Beach wrestling

Wrestling Announces Creation of Beach Wrestling World Series

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (August 23) -- United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, has announced details behind The Beach Wrestling World Series. 

The creation of the Beach Wrestling World Series contributes to the structuring and promotion of Beach Wrestling to include the sport in all official multi-sport events.  

Senior-level competitions will be comprised of eight weight categories divided equally amongst men and women. The four men’s weight classes are 70kg, 80kg, 90kg, and +90kg, and the four women’s weight classes are 50kg, 60kg, 70kg, and +70kg.

Beach Wrestling matches will consist of a single three-minute period and will only practice the standing position where the use of the legs are allowed in all actions.


Each bout will begin with both wrestlers standing opposite one another in the in the neutral position in the center of the 7-meter circle, waiting for the referee’s whistle to start wrestling. If the match is interrupted for any reason, action will resume in the neutral position in the center of the circle. 

Wrestlers will be award one (1), or three (3) points using the following criteria: 

One (1) point is the awarded to:
• the wrestler who manages to bring any of his opponent’s body part to the ground, except the hands.
• the wrestler who manages to bring any of his opponent’s body part out of the competition area.
• the wrestler whose opponent has received a caution for illegal action.

Note: the attacker (and only the attacker) can put one knee to the ground when executing an action if this action is finished by the opponent in the ground.

Three (3) points are awarded to:
• the wrestler who manages to expose his opponent’s back to the ground during a takedown or a throw.

Cautions for illegal actions award one (1) point to the opponent up to a total of 3 points during the same match, which results in the end of the match.

The first athlete to three (3) points wins the match. If there is a tie at the end of the match, the following criteria will be used to declare the winner: 

  • The highest value of holds
  • Last point scored
  • Weight of the athletes*
  • The lowest number pulled during the draw/rank

*Their weights (at the official weigh-in) will be checked and the lighter (lightweight) one will be declared as the winner. 

The 2018 Beach Wrestling World Championships in Sarıgerme-Ortaca (Mugla), Turkey on October 6-7 will be the first Beach Wrestling World Series event and will serve as a qualification tournament for the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games which will be held on San Diego’s Mission Beach from October 12-14. 

#WrestleAmman

U20 Worlds: First day, USA and Iran show

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 14) -- The United States and Iran set the stage for a thrilling team title race at the U20 World Championships after putting three wrestlers each in the gold medal bouts on the first day of the tournament.

The U.S. ended the day just ahead of Iran as it has two wrestlers in bronze medal bouts while Iran has one wrestler in the repechage and another won't get a chance to wrestle for a medal.

Japan, Individual Neutral Athletes, India and Ukraine sent a wrestler each in the final as the competition got underway in Amman, Jordan.

Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) pins Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 57kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The start of the evening session could not have been more dramatic for the U.S. as former U17 world champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) shocked U20 European champion Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) with a pin with seven seconds left in the semifinal.

Lilledahl was leading 3-1 at the break but Abdullayev got on his shots in the second period and scored a takedown before getting two turns to lead 7-3. Lilledahl added a takedown to close the gap and as he tried again, Abdullayev scored two points using a cradle and lead 9-5.

In a desperate attempt for a win, Lilledahl got a fake attack to which Abdullayev threw himself back. As Lilledahl tried to go behind, Abdullayev stuck his hand out which Lilledahl caught and used to pin Abdullayev.

He will have to produce another top performance if wants to win his second age-group gold medal as he wrestles Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) who won the gold medal at 61kg last year.

Nishiuchi, who won a silver medal at the Zagreb Open this year, cruised to the final as he beat SAGAR (IND) 10-0, using a leg lace.

Another former U17 world champion for the U.S. hoping to win a U20 world title is Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) who was at the top of his game to reach the final at 70kg.

In his four bouts on Monday, Shapiro gave up points only in the quarterfinals bout against Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE) who managed to score four on the U.S. wrestler.

Shapiro's defense and crafty attacks were too much for his opponents including 2021 U17 world champion Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) who got to Shapiro four times but failed to convert once.

In the semifinals against Julian GEORGE (PUR), Shapiro began with takedown, exposure, and three more takedowns to win 11-0 with a lost challenge for George adding a point.

