Ranking Series

Wrestling Revamps Ranking Series System, Names 2019 Host Locations

Monday, December 24, 2018 - 13:09 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 24) – The United World Wrestling Bureau has approved new regulations for the 2019 Ranking Series. The recommendations were brought forward by the Technical Commission at a meeting last week in Belgrade.

The most important changes to the 2019 Ranking Series centered around allocation of points at world championships, continental championships, and Ranking Series events. The points were rebalanced to emphasize participation, and success, at the world and continental championships.

“I’m very pleased with the work of our Sport department and the Technical Commission,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. “The Ranking Series and seeding process has taken considerable work, but if you look now we are rewarding the best wrestlers for their efforts and their successes.”

New worldwide rankings have been updated on the United World Wrestling website. The 2018 World Championships results are the basis of the rankings, as each year the world championships results will be the first points for the following year.

“The continuity from year-to-year, was important for our national federations,” said Lalovic. “We needed to ensure that should they compete; our very best athletes will meet in the semifinals or the finals.”

The seeding process for the World Championships and Olympic Games will now also include a field of the top four wrestlers in each weight category with lower seeded athletes bumping up should one of the top four not participate in the world championships. The previous version of the world championships did not replace top seeds when they were absent of the competition.

The number of points awarded at a competition will also be impacted by the number of wrestlers entered in each bracket. For weight categories with 10 or fewer entries an additional six (6) points will be added. For categories with 11-20 wrestlers entered an additional eight (8) points will be added. Ten (10) points will be added to any weight category with more than 20 entries.

Points will be allocated to participating athletes in a weight category and are not transferable to other athletes or weight categories. Points will also reset after the world championships or Olympic Games with the points from the previous year’s championships or games used for following year’s rankings. For example, the 2019 rankings start with only the results of the 2018 World Championships in Budapest.

There will no longer be a +2kg weight allowance granted for Ranking Series, Continental Championships, World Championships, or Olympic Games.

The Technical Commission also recommended, and the bureau approved, locations for the 2019 Ranking Series events, with Women’s Wrestling and Freestyle traveling together to all four events, while Greco-Roman joins in Sassari but otherwise has additional unique locations.

The Ranking Series will kick off with the Ivan Yarygin in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, a competition long hailed as the “Toughest Wrestling Tournament in the World.” The 2019 edition is already creating a response, with top-level wrestlers from around the world committed to the competition, including 97kg rivals Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) and Kyle SNYDER (USA).

The Yarygin will begin January 24th with coverage on UnitedWorldWrestling.org

The Technical Commission also discussed the location and format for the 2019 World Cups, with more information available in the coming weeks.

For additional information and details on the Ranking Series, please review the full circular, HERE.

#WrestleTirana

Thursday's U23 World Championships semifinals set

Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 08:42 By Eric Olanowski

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TIRANA, Albania (October 26) --- The fourth day of wrestling at the 2023 U23 World Championships is underway in the Albanian capital. Today, we'll draw the Greco-Roman brackets and run through the final five weights--53kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg and 65kg--in women's wrestling.

Top Stars in Action:
57kg - Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) – Senior European silver
57kg - Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) – U23 world bronze
62kg - Iryna BONDAR (UKR) – U23 world silver
65kg - Irina RINGACI (MDA) – Senior world gold
65kg - Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE) – U23 world silver
65kg - Macey Ellen KILTY (USA) – Senior world silver
72kg - Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) – U23 world silver
72kg - Amit ELOR (USA) – Two-time senior world gold

Semifinal matches (as the come in):

53kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN) vs. Mako OONO (JPN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) vs. Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) vs. Mia Katherine FRIESEN (CAN)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) vs. Sara NATAMI (JPN)

62kg
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) vs. Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR) vs. Bhagyashree Hanumant FAND (UWW)

65kg
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT) vs. Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Macey Ellen KILTY (USA) vs. Irina RINGACI (MDA)

72kg
Bukrenaz SERT (TUR) vs. Jyoti BERWAL (UWW)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) vs. Amit ELOR (USA)

13:02: Kasabieva ended up scoring emptying the gas tank in the second period, scoring seven points before catching Kolawole on her back for the fall.

12:57: Nigeria's Esther KOLAWOLE, the '21 U23 world bronze medalist, is in a tight one against Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) over on Mat B. Both wrestlers have been extremely cautious in the first period, with Kolawole scoring the period's only point-- an inactivity point.

12:51: It looks like it's going to be an early afternoon for us. We have four matches left on each mat before heading to the Greco-Roman draws.

12:35: I was watching the Oono and Malanchuk match, so I didn't watch the match but heard that Elor picked up another fall to move into tonight's 72kg semifinals.

12:31: One of the least talked about aspects of the Japanese women's team is their timing. They understand the clock and when to attack better than any other team in wrestling.

That was on display with Oono's win over Malanchuk, as she trailed for the entire match, but struck late to steal the 2-2 match on criteria. She'll wrestle the winner of Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN) and Serena Rosa DI BENEDETTO (CAN).

12:23: Senior world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) picked up a 10-0 win in his first bout and will wrestle Busra EFE (TUR) next.

12:00: An upcoming match I'm looking forward to watching is Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Mako OONO (JPN).

Due to Ukraine's lightweight, Malanchuk has been in and out of the senior lineup for a few years now, but she's capitalized on her opportunity a few times, winning a gold medal at the 2022 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event and a silver at the 2021 Individual World Cup.

On the other side, you know what you're going to get out of the Japanese women, so it'll be good to see how Malanchuk stacks up against top-tier talent.

11:47: I just realized that 55kg senior world bronze medalist Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) is entered into the competition. It's great to see her down at 53kg, which shows me she's preparing to compete at the Olympic weight in 2024.

Dragutan down at 53kg gives Moldova's women's team three solid Olympic weights. They'll have Dragutan at 53kg, Anastasia NICHITA at 57kg and Irina RINGACI at 68kg.

11:38: We'll go from one world silver medalist to another on Mat B. Macey KILTY (USA) just scored a fall, brining up Ukraine's Iryna BONDAR (UKR).

11:19: There's not much to talk about regarding Elor's opening round match other than she scored a 17 second fall over Tokyo Olympian Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN).

10:55: All eyes will be on the new face of American women's wrestling, Amit ELOR (USA). If you don't know who Elor is, she's taken the wrestling world by storm over the last two years. At the ripe age of 19, she's already a seven-time world championships--winning golds twice at the senior level, three times at the U20s and once at the U23 and U17s.

Elor is impressive beyond her years, both on and off the mat. Take a few minutes to read her latest interview with United World Wrestling's Vinay Siwach: U23 Worlds: Elor chases eighth world title in Tirana

10:45: Good morning, wrestling fans. We'll start the day with 30 minutes of repechage matches before moving into the qualification bouts. That gives me time to get the Stars in Action list prepared for you.