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Zagreb Open: 'Calm' Khaslakhanau creates storm, Hedayati wins 130kg

Monday, January 15, 2024 - 01:54 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (January 14) -- Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) had not wrestled Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) before. But he had watched his World Championships loss in the pre-quarterfinals. A headlock throw saw Savolainen get pinned in Belgrade last year and end his chances of winning a senior World Championships medal and a Paris Olympic quota.

So when the two met in the Zagreb Open Ranking Series final at 97kg on Saturday, Khaslakhanau did not waste any time and hit a headlock for four. While he did not get the pin, he managed to finish the final in a minute and six seconds and claim the gold medal as the tournament came to a close with six Greco-Roman weight classes.

Khaslakhanau, who finished fifth at the World Championships after losing to Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) and Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) in the bronze medal bout, showed why he could be a big medal threat in Paris as he calmly went about business and won five bouts in some fashion.

Beginning with a 13-5 win over Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO), Khaslakhanau scored an 8-1 win over Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA). He defeated Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE) 8-0 in the quarterfinals and faced Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) in the semifinal which turned out to be a close one.

Ahmadiyev was quick to take an aggressive approach in the bout but Khaslakhanau kept himself calm and got the first par terre advantage. He scored a turn to lead 3-0 against Ahmadiyev who got par terre advantage in the second period but failed to score. Khaslakhanau decided to keep the 3-1 lead and thwarted every Ahmadiyev attack to win. A stepout in the final second of the bout made it 4-1.

In the final, Savolainen was just getting started when Khaslakhanau hit a stunning headlock and held the Finland wrestler on his back. Savolainen had Khaslakhanau on his back to earn two points but he could not do that for long. Khaslakhanau once again went on top, giving him two more points. Savolainen was cautioned for blocking and asked to return in par terre trailing 8-2.

Khaslakhanau lifted Savolainen for a big throw but managed only a two-point throw which ended the bout. Finland challenged that it was only a stepout which was the case but the replays showed Savolainen blocking Khalakhanau again. A second caution and two points were awarded against him, ending the bout 11-2.

Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) won the 97kg gold medal in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

"Today’s matches went perfect," Khaslakhanau said. "All the five matches were tough apart from the final. I had to prepare for each one in the same way. That’s why I am satisfied with my performance, but it’s not a limit, I should still work more and achieve more."

Despite perfect bouts, the U20 world champion maintained an expressionless face and did not give away much.

"I am a very disciplined wrestler thanks to my coach Kiril FOMENKO," he said. "Being respectful to my opponents doesn’t let me show any emotions. That’s why I am so reserved when I lose and when I win."

Khaslakhanau will now head to the European Championships but a clash with U23 world champion Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) did not take place after the latter lost his quarterfinal.

"We wrestle together at the training, we also wrestled each other two times at competitions, I lost both times," he said.

Just 19 years old, Khaslakhanau has added two world titles to his name and qualified for the Paris Olympics. But it was only a piece of luck that he ended up being a wrestler.

"I started wrestling when I was 10 years old," he said. "A coach came to school to choose the kids and he invited me and I decided to give it a try. I liked it. I train in the wrestling club “Legend”. I want to say that it’s the best club at least in our country, and soon will be the best one in the world."

Savolainen was satisfied with his wrestling till the final and said that he knows his weakness and will continue to work on it.

"I was quite happy until the evening. In the final, it was the same mistake as the World Championships where I lost because of the same head throw," he said. "It could have been my time on the mat in the second period but we never got there in the final."

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated Oscar PINO (CUB) 8-2 in the 130kg quarterfinals. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Another U20 world champion had a great day in office as Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) won the gold medal at 130kg after two big wins. His first big test came against world bronze medalist Oscar PINO (CUB) and he passed that with flying colors, winning 8-2.

In the final, Hedayati faced Asian silver medalist Lingzhe MENG (CHN). After giving up the first passivity, Hedayati scored two stepouts before getting a par terre advantage in the second period to win 3-1.

The victory makes Hedayati the real successor behind world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) at 130kg. Only time will tell when Hedayati will take over the reins from Mirzazadeh who is likely to go to Paris and will have to wrestle Hedayati.

At 60kg, Victor CIOBANU (MDA) pulled out injured and Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) got the gold medal. That was after both Lalaev and Ciobanu had a dominant morning session. Ciobanu defeated Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) 3-3 in an action-packed semifinal.

Nazaryan led 1-1 on criteria after par terre advantage. At one point, he lifted Ciobanu for a suplex but the Moldovan used his hands to avoid landing in danger position, saving him from giving up any points. Moldova challenged the call asking for two points as Ciobanu landed on top of Nazaryan but it was deemed clean with no points to any wrestler.

Ciobanu, trailing on criteria, got Nazaryan in a lock and as he tried to score a takedown, Nazaryan got the exposure and then Ciobanu scored a reversal. The referees ruled it two points only for Ciobanu. Bulgaria challenged the call and the judge ruled it two points each to both wrestlers with Ciobanu scoring later which gave him a 3-3 criteria and the win.

Lalaev defeated two Individual Neutral Athletes before beating Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR) 9-0 in the semifinal.

Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE)Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) won the 72kg gold medal in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In the two non-Olympic weight classes of 72kg and 82kg, Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) and Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) were the respective gold medalists.

Ganizade took on Levente LEVAI (HUN) and began with a big front headlock throw for four, got another point for par terre and got two more when Levai tried to throw him but landed on his own back. No more points were awarded and Ganizade won 7-0.

