#Trnava2018

World Champs Susaki, Larroque Lead #Trnava2018 Field

Sunday, September 2, 2018 - 13:54 By Eric Olanowski

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TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 2) - The final women's wrestling entries for the #Trnava2018 World Championships have been submitted and the most surprising entry comes from reigning senior-level world champion, Yui SUSAKI (JPN).

Susaki, Japan's 19-year-old superstar won three straight Cadet World Championships before heading to Paris last year to claim her first senior-level World Championship, defeating current world No.1 Alina VUC (ROU), 14-4. 

The 2018 Junior World Championships will be Susaki's first junior-level competition ever. 

Another surprising entry comes from France's U23 world champion and 2017 world bronze medalist, Koumba LARROQUE. Larroque enters her first junior-level competition since winning the 2016 Junior World Championship gold medal. 

Reigning champions Sae NANJO (JPN) and Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) also make their return to the Junior World Championships with hopes of winning back-to-back gold medals.

ROSTERS
AZE
50kg - Yasaman MAJIDLI         
53kg - Tatyana VARANSOVA  
65kg - Jeyla NAGHIZADE  

BLR
50kg - Viktoryia APALONIK    
53kg - Yuliya ZHAUNERYK      
55kg - Darya SINKAVETS        
59kg - Maryia HULIDA
62kg - Krystsina SAZYKINA     
65kg - Hanna SADCHANKA     
68kg - Yauheniya ANDREICHYKAVA   
72kg - Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA         

BRA
72kg - Thais DE LUCAS DE OLIVEIRA  

BUL
50kg - Raymyal ZIBEROVA   
53kg - Kremena PETROVA          
55kg - Sezen BELBEROVA           
57kg - Aleksandrina KASHINOVA  
62kg - Yuliana YANEVA        
68kg - Siyka IVANOVA        

CAN
50kg - Samantha ROMANO           
53kg - Jayd DAVIS
57kg - Hannah TAYLOR    
59kg - Sara BRINKAC   
62kg - Xiao LIU    
65kg - Megan FENDELET            
68kg - Dejah SLATER   

CHN
50kg - Yumei ZHONGCHN
53kg - Yuhong ZHONG          
55kg - Jiajing HOU     
57kg - Qi ZHANG       
59kg - Xiuyun CHEN   
62kg - Xinyuan SUN   
65kg - Yue ZHANG     
68kg - Man ZHANG    
76kg - Yuanyuan HUANG      

EGY
50kg - Nada MOHAMED     
65kg - Mona AHMED       

France's U23 World Champion, Koumba LARROQUE. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne.)

FRA
72kg - Koumba LARROQUE     

GER
50kg - Ellen RIESTERER          
55kg - Anne NUERNBERGER
57kg - Serena BOELKE
59kg - Debora LAWNITZAK     
62kg - Janny SOMMERMEYER
65kg - Eyleen SEWINA

HUN
55kg - Szimonetta SZEKER      
57kg - Tamara DOLLAK          
59kg - Erika BOGNAR
62kg - Viktoria FELHO
76kg - Bernadett NAGY         

IND
50kg - Shivani PAWAR
53kg - Swati SHINDE   
55kg - Reena REENA   
57kg - Mansi MANSI   
59kg - Sangeeta SANGEETA   
62kg - Anshu ANSHU  
65kg - Tina TINA         
68kg - Divya KAKRAN  
72kg - Sonika HOODA
76kg - Karuna KARUNA         

ITA
50kg - Emanuela LIUZZI         
53kg - Carmen DI DIO
55kg - Teresa LUMIA 
59kg - Morena DE VITA         
62kg - Aurora CAMPAGNA    
65kg - Elena ESPOSITO          
72kg - Enrica RINALDI
76kg - Eleni PJOLLAJ   

Reigning Junior World Champion, Sae NANJO (JPN). (Photo by Marion Stein)

JPN
50kg - Yui SUSAKI      
53kg - Umi IMAI         
55kg - Saki IGARASHI
57kg - Andoriahanako SAWA
59kg - Sae NANJO      
62kg - Rin KONDO      
62kg - Atena KODAMA           
65kg - Miyu IMAI       
68kg - Miwa MORIKAWA       
72kg - Naruha MATSUYUKI   
76kg - Yasuha MATSUYUKI    

KAZ
50kg - Marina ZAKSHEVSKAYA          
53kg - Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA       
55kg - Aigerim IBRASHEVA   
57kg - Zhanerke ASSANOVA 
59kg - Yekaterina FIRSTOVA 
62kg - Irina KUZNETSOVA     
65kg - Albina KAIRGELDINOVA          
68kg - Valeriya GONCHAROVA         
72kg - Gulnaz ZHAPPAROVA 
76kg - Inkara ZHANATAYEVA

