#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

#WrestleBaku

Paris Olympic qualification bouts in Women's Wrestling set

Saturday, April 6, 2024 - 05:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (April 6) -- Six Women's Wrestling weight classes will be in action at the European Olympic Games Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday. To win the 12 Paris 2024 quotas, wrestlers have to win the semifinal in their respective weight classes.

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WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 REPORT

Paris 2024 Qualification Bouts Line-Up

50kg
SF 1: Mariya STADNIK (AZE) vs. Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
SF 2: Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN) vs. Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)

53kg
SF 1: Annika WENDLE (GER) vs. Andreea ANA (ROU)
SF 2: Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN) vs. Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)

57kg
SF 1: Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) vs. Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
SF 2: Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) vs. Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN)

62kg
SF 1: Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) vs. Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
SF 2: Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA) vs. Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)

68kg
SF 1: Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) vs. Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
SF 2: Khanum VELIEVA (AIN) vs. Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)

76kg
SF 1: Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA) vs. Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
SF 2: Martina KUENZ (AUT) vs. Yasemin ADAR (TUR)

13:10: In the final bout of the session, Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN) denies Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) a spot in the semifinals at 50kg, beating the Bulgarian 5-4.

13:00: Yasemin ADAR (TUR) is in the semifinal at 76kg. She takes out Rita TALISMANOVAAA (AIN) 11-0 and will wrestle for a Paris spot in the evening session.

12:56: Down goes Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and European silver medalist Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL). Leading 2-1, Nikolova gave up a takedown and Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER) got the 3-2 lead. Nikolova tried to score a reversal but the clock expired. Bulgaria challenged but lost, adding one more point to Paruszewski's score.

12:55: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) takes out Julie SABATIE (FRA) 5-0 in the 50kg quarterfinals and sets up the semifinal against Mariya STADNIK (AZE) for a spot for the Paris Games.

12:53: Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) scores a late takedown to beat Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) 6-6 in the 53kg quarterfinals. She will face Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN) in the semifinals. Malysheva defeated Zynep YETGIL (TUR) 11-0

12:45: Tokyo silver medalist Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN) scores a takedown with 10 seconds left on the clock to beat Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN) 4-2 in the 57kg quarterfinals. Big win for Kurachkina. 

12:37: 51 seconds and we are done! Mariya STADNIK (AZE) rolls to a 10-0 technical superiority over Gabija DILYTE (LTU) in the 50kg quarterfinal. She will face the winner of Oksana LIVACH (UKR) and Julie SABATIE (FRA)

12:35: Moving into the semifinals at 57kg with another dominant victory is Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR). She rolls to a 10-0 win over Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE).

12:20: Dominance from Martina KUENZ (AUT). She beats the European Championships silver medalist Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR) 10-0 in one minute and moves into the 76kg semifinals for tonight. Kuenz last competed at the Bishkek Ranking Series in June 2023.

12:15: European champion at 55kg Andreea ANA (ROU) moves into the 53kg semifinals with a technical superiority 11-0 win over Veronika RJABOVOLOVA (MKD).

12:05: Annika WENDLE (GER) takes out Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN) 2-1 at 53kg. No action points were scored but Wendle got the technical points to move into the semifinals

11:55: How did that happen? Mimi HRITSOVA (BUL) was leading 8-0 when Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) got her in a cradle and pinned Hritsova! The Bulgarian is shellshocked.

11:50: European champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) with a strong gut game to beat Epp MAE (EST) 12-1 at 76kg. Mae will have to try to qualify for the Paris Olympics in Istanbul now.

11:45: Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) doesn't let Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) to take any advantage this time. She avenges her European Championships loss and moves into the semifinals at 62kg with a 9-0 win.

11:35: European silver medalist Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR) was trailing 8-8 on criteria against Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL) but came back to beat her 14-8 at 76kg. She moves into the quarterfinals.

11:30: Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) with a fall over Othelie HOEIE (NOR) in her first bout since the World Championships. Hrushyna was out due to an injury but looks fully recovered 

11:15: Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) sees off Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) 7-1 and moves on at 53kg. She will face Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN) for a semifinal spot.

11:10: Annika WENDLE (GER), down 3-1 with 15 seconds remaining, hits a front headlock for four and gets the win over Jowita WRZESIEN (POL). Wendle avoided an attempted big throw from Wrzesien as well.  

11:00: In a battle of two Tokyo Olympians, Mimi HRITSOVA (BUL) holds off Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) 4-2 to advance at 68kg. Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) beats Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE) 10-3 at 68kg.

10:50: Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL), who is down at 68kg from her usual 72kg weight class, rolls to an 11-0 win over Ilana KRATYSH (ISR). At the same weight, Tokyo Olympian Khanum VELIEVA (AIN) beats Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT) 10-0 in a minute and 15 seconds. 

10:40: Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) gets her campaign underway with a 4-1 win over Eniko ELEKES (HUN) at 62kg. She will now face Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) in the quarterfinals. Lindborg defeated Dudova at the European Championships in February

10:30: Welcome to Women's Wrestling day at the European OG Qualifier in Baku. Can Mariya STADNIK (AZE) be the first woman wrestler to qualify for five Olympics? Will Yasemin ADAR (TUR) earn a qualifying or will we see some historic moments?