Youth Olympic Games

Wrestling Names Qualifiers for 2018 YOG, 50 Nations Set to Participate

By Tim Foley

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 5) – United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, has announced the wrestling entries for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Wrestlers in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling will compete October 12-14 at the Parque Polideportivo Roca.

Wrestlers from 50 nations and all five continents will be represented in Buenos Aires, including several Cadet-level continental and world champions. The Youth Olympic Games have been a springboard for some of wrestling’s current senior-level superstars, including European Games medalist Grace BULLEN (NOR) and world champions Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN).

“We are proud of our young wrestlers for showing heart and determination in qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games,” said United World Wrestling president and IOC Executive Board member, Nenad Lalovic. ”We expect to see a high level of competition, but also look forward to seeing these athletes learn more about the Olympic values while in Buenos Aires.”

In an effort to become more gender equitable, wrestling increased the number of female participants in Buenos Aires to 50, which is up from 32 participants in Singapore 2010 and Nanjing 2014. The adjustment was part of a larger effort by the International Olympic Committee to meet its goal to make the 2018 Youth Olympic Games the first-ever gender-equal Games.

“Wrestling is proud to support the IOC’s commitment to gender equality in the Games and we are certain that our athletes, coaches and fans will enjoy the competition,” said Lalovic.

For a full wrestling schedule, or to buy tickets to the event, please visit www.buenosaires2018.com or www.unitedworldwrestling.org/event/youth-olympic-games-0

A  PDF version of the final entry list is available HERE

MEN'S FREESTYLE

Halil GOKDENIZ (TUR)

48kg
Daiziel DETUDAMO (NRU)
Fernando BOOYSEN (RSA)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)
Diego Armando ZULUAGA CUEVAS (COL)
Halil GOKDENIZ (TUR)
Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO)  

55kg
Gavin Stefan Sablan WHITT (GUM)
Oussama LARIBI (ARG)
Hayato FUJITA (JPN)
Robert Kelly HOWARD (USA)
Vladyslav OSTAPENKO (UKR)
Hernan David ALMENDRA (ARG)

65kg
Westerly Pehi Tahi AINSLEY (NZL)
Fathi Tarek A. ISMAIL (EGY)
Mohammad Baghi KARIMISEIFABAD (IRI)
Carson Taylor MANVILLE (USA)        
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)       
Inayat ULLAH (PAK)

80kg
Ryan Devon MARSHALL (NZL)
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB)
Carson Barry LEE (CAN)
Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (RUS)
Valentine YAIREGPIE (FSM)

110kg
Thomas John Mcglinchey BARNS (AUS)
Ahmed Mahmoud Elsayed M. KHALIL (EGY)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Luis Rodrigo OROZCO CORTEZ (MEX)
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
Dragan VELINOV (MKD)

GRECO-ROMAN

Mohammad Ghorbanali NOSRATI (IRI)

45kg
Densel Jaffet DE JESUS VALERIO (HON)
Abdalla Mohamed Shaaban M. SHAABAN (EGY)
Amirreza Mohammadreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI)
Jeremy Renzo PERALTA GONZALEZ (ECU)
Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL)
Arslanbek ZAKIRBAYEV (TKM)

51kg
Alexander ADINIWIN (MHL)
Mehdi JOUINI (TUN)
Wataru SASAKI (JPN)
Axel Andre SALAS ESQUIVEL (MEX)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Eduardo LOVERA (ARG)

60kg
Arapo Ngatuerua George KELLNER (NZL)
Ahmed Abdelhakim MERIKHI (ALG)
Elmirbek SADYROV (KGZ)
Miguel Angel UGALDE AGUILAR (MEX)
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)

71kg
Lynch Xavier Tanglao SANTOS (GUM)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Shu YAMADA (JPN)
Brandon CALLE PEREZ (COL)
Stepan STARODUBTSEV (RUS)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
 
92kg
Ariston Faamalosi BARTLEY (ASA)
Shady Elkhalil Ibrahim A. WEHIB (EGY)
Mohammad Ghorbanali NOSRATI (IRI)
Igor Fernando ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Mukhammad EVLOEV (RUS)
Osman AYAYDIN (TUR)

WOMEN'S WRESTLING

Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

43kg
Ella Mae DERRY (NZL)
Sara Gouda Farouk MAHMOUD (EGY)
Enkhzul BATBAATAR (MGL)
Simran SIMRAN (IND)
Emily King SHILSON (USA)
Heloisa Elena MARTINEZ (BRA)
Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Justine Fanny VIGOUROUX (FRA)
Christianah Tolulope OGUNSANYA (NGR)

49kg
Paulina Jean DUENAS (GUM)
Zineb ECH CHABKI (MAR)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Tiare Lynn Masako Dizon IKEI (USA)
Maria Jose MOSQUERA ROJAS (VEN)
Emma Jonna Denise MALMGREN (SWE)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Natallia VARAKINA (BLR)
Sopealai SIM (CAM)

57kg
Kaetlyn Rae Okada QUINTANILLA (GUM)
Hala Wael Imbabi AHMED (EGY)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Mansi MANSI (IND)
Mayra Alejandra PARRA ALVAREZ (VEN)
Andrea Monserrat LOPEZ MARTINEZ (MEX)
Anna Hella SZEL (HUN)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Lydia TOIDA (CMR)

65kg
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Sunmisola Idowu BALOGUN (NGR)
Xinru ZHOU (CHN)
Oyun Erdene TAMIR (MGL)
Yetzis Camila RAMIREZ MARQUEZ (CUB)
Sandra Elena ESCAMILLA MENCHACA (MEX)
Oksana CHUDYK (UKR)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Amina Roxana CAPEZAN (ROU)
Natacha Véronique NABAINA (CMR)

73kg
Ioana Penina Nicole Uputaua LUDGATE (ASA)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)
Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)
Anika Elizabeth WHITE (CAN)
Kseniya DZIBUK (BLR)
Vahide Nur GOK (TUR)
Julia Hanna Ellinor FRIDLUND (SWE)
Linda Marilina MACHUCA (ARG)

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Sadulaev tops two world champs en route 92kg final

By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 30) -- The paths of two of the greatest wrestlers of the past decade-plus crossed for the first and only time, and it was Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) who swatted aside David TAYLOR (USA) to stay on course for a sixth world medal.