Trying to stop Shapiro in the final will be Ali REZAEI (IRI) who stood with a bronze medal on the same podium as Shapiro in Budapest in 2021.

Rezaei warmed up with a 9-6 win over Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) in his opening bout before blanking Zelimkhan MUTSUKHAEV (POL) and Pavel GRAUR (MDA) in his next two bouts. In the semifinals, he struggled a little against Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ) but won 6-4 using his underhooks to keep Taalaibek Uulu under check. 

Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) celebrates after beating Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The U.S. and Iran will go head-to-head in the 65kg final as well with Jesse MENDEZ (USA) and Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) winning their sides of the bracket.

Shakeri has already improved on his ninth-place finish from last year by reaching the final. He had to dig deep in the semifinals against Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN) for a win.

Abdulkadyrov began with a takedown but Shakeri scored a reversal before scoring a four-pointer to lead 8-2. The two scrambled with all their energies but Shakeri somehow managed to keep Abdulkadyrov to an 11-8 score.

Mendez will fancy his chances after a solid run on Monday which included wins over U20 European champion Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR), U23 Asian silver medalist Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ), Ion BERGHI (MDA) and Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) in the semifinals.

Warned for inactivity in the first period, Mendez did give up a point before scoring a stepout on a counter. Toprak was called for fleeing as well which gave Mendez a 2-1 lead. An inactivity point against Toprak made it 3-1 which was also the final score of the bout.

Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) defeated Camden MC DANEL (USA) 5-1 in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran's third finalist of the night was U20 Asian champion Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) who stepped up and made it to the 97kg gold medal bout.

A month ago, Babaloo lost two bouts in Amman to finish fifth at the U20 Asian Championships. However, he avenged his loss to Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) 6-1 before beating Camden MC DANEL (USA) 5-1 in the semifinals.

For a gold medal, Babaloo will have to overcome Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) who scored a takedown in the final minute of the semifinal to win 5-3 against Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN).

Leading 3-1, Kazlou set out to defend his lead but Prymachenko went for single leg to score a takedown. While Kazlou tried regaining the lead, Prymachenko locked him and scored another takedown to win 5-3.

Sagar JAGLAN (IND)Sagar JAGLAN (IND) reached the 79kg final after winning 16-6 against Matthew SINGLETON (USA). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The only final which does not feature either the U.S. or Iran is 79kg as U20 Asia champion Sagar JAGLAN (IND) and Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) reached the gold medal bout.

Jaglan, who won the bronze medal at 74kg last year, defeated Matthew SINGLETON (USA), 16-6, in the semifinals while Kadiev beat Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) 8-4 in the other semifinal.

Singleton opened the scoring with a single-leg for four. But Jaglan went all out with his pressure and broke Singleton as time progressed. Jaglan scored five stepouts, a takedown and got a point for fleeing in the first period to lead 8-4 at the break.

The American wrestler was cautioned for not engaging before Jaglan scored a takedown to make it 11-4. Singleton pulled off a takedown but Jaglan return with four points to win the semifinal 16-6.

In Kadiev, Jaglan gets an opponent who will frustrate him with his defense. Kadiev brought his top game for the semifinals as he began with a four-pointer and added a turn to lead 6-0. Tcokaev scored a takedown to cut the lead to 6-2 but Kadiev scored two stepouts to make it 8-2 which seemed a little too much for Tcokaev to cover despite him scoring a late takedown.

df

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

SF 1: Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) df. SAGAR (IND), 10-0
SF 2: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE), via fall (7-9)

65kg
GOLD: Jesse MENDEZ (USA) vs. Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)

SF 1: Jesse MENDEZ (USA) df. Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) df. Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN), 11-8

70kg
GOLD: Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) vs. Ali REZAEI (IRI)

SF 1: Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) df. Julian GEORGE (PUR), 11-0
SF 2: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), 6-4

79kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) vs. Sagar JAGLAN (IND)

SF 1: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE), 8-4
SF 2: Sagar JAGLAN (IND) df. Matthew SINGLETON (USA), 16-6

97kg
GOLD: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) vs. Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)

SF 1: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) df. Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN), 5-3
SF 2: Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) df. Camden MC DANEL (USA), 5-1