#WrestleOslo

#WrestleOslo Day Five Preview: WW 57kg, 59kg, 68kg and 72kg

Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - 16:26 By Ken Marantz

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 22) -- Newly crowned Olympic champion Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) used part of her bonuses from winning the gold medal in Tokyo to outfit her mother, an expert cook, with a flashy, fully furnished food truck.

Mensah Stock will now be leaping from the frying pan of the Olympics into the fire of the World Championships as she aims to defend her title in the women's 68kg class, which gets underway Oct. 6 along with three other women's divisions.

The Olympic weight class of 57kg will also get started, featuring Tokyo bronze medalists Helen MAROULIS (USA) and Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL), as well as the non-Olympic weights of 59kg and 72kg.

Mensah Stock is confident she can maintain the intensity that propelled her to the top of the podium in her Olympic debut as she makes the three-month turnaround to get ready for Oslo.

"It's definitely hard physically and mentally, just to get back on the mat...to get back on that train and really prepare yourself for the fact that the World Championships are just around the corner from the Olympics," Mensah Stock commented in an interview by email.

"But at the same time, it's a competition, just like the Ranking Series competitions, and you know, any other competition. We have them once a month anyway, so we're already equipped for what was about to happen."

Handling pressure, she says, it's part of the job.

"Yes, the Olympics were extremely high mentally on pressure, but at the same time, we're wrestlers and we're equipped and prepared for the hardest battles."

Mensah Stock, who will turn 29 four days after the medal matches on Oct. 7, said she had always planned to defend the world title that she won for the first time in 2019 in Nur-Sultan.


Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) celebrates winning the 68kg Olympic gold. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Adding Olympic champion to her resume brings with it added pressure, but the vivacious Chicago-born, Texas-raised Mensah Stock is maintaining the same bring-it-on attitude.

"I like to consider myself someone that is always improving so I don't want to feel the pressure," she wrote. "I'm here, enjoying the fact that I'm wrestling by the grace of God...I am just here to wrestle and wrestle the best that I can."

She's been doing that quite well since starting the sport in high school after reportedly being bullied on the athletics team. She continued the sport at Wayland Baptist University, winning two national championships.

On the global stage, Mensah Stock found her way onto numerous podiums, but missed out on the 2016 Rio Olympics and lost in the third round in her debut at the World Championships in 2017.

Her breakthrough came in 2018, when she won a bronze medal at the Budapest worlds, which she followed up with a dominant performance the following year at Nur-Sultan to secure spot at the Olympics for the U.S. That included a one-sided victory over Rio gold medalist Sara DOSHO (JPN) -- which she would repeat at the Tokyo Olympics.

The top candidates to knock Mensah Stock off her lofty perch in Oslo are 2018 world champion Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) and Tokyo silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) and bronze medalist Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ).

Larroque, who beat Mensah Stock in the 2018 world semifinals, saw her Olympic dream shattered in a stunning first-round loss to Battsetseg SORONZONBOLD (MGL). Larroque was leading 3-0 when the Mongolian clamped her in a headlock and recorded a fall with 19 seconds left.

Heading into Tokyo, Larroque was coming off victories at the European Championships and Poland Open. She will be looking to add the senior title to the two world junior crowns she won in 2016 and 2018, as well as the 2017 world U23 gold.

Oborududu, a 10-time African champion, gave Mensah Stock a run for her money in the Olympic final but came out on the short end of a 4-1 decision. That was a near repeat of the American's 6-1 win in their first-round clash at the 2019 worlds.

Zhumanazarova joined 62kg silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) as the first female Olympic medalists in any sport in Kyrgyzstan history, and the 2019 world junior silver medalist would love nothing more than to join her esteemed compatriot as a world champion.

With none of Japan's Olympians making the trip to Oslo, 2020 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix silver medalist Rin MIYAJI (JPN) will be making her world debut after beating 2019 world junior champion Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) in a playoff to make the Japanese team.


Helen MAROULIS (USA) is on a quest to win a third world title and first since the '17 Paris World Championships. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

At 57kg, the absence of two-time Olympic and three-time world champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) opens the door for 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalist Maroulis to make a bid for a third world title and first since 2017.

After famously denying Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) what would have been a historic fourth Olympic gold medal by beating her in the 53kg final in Rio, Maroulis was hampered by injury problems, including serious concussions, over the ensuing years.

