#WrestleAcapulco, #WrestleParis

Seven nations earn Paris 2024 Greco spots at Pan-Am Qualifiers; Julfalakyan falls short

By Gaurav Bhatt

ACAPULCO, Mexico (February 28) -- World champion and 2012 London Olympic silver medalist Arsen JULFALAKYAN's (ARG) quest for his fourth Olympics has fallen short, at least for now.

Julkafalyan, who made the switch from Armenia to Argentina, lost his quarterfinal to Kamal BEY (USA) at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifiers in Acapulco, Mexico only to see Bey lose his semifinal, the Paris Olympics qualification bout, later. 

The opening day of the tournaments saw competitors across six Greco-Roman Olympic weight classes take the mat in a bid to secure a spot for their nations for the upcoming Paris Olympics. The top two wrestlers, or the winners of the semifinals, in each of the 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg weight classes earn a ticket for Paris.

The spotlight initially fell on Julfalakyan. Despite his decorated past and a silver at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix last month, the 36-year-old faced a tough challenge, bowing out in a closely contested 4-2 quarterfinal against Bey. He took the lead but failed to keep up with Bey in the second period.

Bey, a favorite coming into the qualifiers, then lost the semifinal to reigning Pan-Am champion Jair CUERO (COL), 6-4, despite finishing the first period with a 4-0 lead. The Colombian kickstarted his comeback with a sweet counter to a shooting Bey before pulling off two two-point moves. The two had previously met in another tight contest last week in the Pan-Am Championships final, where Cuero held criteria.

In the other semifinal, three-time Pan-American champion Yosvanys PENA (CUB) beat Joilson RAMOS (BRA) 11-1. Pena represented Cuba in the 77kg category at the Tokyo Olympics as well.

The 87kg category witnessed an upset as well with Daniel Gregorich (CUB), a three-time Pan-Am champ, losing his semifinal to Spencer WOODS (USA). Gregorich took a 3-0 lead with a takedown and then a par terre. But as he tried a roll, he got stuck under Woods who held him in danger to earn two points.

Woods — who won the Pan-Am Championships gold last year at 82kg before moving up a division — took a 6-3 win after Gregorich was called for a leg foul when Woods was performing a lift in the second period.

Carlos MUNOZ (COL) decisively beat Luis AVENDANO (VEN) 11-1 in the other semifinal to earn a Paris quota. Munoz countered an arm spin from Avendano to score two points and then lifted him for two more. Avendano was called for a leg foul which gave Munoz a 6-0 lead. He then tried to double-arm throw but fell on his own back to get 4 points.

The United States would have expected a Paris ticket at 67kg from Alejandro SANCHO (USA) but the Pan-Am champion lost the semifinal to Nestor ALMANZA (CHI) 6-1. Sancho — who finished third at his first Pan-Am Championships in 2020 and then secured the 67kg quota for the U.S. at the Olympic qualifier the same week that year — couldn't repeat the success.

The 21-year-old Chilean Almanza, who lost to Sancho in the Pan-Am Championships semifinal last week, dramatically avenged that loss. As Sancho tried to throw him from par terre in the second period, Almanza landed on top and sat on Sancho as the referee called the pin.

The other semifinal saw a battle between former Pan-Am champion and Olympians. Andres MONTANO (ECU), the runner-up from last week, narrowly edged out Julian HORTA (COL) 2-1, to secure a berth in the Paris Games at 67kg.

In the 97kg category, Kevin MEJIA (HON) continued his impressive form, securing a 10-0 victory over Carlos ADAMES (DOM). The three-time Pan-Am champion, who struck gold last week, dispatched his opponent with 15 seconds left in the first period. 

Alan VERA (USA), who finished runner-up at the Pan-Am Championships last week, also clinched his Olympic berth with a solid 7-1 win against Luillys PEREZ (VEN).

The heavyweight 130kg class played out as expected, with veteran Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) and Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) clinching the Olympic berths. 

In a six-man bracket, the wrestlers were divided into groups of three. Acosta emerged as the top wrestler to set up a semifinal against Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) while Schultz topped the other group to get Moises PEREZ (VEN) in the semifinal.

