#WrestleIstanbul: Greco-Roman Bracket Breakdown

Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - 16:47 By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 23) -- The Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series tournament gets underway with the eight weight classes Greco-Roman. The draws for all 10 GR weight classes were released Wednesday in Istanbul.

Turkey and Kazakhstan have the highest number of participants after the draw with 30 and 28 wrestlers respectively. They are followed by Azerbaijan (12), Uzbekistan (10) and India (9).

The bracket breakdown of the draw explains the possible match-ups and the ranking points on offer at the tournament.

Turkey will have selection bouts at seven weights -- 60kg, 63kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 97kg, and 130kg -- to select the third wrestler in each of those weights. These bouts will take place before the start of the tournament scheduled for 1030 hours local time.

55kg

55kg (7 entries)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

Turkey’s Adem UZUN and Dogus AYAZCI highlight the seven-wrestler Nordic-style bracket. Uzun was last year’s U23 world bronze medalist, while Ayazci is looking to win his Ranking Series.

A third guy to keep an eye on in the 55kg bracket is Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ). The last time he competed was the ’20 Henri Deglane, where he captured a gold medal.

60kg

60kg (10 entries)

Gold – 8000 points
Silver - 6400 points
Bronze - 5200 points

At 60kg, Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) and Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) could clash in a second-round matchup.

The Azeri, who won the ’18 world title at 55kg, would have to get past F. TUKHTAEV (UZB) in his first-round matchup to setup the matchup of ’21 European top-three finishers.

63kg

63kg (12 points)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

Reigning 60kg world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) is moving up a weight and sits on the top side of the chart. If he wins his first bout, he’ll square off with Lithuania’s Justas PETRAVICIUS for a spot in the semifinals.

Ciobanu will likely have defending Asian champion Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) or Turkey’s ’21 U23 world silver medalist Ahmet UYAR (TUR).

On the bottom side, Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) will square off against two-time Ranking Series champion Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB). Mammadov is currently ranked sixth at 63kg with 25000 points. He can jump up to the third spot with a gold or silver medal in Istanbul.

67kg

67kg (12 points)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

The top half of the 12-man bracket is highlighted by 2020 European champion Morten THORESEN (NOR) is likely to make a safe passage to the final. His biggest threat would be former Asian silver medalist Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ).

Another Kazakhstan wrestler who can show up big time is 63kg Asian champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ). A second-round bout against Moldova veteran and continental bronze Donior ISLAMOV (MDA) could be his biggest test to make the final.

72kg

72kg (14 entries)

Gold: 11000 points
Silver: 9400 points
Bronze: 8200 points

Third-ranked Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) opens up his day on the top side against last year’s Vehbi Emre runner up Murat DAG (TUR).

Sleiva has 31000 points and is currently ranked third. A gold-medal finish will give him 11000 points [14 participants] and take him to 42000. He'd move ahead of current second-ranked Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF) who has 37000 points. Even if he finishes as low as eighth, the Lithuanian will be ahead of Kutuzov.

Other guys to pay attention to on the top side are Ulvi Ganizadeh (AZE) and Ensar KARABACAK (TUR).

Ganizadeh is a young stud who finished last year’s U23 World Championships with a bronze medal while Karabacak is looking to improve on his bronze-medal finish from last year’s Vehbi Emre.

On the bottom side of the bracket, the most credentialed guy is Poland’s Mateusz BERNATEK. Last year, he fell to Tokyo Olympian Mate NEMES (SRB) in the European finals and finished with a silver medal.

77kg

77kg (13 entries)

Gold: 11000 points
Silver: 9400 points
Bronze: 8200 points

The top side of the bracket will be highlighted by the opening round matchup between Victor NEMES (SRB) and Aram VARDANYAN (UZB). The Serbian was a world champion in ’17 and a world bronze medalist in ’18, while the Uzbekistan wrestler was on the losing end of the world finals in Nur-Sultan.

The bottom side of the chart is highlighted by fifth-ranked Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE). Last season, the Azeri fell in the world finals to two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) and enters into the competition with 37000 Ranking Series points. He can break into top-three with a medal finish. A bronze would take him past third-placed Vlasov, who has 45000 points.

