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Ziolkowski Tournament Adds Final Touches to Pre-Worlds FILA Rankings in Freestyle

By William May



CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 2) – After a hectic June and July, the Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial wrestling tournament added the final touches to the FILA World Rankings for freestyle in the lead-up to the Senior Wrestling World Championships in Tashkent.



Russia sent its top world team candidates, including reigning world champions Khadshimourad GATSALOV (RUS) and Bekhan GOIGEREEV (RUS) to Dabrowa in southern Poland for their final tune-up before the September 8-14 world meet.



Nearly 120 wrestlers from 21 countries, including Iran, Turkey and Belarus took part in this last major test before the world championships.



Gatsalov, who had not wrestled internationally since last September, won at 125kg to vault to No.4 in the rankings after having dipped to No.12 over the summer. The 31-year-old warrior will seek a sixth world title in Tashkent and will likely have to face top-ranked European champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) in his quest.



Goigereev, meanwhile, lost in the 61kg final to Aleksander BOGOMOEV (RUS) for his third straight runner-up finish in 2014. With the win, Bogomoev validated his selection to the Russian world team and will be among the favorites at 61kg.



European champions Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS) and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) won at 65kg and 85kg, with Sadulaev nailing down his position as top favorite at 85kg in Tashkent.



Despite Kurbanaliev’s win, however, Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) secured his ticket to Taskhent at 65kg with a win at 70kg. Ramonov, a bronze medal winner at the Yarygin Grand Prix in January, joins the 65kg rankings at No.13.



Jumber KVELASHVILI (GEO) and Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) broke up the Russian monopoly at the top of the medals podium. Kvelashvili went from unranked to No.10 at 74kg while Odikadze made his rankings debut at No.12 at 97kg.



Entries in the rankings are listed by name, country code, most recent or most significant result in the last 12 months, and ranking the previous month.





57kg – Two-time former world champion Viktor LEBEDEV (RUS) fell to teammate Aleksander BOGOMOEV (RUS) in the 61kg semifinals at the Ziolkowski Memorial, but firmed up his No.2 position in the 57kg rankings.



Asian bronze medal winner Fumitaka MORISHITA (JPN) slumped to sixth in the rankings with a ninth-place finish in Poland while 2010 Youth Olympic Games gold medalist Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) broke into the rankings at No.18 as the Ziolkowski runner-up.



1. Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) – GGP Final No.1 (1)



2. Viktor LEBEDEV (RUS) – World Cup No.1 (2)



3. Akhmednabi GVARZOTILOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.2 (5)



4. Rasul KALIEV (KAZ) – Asia No.1 (3)



5. Hassan RAHIMI (IRI) – World Cup No.2 (6)



6. Fumitaka MORISHITA (JPN) – University No.1 (4)



7. Amit KUMAR (IND) – Commonwealth Games No.1 (8)



8. ERDENEBAT Bekhbayar (MGL) – German GP No.1 (7)



9. DAMDINBAZAR Tsogtbaatar (MGL) – Asia No.2 (9)



10. Samat NADYRBEK UULU (KGZ) – Asia No.3 (10)



11. Artyom GEBEKOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (11)



12. Zoheir EL OUARRAQE (FRA) – German GP No.3 (12)



13. Andrei DUKOV (ROU) – Dan Kolov No.3 (13)



14. Garik BARSEGHYAN (ARM) – Europe No.3 (15)



15. Sezer AKGUL (TUR) – Yasar Dogu No.3 (16)



16. Vladislav ANDREEV (BLR) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.3 (19)



17. Ghenadi TULBEA (MON) – Europe No.2 (14)



18. Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.2 (not ranked)



19. Yashar ALIEV (AZE) – GGP Final No.3 (17)



20. Welson EBIKEWENIMO (NGR) – Africa No.1 (nr)





61kg – Aleksander BOGOMOEV (RUS) won his third international title of 2014 with a 4-0 win over 2013 world champion Bekhan GOIGEREEV (RUS) and edged up to No.3 in the rankings. Goigereev, meanwhile, who had slipped 10 places since starting the year at No.1, rebounded to No.5.



