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Zagreb Open Ranking Series day three finals set

Friday, February 3, 2023 - 09:39 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 3) -- The Zagreb Open enters day three with four women's wrestling and two Greco-Roman weight classes. The big names in GR 77kg and 87kg will be putting on a show along with women's 59kg, 62kg, 65kg and 68kg.

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15:45: The finals are set for the evening session.

GR
77kg: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)

87kg: Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) vs Istvan TAKACS (HUN)

WW
62kg: Grace BULLEN (NOR) vs. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

65kg: Mallory VELTE (USA) vs. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN)

68kg: Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) 

15:25: Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) over Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) 5-0 in the semifinal and Istvan TAKACS (HUN) over David LOSONCZI (HUN) 5-4 in the other semifnal. The GR 87kg final will be Alizadeh vs Takacs.

15:15: Kumba LARROQUE (FRA) takes out Irina RINGACI (MDA) in the 68kg semifinal. Ringaci led 1-0 before got the takedown for two. Ringaci took the lead again with a takedown in the second period and led 3-2 with 10 seconds remaining. Larroque went for a double leg and managed to spin Ringaci for a four. Ringaci challenges the call but it stands. Larroque wins 7-4

15:05: Two big quarterfinals at 62kg. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) pins Lais NUNES (BRA) while Grace BULLEN (NOR) proved that she belongs to the new weight class. Wrestling against Kayla MIRACLE (USA), she led 4-0 but Miracle got a takedown to gut to lead 4-4. However, Bullen got two stepouts to win 8-6  

14:45: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) moves into the final at 77kg after a thrilling 4-3 win over Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO). A critical stepout point with two minutes left proved to be the difference.

14:20: The other 62kg semifinal will see Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) take on Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA). Motoki defeated Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) 11-1 while Nunes eked out a close 2-1 win over Ana GODINEZ (CAN)

14:00: Kayla MIRACLE (USA) with a late stepout to beat Jia LONG (CHN) 6-4 at 62kg. Great performance from the American wrestler. She will face Grace BULLEN (NOR) in the semifinals as she defeated Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) 11-0 in the quarterfinal.

13:50: What a bout we had! Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) and Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) left it all on the mat. Szilvassy gets the stepout and the passivity point in the first period. But Berdimuratov scores from par terre in the second to lead 3-2. A stepout for Szilvassy but not enough as Berdimuratov wins 3-3

13:35: The quarterfinals at 77kg are set

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) vs. Per KURE (NOR)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) vs. Johnny BUR (FRA)
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) vs. Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) 

13:20: The quarterfinals at 62kg are nothing less than the World Championships

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) vs. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Grace BULLEN (NOR) vs. Taybe YUSEIN (BUL)
Lais NUNES (BRA) vs. Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA) vs. Jia LONG (CHN) 

13:14: The Croatian fans are on their feet! Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) upsets World Championships silver medalist Zoltan LEVAI (HUN). Kamenjasevic trailed 3-0 at the break but Levai was put in par terre in the second period. Kamenjasevic scored a turn to lead 3-3 and won the bout

12:45: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) builds an 8-0 lead before securing the fall over Viktoria VESSO (EST) at 62kg. She will now face Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL) in the quarterfinal

12:40: Grace BULLEN (NOR) looks so dominant in the new weight class. The 59kg World Championships silver medalist with a fall over Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB) to reach the quarterfinals.  

12:25: World Championships silver medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) with a monster five-pointer over Michael WAGNER (AUT) before adding a turn to win via technical superiority.

12:00: U23 European champion Marcel STERKENBURG (NED), wrestling at 87kg, with a four-pointer before adding a takedown to win 8-0 over Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU). Great start for the young star

11:30: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) and Tamas LEVAI (HUN) now wrestling at 87kg. Bisultanov goes on top in the first period. He fails to score any points. Levai gets a point from par terre in the second period. No more action and Levai will win 1-1.

10:55: Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) with a good win over Exauce MUKUBU (NOR). He scored a turn from par terre before giving up one. Mukubu, however, could not find the winning point. 

10:35: This will hurt Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) a lot. In the opening bout against Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI), he failed to get any par terre and ends up going down 3-0. Big win for Kaviyaninejad. 

10:30: Frantic action in women's 62kg as Sakura MOTOKI (JPN), Grace BULLEN (NOR), Jia LONG (CHN), Ana GODINEZ (CAN) and Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) pick up wins.

10:20: Upset? Xiaojuan LUO (CHN) with a 10-4 win over Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). Luo with two big fours in either half. Tynybekova will be a little worried in this Paris Olympics qualifying year.  

10:00: Welcome to Zagreb! We start with 59kg round-robin bouts and world champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) picks up a quick win over Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) at 59kg. In the second bout, Viktoria BORSOS (HUN) beats Nikolett SZABO (HUN) 6-6.

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Zagreb Open Best Move: Blades Suplex

Friday, February 14, 2025 - 15:22 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 14) -- Kennedy BLADES (USA) is making the suplex her own. After thrilling a packed Champs de Mars Arena with a majestic suplex at the Paris Olympics, the 21-year-old star began her 2025 season with two of them at the Zagreb Open last week.

"When I get behind, in my mind, I am like I have to execute this because it's so rare to hit a suplex," Blades said in Zagreb. "So every time I get behind in matches or big stages, I try to hit the suplex. I want to do it at the world stage because I know it will be on the highlights."

At the Zagreb Open, Blades was at 68kg, two weight classes down from 76kg, in which she won the silver medal at the Paris Games. She debuted at 68kg with a fall over Kendra DACHER (FRA) and another fall over world bronze medalist Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE).

The first glimpse of her suplex in the match against Noémi SZABADOS (HUN). Close to a minute had gone in the bout when Blades used her reach for a outside single-leg. Instead of going for a takedown, she stood up and locked Szabados from behind and out came the throw.

However, the perfect arch was missing and it was awarded four points.

Blades wasn't satisfied. In Round 5 and leading 7-0, Blades countered Karolina POK (HUN) in a perfect set up for a suplex. Pok made a half-hearted attempt for a headlock but Blades snuck out and moved behind.

Pok knew it was coming. She did not resist and Blades did not relent. A picture-perfect arch, a beautiful throw, safe landing and a cheeky smile at the end. Blades was content.

"I just feel like when someone gets a headlock, they probably have to throw it really hard because growing up, I used to wrestle Greco in the summer," she said. "So my coach always taught us how to set up the suplex if they grab your head for a headlock and they don't go. When someone gets in a headlock position and they don't go super hard, then the suplex is there. If I would ever be in that position, I just go flat because I know that they can probably throw me. "

While it has become relatively easy for Blades to throw her opponents at 68kg, she still needs to tackle their speed and movement.

"I think at 68kg, the girls just feel lighter and that's what makes it a tiny bit easier," she said. "The difference though is that they wrestle a little bit more so my conditioning and footwork needs to be better. Whereas at 76kg, they're kind of hand fighting. It's more like strength. But at 68kg, it's speed and technique. It's hard to distinguish if it's easier or not, but I think the fact that I was able to lift the girls up easy was the best thing ever."

The suplex isn't new to Blades. She performed one at the U20 World Championships back in 2021, then at the Olympics and now in Zagreb. However, Blades picks the one in Paris as the best one so far.

"The best suplex is probably my Olympic one because that was straight back on her neck, on the Olympic stage, first match." she said. "I was on fire. I kind of want to see that the suplex I just hit because I think it was pretty nice. But the Olympic one is so hard to beat and I was in a pink singlet."