Sadulaev put up an impregnable defense in posting a 7-0 victory after the luck of the draw pitted the superstars against each other in the first round at freestyle 92kg at the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Wednesday in Tirana.

Two-time Olympic champion Sadulaev, who was left off the list of Russian and Belarussian wrestlers eligible for the Paris Olympics, later advanced to Thursday's final with a dramatic, last-second 5-3 victory over 2021 and 2022 world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI).

Two other big names in the tournament did not fare so well, as Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) saw his bid for a seventh career world title end with a quarterfinal loss at 79kg, while Tokyo Olympic and two-time world champion Zavur UGUEV (AIN) fell at the first hurdle at 61kg.

In the most anticipated match of the tournament, Sadulaev was content to sit back and let Taylor go on the offensive, fending off each attack and twice scoring go-behind takedowns, while also adding a counter lift for 2. He also scored a stepout, but otherwise made no legitimate tackle attempts.

The closest Taylor came to scoring came on his first shot, when he got in deep on a single and tried to come out the back door, only for the surprisingly nimble Sadulaev to escape the hold.

Sadulaev and Taylor both won Olympic golds at Tokyo 2021, at 97kg and 86kg, respectively, and Wednesday's match saw them meeting in the middle. It's the first time Sadulaev is wrestling below 97kg since moving up to that weight after winning the 86kg gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Taylor, who won his third world title in 2023 but retired after losing at the U.S. Olympic Trials to Aaron BROOKS (USA), had taken the head coaching job at powerhouse Oklahoma State University but returned to the mat for one last go-round.

Sadulaev followed up his win over Taylor by beating Aslan ABAKAROV (AZE) 3-1 and Lars SCHAEFLE (GER) by a 10-0 technical fall to set up his clash with Ghasempour that turned into another classic victory by the Russian great.

Sadulaev had gone ahead 1-1 on criteria after each received an activity point when Ghasempour finally broke through the defenses and scored a double-leg takedown with 30 seconds left. But with the final seconds ticking down, he snapped the Iranian down, spun behind, then managed to fling him to the mat for a 4-point takedown.

In the final, he will face 2022 world bronze medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), who won an at-times tempestuous semifinal over surprising Benjamin HONIS (ITA) 9-2.

At 79kg, the 36-year-old Burroughs was unable to turn back the clock and fell 6-4 in the quarterfinals to Asian champion and two-time world medalist Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI).

Burroughs' hopes for a 10th world medal overall, however, ended when Nokhodi was dealt a tough 14-8 loss in the semifinals by four-time European bronze medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO).

Nokhodi looked to be cruising to victory when he built up a 6-0 lead in the second period. But Kentchadze secured a takedown that allowed him to wrap up Nokhodi's legs and he ripped off three lace-lock rolls. Nokhodi halted the flow for a moment for a 2-point exposure, but he also appeared to injure his knee during the exchange and the Georgian was able to easily add a pair of late takedowns.

Kentchadze will look to improve on the silver medal he won at 74kg in 2018 when he faces 2023 and 2021 world U23 champion Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN), who defeated 2021 European champion Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) in the other semifinal.

Earlier, Uguev tumbled out at the hands of world U20 champion Masanosuke ONO (JPN), who rode the momentum of that victory into the 61kg final.

Uguev, seemingly hampered by an ankle injury, had no answer for the lightning-quick speed of Ono, who chalked up two takedown-gut wrench combinations in the first period en route to a 10-2 victory.

Ono never let up after the victory, chalking up three straight technical falls without giving up a point, capped with a dominating 12-0 victory in the semifinals over defending champion Vitali ARUJAU (USA). Ono sealed the victory with a slick 4-point front headlock throw.

In Thursday's final, Ono will face Ahmet DUMAN (TUR), the 2022 world U23 silver medalist at 57kg who edged Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL) 3-1 in the other semifinal.

Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) joined Ono -- his former teammate at Yamanashi Gakuin University -- in the gold-medal matches when he avenged a loss in last year's world U23 final to Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) with a 6-1 victory in the 70kg semifinals.

Aoyagi, who won a bronze at this year's World U23 Championships held last week at the same Tirana venue, will face 2019 world bronze medalist Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) in an all-Asian final.

Kaipanov rolled to a 13-2 victory over Russian-born Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK), who will still get a chance to become just the second world medalist in any style from Tajikistan.

Freestyle Results

61kg (27 entries)
SF: Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) df. Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL), 3-1
SF: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Vitali ARUJAU (USA) by TF, 12-0, 4:20

70kg (25 entries)
SF: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN), 6-1
SF: Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) by TF, 13-2, 3:47

79kg (33 entries)
SF: Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI), 14-8
SF: Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN) df. Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK), 9-3

92kg (29 entries)
SF: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) df. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), 5-3
SF: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Benjamin HONIS (ITA), 9-2