KOR
50kg - Miran CHEON  
53kg - Haeyeong IM   
55kg - Eunyoung PARK          
57kg - Jeongae BARK 
59kg - Hwa Young SUNG       
62kg - Ohyoung HA    
65kg - Hyerim YUN    
68kg - Hyeonyeong PARK      
72kg - Jisu KIM           

LTU
72kg - Kamile GAUCAITE       

Anastasia NICHITA, 2018 Junior European Champion. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

MDA
53kg - Mariana DRAGUTAN  
59kg - Anastasia NICHITA      

MGL
50kg - Anudari NANDINTSETSEG      
53kg - Enkhtsetseg BATBAATAR       
55kg - Khaliunaa BAYARAA   
57kg - Enkhtuvshin BALJINNYAM      
65kg - Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN     
68kg - Davaanasan ENKH AMAR       
72kg - Namuunzaya BATBOLD          
76kg - Ariunjargal GANBAT   

NOR
59kg - Laura AAK           
62kg - Hedda STRAND  

POL
50kg - Magdalena MAJOS       
53kg - Alicja CZYZOWICZ       
55kg - Patrycja GIL     
57kg - Magdalena GLODEK   
65kg - Wiktoria CHOLUJ        
72kg - Kamila KULWICKA   

PUR
55kg - Gabriela RAMOS DIAZ  
59kg - Andribeth RIVERA BELLIARD  

ROU
50kg - Stefania PRICEPUTU   
53kg - Andreea ANA
72kg - Maria NITU        

Reigning Junior World Champion, Khanum VELIEVA (RUS). (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

RUS
50kg - Veronika GURSKAYA  
53kg - Mariia TIUMEREKOVA
55kg - Aleksandra NITSENKO
57kg - Viktoriia VAULINA       
59kg - Alina KAZYMOVA        
62kg - Daria BOBRULKO        
65kg - Alena TIMOFEEVA      
68kg - Khanum VELIEVA        
72kg - Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO      
76kg - Elmira KHALAEVA       

SVK
53kg - Nina KOLLAROVA        
59kg - Reka BACSFAIOVA      
62kg - Kristina OROSZOVA    
72kg - Zsuzsanna MOLNAR    

SWE
57kg - Sara LINDBORG        
62kg - Linnea SVENSSON     
68kg - Tindra SJOEBERG        
76kg - Denise MAKOTA STROEM       

TPE
50kg - Meng HSIEH    
53kg - Ya Ling PENG   
59kg - Yu Han CHENG
72kg - Hui Tsz CHANG
 

TUN
50kg - Sarra HAMDI   
55kg - Siwar BOUSETTA        
57kg - Khouloud EL OUNI       
62kg - Fatma INOUBLI
68kg - Rihem AYARI   

TUR
50kg - Aynur ERGE     
53kg - Zeynep YETGIL
55kg - Nurife DUMAN
57kg - Ozge FINDIKCI 
59kg - Sule KABAK     
62kg - Gamze Nur ADAKAN   
65kg - Asli DEMIR       
68kg - Kadriye AKSOY
72kg - Tugba KILIC      
76kg - Aysegul OZBEGE         

UKR
50kg - Mariia VYNNYK
53kg - Veronika RYABOVOLOVA       
55kg - Khrystyna Zoryana DEMKO     
57kg - Alina AKOBIIA  
59kg - Tetiana RIZHKO           
62kg - Anhelina LYSAK
65kg - Iryna KOLIADENKO      
68kg - Alina RUDNYTSKA LEVYTSKA  
72kg - Romana VOVCHAK      
76kg - Anna TISLICHENKO     

Reigning Cadet World Champion, Macey KILTY (USA). (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

USA
50kg - Alleida MARTINEZ       
53kg - Alisha HOWK        
55kg - Ronna HEATON
57kg - Alexandra HEDRICK       
59kg - Brenda REYNA  
62kg - Alexandria LILES          
65kg - Jayden LAURENT
68kg - Macey KILTY       
72kg - Alyvia FISKE     

UZB
50kg - Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA          
55kg - Khodicha NAJIMOVA  
59kg - Nabira ESENBAEVA    
65kg - Bakhtigul BALTANIYAZOVA

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025: Bumpy ride to gold for Kiyooka in 53kg debut

Sunday, March 2, 2025 - 09:22 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 1) -- When Olympic 53kg champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) moved up to 57kg last year, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) emerged as the top wrestler in Japan at 53kg by winning the Emperor's Cup.

On Saturday, Kiyooka made her 53kg debut internationally at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in Tirana. Though she captured the gold medal, her road to gold was not a smooth sailing.

