#WrestleTirana

U23 Worlds: Japan clinches team title; Ringaci wins gold

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 27) -- Japan only sent nine wrestlers, with none of the seven world champions from last year returning, to the U23 World Championships. Yet, it clinched the Women's Wrestling team title comfortably in Tirana on Friday.

With no entries received at 68kg in the domestic selection trials, Japan was forced to skip that weight in Tirana but the second-string team won five gold and one silver to finish at the top with 159 points. Ukraine finished second with 144 points while the United World Wrestling team was third with 132 points.

Out of the five gold medals on offer on Friday, Japan won three with Mako OONO (JPN) winning at 53kg, Sara NATAMI (JPN) winning at 57kg and Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) winning the 62kg gold medal.

Irina RINGACI (MDA) won the 65kg gold while senior world champion Amit ELOR (USA) repeated as the champion at 72kg, claiming her eighth world title.

Mako OONO (JPN)Mako OONO (JPN) celebrates after winning the 53kg final. (Photo: UWW / Ulug Bugra Han Degirmenci)

Oono got the ball rolling with a 10-0 win over senior world bronze medalist Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) in the 53kg final. Using her quick speed, Oono was able to counter most of Dragutan's attacks and finished the final with 2:17 left on the clock.

While the final was a one-sided affair, Oono was in serious trouble in her quarterfinals against Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) who scored in the first ten seconds of the bout and took a 2-0 lead. Malanchuk kept coming back with the low single on Oono's left leg but the Japanese defended well to not give up any more points. In the second period, Malanchuk shot a double-leg which Oono defended and scored a go-behind to lead 2-2 on criteria. That remained the winning margin for Oono.

This was Oono's fourth gold medal in international competitions as she has a U17 world title from 2018, an Asian U17 title from 2019 and an Asian U20 gold from 2022.

Sara NATAMI (JPN)Sara NATAMI (JPN) defeated Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) 18-8 in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Senior Asian champion at 59kg in 2022, Natami was wrestling at 57kg and had to work hard for the gold against European silver medalist Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE). Natami won the gold by beating Aliyeva 18-8.

Natami opened the scoring with a takedown and rolled Aliyeva to lead 6-0. As she scored another takedown, Aliyeva got her hold over Natami and sprung her on the side to score two points. That cut Natami's lead to 8-2. Aliyeva then locked Natami's hands and flung her for a four. Though she survived the pin, Natami gave up a stepout and saw her lead cut to 8-7 at the break.

All that action had taken a toll on Aliyeva as she broke down in the second period and gave up easy takedowns as Natami's lead swelled to 12-8. With a minute still left on the clock, Natami, with six more points, completed an 18-8 victory. The win also denied Aliyeva and Azerbaijan their first gold medal at the U23 World Championships.

Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) won the world title at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 62kg, Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) did not take that much time as she pinned Iryna BONDAR (UKR) in the final. Inagaki first blocked an attempted lift from Bondar to score two points and once the wrestlers were in neutral, she got Bondar by the arm and pinned her with 4:17 left on the clock.

Inagaki is now a two-time U23 world champion, four years after she won her first in 2019. She also has the U17 and U20 world titles to her name.

Irina RINGACI (MDA)Irina RINGACI (MDA) pins Amina TANDELOVA (AIN) in the 65kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

After two bronze medals at the U23 Worlds (2019 and 2022), Ringaci won the gold medal in some style, pinning Amina TANDELOVA (AIN) in a minute and 28 seconds.

Ringaci won a bronze medal at 68kg at the senior Worlds last month but returned to 65kg for the Tirana tournament.

"I feel better at 65kg because I weigh around 67kg," Ringaci said. "When I am wrestling at 65kg, I have to cut only around two kilograms but for 68kg, I am underweight."

In the semifinal, Ringaci had a fierce battle with world silver medalist Macey KILTY (USA), winning 5-4 with her defense helping her sail.

"The semifinal opponent is a strong wrestler," she said. "I knew it was going to be a tough match. I am always getting ready to wrestle for six minutes."

Defending champion at 72kg Elor came to Tirana chasing her eighth world title and returned with it. She defeated Jyoti BERWAL (UWW) 10-0 in just 21 seconds to become a two-time U23 world champion, her third world title this year.

