#YasarDogu

Yasar Dogu Women's Wrestling Entries

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 11) --- The most anticipated Ranking Series event of the year, the Yasar Dogu, will take place July 11 to 14 in Istanbul, and more nearly 150 women from 20 countries are expected to make the journey to Turkey's most populated city. The goal remains simple: try to pocket the remaining Ranking Series points before heading to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, for September's World Championships. 

Since the Budapest World Championships, wrestlers have been stashing away Ranking Series points with hopes of becoming one of the forty top-four seeded wrestlers come September. The Yasar Dogu leaves those on the cusp of earning a top-four seed one last opportunity to gain those additional much-needed Ranking Series points. 

Heading into Istanbul, five wrestlers have seized the No. 1 seed, 15 wrestlers have cemented at least a top-four seed, leaving 25 seeds open for the taking in Istanbul. Though they're not all entered, there are still 74 wrestlers who could steal a seed from a current top-four seeded wrestler if they were to win a gold medal in a weight class with 20+ wrestlers in Turkey. 

Wrestling begins July 11 and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

50kg
Kseniya STANKEVICH (BLR)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Natasha Irene Vera KRAMBLE (CAN)
Seema SEEMA (IND)
Maria Alexandra CIOCLEA (ROU)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS)
Valeriya CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS)
Veronika GURSKAYA (RUS)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aynur ERGE (TUR)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB)
Diyora AMONOVA (UZB)

53kg
Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA)
Diana Mary Helen WEICKER (CAN)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Annika WENDLE( GER)
Ellen RIESTERER (GER)
Vinesh VINESH (IND)
Aigul NURALIM (KAZ)
Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Silje Knutsen KIPPERNES (NOR)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
Emine CATALOGLU (TUR)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Funda TUKENMEZ (TUR)
Liliya HORISHNA (UKR)
Iryna HUSYAK (UKR)


Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR), the fourth-ranked wrestler at 57kg, will be dropping down to compete at 55kg at the Yasar Dogu. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan). 

55kg
Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR)
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Sinem KOROGLU (TUR)

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN)
Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Elena Heike BRUGGER (GER)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Pooja DHANDA (IND)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Nazgul NURAKHAN (KAZ)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Siwar BOUSETTA (TUN)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Ozge FINDIKCI (TUR)
Tetyana KIT (UKR)
Sevara ESHMURATOVA (UZB)
Nigora BAKIROVA (UZB)

59kg
Katsiaryna HANCHAR YANUSHKEVICH (BLR)
Kumari MANJU (IND)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Emma JOHANSSON (SWE)
Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Hatice Ece TEKIN (TUR)
Nurife DUMAN (TUR)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Gulnora TOSHPULATOVA (UZB)

European Games champion Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) will be looking for her second Ranking Series title of the year after winning the Dan Kolov earlier this year. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Aminat ADENIYI (NGR)
Anzhela FOMENKO (RUS)
Iuliia ALBOROVA (RUS)
Uliana TUKURENOVA (RUS)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Moa NYGREN (SWE)
Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Gamze Nur ADAKAN (TUR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR)
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB)

65kg
Yuliana Vasileva YANEVA (BUL)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Rimma RYSSAYEVA (KAZ)
Natalia FEDOSEEVA (RUS)
Ekaterina BALDANOVA (RUS)
Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Sule KABAK (TUR)
Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)

68kg
Yauheniya ANDREICHYKAVA (BLR)
Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR)
Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)
Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER)
Nadine WEINAUGE (GER)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Yekaterina LARIONOVA (KAZ)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Rihem AYARI (TUN)
Beste ALTUG (TUR)
Merve PUL (TUR)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR)
Bakhtigul BALTANIYAZOVA (UZB)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
Alena STARODUBTSEVA (RUS)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Vahide Nur GOK (TUR)
Tugba KILIC (TUR)
Nilufar GADAEVA (UZB)

Third-ranked Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) will be looking for her fourth Ranking Series medal of the year. If she medals in Istanbul, she'll move into the top two of the world rankings at 76kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

76kg
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)
Fanny Helene GRADIN (SWE)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Mehtap GULTEKIN( TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

#WrestleTirana

Sadulaev shuts down Taylor in World Championships showdown

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 30) -- Two-time world champion at 92kg Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) would have expected his return to the World Championships to make all the noise in Tirana. After all, it had been two years since he last competed at the World Championships.

Enter Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) and David TAYLOR (USA). The former, who last won the world title in 2021, was not able to compete at the Paris Olympics and was injured during the semifinal of the 2023 World Championships.

Taylor, world champion in 2023, missed the Paris Olympics after losing the trials in the United States, announced his retirement and took a coaching job. He came out of retirement and decided to compete at the World Championships and retire.

Both are not 92kg wrestlers. Sadulaev has been a true 97kg for eight years now. Taylor is competing at this weight for the first time after dominating 86kg for years. But the two were pitted against each other in the opening round of the World Championships in Tirana at 92kg.

The small Feti Borova Sports Hall in Tirana did not have space to sit. So where one could, they stood to watch the two wrestle. Saudulaev in a singlet not meant for his 92kg body. Taylor, in his customary elbow on the thigh and waiting for his opponent.

No one knew what was going to happen. Sadulaev was reducing weight, and Taylor was gaining. How would the two match up? It was this lack that prompted the fans to cheer for both. But after the first period, the picture became much clearer. Sadulaev shut down Taylor's offense and came out of the pressure bout 7-0.

After the initial collar ties, Taylor went for the offense. He got on Sadulaev's leg and tried the lift but Sadulaev was swift to get out of the hold. Taylor continued his attack. That's the only way he knows wrestling. Taylor took another offensive shot and Sadulaev, with lessons from the previous attack, pressured forward to neutralize the attack and scored a go-behind for two. Sadulaev resorted to heavy snapdowns and Taylor wasn't able to defend the second one. Within two minutes, Sadulaev was up 4-0.

The speed and power was Sadulaev was impressively superior to that of Taylor who decided to change a little in the second period. He went for the far leg of Sadulaev. But Sadulaev was quick and spun behind Taylor and scored a takedown with less than two minutes left.

By this time, Ghasempour had finished his bout on the other mat. He defeated Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) 6-0 in a rather slow bout.

Sadulaev now had to defend his 5-0 lead. Taylor continued his aggressive approach and got on Sadulaev's right leg. What he did not expect was the quick counter from Sadulaev who pushed Taylor and scored an exposure for two. It was evident that Taylor could not match Sadulaev.

David TAYLOR (USA)David TAYLOR (USA) in the warm-up hall after his bout against Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) at 92kg in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

"I did not score on the two times I shot and he did," Taylor said after the bout. "That was the difference. I needed to score on those two occasions."

Taylor and Sadulaev went to the warm-up hall but the former sat for more than 45 minutes in silence. He finally broke his silence and talked to the United States coaches after his leg attacks. After spending 30 more minutes gathering his thoughts, Taylor packed his bags and left.

On the training mats, Ghasempour and Sadulaev jogged before cooling down after their bouts. If both continue to win, they are expected to meet in the semifinals.

The match will be rather important for Taylor as well. He will hope for a Sadulaev win which will give him the chance to wrestle for the bronze medal.

"I expect him to make the finals and come back tomorrow," Taylor said. "I need to wrestle better that is my focus for now."

If he does wrestle Thursday, fans will only be treated to another blockbuster. A Ghasemoour-Taylor bout. The only downside will be that one will go home empty-handed.