#Bishkek2018

China Overshadows Japan, Sends Quartet into Finals as Women's Wrestling Gets Underway

Thursday, March 1, 2018 - 10:31 By Ken Marantz

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A Far Eastern country dominated the opening session of the women's wrestling competition at the Asian Championships and no, it wasn't Japan.

China, led by a pair of Zhous, put four wrestlers into the finals of the five weight classes at stake on the third day at Kozhomkul Sports Palace, while only two Japanese managed to make it to gold-medal matches.

LEI Chun (CHN) stormed into the 50kg final with a pair of technical falls and will face Vinesh VINESH (IND), a silver medalist a year ago in New Delhi who will aim to become the first Indian woman to win an Asian title.

The other Chinese going for gold will be RONG Ningning (59kg), New Delhi 2017 bronze medalist ZHOU Feng (68kg) and ZHOU Qian (76kg).

The Chinese just missed out on making it 5-for-5, but LUO Lannuan (CHN) lost a heartbreaking 6-5 decision in the 55kg quarterfinals to OH Hyemin (KOR). Oh advanced to the final, where she will face Saki IGARASHI (JPN).

China's showing was not such a surprise to Siemon CHTEREV, a former two-time world medalist from Bulgaria hired six months ago to coach the women's team.

"For our team, this is a good result," Chterev said.

Chterev pointed out that the Chinese women outdid their Japanese counterparts at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in January in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where they came away with five golds, two silvers and a bronze. Among the winners were Rong and Zhou Qian.

Asked if he set a goal for medals in Bishkek, Chterev replied, "I want every time to win a gold medal."

In the finals, Rong will face Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB), while Zhou Feng is pitted against three-time Asian medalist Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL) and Zhou Qian will take on Paris 2017  world bronze medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN).

India's Vinesh provided the surprise of the session when she scraped out a 4x-4 win over former Asian champion Yuki IRIE (JPN). That gave her a measure of revenge for a loss in the New Delhi final to Japan's Yui SUSAKI, who went on to win the world gold in Paris.

Irie, an Asian champion in 2015, had pulled a surprise of her own by beating Susaki at the Japan national championships in December.

Irie and Minagawa are the only national champions on the team to Bishkek, as the Japan federation put priority on the Women's World Cup that the nation will host in mid-March and sent obstensibly a young, second-string team.

Against Vinesh, Irie was the dominant wrestler but fell victim to her own impatience and a fatal error. While trying to finish off a takedown, she attempted for force Vinesh over, but the Indian clamped down on her arm and threw her for a 4-point move.

Irie completed two takedowns in the second period to tie the score at 4-4, but Vinesh thwarted her attempts for a third and held on for a win by criteria.

"The Indian wrestler is strong, but she didn't do anything," Japan women's coach Hideo Sasayama said. "There are not many competitors who do those throws like that. It happened to her this time. This gives her something to reflect on and will be good for her in the end."

While Japan was never likely to approach its showing from New Delhi, where it won five of eight golds with a team that included world and Olympic champions, Sasayama said gaining international experience was also an objective.

"We have young wrestlers and they didn't perform so well, but it becomes a good learning experience," he said. "It gives them something to work on for the next time. For the wrestlers who can still get a medal [tonight], we hope they can finish up with a win."

Women's Wrestling
50kg (12 entries)
Gold - LEI Chun (CHN) v Vinesh VINESH (IND)

Bronze –  Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) v Narangerel ERDENESUKH (MGL)
Bronze – KIM Hyungjoo v Yuki IRIE (JPN)

Semifinal – LEI Chun (CHN) df. Narangerel ERDENESUKH (MGL) by TF, 11-0, 0:34
Semifinal – Vinesh VINESH (IND) df. Yuki IRIE (JPN), 4x-4

55kg (9 entries)
Gold - Saki IGARASHI (JPN) v OH Hyemin (KOR)

Bronze –  Nazgul NURAKHAN (KAZ) v Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL)
Bronze – LUO Lannuan (CHN) v Amina ALIMBETOVA (UZB)

Semifinal – Saki IGARASHI (JPN) df. Nazgul NURAKHAN (KAZ), 3-0
Semifinal – OH Hyemin (KOR) df. Amina ALIMBETOVA (UZB), 3-1

