Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! July 16, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Discussing the four No. 1 seeds that changed hands at the Yasar Dogu, Japan's wrestle-offs, and Wiebe's hot streak. Also looking at results from the Junior Asian Championships and next week's Oleg Karavaev. 

1. Four No. 1 Seeds Change Hands After Yasar Dogu 
Four No.1 seeds changed hands after the final Ranking Series event of the year, the Yasar Dogu, that wrapped up last weekend in Istanbul, Turkey.

Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) and Kyle SNYDER (USA) gained the top spots in freestyle at 74kg and 97kg, respectively, while the Turkish one-two punch of Buse TOSUN (TUR) and Yasemin ADAR (TUR) now control the top seed at 72kg and 76kg, respectively. 

Frank Chamizo, a two-time world champion, came into the Yasar Dogu four points behind reigning world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) but passed the Russian with a runner-up finish in Istanbul. His potential semifinal opponent will be Budapest world runner-up Avtandil KENTCHADZE, who is ranked fourth at 74kg. 

Kyle Snyder sat two points behind rival Abdulrashid SADUALEV (RUS), but grabbed a gold medal last weekend in Turkey and slid ahead of “The Russian Tank” for the top spot at 97kg. 

Buse Tosun was nine points behind reigning world champion Justina DI STASIO (CAN), but collected 14 Ranking Series points, and will be the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world at 72kg. 

Yasemin Adar leaped last year’s world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) for the top spot at 76kg after finished in third place at the Yasar Dogu. Adar will take on Rio Olympic champion and fourth-seeded Erica WIEBE (CAN) in the semifinals if both wrestlers remain undefeated until that point in Nur-Sultan.  Erica WIEBE (CAN) defeated world champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) en route to her Yasar Dogu title. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

2. Wiebe Upends World or Olympic Champion at Third Consecutive Tournament
Canada’s Olympic champion Erica Wiebe defeated 2017 world champion Yasemin Adar and extended her streak to three consecutive tournaments where she’s defeated a world or Olympic champion. Wiebe, the Rio Olympic champion, “upset” now-top-ranked Yasemin Adar, 6-2 in the Yasar Dogu quarterfinals and kept her winning streak over a world or Olympic champion alive.

In the Sassari City Tournament, Wiebe stuck Olympic champion Natalia VOROBIEVA (RUS) in the opening period, then followed that up with a victory over reigning world champion Justina Di Stasio to win the Canada Cup title three weeks ago.

After her quarterfinals win against Adar at this Yasar Dogu, Wiebe defeated No. 2-ranked Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) before closing out the gold-medal bout with a 2-1 victory over Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA). 

The Canadian earned the fourth seed at the World Championships and could meet Yasemin Adar again in the semifinals if the seeds hold true in Nur-Sultan. 

Haruna OKUNO (JPN) will wrestle in a special wrestle-off at 55kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

3. Okuno, Ota Enter Japan World Team Playoffs in Non-Olympic Weights
World champion Haruna OKUNO and Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shinobu OTA, who missed out on places on Japan's team to this year's World Championships in Olympic weight classes, have entered the playoffs for spots in non-Olympic divisions, the Japan Wrestling Federation announced on its website.

Okuno, the world champion last year in Budapest at 53kg, will move up to 55kg---the same weight class she won a world gold at Paris 2017. Okuno was defeated in the Japan team qualifying at 53kg by Mayu Mukaida, the world champion at 55kg who dropped down to the Olympic weight.

Likewise, Asian champion Ota failed to displace 2017 world champion Kenichiro FUMITA at Greco-Roman 60kg, and will now try to make the team at 63kg in the non-Olympic weight playoffs, to be held July 21 at the National Training Center in Tokyo.

Click HERE to see Ken Marantz' full breakdown. 

Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI) was one of six Iranian freestyle wrestlers who reached the top of the podium at the Junior Asian Championships in Chon Buri, Thailand. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

4. Junior Asian Championships Closeout in Chon Buri 
The Junior Asian Championships closed out in Chon Buri, Thailand, and the three-team titles went to Iran in freestyle and Greco-Roman, and Japan in women’s wrestling. 

In freestyle, for the second straight day, Iran won three gold medals, bringing the gold medal haul to six over the two-day freestyle competition. Iran finished with 201 points, 55 points ahead of runner-up Japan. India finished third in the team standings with 129 points.

Iran capped off a dominant performance in Greco-Roman by claiming four more gold medals, bringing their total gold-medal haul in Greco-Roman to seven over two days. 

Iran finished the Greco-Roman competition with 218 points, which was enough to win the team title by 72 points over runner-up Kazakhstan. India finished third in the team standings, one point behind Kazakhstan.

Japan finished the women’s wrestling competition with 200 points and earned medals in all ten weight categories. The medal haul included four gold medals, two silver medals, and four bronze medals. China finished second in the team standings with 157 points, while India was third with 123 points.

Belarus' returning world bronze medalist Viktar SASUNOUSKI will be looking for his third Oleg Karavaev title. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

5. Oleg Karavaev Begins Next Friday
The regular season closes out next week with the final Greco-Roman Ranking Series event, the Oleg Karavaev. The two-day tournament, which will be held in Minsk, Belarus, begins on July 26 and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org

Though they are not official until 24 hours before the tournament begins, the entries for the Oleg Karavaev currently feature nearly 175 wrestlers from 19 different nations. Those entries are scheduled to be released later this week. 

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Ranking Series day three finals set

By Vinay Siwach

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.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

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.