Muenir Recep AKTAS (TUR), second to top-ranked Haji ALIEV (AZE) at Dan Kolov in February, broke into the rankings at No.14 after finishing behind Bogomoev and Goigereev in Poland.





1. Haji ALIEV (AZE) – GGP Final No.1 (1)



2. Masoud ESMAILPOUR (IRI) – Asia No.1 (2)



3. Aleksander BOGOMOEV (RUS) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.1 (4)



4. Vladimir DUBOV (BUL) – GGP Final No.2 (5)



5. Bekhan GOIGEREEV (RUS) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.2 (11)



6. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) – GGP Final No.3 (6)



7. Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ) – Asia No.3 (7)



8. Murshid MURTALIMOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (3)



9. Behnam EHSANPOUR (IRI) – Ali Aliev No.3 (8)



10. ENKHSAIKHAN Nyam-Ochir (MGL) – Yasar Dogu No.2 (10)



11. David TREMBLAY (CAN) – Commonwealth Games No.1 (12)



12. Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) – Commonwealth Games No.2 (13)



13. Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) – German GP No.1 (9)



14. Muenir Recep AKTAS (TUR) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.3 (nr)



15. Noriyuki TAKATSUKA (JPN) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.5 (20)



16. Andrei PERPELITA (MDA) – Europe No.3 (14)



17. James KENNEDY (USA) – Yasar Dogu No.1 (15)



18. TUMENBILEG Tuvshintulga (MGL) – World University No.1 (16)



19. Bernard FUTRELL (USA) – World University No.2 (17)



20. Bazar BAZARGURUEV (KGZ) – Mongolian Open No.2 (18)





65kg – European champion Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS) reasserted his No.1 position in the rankings with a triumph at the Ziolkowski Memorial while Russian national champion Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) broke into the rankings at No.13 with a championship run at 70kg.



Medved Prizes winner Azamat NURIKOV (BLR) joined Ramonov in the rankings at No.14 as runner-up at 70kg. Mustafa KAYA (TUR) edged Asian champion Sayed Ahmad MOHAMMADI (IRI), 7-7 on criteria, in the 65kg semifinals to climb to No.16.



1. Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (1)



2. Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (2)



3. Yogeshwar DUTT (IND) – Commonwealth Games No.1 (3)



4. David SAFARYAN (ARM) – German GP No.2 (4)



5. Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) – CAC Games No.1 (5)



6. Servet COSKUN (TUR) – Europe No.2 (6)



7. Borislav NOVACHKOV (BUL) – Europe No.3 (7)



8. Konstantin KHABALASHVILI (GEO) – Europe No.3 (8)



9. Sayed Ahmad MOHAMMADI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (9)



10. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) – Spanish GP No.1 (10)



11. Brent METCALF (USA) – GGP Final No.1 (11)



12. Magomed MUSLIMOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.2 (12)



13. Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.1 (nr)



14. Azamat NURIKOV (BLR) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.2 (nr)



15. Haislan GARCIA VERANES (CAN) – GGP Final No.3 (13)



16. Mustafa KAYA (TUR) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.2 (19)



17. GANZORIG Mandakhnaran (MGL) – Mongolian Open No.1 (15)



18. George BUCUR (ROU) – World University No.2 (17)



19. BATMAGNAI Batchuluun (MGL) – World University No.3 (17)



20. Meysam NASIRI (IRI) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.3 (nr)





70kg – Only two minor adjustments in the rankings at 70kg as the majority of wrestlers were not in action in August and the finalists at the Ziolkowski Memorial normally compete at 65kg.



Yasar Dogu winner at 74kg Nick MARABLE (USA) enters the 70kg rankings at No.19 and former Asian Games silver medalist Takafumi KOJIMA (JPN) attempts to re-ignite his career with a third place in Poland.