59kg (10 entries)
Gold - Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) v RONG Ningning (CHN)

Bronze –  Sangeeta SANGEETA (IND) v UM Jieun (KOR)
Bronze – Phimsuphak AINPHEN (THA) v Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)

Semifinal – Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) df. UM Jieun (KOR) by TF, 11-1, 3:36
Semifinal – RONG Ningning (CHN) df. Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) by TF, 10-0, 1:53

68kg (9 entries)
Gold - ZHOU Feng (CHN) v Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL)

Bronze –  PARK Sujin (KOR) v Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Bronze –  Divya KAKRAN (IND) v Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)

Semifinal – ZHOU Feng (CHN) df. Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ) by TF, 10-0,
Semifinal – Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 2x-2

76kg (9 entries)
Gold - Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) v ZHOU Qian (CHN)

Bronze –  Chantsalnyamaa AMGALANBAATAR (MGL) v Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Bronze – Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) v HWANG Eunju (KOR)

Semifinal – Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) df. HWANG Eunju (KOR) by TF, 10-0, 1:01
Semifinal – ZHOU Qian (CHN) df. Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ), 2-1

'I was destroyed, couldn't sleep': Ghasempour recalls painful loss to Sadulaev

Monday, March 10, 2025 - 10:53 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 10) -- "I've thought about it a lot. Of course, it's in the past and thinking about it won't change anything. But I've thought a lot about why I made a mistake in those four seconds and I could have managed the wrestling differently and finished it very easily."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) stares at the empty walls of the interview room as he recalls the heartbreaking and shocking 5-3 loss to Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) in the semifinal of the World Championships last October.

The images of Ghasempour holding his head in hands after the loss went viral on social media. Sadulaev was praised for his champion mindset and his ability to script a remarkable late turnaround. Ghasempour was consoled by his fans, who urged him to not lose heart.

Those comforting words felt hollow at that point and Ghasempour felt 'lost'.

"The reality is that the fighting spirit and the feeling I had on the first day of the competition caused all those feelings to disappear and I was destroyed. I couldn't control myself and I just wanted the competition to end and go back," Ghasmepour says, with his voice breaking as he recollects his thoughts.

For 5 minutes and 55 seconds, Ghasempour controlled the 92kg semifinal against Sadulaev, a two-time Olympic champion known for his must-win attitude. A loss would have reinforced the belief that the Sauldaev aura was fading. A win for Ghasempour, a two-time world champion at 92kg, would make him only the third wrestler to beat Sadulaev.

But with five seconds remaining, Sadulaev snapped the Iranian down, spun behind, then managed to fling him to the mat for a 4-point takedown.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), behind, hits the match-winning takedown on Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"It was also very difficult for me to come to terms with the loss," Ghasempour recalls. "After the match, I felt very bad and didn't sleep all night. I was awake from the intensity of thought and pressure, and it was very difficult for me. Due to the pressure I was under, I took four painkillers after the match."

A few hours of sleep was never going to be enough for Ghasempour to return for his bronze-medal bout against David TAYLOR (USA), which he lost 6-2.

Four months have passed since that day in Tirana, a city Ghasempour returned for the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series last week and captured the gold medal. Though not the World Championships and there was no Sadulaev in the field, Ghasempour managed to bring a smile on his face as he stood on the podium.

However, memories flashed back.

"When I was going up to the podium [after winning gold], I thought again that I could have been standing on the Worlds podium a few months ago, not this tournament," he said. "But that's how sports is, and if a professional athlete wants to continue their path, they must know that winning and losing are part of sports."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) won the 92kg gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in February. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Ghasempour did take comfort from the messages he received. Yet, he is unable to move on from those five seconds of lapse in concentration.

"People gave me a lot of good energy and praised me constantly, which shows the kindness of the people," he says. "But what I wanted didn't happen and the result wasn't as I wanted. It would have been better if it ended with a good result."

As the new Olympic cycle begins, Ghasempour wants to make amends. There will be many pit stops before he can be at his first Olympics and he wants to capture every gold medal that comes his way.

"There are three more World Championships left before the Olympics [in 2028]," he says. "The World Championships are very important to me, and after that, it's the Olympic medal that I want to have in my medal showcase. In the year leading up to the Olympics, I will make the decision and compete in a weight class so that I can participate in the Olympics."