But to do so, he’ll have to get through India’s SAJAN. If he’s successful in that matchup, it would set up a colossal matchup of world runner-ups, where he’ll go toe-to-toe with Kazakhstan’s Demeu ZHADRAYEV.

The winner of Suleymanov and Zhadrayev will likely clash with last year’s world bronze medalist Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) in the finals.

82kg

82kg (10 entries)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

World champion Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE) headlines the 11-man bracket. He could meet Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) in the semifinals which will be a rematch of the '21 World Championships from Oslo. Emrah KUS (TUR), who had defeated Akbudak at the Turkey national championships, is also on the same side of the bracket.

Huseynov and Akbudak are ranked first and second with 45000 and 37000 points, respectively. Akbudak cannot jump above Huseynov even with a gold medal.

87kg

87kg (12 entries)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

Olympic bronze and world champion Zarubi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) looks like a clear favorite to reach the final in Istanbul. His biggest threat could be 82kg Asian champion Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB). The two are likely to meet in the semifinals.

Datunashvili will be consolidating his top position with gold as he increases his ranking points to 90200.

Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL) can also improve his rank from seventh (31000 points) to top-three if he wins gold.

The lower side of the bracket can see a Sunil KUMAR (IND) vs Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) bout with the former hoping to avenge his Asian Olympic Qualifiers loss from 2021.

97kg

97kg (19 entries)

Gold: 13000 points
Silver: 11400 points
Bronze: 10200 ppints

The biggest bracket of Greco-Roman, 19 wrestles, has veteran wrestler Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) wrestling European silver medalist Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) in the first round. The winner will likely be up against former European champion Felix BALDAUF (NOR) in the semifinal.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL) and fifth-place wrestler Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) can be the likely semi-finalists from the lower side of the bracket.

The Poland wrestler has a good chance to be in the top four if he can pull out a gold-medal win. He's currently ranked sixth with 34200 points but could jump to fourth with 13000 points. That will raise his tally to 47200 points.

130kg

130kg (14 entries)

Gold: 11000 points
Silver: 9400 points
Bronze: 8200 points

Home star and 10-time European champion Riza KAYAALP is the favorite to win the category. He is likely to face Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) in the quarterfinals, a rematch from the Tokyo Games which Kayaalp won 5-1. Kayaalp, however, should have a smooth-sailing to the gold medal bout.

A gold in Istanbul can give the Tokyo bronze medalist can help him jump from the seventh spot in rankings to fourth. He has 34200 points, and the addition of an 11000-point gold medal will give him 45200 points. That'd place him 200 points ahead of the current fourth placer, Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI).

#WrestleTirana

Defending champ Azizli among 3 Azerbaijan wrestlers to make finals

Monday, October 28, 2024 - 20:45 By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 28) -- Olympics or not, the intensity is still the same as Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) drives for a third consecutive world title and fourth overall.

Azizli advanced to the final at Greco 55kg, one of three Azerbaijani wrestlers to make it to the four gold-medal matches on the opening day of the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Monday in Tirana.

Joining Azizli in Tuesday's Greco finals will be Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) at 63kg and Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) at 72kg, the latter of whom will be facing defending champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA).

At 82kg, Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) earned a shot at winning his first world gold to go with three bronzes he previously won at 71kg or 77kg. But younger brother and Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) was dealt a stunning loss at 72kg, while reigning 63kg champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) was knocked out in the quarterfinals. Neither one was pulled into the repechage and will leave Tirana empty-handed.

Azizli was virtually untouchable in storming into the 55kg final, easily putting away two-time European bronze medalist Denis MIHAI (ROU) 9-0 in the semifinals for his third technical fall of the day without conceding a point.

Azizli started with a front headlock for 2. Put on top in par terre, he executed a gut wrench, then ended the proceedings in 1:47 with a nifty 4-point throw for his third win in three career meetings with Mihai -- all by technical fall.

In the final, Azizli will face another familiar foe in Asian silver medalist Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), a bronze medalist in Budapest who advanced by defeating Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN) with his second straight 1-1 victory.