1. Moustafa HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (1)



2. Ruslan DIBIRGADZHIYEV (AZE) – Europe No.1 (2)



3. Peyman YARAHMADI (IRI) – Stepan Sargsyan No.1 (3)



4. Grigor GRIGORYAN (ARM) – Europe No.2 (4)



5. Yakup GOR (TUR) – Europe No.3 (5)



6. Khetag TSABOLOV (RUS) – Yarygin GP No.3 (6)



7. Israil KASUMOV (RUS) – GGP Final No.1 (7)



8. Zhombor GULYAS (HUN) – World University No.3 (8)



9. Adrian Ionut MOISE (ROU) – German GP No.2 (9)



10. Dshamaluddin KURBANALIEV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (10)



11. Ramazan SHAMSHUTDINOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.3 (11)



12. Miroslav KIROV (BUL) – Europe No.3 (12)



13. Evgheni NEDEALCO (MDA) – World University No.1 (13)



14. Semyon RADULOV (UKR) – Sassari Tourney No.2 (14)



15. Emin AZIZOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.2 (15)



16. Somirshoh VOKHIDOV (TJK) – Asia No.2 (16)



17. Ibrahim NURIDDINOV (UZB) – Asia No.3 (17)



18. BUYANJAV Batzorig (MGL) – Buryatia Cup No.1 (18)



19. Nicholas MARABLE (USA) – Yasar Dogu No.1 (nr)



20. Takafumi KOJIMA (JPN) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.3 (nr)





74kg – Former junior world bronze medalist Jumber KVELASHVILI (GEO) came from behind in the second period for a 4-3 win over Asia champion Reza AFZALI PAEMAMI (IRI) to take the Ziolkowski Memorial crown and debut at No.10 in the rankings.



Kvelashvili, who has competed only sporadically over the last 24 months, also defeated European bronze medalist and local favorite Krystian BRZOZOWSKI (POL), 8-3, in the semifinals.



1. Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) – World No.1 (1)



2. Yabrail HASANOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.1 (2)



3. Reza AFZALI PAEMAMI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (3)



4. Aniuar GEDUEV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (4)



5. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) – Europe No.3 (6)



6. Krystian BRZOZOWSKI (POL) – Europe No.3 (7)



7. Ali SHABANOV (BLR) – Medved Prizes No.1 (5)



8. Shushil KUMAR (IND) – Commonwealth Games No.1 (8)



9. Kamal MALIKOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (9)



10. Jumber KVELASHVILI (GEO) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.1 (nr)



11. Magomed ZUBAIROV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.2 (10)



12. Luca LAMPIS (FRA) – Sassari Tourney No.1 (11)



13. Georg HARTH (GER) – Canada Cup No.2 (12)



14. Livan LOPEZ AZCUY (CUB) – Pan America No.2 (13)



15. PUREVJAV Unurbat (MGL) – Asia No.2 (14)



16. Innokenti INNOKENTYEV (KGZ) – Asia No.3 (15)



17. Leonid BAZAN (BUL) – Stepan Sargsyan No.2 (16)



18. Hamid Reza REZAEI (IRI) – Ali Aliev No.3 (17)



19. Gabor HATOS (HUN) – Spanish GP No.1 (18)



20. Essadollah AKBARI (IRI) – Takhti Cup No.3 (19)





86kg – European champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) cruised to the Ziolkowski Memorial title with a 12-1 technical fall over 2013 world bronze medalist Istvan VEREB (HUN). It was Sadulaev’s fourth title of the year heading into the world championships in Tashkent.



World team selection Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) joins the rankings at No.16 after finishing third at the Ziolkowski Memorial following a 5-4 loss to Vereb in the quarterfinals.



1. Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (1)



2. Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB) – Pan America No.1 (6)



3. Shamil KUDIYAMAGOMEDOV (RUS) – GGP Final No.1 (5)



4. Murad GAIDAROV (BLR) – Europe No.2 (2)



5. Meisam MOSTAFA JOUKAR (IRI) – Asia No.1 (3)



6. Rashid KURBANOV (UZB) – Asia No.3 (4)



7. Albert SARITOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (8)



8. Gamzat OSMANOV (AZE) – German GP No.1 (9)



9. Ehsan LASHGARI (IRI) – GGP Final No.3 (7)



10. Istvan VEREB (HUN) – Europe No.3 (15)



11. Anzor URISHEV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.3 (10)



12. Ibragim ALDATOV (UKR) – World No.1 (11)



13. Taymuraz FRIEV NASKIDEAVA (ESP) – GGP Final No.5 (12)



14. Tamerlan TAGZIEV (CAN) – Commonwealth Games No.1 (13)



15. Azlan KAKHIDZE (KAZ) – Asia No.2 (14)



16. Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.3 (nr)



17. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) – German GP No.2 (16)



18. Musa MURTAZALIEV (ARM) – Europe No.3 (18)



19. Alexander GOSTIEV (AZE) – GGP Final No.3 (19)



20. Ed RUTH (USA) – GGP Final No.3 (20)





97kg – Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) won his second tournament of 2014 at the Ziolkowski Memorial, where he defeated German Grand Prix winner Radoslaw BARAN (POL), 6-1, in the final for No. 12 in the rankings.



