BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (August 21) – In winning two gold medals to kick off Freestyle, the United States has taken an early lead in the team race at the U20 World Championships on Friday.
Aeoden SINCLAIR (USA) and Aaron SEIDEL (USA) won gold medals at 61kg and 86kg respectively to give the U.S. 50 team points. The country also has two more finalists on Saturday along with a bronze-medal bout and one wrestlers in repechage.
Seidel, making his international debut, blanked U20 Asian champion Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ), 7-0, in the final which Assambek would think he could have controlled better than Seidel.
Assambek was put on the activity clock in the first period which gave Seidel a 1-0 lead after Assambek failed to score in the 30-seocnd window.
Seidel began the second period with a deep attack but Assambek was quick to throw his legs behind and circled to charge Seidel out of bounds. However, Seidel did not step out and Assambek was called for a stepout which gave 2-0 lead to Seidel.
Around 20 seconds later, Assambek managed to catch Seidel’s leg and drag him towards the zone and thought he scored a stepout. However, it was scored two points for Seidel for a takedown. Kazakhstan challenged the decision and lost it to make the score 5-0.
That exchange broke Assambek’s spirit and he did not wrestle the same way as he was until this exchange. Seidel eventually won 7-0, giving the U.S. the first gold medal.
Sinclair would follow a little later at 86kg, winning despite being thrown for a huge four-pointer at the start of the bout by Akhmad MUKUTOV (RUS).
A minute into the final, Mukutov hit a trip on Sinclair as he was controlling him with an over-under grip. Sinclair survived the fall and then began his comeback against the Russian wrestler.
He lifted Mukutov and planted him out of bounds for one point, and then he caught Mukutov again and scored a takedown to make it 4-3 at the break.
Realizing that Mukutov has a weak leg defense, Sinclair went for it again and scored a stepout. Mukutov was cautioned as he put his hand on Sinclair’s face and neck. The caution point gave Sinclair a 5-4 lead. Another stepout made it 6-4.
Mukutov tried to keep up with Sinclair but his defense was not up to the mark and the U.S. wrestler got on another leg attack. Mukutov tried to defend it by a backflip but Sinclair got the takedown and then defended his lead for the 86kg gold medal.
Bassett, Cortez Enter Final
After the two golds on Friday, the U.S. will have a chance to win two more on Saturday. Bowen BASSETT (USA), a bronze medalist from 2024 U20 World Championships, entered the 65kg final after an incredible run of four wins with two falls and two technical superiority wins.
In the semifinals, he caught Zalimkhan UMAROV (RUS) in a tangle and then pinned the Russian to secure his spot in the final in which he will face Takuto OSEDO (JPN).
The Japanese wrestler was in a tough semifinal against Ivan OKSIUK (POL) but managed to win 6-2.
Cortez entered his second U20 world final but in different style. A silver medalist in Greco-Roman in the 2024 edition, Cortez defeated former U17 world champion Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB), 4-3, with a late takedown.
For the gold medal, Cortez will face 2023 U17 European champion Magomed MAGOMEDOV (RUS) who dished out a 10-3 win.
In a marquee match-up, U20 world champion and Ulaabaatar Ranking Series gold medalist Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) and Asian champion Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) will face off in the 79kg final.
Khaniev blanked Tristan ALEKSANDROV (EST), 10-0, in the semifinal in yet another dominant win. Gharehdaghi had to work hard for his 5-2 win against Ryan BURTON (USA) after trying to keep his 2-2 criteria lead.
Burton tried his best to break the criteria but only managed to catch Gharehdaghi in the final 10 seconds. He tried to throw the Japanese wrestler who blocked him and landed on top for two points and 4-2. The U.S. challenged the call but there was no change in the decision and the lost challenge added one more point to Gharehdaghi’s score.
At 92kg, two-time U20 world bronze medalist Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) entered the final after an 11-0 win over Darius SAS (ROU). For the gold, Rahmani will face former U17 world champion Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO) who held on to a 6-1 lead against Beibarys YERGALI (KAZ).
Freestyle
61kg
GOLD: Aaron SEIDEL (USA) df. Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ), 7-0
BRONZE: Zelimkhan CHANIEV (RUS) df. Itsuki YONASHIRO (JPN), 7-4
BRONZE: Ahora KHATERI (IRI) df. Moses MENDOZA (MEX), 12-7
86kg
GOLD: Aeoden SINCLAIR (USA) df. Akhmad MUKUTOV (RUS), 8-4
BRONZE: Alp Arslan BEGENJOV (TKM) df. Sefa CESUR (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Natsura OKAZAWA (JPN) df. Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ), 10-0
Semifinals
57kg
SF 1: Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) df. Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB), 4-3
SF 2: Magomed MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Nurtilek ZAMIRBEKOV (KGZ), 10-3
65kg
SF 1: Bowen BASSETT (USA) df. Zalimkhan UMAROV (RUS), via fall (2-2)
SF 2: Takuto OSEDO (JPN) df. Ivan OKSIUK (POL), 6-2
79kg
SF 1: Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) df. Tristan ALEKSANDROV (EST), 10-0
SF 2: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) df. Ryan BURTON (USA), 5-2
92kg
SF 1: Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO) df. Beibarys YERGALI (KAZ), 6-1
SF 2: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Darius SAS (ROU), 11-0
