Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! September 10, 2018

Monday, September 10, 2018 - 11:47 By Eric Olanowski

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Taking a look at Russia's World Championship team and Hancocks throw heard around the world. Also reviewing Poland Open results and next weeks Junior World Championship schedule. 

1. Russia’s World Team Set After Poland Open 
Four Russian wrestlers headed to Warsaw, Poland with hopes of punching their ticket to Budapest, Hungary, but only two left with a spot on the Russian World Team. 

In the 61kg semifinals, Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) beat Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS), 2-1 to claim the World Team spot. 

In the finals, Rashidov shutout Kuat AMIRTAYEV (KAZ), 5-0 to claim the Poland Open gold medal. 

Rashidov, the 2017 world runner-up will represent Russia for the second time on the senior-level and for the sixth time overall. 

At 65kg, Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) won the ticket to Budapest after European runner-up Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) missed weight. 

Chakaev wrestled out the tournament and took first place after Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) injury defaulted out of the gold-medal bout. 

Russia’s World Team 
57kg - Z. UGUEV 
61kg – G. RASHIDOV 
65kg - A. CHAKAEV 
70kg – M. GAZIMAGOMEDOV 
74kg - Z. SIDAKOV 
79kg -  A. GADZHIMAGOMEDOV
86kg - D. KURUGLIEV 
92kg – B. TSAKULOV 
97kg - A. SADULAEV 
125kg – A. KHIZRIEV 

2. Hancock Sticks Four-time World and Olympic Champion ALEKSANYAN 
Tracy HANCOCK (USA) had the most impressive win of his career in the Poland Open semifinals when he stuck four-time world and Olympic champion, Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM). 

Hancock, who is wrestling in his first individual international competition since taking tenth place at the U23 World Championships went big in the opening 20 seconds of the semifinal bout and threw the six-time world and Olympic medalist to his back for the fall. 

Hancock went on to score the 7-0 shutout victory over Bulgaria’s Nikolay BAYRYAKOV (BUL) in the 97kg gold-medal bout. 

3. Suchkov defeats Chamzio, Wins #Korkin2018 Gold 
Nikita SUCHKOV (RUS), the Russian Nationals bronze medalist defeated current World No. 1 and two-time world champion, Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), 5-3, claiming the 74kg Dmitri Korkin gold medal. 

Suchkov, who finished behind Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) and Khetik TSBABOLOV (RUS) at Russian Nationals won the Dmitri Korkin for the second year in a row. 

RESULTS 
57kg 
GOLD - Aylar TYUTRIN (RUS) df. Parviz IBRAGIMOV (AZE), 4-1

61kg
GOLD - Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV (AZE) df. TUVSHINTULGA (MGL), 8-4

65kg
Viktor RASSADIN (RUS) df. TULGA (MGL), 4-2 

70kg
GOLD - Evgani ZHERBAEV (RUS) df. BYAMBADORJ Bat-Erdene (MGL), 8-2

74kg 
GOLD - Nikita SUCHKOV (RUS) df. Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), 5-3

79kg
GOLD - Kakhaber KHUBEZHTY (RUS) df. Jumber KYELASHVILI (GEO), 14-4

86kg 
GOLD - Ahmad BAZRIGHOLEI (IRI) df. Arsenali MUSALALIEV (RUS), 4-3

92kg
GOLD - Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) df. Anzor URISHEV (RUS), 3-3

97kg 
GOLD - NURMAGOMED GADZHIEV (AZE) df. ULZISAIKHAN  Batsul (MGL), 10-0

125kg 
GOLD - Komeil GHASEMI (IRI) df. ZOLBOO (MGL), 2-0 

China's RONG Ningning won her fourth gold medal of the year at the Poland Open. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

4.Rong Wins Second Ranking Series Gold Medal
The final women's wrestling Ranking Series event of the year wrapped up last weekend and China’s RONG Ningning continued her 2018 hot streak and remained undefeated on the year,  winning the 57kg gold medal.

Rong’s win in Warsaw was her second Ranking Series gold medal of the year. She also won the China Open. In addition to her two Ranking Series championships, Rong claimed gold medals at the Ivan Yargin and Asian Championships, while also going undefeated at the World Cup. 

In the 57kg finals, Rong was pitted against Norway’s ninth-ranked Grace BULLEN. Trailing 4-0, the Chinese star went on a 10-0 run and picked up the fall and won her fourth gold medal of the year. 

Women’s Wrestling 
50kg
GOLD -  Mariya STADNIK (AZE) df. Ilona SEMKIV (UKR), 13-2 

53kg
GOLD - Nanami IRIE (JPN) df. Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL), 2-2 

55kg
GOLD -  Roksana ZASINA (POL) df. Tetyana KIT (UKR), 6-2 

57kg 
GOLD - Ningning RONG (CHN) df. Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR), via fall 

59kg
GOLD - Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) df. Marwa AMRI (TUN), 3-2  

62kg 
GOLD - Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) df. Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE), 2-1 

65kg 
GOLD -  Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) df. Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN), 3-2 

72kg
GOLD -  Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) df. Kunming WANG (CHN), via fall 

68kg 
GOLD - Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) df. Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 16-5

76kg 
GOLD - Erica WIEBE (CAN) df. Aline FOCKEN (GER), 7-0 

Click HERE for the full recap

Kamal BEY (USA) and Akzol MAHMUDOV (KGZ) after their epic 2017 finals match-up. (Photo by Marion Stein) 

5. Junior World Championships Are One Week Away 
One week from today, the Junior World Championships will be underway in Trnava, Slovakia. 

