#Grappling

World Grappling Championships: AINs shine, Great Britain wins first-ever gold

By Vinay Siwach

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (October 11) -- Six Individual Neutral Athletes won gold medals in World Grappling Championships in Astana on Friday with Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia winning the remaining three in men's Grappling in Astana.

In women's grappling, the United States won two golds out of five. Spain, Great Britain and one AIN won three other gold medals. Injana GOODMAN (GBR) created history in grappling as she became the first Great Britain athlete to win the World Championships gold medal.

In team rankings, as AIN points are not considered, Kazakhstan won the team title in men's with 84 points. The U.S. finished second with 75 points and Poland finished third with 70 points.

In women's grappling, the U.S. won the team title with 85 points, well clear of second-placed Poland which could only get 56 points. Spain was third with 46 points.

RESULTS

Men's Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Farhad BAGIROV (AZE) df. Illia SVIATUN (UKR), via submission (9-0)

BRONZE: Alikhan ALSHINBAY (KAZ) df. Bohdan CHORNEI (UKR), 8-6
BRONZE: Jerzy IZDEBSKI (POL) df. Denis BEENEN (CAN), via submission (0-2)

62kg
GOLD: Magomedbek TEMEEV (AIN) df. Ruslan RADZHABKHANOV (AIN), 3-3

BRONZE: Arulan KURMANALIYEV (KAZ) df. Loris ZANOLINI (ITA), 3-3
BRONZE: Mayis NERSESYAN (ARM) df. Mykola NYKYFORUK (UKR), 6-2

66kg
GOLD: Bakhtiiar IAKHIEIAEV (AIN) df. Syimyk MAKHMEDOV (KGZ), 5-0

BRONZE: Bekzat KAPASHOV (KAZ) df. Vincenzo BUSSOLOTTI (ESP), 4-3
BRONZE: Yurii CHERKALIUK (UKR) df. Artur AGASHIRINOV (AIN), 2-2

71kg
GOLD: Gasan TEMEEV (AIN) df. Nico PULVERMUELLER (GER), 5-0

BRONZE: Jedrzej LOSKA (POL) df. Baiastan OROLBEK UULU (KGZ), 6-2
BRONZE: Nurbek TALBUDIN (KAZ) df. Iker CAMARA (ESP), 2-2

77kg
GOLD: Dumitru CEBAN (MDA) df. Arthur LEROY (FRA), 5-4

BRONZE: Efgan GALOEV (AIN) df. Shamil KUMRATOV (AIN), via submission (11-0)
BRONZE: Sam Eli SCHWARTZAPFEL (USA) df. Kamil ROSIAK (POL), 3-0

84kg
GOLD: Murad ABDULATIPOV (AIN) df. Pawel JAWORSKI (POL), 2-1

BRONZE: Ruslan VALIEV (FRA) df. Jay HILDRETH (USA), 4-2
BRONZE: Maxim COTE (CAN) df. Igor DZIAG (POL), 2-1

92kg
GOLD: Alibek SULEIMANOV (AIN) df. Amirani SVIMONISHVILI (GEO), 5-1

BRONZE: Mantas DAUBLYS (LTU) df. Joris ROOKHUIJZEN (NED), 0-0
BRONZE: Imran KHAMIDOV (AIN) df. Wilfried EDMUND (FRA), via submission (5-0)

100kg
GOLD: Aleksandre TEVZADZE (GEO) df. Henry ZACHARY (USA), 2-2

BRONZE: Ivan MALIN (UKR) df. Kamil WOJCIECHOWSKI (POL), 3-2
BRONZE: Islam ASKHABOV (AIN) df. Roman LUKASHEVICH (AIN), via walkover

130kg
GOLD: Khamzat STAMBULOV (AIN) df. John HANSEN (USA), 7-5

BRONZE: Nasrutdin DZHAFAROV (AIN) df. Yerlan SHAKISHOV (KAZ), 6-2
BRONZE: Travis CLARK (USA) df. Amir Ali FARHADPOR (IRI), via submission (4-0)