Azizli, a two-time European champion and six-time medalist, is 3-0 in career clashes with Dad Marz, most recently beating him at the Budapest Ranking Series in June and including a 3-2 win in the semifinals at the 2023 worlds.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

Mammadli, this year's European champion at 60kg, earned his first-ever berth in a world final when he powered to a 6-1 semifinal victory at 63kg over Tokyo Olympian Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), who knocked off Abuladze 5-2 in the second round.

Mammadli trailed 1-0 on a passivity point going into the second period when he came alive, using the aggressive Aslanyan's momentum to score 4 with a counter pancake, then used underhooks to drop him for 2 more.

Next up for the gold will be Asian champion Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ), who made short work of Sadyk LALAEV (AIN), scoring a 4-point throw in the first 10 seconds of their semifinal and adding another with an arm throw to finish up an 8-0 win in exactly a minute.

Lalaev had won the final world qualifier for the Paris Olympics at 60kg, but was among those from Russia or Belarus who were either declared ineligible or decided not to participate.

At 72kg, 2022 world silver medalist Ganizade and the Egyptian-born Ghanem set up a rematch of the 2023 European final, which the Azeri won 7-7 in a nail-biter.

Ganizade, this year's European silver medalist, earned a shot at a world gold with a 6-0 victory over Asian bronze medalist Ji LENG (CHN), who had ousted two-time world bronze medalist Selcuk CAN (TUR) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

After scoring a stepout, Ganizade gained a passivity point and, from par terre, hit a throw that didn't turn Leng but became 4 points when he kept driving and exposed the Chinese's back.

Ghanem came out on top 6-1 of an at-times-tempetous tussle with Iranian-born former world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB), an opponent with whom he had split two previous encounters.

A pair of stepouts and a passivity point gave Ghanem a 3-0 lead going into the second period. An unsuccessful Serbian challenge when Arsalan was on top of par terre made it 4-1, then Ghanem put the bout on ice by spinning behind for a takedown.

Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) made it to his World Championships final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 82kg, the elder Geraei was on the receiving end of a passivity point in each period for a 2-0 win over European bronze medalist Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO). It was a far cry from his previous two matches when he had a 4-point throw in 7-2 and 14-6 victories.

Geraei, who took home world bronzes in 2017, 2019 and 2021 and finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, will face an impressive Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) in his first global final.

Szilvassy, already assured of his first major medal, scored 2 with an arm throw in the first period and held on for a 3-2 victory over Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR). Earlier, he defeated two-time world medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

The biggest shock of the day came three matches into the competition when the younger Geraei was knocked off 11-3 in the qualification round at 72kg by unheralded Benjamin PEAK (USA).

Geraei looked like it would be just another day at the office when the former world champion scored an early takedown. But Peak, whose lone major medal is a bronze from the 2019 Pan Am U20 Championships, came back with a takedown and throw that, with a 2-point leg penalty tacked on, gave him a 6-2 lead. Geraei cut the gap with a stepout just before the break.

Peak kept the pressure on and countered for another takedown, then caught Geraei in a lapse and bulled him backward for a 2-point exposure that ended the match with 30 seconds left.

When Peak fell in the next round to Dominik ETLINGER (CRO), it ended Geraei's hopes of adding to his full collection of world medals -- the 2021 champion also has a silver from 2022 and bronze from 2023, all at 67kg.

Geraei missed out on a chance to defend his Olympic title in Paris when he lost a playoff for Iran's spot at 67kg to Saeid ESMAELI (IRI), who kept the title in Iranian hands.

The tournament continues Monday with the women's competition through the semifinals at 55kg, 59kg, 65kg and 72kg before the Greco finals at night. Among those in action will be two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO (JPN).

Day 1 Results

Greco-Roman

55kg (16 entries)
SF: Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) df. Denis MIHAI (ROU) by TF, 9-0, 1:47
SF: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN), 1-1

63kg (21 entries)
SF: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), 6-1
SF: Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ) df. Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) by TF, 8-0, 1:00

72kg (28 entries)
SF: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) df. Ali ARSALAN (SRB), 6-1
SF: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Ji LENG (CHN), 6-0

82kg (28 entries)
SF: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR), 3-2
SF: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 2-0

#WrestleIstanbul: Greco-Roman Bracket Breakdown

Comments

Defending champ Azizli among 3 Azerbaijan wrestlers to make finals