But she came back strong in 2020 and qualified for Tokyo, where she lost a close 2-1 decision in the semifinals to Kawai, the Rio champ at 63kg. Coming away with a bronze was far from disappointing, given the inner strength she showed along the difficult path to get there.

"As humans, we are so powerful, but we are so fragile and so vulnerable," she said in an interview with Hollywood Life. "It really helped me tap into ‘human-ness.' It’s been a really beautiful journey.”

Nikolova, a 2015 world bronze medalist at 55kg, walked away with the other bronze with a victory by fall over 2016 Olympic silver medalist Valeria KOBLOVA (RWF). Along with Maroulis, Koblova was one of only three non-Japanese who had ever beaten Yoshida (Marcie van Dusen (USA) was the other).

In place of Koblova, the Russian Wrestling Federation has sent Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RWF), who will certainly have something to prove in Oslo. She was the one who actually earned the spot in Tokyo at the final world qualifying tournament in Sofia that eventually went to Koblova. A month earlier, she won a silver medal at 59kg at the European Championships.

Never to be counted out is African star Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR), the 2019 world bronze medalist and 2018 silver medalist who will be looking to make amends for a disastrous showing in Tokyo.

Adekuoroye, who had whipped Maroulis 13-0 at the Poland Open in June, stormed to an 8-0 lead in her first-round match against Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), only to get caught in a lapse and lose by fall. Her medal hopes ended when Nichita lost her next match.

The absense of Kawai doesn't mean there won't be a formidable Japanese presence at 57kg. Sae NANJO (JPN), who completed a world junior and U23 double in 2019, has stepped into the void and is ready to make the most of her first shot at a senior world title.

It was the 22-year-old Nanjo who kept the high-profile clash between Rio Olympic champions Kawai and Kaori ICHO (JPN) for the Tokyo Olympic spot at 57kg from becoming a two-woman affair. In the final domestic qualifier, she nearly stole the spotlight when she lost a 3-3 thriller to Icho in the semifinals.

Nanjo, a product of the JOC Elite Academy and current student at powerhouse Shigakkan University, has yet to lose internationally on the senior level, winning at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix and Asian Championships in 2017 before taking the two age-group crowns in 2019.

Also worth watching are a pair of newly crowned world junior champions, Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ) and Alesia HETMANAVA (BLR). The latter triumphed at 55kg in Ufa, Russia.


European champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) heads into the World Championships as one the 59kg favorites. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

At 59kg, the field is wide open with neither reigning champion Linda MORAIS (CAN) nor any of the other 2019 world medalists making the trip to Oslo. On paper, the ones to watch appear to be Nichita and Akie HANAI (JPN), both of whom have won world titles on the age group level.

The 22-year-old Nichita finished seventh after suffering a heartbreaking loss of her own in the quarterfinals, and will be looking to make amends in her second trip to the senior worlds and become Moldova's first-ever female medalist.

The 2020 European gold medalist was the 2019 world U23 silver medalist and a world junior finalist for three straight years, sandwiching a gold in 2018 with silvers in 2017 and 2019.

Nichita's Olympic dream ended in stunning fashion. After her win over Odekuoroye, she had the tables turned on her by Nikolova, who hit a last-second 4-point lateral drop for a 6-3 victory in the quarterfinals.

Hanai will be making her senior world debut, having previously won the 2019 world junior title at 57kg and finished second at the 2018 world U23 at 59kg.

The 21-year-old Hanai earned her ticket to Oslo by winning the two national championships that serve as domestic qualifiers. In her corner at each tournament was Kawai, whom Hanai helped prepare for her gold-medal run at the Tokyo Olympics as her training partner.

Hanai is currently a student at Shigakkan, where alumnus Kawai still trains. She said that working out with the now two-time Olympic champion has taught her not only about techniques, but about handling the pressure of matches and daily life.

"She has let me be her partner for a long time and by always practing with her, it has brought me to where I am today," Hanai said after her victory at the All-Japan Invitiational Championships in May. "I felt pressure for this tournament, but it's nothing like the Olympic Games."

Hanai will be familiar with another contender in Grace BULLEN (NOR), the world U23 champion in 2018. That year, Bullen defeated Hanai in the final at the 2018 Klippan Lady.

Since then, Bullen won the Klippan again and captured the European title at 57kg in 2020, adding to her continental gold from 2017.   