In the 82kg final Ezilvassy took on U20 world champion Alperen BERBER (TUR) and never gave the youngster a chance to trouble him. Ezilvassy scored a turn from par terre and added a takedown in the second period to rule out any passivity warning against him. He won 5-0.

Adem UZUN (TUR) and Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN) were the only two wrestlers entered in 55kg and Uzun was too good for Stupakevich, winning the gold medal 10-2.

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Adem UZUN (TUR) df. Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN), 10-2

60kg
GOLD: Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) df. Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR), 9-0
BRONZE: Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) df. Hafizov ILDAR (USA), 5-1

72kg
GOLD: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Levente LEVAI (HUN), 7-0

BRONZE: Dominik ETLINGER (CRO) df. Calebe CORREA (BRA), 9-0
BRONZE: Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR) df. Iulian LUNGU (ROU), 9-0

82kg
GOLD: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Alperen BERBER (TUR), 5-0

BRONZE: Deni NAKAEV (GER) df. Mahmoud SEBIE (USA), 6-2 
BRONZE: Mats AHLGREN (SWE) df. Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO), 6-3

97kg
GOLD: Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) df. Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN), 11-2

BRONZE: Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE) df. Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), 3-2

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Lingzhe MENG (CHN), 3-1

BRONZE: Dariusz VITEK (HUN) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 7-4
BRONZE: Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) df. Laszlo DARABOS (HUN), via inj. def.

marketing, #development

Wiebe inspires next gen at UWW-IIS camp in India

Saturday, February 15, 2025 - 08:21 By Vinay Siwach

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KARNATAKA, India (February 15) -- Erica WIEBE (CAN), the 2016 Rio Olympic champion, usually doesn't take it around but for her India trip, she made sure to pack her gold medal from Rio.

Call it luck, the gold medal turned out to be the highlight of her trip.

In India for a masterclass at the international women's wrestling camp organized by the Inspire Institute of Sport and United World Wrestling, Wiebe got mobbed by 50 young wrestlers as she showed them her medal. Wrestlers from Jordan, Estonia, South Africa, Mauritius, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and hosts India, all part of the camp, wanted to touch it, feel it and may be keep it.

"To see the looks on their faces and in their bodies responding to what it felt like to hold the kind of weight of your dream in your hand, I got emotional with them," Wiebe says. "It was so surreal for me to share the medal with the athletes because it brought me back to where I was at that time, and how it felt like winning an Olympic gold medal was just like this impossible dream that would never happen. It's really important for me to come here and do things like this to remind these women that, these crazy, unimaginable things are real. They can happen and to encourage them to continue to dream big."

No wrestler could walk away without a photo. A few even got emotional as they took the medal in their hands.

"God, I don't know how many times I have dreamt about that in the night," U17 world bronze medalist Lisette BOTTKER (EST) says. "When I got the medal on my hands, I was also trying not to cry but the feeling is awesome."

Maya QUTAISHAT (JOR) adds, "It seemed like the dreams of most of us wrestlers in front of us. Like getting the Olympic gold medal."

UWW and IIS organized the camp for wrestlers from around the world from January 15 to 31. It was hosted by IIS at it's world class facility in Vijayanagar, a township in Ballari district of north Karnataka, India.

Wiebe held a masterclass for the wrestlers along with training sessions with IIS head coach Amir TAVOKKALIAN, a former world silver medalist and Asian champion.

"It's a really amazing development opportunity for a young wrestlers from all around the world," Wiebe said. "There's several nations here, and it's so incredible to see the level of talent and passion of these young athletes. At the camp this week, we've had a number of sessions kind of leveraging different unique styles, having the different countries lead different warmups. We're here at the Inspire Institute of Sport which is a phenomenal world class facility. We don't have anything like this in Canada, there's very few facilities like this in the world. It's really exciting to see that India has this.

"Not only that, they have this for their athletes training, but they've invited many countries around the world to share in this moment and to leverage the resources that are available here on this site."

IIS President Manisha MALHOTRA also visited the camp and threw some light on the partnership with UWW to grow the sport.

"We're very passionate about the sport from an Indian ecosystem point of view," Malhotra said. "But what we realized is that, we need to start looking outside India to bring in expertise, look in partnerships. With that in mind, I think there was no better partner than UWW.

"They’ve done a phenomenal job with wrestling worldwide and growing the sport very well. The idea was to have a very good mix of people, whether they are from a very developed wrestling nation or from an underdeveloped wrestling nation, it needs to be a common platform where people can extract some sort of benefit for everybody. That was the main premise with what we worked with."

Apart from the training, wrestlers at the camp used the high performance center at IIS and indulged in sightseeing.

"Training here is very strong. We come out of the mat sweating a lot, and it's very tough," Qutaishat said, "The girls here are very high level. When I wrestle them, I learn a lot of techniques and so many things that I usually don't see back in my country. But I get to explore more as I go out to the camps."

Wiebe had an advice for all wrestlers, especially coming from smaller countries to the development camps.

"I told the athletes the goals are: to have fun, and to get better," Wiebe said. "And how do you do that? You find strength on the edge of failure. You have to put yourself on the line. Wrestling is not easy. You see it on the athletes bodies. They're pushing themselves to their limits, physically and mentally. They are tired. I remember being that way as an athlete. You always have to find another level to yourself."