Injana GOODMAN (GBR)Injana GOODMAN (GBR), second from left, became the first-ever gold medals from Great Britain in World Grappling Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Women's Grappling

53kg
GOLD: Carlota PRENDES LARIOS (ESP) df. Alicja STYPULKOWSKA (POL), via submission (2-1)

BRONZE: Anorbi GRISHINA (AIN) df. Yuliia ZASULSKA (UKR), via submission (9-1)
BRONZE: Polina KRUPSKAIA (AIN) df. Breanna STIKKELMAN (USA), 2-2

58kg
GOLD: Alexandria ENRIQUEZ (USA) df. Nuraiym MUNAITBAS (KAZ), via submission (2-0)

BRONZE: Minerva MONTERO PEREZA (ESP) df. Tetiana ASTAKHOVA (UKR), 6-0
BRONZE: Nikolett KIS (HUN) df. Rachel GUTIERREZ (USA), via submission (3-0)

64kg
GOLD: Injana GOODMAN (GBR) df. Ekaterina PLITKINA (AIN), via submission (2-2)

BRONZE: Alycia QUENEE (FRA) df. Viktoriia PANCHENKO (UKR), via submission (2-1)
BRONZE: Sheliah LINDSEY (USA) df. Giulia RODIO (ITA), via submission (6-0)

71kg
GOLD: Anna REMNEVA (AIN) df. Sandra TRIEBEL (GER), via submission (3-2)

BRONZE: Emily GUENZLER (GER) df. Valeriia PROKOPIUK (UKR), 12-0
BRONZE: Weronika ROT (POL) df. Christina HANSEN (USA), via submission (6-0)

90kg
GOLD: Kendall REUSING (USA) df. Vlada BOIAKHCHIEVA (AIN), via submission (6-0)

BRONZE: Alena VLASOVA (AIN) df. Annabelle BOURGAULT (CAN), in overtime
BRONZE: Justyna SITKO (POL) df. Aikorkem IKHSANOVA (KAZ), via submission (9-0)

#WrestleParis

Wrestling at Paris 2024: Tazhudinov vs Snyder in semis

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

PARIS (August 10) -- Wrestling at Paris enters its penultimate day with Freestyle in 65kg and 97kg and women's wrestling in 76kg. More medals to be won at the Olympics.

LIVE MATCH ORDER | PARIS 2024 DAY 5

13:48: Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) avenges a loss to her predecessor as world champion, Yasemin ADAR (TUR), at the 2022 World Championships, holding on for a 3-0 victory to gain a spot in the women's 76kg semifinals. Kagami gains an activity point in the first period, then connects on a single-leg attempt for a takedown. She then fends off all of Adar's attacks to keep alive her gold-medal hopes.

13:30: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) seems to have recovered from that hectic opening bout against Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI). He casually beats Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) 14-2 in the quarterfinal. He will have a tough one in the semifinal -- Kyle SNYDER (USA).

13:24: Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) posts a dramatic 6-3 victory over Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) to advance to the women's 76kg semifinals and move a step closer to making Colombian history. Renteria gives up a go-ahead takedown in the second period, but comes back with a stepout and takedown to take a 5-3 lead. She then holds out against a single-leg attempt by Enkh Amar to clinch the victory. The Mongolian side challenges, but it is denied. Renteria is looking to join two-time Olympic bronze medalist Jackeline RENTERIA (COL) as Colombia's lone Olympic medalist in wrestling.

13:26: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) is looking particularly sharp at freestyle 65kg. He comes out like a buzzsaw in his quarterfinal against Islam DUDAEV (ALB), who has no answer as the Iranian chalks up three stepouts and two takedowns in the first period, and two stepouts and a clinching takedown in the second for an 11-0 victory.

13:23: Kennedy BLADES (USA) survives a tough battle with Milsimy MARIN (CUB), advancing to the women's 76kg semifinals with a 4-3 win. Blades goes ahead 2-1 in the second period with a stepout while on the activity clock, then makes it 4-1 by stuffing a takedown attempt by Marin for 2. But Marin scores a takedown in the final 10 seconds, and Blades does all she can to keep from being turned out.  