Others to watch are Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL), who placed fifth at the Tokyo Olympics at 57kg; European champion and 2018 world silver medalist Bilyana  DUDOVA (BUL); double Asian champion Sarita SARITA (IND) and 2019 European silver medalist Svetlana LIPATOVA (RWF).


Masako FURUCHI (JPN) will look to add a senior world title to a stcked resume that includes cadet, junior and U23 world titles. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

At 72kg, 2019 world bronze medalist Masako FURUCHI (JPN) is in position to become the second Japanese to complete the world "grand slam" by adding a senior gold to her cadet, junior and U23 titles.

"I went to the World Championshps in 2019 in the same weight class and I finished in third place," Furuichi said after securing her ticket to Oslo with a victory at the All-Japan Invitational. "This time I will fight hard to become champion."

Furuichi, also a product of the JOC Elite Academy, twice came up short in a bid to make the Tokyo Olympics, first at 76kg and then at 68kg, before returning to her niche weight of 72kg.

"Up to two years ago, I faced the top wrestlers as I tried to make it to the Tokyo Olympics, and I want to make use of what I gained from that experience," she said. "I want to win the world title and have that lead to the next step."

The 24-year-old Furuichi, a two-time Asian medalist, was slated to be on the Japan squad to this year's continental championships in Almaty, but the women's team was withdrawn due to exposure to a person infected with the coronavirus.

About two months after taking a bronze medal at the 2019 senior worlds, Furuichi dropped down to 68kg and won the world U23 gold in Budapest, putting her a step closer to joining Haruna OKUNO (JPN) as the only wrestlers with world golds in the four age groups. Furuichi has already made history by winning three straight world titles both as a cadet in 2011-2013 and a junior in 2014-2016."

With none of the other 2019 medalists in the field, leading the opposition aiming to deny Furuichi a place in history will be Anna SCHELL (GER), a 2019 world bronze medalist at 68kg who placed eighth in that division at the Tokyo Olympics.

Schell, the 2019 European silver medalist, showed she can take it up a notch when she defeated former champion Dosho in the bronze-medal match at the 2019 worlds in Nur-Sultan.

Others expected to be in contention are European silver medalist Yuliana YANEVA (BUL), the 2020 Individual World Cup champion who finished fifth at 65kg in Nur-Sultan; three-time Asian medalist Zhamila BAKBERGEANOVA (KAZ); and a pair of world junior medalists this year, 76kg champion Kylie WELKER (USA) and 68kg bronze medalist Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK).

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024 Wrestling Day 2 Preview: GR 77kg, 97kg; WW50kg

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 - 09:25 By Ken Marantz

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PARIS (July 23) -- Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) are at different stages in their storied careers as they both head to Paris with the aim of winning a second Olympic gold medal.

Susaki, at 25, is one of the biggest stars of the generation now in its prime, having four world titles at women's 50kg to go with the gold she won at the Tokyo Olympics. The endearing dynamo has still never lost to a non-Japanese opponent in nearly 100 matches.

PARIS 2024 SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 NEWS

The 32-year-old Aleksanyan could be regarded as being on the tail end of a career that includes an Olympic medal of every color, with the gold having come at Rio 2016, and with four world golds of his own. He remains the face of the Greco 97kg weight class.

The two will command the spotlight when those divisions begin action on Day 2 at the Paris Games along with Greco 77kg, in which an unheralded compatriot of Susaki's has suddenly emerged as a gold-medal contender.

"To win consecutive Olympics, or to win just one, is not something that comes easily," Susaki said in an interview with Japanese media in April after returning from a tougher-than-expected title run at the Asian Championships in Bishkek.

"It makes me again aware that [wrestling] is a tough world. How I spend the next three months will decide what happens in three months. I will prepare so that I can win a wonderful gold and leave with a smile."

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Four-time medalist Mariya STADNIK (AZE) will wrestle at her fifth Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

While Susaki will enter as the overwhelming favorite to flash her pearly whites on top of the medal podium, sentiment will be on the side of veteran Mariya STADNIK (AZE), the 35-year-old mother of two who is a good bet to make history by winning an unprecedented fifth Olympic medal.

Can this one finally be a gold for Stadnik? That would likely entail having to pull off a major upset of Susaki, an opponent she has not beaten in three career meetings, most recently in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics.

Aleksanyan would have been going to Paris as a five-time world champion had he not been dealt a stunning last-second defeat in the final at last year's World Championships in Belgrade by Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB). Look for the Armenian to avoid any more mistakes like that.