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RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Mako OONO (JPN) df. Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA), 10-0

BRONZE: Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) df. Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN), 10-8
BRONZE: Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ) df. Beatrice FERENT (ROU), 12-1

57kg
GOLD: Sara NATAMI (JPN) df. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), 18-8

BRONZE: REENA (UWW) df. Mia FRIESEN (CAN), 8-2
BRONZE: Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) df. Xochitl MOTA PETTIS (USA), 4-3

62kg
GOLD: Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) df. Iryna BONDAR (UKR), via fall

BRONZE: Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) df. Viktoria VESSO (EST), 11-0
BRONZE: Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) df. Bhagyashree FAND (UWW), 10-6

65kg
GOLD: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Amina TANDELOVA (AIN), via fall

BRONZE: Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR) df. Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT), 3-1
BRONZE: MONIKA (UWW) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 5-4

72kg
GOLD: Amit ELOR (USA) df. Jyoti BERWAL (UWW), 10-0

BRONZE: Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR) df. Bukrenaz SERT (TUR), 12-2
BRONZE: Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN) df. Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL), 3-3

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Romeo BERIDZE (GEO) vs. Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) 

SF 1: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) df. SUMIT (UWW), 9-4
SF 2: Romeo BERIDZE (GEO) df. Mert ILBARS (TUR), 3-1

67kg
GOLD: Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR) vs. Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) df. Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE), 11-0
SF 2: Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR) df. HARUTO YABE (JPN), 3-3

72kg
GOLD: Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN) vs. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

SF 1: Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) df. Michael PORTMANN (SUI), 9-2
SF 2: Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN) df. Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 15-6

82kg
GOLD: Alperen BERBER (TUR) vs. Aues GONIBOV (AIN)

SF 1: Aues GONIBOV (AIN) df. Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR), 11-0
SF 2: Alperen BERBER (TUR) df. Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) vs. Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)

SF 1: Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) df. Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM), 9-0
SF 2: Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) df. Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN), 7-4

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Sadulaev caps golden return with 92kg title

By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 31)--After a long absence from the mat forced by a combination of injuries and extenuating circumstances beyond his control, two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) returned in triumph.

It wasn't at his usual weight class and he has no plans to remain there, but for now the Russian great can be satisfied with adding yet another global gold medal to his formidable collection.

Sadulaev won his sixth world title in a third different weight class when he defeated Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 6-0 in the final at freestyle 92kg on Thursday, the final day of the Non-Olympic Weight Categories in Tirana.

"I can’t express what I feel yet," Sadulaev said. "I am very happy to be back on the top place of the podium of the world championships. This time it was a bit more difficult than the previous ones. There were many things that didn’t depend on me. I am glad."

Meanwhile, up-and-coming Masanosuke ONO (JPN), following up on Japan's success in the lightest weights at the Paris Olympics, completed a dominant run to the 61kg gold, while Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) and Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) ended long waits to return to the medal podium by making it to the top step at 70kg and 79kg, respectively.

Sadulaev, wrestling at 92kg for the first time in his career and down from 97kg for the first time since winning the 86kg gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, put up his usual granite wall of defense, while also showing the combination of speed, power and agility on the attack that sets him apart from his peers.

"I was about 98kg when I started the preparation," Sadulaev said. "The weight cut was not so difficult. I stopped eating flour and sweets, and the weight started to go down. Only the last two kilograms were a bit difficult to cut.

"The only problem was that I had the weigh-ins at 8 a.m. in the morning, then we arrived at the venue and I started wrestling in 30 minutes, I didn’t even have any time to rest. All the matches were just happening one by one with no rest. That’s why I got a bit tired in the semifinal match."

In the final, Sadulaev was on the activity clock in the first period when he scored a takedown, then added a pair of gut wrenches to build a 6-0 lead. From there, he held off everything that Maisuradze threw at him to add to the five world titles he won starting in 2014.

The last time the world saw Sadulaev, he suffered a serious neck injury and was beaten in the semifinals at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade by Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), a former member of Sadulaev's wrestling school in Dagestan now competing for Bahrain who won the gold in Paris.

Sadulaev was declared ineligible to defend his Olympic 97kg title in Paris as part of sanctions on Russia and Belarus, and skipped what would have been his return at this year's European Championships in February due to injury.

