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. 

#WrestleIstanbul

Thursday's U17 World Championship semifinals set

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkiye (August 3) --- The fourth day of wrestling at the 2023 U17 World Championships continue with women's wrestling action at 40kg, 46kg, 53kg, 61kg and 69kg. 

The morning session, which starts at 11:00 (local time), will run through the quarterfinals before taking our mid-day break. We'll return at 17:00 for the semifinals, then roll directly into the first set of women's wrestling medal bouts at 18:00.

Thursday's opening session will feature 23 medalists from this year's continental champions, including eight wrestlers who reached the top of the podium at the 2023 Asian, European, African or Pan-American Championships.

Everything you need to know:
📍Istanbul, Turkiye 🇹🇷
🗓️: July 31-August 6
Qualification: 11:00
🥇🥈🥉= 18:00
#️⃣#WrestleIstanbul
🖥️: uww.org 
📱: UWW App

Here's a list of the reigning continental champs in action on Thursday:
40kg - Klara WINKLER (GER)
46kg - Dounia ZITOUNI (ALG)
53kg - Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
61kg - Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (AIN)
61kg - Savita SAVITA (IND)
69kg - Srishti SRISHTI (IND)
69kg - Veronika VILK (CRO)
69kg - Joseth Sasa MAVUNGU (ANG)

Thursday's semifinal matchups:

40kg
Jaclyn Rose BOUZAKIS (USA) vs. Rachana RACHANA (IND)
Koharu AKUTSU (JPN) vs. Klara WINKLER (GER)

46kg
Natsumi MASUDA (JPN) vs. Daniella Tara HOSSEIN BEKY (NOR)
Meiramgul AKHMETZHAN (KAZ) vs. Muskan MUSKAN (IND)

53kg
Olga OVCHINNIKOVA (AIN) vs. Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA) vs. Sakura ONISHI (JPN)

61kg
Konami ONO (JPN) vs. Leah Melina Falkeid SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Haylie Emma JAFFEE (USA) vs. Savita SAVITA (IND)

69kg
Veronika VILK (CRO) vs. Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Srishti SRISHTI (IND) vs. Jasmine Dolores ROBINSON (USA)

13:21: That'll do it for the morning session. I'll update the semifinal matches as soon as the system refreshes. We'll see you back here at 17:00 for the semifinals, then 18:00 for the first set of women's wrestling medal matches. 

13:04: It looks like it'll be a short day. We only have two matches left on each mat before we head into the break.

13:02:  Savita SAVITA (IND) continued her dominance over the field at 61kg. She's scored 29 points in two matches, beating Beyza Nur AKKUS (TUR) and Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ), 13-1 and 16-5, respectively.

12:42: U17 European champion Veronika VILK (CRO) headlocked Karyna FISHCHUK (AIN) in just over a minute and punched her ticket to the semifinal in the most stacked weight class of today, 69kg. She awaits the winner of Evelin UJHELJI (SRB) and Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE).

12:39: Reinging U17 Europaen champion Klara WINKLER (GER) defeated Anel BURKUTBAYEVA (KAZ), 6-1, in the 40kg quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal meeting with the winner of Koharu AKUTSU (JPN) and Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB).

12:14: Despite falling to Olga OVCHINNIKOVA (AIN)Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO) just became the fourth Georgian woman to compete at the U17 World Championships. With all the success Georgia has on the freestyle side of the sport, it's good to see things growing on the women's wrestling side.

11:57: Welcome to the World Championships, Jasmine Dolores ROBINSON (USA). The American just handled Ai SAKAI (JPN), 12-0, in the opening period.

11:53: This crowd has been incredible for the last four days--especially for the Turkish athletes. Elif Sevval KURT (TUR) just brought them to their feet, pinning Ingkar YERGALI (KAZ) in the opening round match at 69kg. She'll wrestle Srishti in the quarterfinals.

11:48: Srishti picked up the easy 10-0 win in 45 seconds, punching her ticket to the 69kg quarterfinals.

11:31: The first of the eight continental champions--Srishti SRISHTI (IND)--is coming up in two matches on Mat A. The reigning U17 Asian champion will wrestle U15 and U17 fifth-place finisher Viktorija IRKLE (LAT).

11:05: The first three matches on each mat are repechage bouts to determine who will compete in tonight's bronze-medal matches. 

10:40: We're 20 minutes away from the first whistles. We'll see you back here shortly.