Nao KUSAKA (JPN)Nao KUSAKA (JPN) is a strong gold medal favorite in Paris. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At Greco 77kg, top seed Nao KUSAKA (JPN) seems to be peaking at just the right time after winning a surprising bronze medal in Belgrade, which he followed up by stunning two-time reigning world champion and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Akzhol MAKHUMUDOV (KGZ) before the latter's home crowd at the Asian Championships.

Makhmudov, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, will look to bounce back and become Kyrgyzstan's first-ever Olympic champion -- assuming compatriot Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) doesn't beat him to it at Greco 60kg.

Here's a look at each weight class:

 

WW 50kg: Susaki, the one to beat

When a longtime champion is dealt a rare defeat, they are often told, "It may be the best thing that could have happened," because they become less complacent and more determined. They go back to the basics and come back even stronger.

That's the experience that Susaki went through at the Asian Championships, except that it didn't entail actually losing. Just having fallen behind in a match for the first time in who knows how long was enough of a wake-up call in her declared quest to eventually win four Olympic gold medals.

In the final against Ziqi FENG (CHN), Susaki got stopped on an attempted front headlock roll to put her behind 4-2. From her gold-medal run at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to that point, Susaki had given up a total of only 11 points in 41 matches, and no one had scored four points on her.

Susaki being Susaki, she managed to come back and win the match and the gold 8-4. That gave her three wins in three career meetings with Feng, who will be in Paris after winning a world bronze in 2023. Susaki would say that while happy with the victory but far from satisfied with the performance, it made her aware of issues that she needed to address.

 

"I think that more of my opponents will use the strategy of trying to keep the score low and have the match come down to the last 30 seconds," Susaki said. "I want to practice so that my wrestling will get me past that type of opponent."

Susaki said she is not concerned that opponents are studying her every move, looking for any cracks in the armor. "The opponents will be doing that, but first, it's a problem with myself. I have to look into myself and to be assured of winning the gold in Paris, I have to decide what I need to do. I have to set a straightforward goal and advance toward it."

Since her first international tournament -- the 2014 Klippan Lady, in the cadet division -- Susaki has compiled a 94-0 record against non-Japanese foes while piling up 24 consecutive tournament titles. In fact, she has lost only three times in her entire career dating back to junior high school, all of which came at the hands of the same opponent, compatriot Yuki IRIE (JPN).

Stadnik showed she could still hold her own on the world stage by capturing a third straight European title in February. She was dealt a surprising loss by Oksana LIVACH (UKR) at the European Olympic Qualifier, but earned her ticket to Paris at the World Qualifier, although that venture included a defeat by 2023 Asian Games silver medalist Son Hyang KIM (PRK). Both Livach and Kim will also be in Paris.

 

The most intriguing entry is Vinesh PHOGAT (IND), whose path to Paris was filled with pain and adversity. For years a top competitor at 53kg, she was forced by circumstances to drop down to 50kg for the first time since 2018 in a desperate bid to win an elusive medal at her third Olympic Games.

A 2022 world bronze medalist at 53kg, her conflict with the Indian federation over accusations of sexual harassment by its president and a subsequent public protest with other top wrestlers drew vilification from within and without the federation. As if that wasn't bad enough, she suffered a severe knee injury in August 2023 that required surgery.

Vinesh was just able to recover in time for the Olympic qualifiers, but the 53kg slot had already been filled by world bronze medalist ANTIM (IND). She decided to take the extreme route of moving down to 50kg, where she prevailed at the Asian Qualifier.

 

"I have fought two battles -- one regarding weight cut and the other is the competition,” Vinesh told UWW after winning the quota from the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek. "Many people had suggested not to take part at 50kg because it might lead to an injury relapse, but I didn’t have an option. It was a do-or-die situation for me."

For the seven-time Asian medalist, the desire to become India's second female wrestling medalist has been a powerful driving force. "The focus will be on trying my best," she said. "I’ve been doing this for 20 years and the hopes of winning an Olympic medal keeps me going. It’s been difficult so far, but when you win, it seems like all the struggles were worth it."

Others with viable medal ambitions are Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and three-time world medalist Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA), two-time world silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) and world bronze medalist Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER).

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) scored a late takedown to beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) at the World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

GR 97kg: Aleksanyan looks to go out in blaze of glory

It wasn't the food that left a bad taste in Aleksanyan's mouth when he left Tokyo with a silver medal. The combination of being visibly hampered by a leg injury and giving up a 2-point penalty that he is still not convinced about made it hard to swallow a 5-1 loss in the final to Musa EVLOEV (ROC).

