BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 16) -- By Ranking Series standards, the celebrations by David LOSONCZI (HUN) after winning the 87kg final was a little overboard.
Winning a gold medal at home deserved a celebration and Losonczi did not sober down. He backflipped after making a mockery of Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) in the final.
Losonczi would later explain that by winning the gold medal at the Budapest Ranking Series on Sunday, he confirmed his spot on the Hungary team for the World Championships in the 87kg weight class.
He was one of the two Hungary wrestlers to confirm the spot with Tamas LEVAI (HUN) also booking a spot by winning the 97kg gold medal at home.
Out of the seven Greco-Roman weight classes in action on Sunday in Budapest, five were Olympic weights. Apart from 87kg and 97kg, wrestlers at 67kg, 77kg and 130kg categories were also in action.
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) won the 67kg gold medal and compatriot Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) won the gold medal at 77kg. Iran's Amir GHASEMI (IRI) won the gold medal at 130kg.
Losonczi's win was one of the highlights of the tournament as he scored 41 points in five bouts while not giving up a single point. He won four of his five bouts, including the final, via technical superiority.
Wrestling Novikov in the final, Losonczi scored a takedown 30 seconds into the bout. A stepout made it 3-0 and a failed front headlock-to-throw attempt from Novikov added two more points to his score.
With a 5-0 lead, Losonczi remained relentless and continued his attacks. Novikov seemed to be figuring out what was going on in the bout when Losonczi scored another stepout to lead 6-0 in a minute and 33 seconds.
The referee called Novikov for inactivity and Losonczi got a point and par terre advantage. All he had to do to win the match was turn Novikov for two points. Losonczi got a roll from par terre with ease and jumped around celebrating the win.
In his earlier bouts, Losonczi had beaten Sanghyeok PARK (KOR) and Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) 9-0, Fei PENG (CHN), 8-0, in the quarterfinal, and Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) 6-0 in the semifinal.
Levai too broke out in a small dance after he defeated Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) to win the gold medal at 97kg.
The 24-year-old won the U23 World Championships in 2021 at 77kg and has been jumping weight classes since. He won bronze medals at the 2022 World and European Championships at 82kg and debuted at 97kg at the 2023 Zagreb Open.
At the European Championships in Zagreb in April, Levai competed at 97kg and finished seventh. However, gold in Budapest has made him a dark horse at this weight class.
In front of his home crowd, Levai defeated Mathias BAK (DEN) 5-0 in his opening bout and won 4-1 against Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO) to move into the quarterfinals in which he defeated Seyeol LEE (KOR) 8-0. Daniel GASTL (AUT) was the next to fall as Levai won the semifinal 7-1.
Kakhelashvili got the first par terre advantage but he failed to score any points from there. Just before the break, Kakhelashvili was penalized for blocking Levai's face with open hands. Levai went into the break leading 2-1.
The lead extended to 3-1 when Kakhelashvili was called passive but Levai failed to inflict further damage.
However, the gold was enough for Levai to book a spot for the World Championships where he will hope to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At 67kg, Jafarov was at his absolute best and won the gold medal, putting behind his 20th-place finish at the Zagreb Open in February.
The bronze medalist from the 2022 World Championships, defeated Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) 12-3 before a 3-1 win over Mihai MIHUT (ROU) helped him reach the semifinal against Hansu RYU (KOR).
A reverse lift for four after par terre and solid defense, when he was put in par terre, helped him beat Ryu 5-1 and book his place in the final against Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO).
Jafarov had no trouble in beating Khetsuriani 6-1 in the final to win the gold medal.
“I prepared a lot for this tournament because the World Championships is approaching and we need to prepare for it,” Jafarov said. “This tournament is perfect to prepare for the World Championships which will offer the Paris Olympics quotas.”
While he was satisfied with his performance, Jafarov thought he could have added more attacks during his bouts.
“I would have liked to attack more in this tournament but I was a little tired here. But I'll be better at the World Championships,” he said.
The former U20 and U23 world champion was wearing a new “buzzcut” and had a heavily strapped neck and shoulder. He, however, said that there was nothing to worry about.
“No injuries,” he said. “This is my new [hair] style. I have a new haircut because I was outside Baku so I thought I can change a little.”
RESULTS
67kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO), 6-1
BRONZE: Hansu RYU (KOR) df. Mihai MIHUT (ROU), 4-1
BRONZE: Lei LI (CHN) df. Alejandro SANCHO (USA), 1-1
72kg
GOLD: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. Levente LEVAI (HUN), 8-3
BRONZE: Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Daniyar KALENOV (KAZ), 6-1
77kg
GOLD: Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) df. Kamal BEY (USA), 4-1
BRONZE: Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI) df. Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), 1-1
BRONZE: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) df. Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN), 7-0
82kg
GOLD: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Mihail BRADU (MDA), 3-1
BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Spencer WOODS (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Kristoffer BERG (SWE) df. Peter DOEMOEK (HUN), 7-1
87kg
GOLD: David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), 9-0
BRONZE: Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 3-1
BRONZE: Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 3-2
97kg
GOLD: Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 3-1
BRONZE: Daniel GASTL (AUT) df. Mathias BAK (DEN), 6-1
BRONZE: Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Felix BALDAUF (NOR), 6-1
130kg
GOLD: Amir GHASEMI (IRI) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 3-1
BRONZE: Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN) df. Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN), 2-0
BRONZE: Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) df. Dariusz VITEK (HUN), 3-0