Returning Greco-Roman world champions Kamal BEY (USA), Kerem KAMAL (TUR), and Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) kick off the World Championships on Monday, September 17. 

Reigning women's wrestling world champions, Sae NANJO (JPN) and Khanum VELIEVA (RUS), along with reigning senior-level world champion, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) take the mat on Wednesday, September 19.

Daton FIX (USA) and Gable STEVESON (USA), the duo of American freestyle returning champions will close out the 2018 World Championships beginning on Friday, September 21. 

Click HERE for the full schedule

World Championship Lineups 
Freestyle Lineups
Greco-Roman Lineups 
Women's Wrestling Lineups 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday!

2. Happy Monday, wrestling fans. Have a great week. ?: @mokkdiussh1

3. Great match and amazing action all day in Astana!! @unitedworldgrappling ?? -

4. Superman [wrestling version] ? Супермен [борцовская версия] ? ? @krakatauf #wrestling#superman#борьба#дети

5. Viktor LEBEDEV (RUS) / @lebedev57 and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) / @frankchamizo92 in Yakutsk, Russia ?? before the Dmitry Korkin (September 6-8). How many world titles are there between these two? (Lebedev is not wrestling)?: @byastin_news . 

Obituary

Japanese legend and Olympic champ Obara passes away aged 44

Saturday, July 19, 2025 - 11:00 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (July 19) — Legendary Japanese wrestler Hitomi OBARA, the 2012 London Olympic gold medalist at women's 48kg and an eight-time world champion, passed away on Friday, the Japanese media reported on Saturday. She was 44.

The Japan Self-Defense Force Physical Training School, where Obara was a women's coach, said it was withholding the cause of death "out of consideration for the privacy and emotions of the bereaved family," according to The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Obara, the mother of two elementary school-aged children, was a director in the Japan Wrestling Federation, and had just been appointed in June as a coach of the women's national team for the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics along with fellow former Olympic champion Kaori ICHO.

Obara, who won six of her world titles at 51kg under her maiden name of SAKAMOTO, became a model case for the ups and downs of high-level sports and the ability to overcome grave disappointment. Her victory at the London Olympics, at age 31, came after being denied spots on Japan's team at both of the two previous Olympics by fellow legend Saori YOSHIDA.

Born in 1981 in the wrestling hotbed of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, in northern Japan, Obara went on to attend Chukyo University (now Shigakkan), which she helped turn into a national powerhouse along with Yoshida and fellow Hachinohe native Icho.

"It's hard, it's hard, I can't keep from crying," former Shigakkan and national team coach Kazuhito SAKAE was quoted as telling the Japanese media. "She was a wrestling prodigy. At the least, she was a hard worker with a strong sense of responsibility. She was wrestling's heaven-sent child. I still can't believe it." 

Obara won back-to-back world 51kg titles in 1999 and 2000. A serious knee injury would keep her from returning to the world championships until 2005, from which she won four in a row.

In between, she attempted to make the Japanese's squad to the 2004 Athens Olympics, but that dream ended with a loss by fall to Yoshida in the 55kg final at the All-Japan Championships in December 2002. She would only compete once in 2003 before returning in earnest in 2004 and beginning her streak of world titles the following year.

But more disappointment came her way in the qualifying process for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Again it was Yoshida who squashed her dreams, beating her 2-0 (2-0, 4-0) in the 2006 All-Japan final. After the match, Obara sat for hours sobbing in a corner of the warm-up room, a towel draped over her head.

Obara managed to rebound from the defeat to win a playoff for the 51kg spot at the 2007 World Championships, where she won gold No. 5. After adding No. 6 a year later with a run to the gold that included a victory over future Olympic champ Helen MAROULIS (USA), she decided to retire.

But despite all of her success, the lack of a Olympic gold -- or even an appearance, for that matter -- still left a sting that would not abate. That, and the decision of her younger sister Makiko to retire, led her to attempt the difficult path of cutting down to 48kg to make it to London.

Makiko was a world bronze medalist at 48kg in 2005 and 2008, but decided to end her career after placing eighth in 2009. Hitomi had never wanted to displace her sister from the national team, but now the door to 48kg was open.

Her biggest battle may have been with the scale. On the mat, she was as unbeatable as ever, storming to world golds in 2010 and 2011 -- now as Obara after getting married in 2010.

There was one slip-up along the way -- a semifinal loss to So Sim HYANG (PRK) at the 2010 Asian Games that ended her 70-match winning streak in international matches. But she regained her confidence with a decisive win at the All-Japan, and it was with a full head of steam that she headed to the London Olympics, which she had announced would be her swan song.

In London, Obara knocked off defending Olympic champion Carol HUYNH (CAN) in the semifinals before coming from behind in the final to defeat Mariya STADNIK (AZE) 2-1 (0-4, 1-0, 2-0) -- a replay of the gold-medal match at the 2011 worlds.

"If you keep doing what you love and never give up, you can achieve your dream," Obara told students at the junior high school she attended during a visit in January last year.

Upon retiring, Obara joined the staff at the Self-Defense Force Physical Training School, where she was also an officer. Among the members she coached were Haruna MURAYAMA OKUNO, Himeka TOKUHARA and Masako FURUICHI, who all made Japan's team to this year's World Championships.

In 2022, Obara was inducted into UWW's Hall of Fame along with Yoshida and Icho.