"I found out that I will be wrestling at 92kg at the worlds only at the end of September," Sadulaev said. "I talked to the president of the federation. I was preparing to compete at the Olympic Games, but unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to enter, that’s why I decided to give it a try here...One and a half months was enough for me to prepare."

But as he showed over the two days in Tirana, he could be as competitive as ever. He started by handily defeating fellow superstar David TAYLOR (USA) in a classic matchup in the first round, then showed that his fire for success still burned bright within him when he scraped together a 4-point takedown in the final seconds to edge Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) 5-3 in the semifinals.

"It didn’t really matter if I had to wrestle Taylor in the final match or in the qualification round," Sadulaev said. "It would have been more interesting if it was a final match. It would have been very spectacular if we wrestled in the final.

"In the semifinal match, I missed an attack, and in the end, I had to get a last-second score. I think it made the match even more interesting."

Looking ahead, Sadulaev said he will be heading back up to 97kg. "This was the only one time for me wrestling at 92kg. This is not my weight class, I will be back at 97kg again. I just used this opportunity not to lose another year. I had to make history to win the world championships in three different weight classes."

The dynamic Ono, who won the world U20 gold in September, never let up on the gas in storming to a quick 10-0 victory in the 61kg final over Ahmet DUMAN (TUR).

As he did throughout the tournament, Ono transitioned immediately to a gut wrench from a takedown, scoring six quick points before Duman knew what hit him. Ono then used a snap-down to a low ankle for another takedown, then a gut wrench to finish the rout in 1:22.

Ono, who started his golden run with a 10-2 win over Tokyo Olympic and former two-time world champion Zavur UGUEV (AIN), reeled off 12-0, 11-0 and 12-0 victories to advance to the final.

The senior Asian bronze medalist this year at 65kg, he later revealed that an injury had hampered his preparations. "One month ago, I broke my ankle and I couldn't practice at all," Ono said. "The Uguev match was my first live wrestling after the fracture, and I was very unsure how I would do."

For Ono, currently a student at Yamanashi Gakuin University, the school that produced Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), the question is where does he go from here?

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), who followed Otoguro by winning the 65kg gold in Paris, beat Ono in the final at the 2023 All-Japan Championships during the Olympic qualifying process. Going down to 57kg, where Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) won the Paris gold, seems unlikely.

Wherever he ends up, he will go with confidence. "I don't know if I'll go to 65kg and face him [Kiyooka]," Ono said. "If I do, I'm definitely going to win."

As for celebrating his triumph in Tirana, that will have to wait. "In five days, I have the Japan University championships," he said.

In the 70kg final, Kaipanov scored all of his points in the second period to defeat Asian silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) 5-3 and add the gold to the world silver he won in 2019 and become just the second world freestyle champion in Kazakhstan history -- and second in two years.

Kaipanov, a two-time former Asian champion, twice scored 2-point exposures by stopping body-lock throw attempts by Aoyagi, a former teammate of Ono's at Yamanashi Gakuin who was coming off a bronze-medal finish at the World U23 Championships held a week ago in the same venue.

Kaipanov's victory came a year after Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) captured the 92kg title in Belgrade to become their country's first-ever freestyle gold medalist.

Kentchadze, a four-time European bronze medalist whose only previous world medal was a 74kg silver won in 2015, scored six takedowns in a 13-4 victory over 2023 world U23 champion Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN) to take the 79kg gold.

Kentchadze, who was fifth at the 74kg at last year's worlds in Belgrade, gave up an opening takedown, but responded by scoring two himself to go ahead. After the second, however, he got stuffed attempting a roll to go behind 4-4, but righted the ship and added two more takedowns before the break to lead 8-4.

In the second period, Kentchadze sandwiched two more takedowns around a stepout to pull away and emerge victorious in the tournament's most crowded weight class with 33 entries.

Taylor claims emotional bronze

Taylor didn't get the gold that he came out of retirement to get in Tirana, but he did show a bit of his old magic in claiming a bronze medal at 92kg with an impressive 6-2 comeback victory over Ghasempour.