Acosta got the first par terre and rolled Shoghomonyan twice to lead 5-0 which he held till the clock expired to earn the Paris quota. The 35-year-old Cuba-born naturalized Chilean previously finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics.

Schultz, who had two pins in two bouts in the group, beat Perez 2-1 as he scored stepout at the start of the second period to lead 2-0. Perez got the passivity point with a minute 37 seconds left but failed to score any more points.

In the 60kg category, Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) showcased his dominance with a convincing 9-1 victory over Dicther TORO (COL). The 2016 Olympian had won the Pan-Am gold last week. Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB) clinched the second birth with a 10-0 rout of Yerony LIRIA (DOM) in the semifinal. The Cuban also defeated top seed Ildar HAFIZOV (USA), who skipped the Pan-Ams to prepare for the qualifiers.

The qualifiers will continue with six Women's Wrestling weight classes, beginning at 1000 hours local time and Paris qualification semifinals scheduled for 1700 hours local time.

dfg

RESULST

60kg Paris Qualifying Semifinals

SF 1: Jose OROZCO (VEN) df. Hans TORO (COL), 9-1
SF 2: Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB) df. Liria YERONY (DOM), 10-0

67kg Paris Qualifying Semifinals

SF 1: Andres MONTANO (ECU) df. Julian HORTA (COL), 2-1 
SF 2: Almanza NESTOR EVIAN (CHI) df. Alejandro SANCHO (USA), via fall (6-1)

77kg Paris Qualifying Semifinals

SF 1: Flores PENA (CUB) df. Joilson RAMOS (BRA), 11-1
SF 2: Jair CUERO (COL) df. Kamal BEY (USA), 6-4

87kg Paris Qualifying Semifinals

SF 1: Carlos MUNOZ (COL) df. Luis ROJAS (VEN), 11-1
SF 2: Spencer WOODS (USA) df. Daniel GREGORICH (CUB), 6-3

97kg Paris Qualifying Semifinals

SF 1: Alan VERA (USA) df. Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN), 7-1
SF 2: Kevin MEJIA (HON) df. Adames Palmer CARLOS ALBERTO (DOM), 10-0

130kg Paris Qualifying Semifinals

SF 1: Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) df. Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA), 5-0
SF 2: Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) df. Moises PEREZ HELLBURG (VEN), 2-1

Development

Saudi Wrestling Federation growing wrestling through education

By United World Wrestling Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (12 October) – The Saudi Wrestling Federation has been organizing coaching and referee courses to grow and develop wrestling within their country over the past few years. Their hard work led to their first-ever silver medal at the U20 Asian Championships. Manthr Jndu achieved this at 63kg in Greco-Roman.

In late April, they organized two more courses (Level 1 Coaching Course and Introduction to Refereeing Course) for new coaches and referees. The Saudi Wrestling Federation held these courses in partnership with United World Wrestling.  

Mr. Hassan MADANY (EGY) and Mr. Juan Luis MAREN (CUB) conducted the Level 1 Coaching Course, and Mr. Sherif HALAWA (EGY) and Mr. Mohsen YAMANI (KSA—Chief of Saudi Referees) led the Introduction to Refereeing course. The courses were held from 28 April to 2 May and included 91 participants (22 women) from 8 nationalities, including participants from EGY, MAR, SYR, SUD, NGR, JOR, KGZ, and KSA residing in Saudi Arabia.

The coaching course had 71 participants, including 17 women coaches. The Level 1 Course is the Introduction to Coaching and Safety. During the course, the participants participated in theoretical and practical sessions. Some of the topics covered were discovery games, introducing a new technique, coaching skills, giving feedback, risk management, age, and developmental stage characteristics.  The coaches actively practiced and developed their skills during the course through practical evaluations. Overall, the coaches gained important knowledge and skills to help them improve in their role as coaches.  

The Introduction to Refereeing Course had 20 participants, including 5 women referees. The participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee.  The areas covered during the course included the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout.  The participants were active during the course and could practice their skills through practical evaluations. 

During the courses, there were sessions involving both referees and coaches, led by Mr. Halawa. This allowed both groups to work together and better learn wrestling rules.