ticket to Belgrade, and the rest is history.

In preparation for Paris, Ozaki plans to enter one tournament at 68kg, the Asian Championships in Bishkek in April. She is also carrying some injury concerns, having hurt her right knee at the Emperor's Cup and having problems with her left thumb for the past year which she says affects her grip.

But that is all secondary to having made it to the Olympics, even if it means facing opponents larger than she is accustomed to.

"A year ago, I would never have thought of taking the path of 68kg," Ozaki said. "I'm still only 66 kilograms, but I'll work to fill out to 68. Without being inferior in strength, I will use my speed to my advantage. I'll work on counters for underhooks and throws, and maybe even be able to hit some throws of my own. I'll continue to make progress and I'll be ready."

Ozaki, a product of the JOC Academy, took the academic route when it came to choosing a college and currently attends the prestigious Keio University. That means that outside of national team camps, she has to hit the road for training. Her preparation for the playoff took her to Kanagawa University, a club team in Kanagawa Prefecture and a high school in Yamanashi Prefecture. Several of the male wrestlers at the latter were on hand Saturday.

Whether she can win the gold will likely come down to how effective her old friend, the single-leg tackle, will be for her.

"That tackle has been a part of everything I've accomplished up to now," Ozaki said. "It's my weapon, one that I believe in completely. I've always relied on it and won with it. I owe a debt of gratitude to the technique."

Japan's Paris-bound women

50kg: Yui SUSAKI (world champion)
53kg: Akari FUJINAMI (world champion)
57kg: Tsugumi SAKURAI (world champion)
62kg: Sakura MOTOKI (world silver medalist)
68kg: Nonoka OZAKI (world champion 65kg)
76kg: Yuka KAGAMI (world champion)

World Championships day one semis set

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Ozaki grabs Paris ticket at 68kg with thrilling win over Ishii