"When you're good for so long, you never know when it's time to be done," said an emotional Taylor, the Tokyo Olympic and three-time world champion at 86kg. "I just got an opportunity to go out the way I wanted to."

Ghasempour, the 2021 and 2022 world champion at 92kg, opened the scoring with a takedown while on the activity clock to lead 2-0 at the break. In the second period, Taylor went on the offensive and scored three takedowns against the tough Iranian, the last coming with two seconds left to preserve the victory.

After the match, Taylor remained on the mat for a short while, drinking in the atmosphere and the applause of the crowd. Later, he smile broadly on the medal podium and posed for photo together with Sadulaev.

The 33-year-old had retired after failing to make the U.S. team to the Paris Olympics and took the head coaching job at powerhouse Oklahoma State University. But the chance to face Sadulaev for the first time and possibly add to his gold medal collection was incentive enough to bring him back to the mat. The luck of the draw saw him face Sadulaev in the first round, where he lost 7-0.

"It was a tough decision to wrestle, but I didn't want it to end the way it did in April," Taylor said. "Going into this, I was hyperfocused on wrestling Sadulaev. The game script didn't go as I thought. I should have wrestled [him] like I did [against Ghasempour]. [The bronze-medal match] was a match of redemption. It was a world-final caliber match."

Although they met just that one time, Sadulaev had kind parting words for Taylor. "I want to congratulate Taylor on an amazing career," he said. "He was one of the best wrestlers of the modern time. I wish him good luck. Sooner or later, I will retire as well. But not now."

In the other 92kg bronze-medal match, Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) gave Slovakia a second bronze of the night when he rode a six-point lead to an 8-6 victory over a spirited Benjamin HONIS (ITA), who had been aiming to become Italy's first world medalist not named Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) since 2018.

Vito ARUJAU (USA), denied the chance to defend his world 61kg title by Ono in the semifinals, came away with a bronze medal by taking one of the biggest scalps of his career, beating Ugaev 8-3.

Arujau, shaking off a painful finger injury that caused him to need treatment during the second period, scored four takedowns in toppling the normally 57kg Uguev, who had obvious trouble handling the extra weight.

The other 61kg bronze went to Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL), who came up with a big move to defeat Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) by fall. Tseveensuren started with a 4-point pancake that Norvuzov reversed for 2, then countered a takedown attempt by locking the Azeri in a cradle and securing the fall at 2:30.

Russian-born Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) ended Tajikistan's 17-wait for a second world medal when he broke open a tight match with a 10-point flurry in the second period to defeat Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) 13-2 in a 70kg bronze-medal match.

Kudiev, a bronze medalist at this year's Antalya Ranking Series at 65kg, followed in the footsteps of another native Russian, Yusup ABDUSALOMOV (TJK), who won a silver at freestyle 84kg in 2007.

European U23 champion Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN), last year's world U23 gold medalist, claimed his first senior world medal with a 10-0 victory in the other 70kg bronze-medal match over Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR). Sheriev scored three takedowns in the second period to end the match with :08 left.

At 79kg, Asian champion Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI), who knocked off six-time world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) before losing to Kentchadze in the semifinals, overwhelmed young Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) 10-0 to take home a world medal for the third consecutive year.

Takahashi, the world U23 champion at 74kg a week ago in Tirana, did a remarkable job of making it to the bronze-medal match, having come back from massive deficits in both of his repechage matches just a few hours earlier.

Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK), the 2021 European champion, scored a 2-point exposure on a counter in the second period to edge Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL) 2-1 for the other 79kg bronze.

Freestyle Results

61kg (27 entries)
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) by TF, 10-0, 1:22

BRONZE: Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL) df Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) by Fall, 2:30 (8-2)
BRONZE: Vito ARUJAU (USA) df. Zavur UGUEV (AIN), 8-3

70kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 5-3

BRONZE: Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) df. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) by TF, 10-0, 5:52
BRONZE: Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) by TF, 13-2, 4:39

79kg (33 entries)
GOLD: Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN), 13-4

BRONZE: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) by TF, 10-0, 3:49
BRONZE: Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) df. Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL), 2-1

92kg (29 entries)
GOLD: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 6-0

BRONZE: David TAYLOR (USA) df. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), 6-2
BRONZE: Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) df. Benjamin HONIS (ITA), 8-6