European bronze medal winner Ivan YANKOUSKI (BLR) rebounded from a 4-1 semifinal loss to Odikadze for his third bronze medal of the year and heads to Tashkent with a No.4 ranking.



1. Reza YAZDANI (IRI) – World No.1 (1)



2. Abdusalam GADISOV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (2)



3. Khetag GAZUMOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.1 (3)



4. Ivan YANKOUSKI (BLR) – Europe No.3 (4)



5. Yuri BELONOVSKI (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (5)



6. Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) – Ali Aliev No.2 (6)



7. Valeri ANDRIITSEV (UKR) – GGP Final No.2 (7)



8. Pavlo OLEYNIK (UKR) – Europe No.5 (8)



9. Jake VARNER (USA) – GGP Final No.3 (9)



10. DORJKHAND Khuderbulga (MGL) – GGP Final No.3 (10)



11. William HARTH (GER) – Canada Cup No.1 (11)



12. Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.1 (nr)



13. Magomed MUSAEV (KGZ) – Asia No.2 (12)



14. Satyavart KADIAN (IND) – Commonwealth Games No.2 (13)



15. Attila SZMIK (HUN) – Sassari Tourney No.1 (14)



16. Radoslaw BARAN (POL) – German GP No.1 (15)



17. Yusup JALILAV (BLR) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.3 (nr)



18. Nicolae CEBAN (MDA) – Europe No.3 (16)



19. Javier CORTINA LACERRA (CUB) – Pan America No.1 (17)



20. Imants LAGODSKIS (LAT) – Spanish GP No.1 (18)





125kg – World champion Khadshimourad GATSALOV (RUS) warmed up for a title defense in Tashkent by winning the Ziolkowski Memorial with a 2-1 win over Russian national champ Muradin KHUSHKOV (RUS).



Gatsalov, who slipped to No.12 over the summer, rebounded to No.4 in the rankings. Muradin, who defeated European silver medalist Alan KHUGAEV (RUS) in the Ziolkowski semifinals, joins the rankings at No.17.



1. Taha AKGUL (TUR) – Europe No.1 (1)



2. Komeil GHASEMI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (2)



3. Aleksander KHOTSIANIVSKI (UKR) – GGP Final No.1 (3)



4. Khadshimourad GATSALOV (RUS) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.1 (12)



5. Aleksey SHEMAROV (BLR) – German GP No.1 (5)



6. Alen ZASEEV (UKR) – Ali Aliev No.3 (4)



7. Ali ISAEV (AZE) – Ali Aliev No.1 (6)



8. Jamalladin MAGOMEDOV (AZE) – Dan Kolov No.1 (7)



9. Parviz HADI (IRI) – Takhti Cup No.1 (8)



10. Alan KHUGAEV (RUS) – Europe No.2 (9)



11. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) – World Jr No.1 (13)



12. Daulet SHABANBAY (KAZ) – Asia No.3 (11)



13. Abdollah GHOMI AVITI (IRI) – Ali Aliev No.2 (10)



14. Giorgi SAKANDELIDZE (GEO) – GGP Final No.2 (nr)



15. Aslan DZEBISHOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.3 (14)



16. Tervel DLAGNEV (USA) – GGP Final No.3 (15)



17. Muradin KUSHKOV (RUS) – Ziolkowski Memorial No.2 (nr)



18. Slim TRABELSI (TUN) – Spanish GP No.1 (18)



19. Korey JARVIS (CAN) – Commonwealth Games No.1 (17)



20. Tyrell FORTUNE (USA) – World University No.1 (19)