Kiyooka defeated European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) 6-0 in the final to given Japan its sixth gold medal in Women's Wrestling. The world 55kg champion opened her tournament with two technical superiority wins but come the semifinals, Kiyooka was given a reality check.

Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) opened the scoring in the semifinals and led 6-0 after she used a bow and arrow to turn Kiyooka. A little stunned with start, Miyooka remained calmed and did not allow Malanchuk more openings. She clawed her way back to make it 8-8 but Malanchuk was leading on criteria. It was only after Kiyooka blasted a double-leg and later added more takedowns to 15-8.

"I didn't expect my opponent to score six points in the first place," Kiyooka said. "I was really nervous, and I was also thinking about how I was going to get it from here. There was still time to calm down so I thought that if I continued with my wrestling, I would be able to win. So I just kept in mind that I needed to stay calm without getting anxious."

In the final, Kiyooka wrestled European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) who kept the Japanese world champion quiet for the first period, with only 1-0 lead. But Kiyooka blasted double-legs in the second period, earning a stepout and takedown. A takedown finished things off for Kiyooka.

Kiyooka explained that she may have been victim of overthinking, about her opponents and their styles before the tournament began.

"I was wondering what level the foreign wrestlers in the 53kg class and how well I would be able to compete there," she said. "I researched information about each opponent, match by match, but I thought it was important to win with my own wrestling, so I looked at my opponent."

Kiyooka and other winners of Emperor's Cup will head to Amman for the Asian Championships. The tournament will be without the +2kg allowance which makes it even more difficult for Kiyooka.

"I was able to compete at 55kg this time, which was 2kg over, but I also lost weight," she said. "I'm planning to switch it up as soon as I get back and prepare for the Asian Championship. When it comes to the mat, I have felt that level of competition so high in  previous tournaments. I'm going to reconsider how I can win in wrestling, and I'm going to go back and practice."

Kiyooka's gold was sixth for Japan, which had seven female wrestlers at the Muhamet Malo. Only Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN) failed to win a medal at 76kg, a weight class won by Dymond GUILFORD (USA) who defeated Asian Games champion Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 2-1, in the final.

Medet Kyzy was not impressed with a few referee calls in the final which only saw activity clock points. Guilford was leading 1-1 on criteria when Medet Kyzy was put on the 30-second clock with a minute left in the match.

Guilford's lead became 2-1 and despite Medet Kyzy's efforts, Guilford did not give up on defense. With 15 seconds on the clock, Guilford was about to be warned for fleeing and at the same time Medet Kyzy hit a leg-attack. But the referee whistle to warn Guilford at the exact moment.

Kyrgyzstan challenged the call and on review Medet Kyzy was seen grabbing Guilford's hair and the American was warned for fleeing. But there was no chance in the score with Guilford leading 2-1 with 10 seconds left.

Guilford would claim the gold with that score, ending Medet Kyzy's great run till the final with a silver medal.

At 57kg, two weeks after winning the 55kg silver medal at the Zagreb Open, Samantha STEWART (CAN) upgraded to gold at 57kg at Muhamet Malo, securing a fall over former U23 European champion Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR) with 50 seconds remaining on the clock.

The 34-year-old former world bronze medalist was in stunning form in Tirana, securing a fall over Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) and beating Tokyo Olympian Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) in the semifinals.

"Age is just a number and I don't want to cut weight anymore so I will be staying at 57kg," Stewart said.

With only four wrestlers, the 72kg weight class was a round-robin bracket and three-time world medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOV (KAZ) emerging as the gold medalist. Three wrestlers ended with two wins each and it wasn't the Round 3 bout between Alla BELINSKA (UKR) and Alexandria GLAUDE (USA) that the medalists were decided.

Bakbergenova pinned Linda MACHUCA (ARG) in her Round 3 bout and finished with 9 classification points from three bouts. Belinska defeated Glaude 4-3 and had 9 classification points as well. However, Bakbergenova had 10 technical points scored while Belinksa had nine. Glaude, who had defeated Bakbergenova in Round 2, finished with a bronze medal.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)    df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 6-0

BRONZE: Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 7-0
BRONZE: Yuxuan LI (CHN) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR), via fall

BRONZE: Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) df. Evelina HULTHEN (SWE), 4-3
BRONZE: Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) df. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN), 5-2

72kg
GOLD: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
BRONZE: Alexendria GLAUDE (USA)

76kg
GOLD: Dymond GUILFORD (USA) df. Medet KYZY AIPERI (KGZ), 2-1

BRONZE: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Meile ZHANG (CHN), 2-1
BRONZE: Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) df. YANGLA (CHN), via fall