13:20: Kyle SNYDER (USA) with a fall! Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB) kept him under control for some time but Snyder dumps him and holds him on the edge before a fall at the start of the second period.

13:14: In a testy freestyle 65kg quarterfinal between two longtime foes, Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) gets a 4-point takedown en route to a 10-3 victory over Haji ALIYEV (AZE). Musukaev clinched the win with a slick ankle pick for a takedown.  

13:10: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) holds on for a 1-1 victory on last-point criteria over REETIKA (IND) in a women's 76kg quarterfinal limited to activity points. On the clock in the second period, Reetika came close to getting a clinching takedown, but Medet Kyzy managed to keep her from completing the move. 

13:00: World champion Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), looking to give powerhouse Japan its first-ever gold medal in the heaviest women's weight class, gets an activity point in the first period and a stepout in the second while on the clock to defeat Genesis REASCO  (ECU) 2-0 and fill the final women's 76kg quarterfinal spot.

13:00: Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) reaches the semifinal at 97kg after a 7-2 win over Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL).
      
12:59:
Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) chalks up a dramatic and at times acrobatic 8-6 victory over Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) to advance to the freestyle 65kg semifinals. Kiyooka gets a pair of 2-point exposures in a scramble off his single-leg attempt, then transitions to a lace lock for 2 more. Rivera comes back with a takedown to cut the lead to 6-2 at the break. In the second period, Rivera successfully counters a low single for a 2-point exposure, but Kiyooka gets an exposure on his next takedown attempt. Rivera scores a final takedown, which he completes despite a balletic flip by Kiyooka, in an attempt to escape the hold.12:48: A dramatic win on Mat A for Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) and he's into the freestyle 65kg semifinals. After giving up a 4-point takedown to Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), he gradually cuts the lead, finally going ahead with a spin-behind takedown with :12 left. An unsuccessful challenge makes it a 7-5 win.

12:47: Tokyo bronze medalist Yasemin ADAR  (TUR) trails 2-2 on criteria when she scores three takedowns in the final minute for a 6-2 win over Justina DI STASIO (CAN), a world champion in 2018 who was making a long-awaited Olympic debut.  

12:47: World champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) with a huge comeback in the second period to move into the quarterfinals. Tazhudinov was down 2-0 against Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) at the break and then 3-0 with 90 seconds left. But Azarpira could not hold for the final 40 seconds and gave up two takedowns to go down 4-3.

12:35: World 72kg silver medalist Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) bulls Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) backward for a takedown with 10 seconds left that clinches a 5-2 victory over at women's 76kg.

12:34: Two-time Asian champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) gets two takedowns in the first period then scores with stepouts in the second in a comfortable 8-0 win over world 70kg champion Zain RETHERFORD (USA) in the final first-round match at freestyle 65kg.

12:24: World bronze medalist Tatiana RENTERIA (COL), who also dabbles in beach wrestling, dug herself out of a 4-point hole against Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) to advance to the women's 76kg quarterfinals with an 8-4 win.

12:23: Japan-born Gaku AKAZAWA (SAM), who received Samoan citizenship in time to become just the second wrestler in the Pacific island nation's history to qualify for the Olympics, gets a rough intro to the Olympic level when he is dealt a 10-0 loss by Islam DUDAEV (ALB) at freestyle 65kg.

12:18: Tempestuous Tokyo silver medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE) keeps Austin GOMEZ (MEX) at bay and advances at freestyle 65kg with a safe 7-0 victory. Aliyev leads 2-0 in the second period when he chalks up two takedowns and a stepout at the buzzer.

12:14: Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB) works his way to a slow but controlled 5-0 win over Erik THIELE (GER). He will face Snyder in the next bout.

12:14: There is a delay on Mat B as Catalina AXENTE (ROU) continues to receive treatment on her neck. She is taken off on a stretcher to respectful applause from the crowd.

12:07: Awusayiman HABILA (CHN) would be proud of his four-point counter against Kyle SNYDER (USA) but the returning silver medalist from America breaks Habila and goes on to win 9-5 in the opening 97kg bout for Snyder.

12:06: Reigning world champion and two-time world bronze medalist Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) gets a slow start, taking a 1-0 lead into the second period at freestyle 65kg against Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ). But a second-period takedown opens the door for a series of gut wrenches that give him an 11-0 win.

12:05: Kennedy BLADES (USA), who defeated six-time world champion and Tokyo silver medalist Adeline GRAY (USA) at the U.S. trials, gets her Olympic debut off to a roaring start, but a painful one for Catalina AXENTE (ROU). After an opening takedown, Blades connects with a 4-point takedown to take a 6-0 lead into second period. It is then she hits a back suplex for which any Greco wrestler would be proud for 5.

11:46: World U23 champion REETIKA (IND) uses her counter lifts to great advantage and advances at women's 68kg with a 12-2 win over Bernadett NAGY (HUN).

11:45: Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) gives up an opening takedown to Georgii OKOROKOVV (AUS), then takes control of their freestyle 65kg clash. Rivera scores a takedown and two gut wrenches, then another takedown and two tilts for a 12-2 win.

11:43: European champion Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) has little trouble seeing off Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA) at 97kg. Top counter game from Matcharashvili who has a really good chance to be in the final here.
      
11:41: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), who dethroned Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) as national freestyle 65kg champion and earned his ticket to Paris at the Asian Qualifier, showed no fear in his first major senior tournament, rolling to a 10-0 victory over 2021 European bronze medalist Maxim SACULTAN (MDA). Kiyooka follows his third takedown with two rolls to end the match with three seconds to spare in the second period.

11:36: Asian champion Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), a fifth-place finisher at the Tokyo Olympics, executes a classic counter-lift for 2, then twists around to put Juan WANG (CHN) onto her back for 2 more. Wang gets an activity point in the second period, but falls well short in a 4-1 scoreline in their women's 76kg clash.

11:35: Two-time Asian silver medalist Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) gets an activity point and takedown in the first period, and he goes on to a 5-0 victory at freestyle 65kg over 35-year-old Alejandro VALDES (CUB), a two-time Olympian who won consecutive world bronze medals in 2017-18.

11:30: World silver medalist Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) with a nice warm-up win over Luis PEREZ SOSA (DOM) at 97kg. Perez Sosa is the first ever freestyle wrestler from Dominica to be at the Olympics.

11:26: Ana GODINEZ  (CAN) scores a takedown while on the activity clock in the first period, and that's enough to defeat Kriszta INCZE (ROU) 2-0 in the second repechage at women's 62kg.  She will face Grace BULLEN (NOR) for the bronze.

11:24: World bronze medalist Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) gets a pair of takedowns in the second period to finish up an 11-0 victory over  Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO) in 4:45 of the opening match at freestyle 65kg.

11:20: Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) is into the bronze medal bout after missing out on it twice before at the Olympics. He pins Amarveer DHESI (CAN) at 125kg. In the second 125kg repechage, Robert BARAN (POL) gives himself a chance to win a bronze after he beats Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)

11:16: A women's 62kg repechage match starts the action on Mat B, Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) gets a takedown with 1:02 left to defeat Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) 3-2 in a clash of former world champions.  Purevdorj will face Tokyo silver medalist and reigning world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) for a bronze medal.

11:15: The last full morning session on Mat A starts with a 74kg repechage match between Tokyo silver medalist Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN) and four-time reigning European champion Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK). An earlier defensive exposure and a key takedown with a minute to go give Kadzmihamedau a 6-6 victory on big-point criteria. Because 74kg had 18 entries and there was a preliminary round, Kadzmihamedau will have another repechage match later in the session against Chermen VALIEV (ALB) for a place in the bronze-medal match.

11:00: Welcome to Paris 2024! We have a few big matches coming on the last full day of wrestling at the Champs de Mars Arena.