#Trnava2018

India Inserts Trio into #Trnava2018 Greco-Roman Semifinals

By Eric Olanowski

TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 17) – The biggest surprise of the opening round at the #Trnava2018 2018 Junior World Championships was India inserting three wrestlers into tonight’s Greco-Roman semifinals. 

Led by last year’s Tampere bronze medalist Sajan SAJAN (IND), along with Vijay VIJAY (IND) and Sagar SAGAR (IND), India wrap up the first session that saw seven wins and only two defeats. 

Sajan, one of four returning 74kg Junior World medalists, will compete against Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR) in the 77kg semifinals. The winner of that bout will have the opportunity to wrestle against the winner of reigning world champion Kamal BEY (USA) and Russia’s Islam OPIEV for the gold medal. 


Kamal BEY (USA), reigning World champion looks for a life in the opening round of the 2018 Junior World Championships. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

Bey, arguably the most electrifying Junior wrestler in the world, made the semifinals with an opening round technical superiority victory that was followed by two falls. 

Opiev, one of three Russians to make the semifinals stunned the Trnava crowd, upsetting reigning World runner-up Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), 1-1 in the 77kg quarterfinals. Opiev’s win stopped the potential 74kg rematch of last year’s Tampere World Championships between Bey and Makhmudov, a match that United World Wrestling voted as the No. 2 Greco-Roman match of the year. 

Iran became the third nation to insert three wrestlers into semifinals with quarterfinal wins from Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI) (55kg), Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) (130kg), and Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) (87kg). 

Semifinal action will resume tonight at 18:00. 

SEMIFINALS 
55kg
Nurtazin KERIMBERDI UULU (KGZ) vs. Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI) 
Vijay VIJAY (IND) vs. Tigran MINASYAN (ARM)

63kg
Azamat KAIROV (RUS) vs. Erbol BAKIROV (KGZ) 
Sagar SAGAR (IND) vs. Hassan Hassan MOHAMED (EGY)

77kg
Kamal Ameer BEY (USA) vs. Islam OPIEV (RUS) 
Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR) vs. Sajan SAJAN (IND)

87kg 
Ilia ERMOLENKO (RUS) vs. Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) 
Nazarshah FATULLAYEV (AZE) vs. Ramon Rainer BETSCHART (SUI)

130kg 
Cohlton Michael SCHULTZ (USA) vs. David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Beka MAKARIDZE (GEO) vs. Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)

#Trnava2018

Russia Reels in Trio of Golds, Leads USA Heading into Final Day

By Eric Olanowski

TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 22) – The Russian national anthem played three times on the sixth day of wrestling at the 2018 Junior World Championships after Russia won a trio of gold medals, taking a 31 point lead over the United States into the final day of wrestling in Trnava, Slovakia. 

Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS) won Russia’s first gold medal of the night, scoring the 12-1 technical superiority victory over India’s 2018 junior Asian runner-up, Naveen NAVEEN in the 57kg gold-medal bout. 

Idrisov, the younger brother of 57kg Russian National champion, Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS), scored the bouts opening takedown, but only led 2-1 after giving up a reversal.

Midway through the opening period, there was a brief break in the action because Idrisov’s left ear busted wide open. The medical staff wrapped his head up, and wrestling continued. When action resumed, Idrisov extended his lead to 4-1 with a low ankle attack, coming out the back door, picking up two exposure points. After trading stepouts, Idrivsov again went back to his low-level attack, stretching his lead to 7-1.  

A front-headlock roll-through and a lost Indian challenge brought the score to 10-1, which is when Idrisov began celebrating, thinking the match was over, but he was only up by nine points. 

The first time junior world champion ended the match, scoring two points off a swing single, handing Russia their first championship of the night. 

At 65kg, Saiyn KAZYRYK (RUS) came from behind, grabbing a takedown with 10 seconds left to defeat Iran’s 2016 cadet world champion, Amirhossein MAGHSOUDI, 7-6. 

Kazyryk and Maghsoudi traded takedowns in the first period, but it was Maghsoudi who took the 2-2 lead on criteria into the second period. 

In a back and forth second period, Kazyryk grabbed the 4-2  lead with an exposure, but quickly gave up the reversal and remained in front, 4-3. Between a pair of Maghsoudi takedowns, Kazyryk scored two exposure and trailed 6-5 with 10 seconds left. Kazyryk seized the 7-6 lead with 10 seconds to go, winning Russia’s second gold medal of the day. 

The 97kg gold-medal bout only lasted 2:13, as Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (RUS), cruised past Zachery ELAM (USA), 11-0 to give Russia their third gold medal of the night.

 

The final two non-Russia gold medals went Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) and Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN). 

Khadzhimurad Gazhiyev stopped Russia from winning their third straight gold medal of the night, passing Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS), 4-3 in the 70kg finals. Gadzhiyev trailed 3-0 and scored four unanswered points to win his first junior world gold medal. 

In the 79kg gold medal match that saw 21-points, Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) stole the gold medal from last year’s cadet world champion, Aaron BROOKS (USA), scoring two-exposure points as time ran out to win 11-10. 

The last session of the 2018 Junior World Championships begin on Sunday night at 18:00.

RESULTS 

TEAM SCORES 
GOLD – Russia (105 points)
SILVER – United States (74 points)
BRONZE – Azerbaijan (46 points)
Fourth – Iran (44 points)
Fifth – Ukraine (44 points)

57kg
GOLD -Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS) df. Naveen NAVEEN (IND), 12-1 

BRONZE -Daton Duain FIX (USA) df. Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ), 10 - 0
BRONZE - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Hyeonsu CHO (KOR)

65kg 
GOLD - Saiyn KAZYRYK (RUS) df. Amirhossein Azim MAGHSOUDI (IRI), 8-7 

BRONZE - Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA) df. Fati VEJSELI (MKD), 15 - 5
BRONZE - Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) df. Kuanysh DUISENKUL (KAZ), 8-2 

70kg
GOLD -  Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS), 4-3  

BRONZE - Brady Gary BERGE (USA) df. Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM), 1 - 1
BRONZE - Vasile DIACON (MDA) df. Amirhossein Morteza Gholi KAVOUSI (IRI)

79kg          
GOLD - Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) df. Aaron Marquel BROOKS (USA), 11-10 

BRONZE - Adlan BATAIEV (UKR) df. Aslanbek GVARAMIIA (RUS), 10 - 0
BRONZE - Orkhan ABASOV (AZE) df. Andrian GROSUL (MDA)

97kg
GOLD - Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Zachery Samuel ELAM (USA), 11-0 

BRONZE - Zuriko URTASHVILI (GEO) df. Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR), 9 - 3
BRONZE - Serik BAKYTKHANOV (KAZ) df. Hyunsu HAN (KOR), 12-8