"I got a very serious injury during the fight with the Iranian in the semifinals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. And in the final I fought on one leg," Aleksanyan said in an interview with
Armenpress. "But even in this state, I was ready to win, if not for the bias of the judges.

"To this day, I tell everyone that I did not touch my opponent's leg with my hand. There is no one in the world who would show me that I touched his leg with my hand. If it hadn't been for the injury, I'm sure I would have won."

That has motivated him to make sure nothing goes wrong as he attempts to add a second gold to the one he captured at the 2016 Rio Olympics. "I know exactly what I am preparing for, what path I have traveled, what path I am going through now and how I will go to the end to achieve my goal," he said.

 

Aleksanyan will also have to avoid letting down his guard, as he did in the final at last year's World Championships in Belgrade, where he lost to unheralded Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) 3-3 on last-point criteria after giving up an arm-drag takedown with 21 seconds left.

For Aleksanyan, Paris could mark the end of an illustrious career that includes an Olympic bronze from London 2012 and four world titles, most recently from 2022. If he leaves, he wants to go out in triumph.

"I'm thinking to end my career after the Games, but I still can't imagine myself without wrestling," he said. "I put my life into this sport. However, I am striving to end my career with a victory, but I cannot say when this will happen."

Rosillo will be on hand to try to prevent that, but Aleksanyan's main competition is expected to come from Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and a former world champion. The two have met three times, most recently in the semifinals at the 2022 World Championships, with Aleksanyan winning all three by decisions.

 

Also in the medal hunt will be world bronze medalist Artur OMAROV (CZE), five-time Asian medalist Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ), and 40-year-old Rustan ASSAKALOV (UZB), who has a pair of eighth-place Olympic finishes on his long resume.

Aleksanyan, asked how he would like to be remembered after he retires, replied, "As a two-time Olympic champion. But I would like the next generations to strive to surpass these results... For me, wrestling is a way of life, and what I like most about this sport is the sense of kinship that is present both in our generation and among our elders."

 

GR 77kg: 'Ordinary' Kusaka aims for extraordinary achievement

It was quite a proud and unexpected moment for host Japan when Shohei YABIKU (JPN) won a Greco 77kg bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics that few if any had foreseen. It was just as surprising that within two years, he would no longer even be the best in the country due to the rapid rise of Kusaka.

Kusaka, like Yabiku a product of powerhouse Nippon Sports Science University, added two strong results at UWW Ranking Series tournaments -- a third place at the Zagreb Open and a gold in Budapest -- to his Asian title to secure the top seed in Paris.

It's been quite a whirlwind ride for the 23-year-old, who credits his new-found success to going the extra mile in training. "I'm just an ordinary person," he said in an interview with broadcaster NHK Takamatsu in his hometown in western Japan. "I have no more talent than anyone else."

He started wrestling at age 3 but never really stood out until he got to high school, where he blossomed under the tutelage of a coach who instilled words of wisdom that he lives by to this day.

"He taught me, 'Effort will always surpass talent,'" he said. "He would always say that giving your all in practice is a given. If you don't give extra in all the other things, you will never become stronger than the others."

Among the "extra" things Kusaka does is stay behind after practice to work out on his own and cook for himself to ensure proper nutrition. He also boldly ventured to Germany -- and on his own dime -- for a month of intense training late last year. He competed in the Bundesliga and traveled to Hungary, where he practiced with Tokyo Olympic champion Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) and 2022 world silver medalist Zoltan LEVAI (HUN).

Levai, who defeated Kusaka at the Zagreb Open, is among the 15 others in the Paris field who will be aiming for the gold themselves. As the No. 7 seed, he will not be able to face Kusaka except in the final.

Makhmudov is the third seed, and looks headed for a semifinal encounter with No. 2 seed Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), the Zagreb Open champion and 2021 world silver medalist.

Makhmudov still feels the sting of his loss in the Tokyo Olympic final to Lorincz. Asked what his biggest regret has been during a UWW interview, he replied, "The fact that I relaxed in Tokyo
before the final. I was quite ready to win the Olympics. I lost because I relaxed."

He added that he expects to have a "minimum of four" Olympic medals before he retires, which means he will need to start the collection in Paris.

 

Others worth watching will be three-time European champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), former Asian champion Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) and four-time Asian medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ).