Mike Tamillow of the USA wins his bronze-medal match over Hooman Sheida of Iran. Ali Feizasa photo.
TEHRAN, Iran - Mike Tamillow (Colorado Springs, Colo./unattached) won a bronze-medal at 96 kg/211.5 pounds on the first day of the 2009 Takhti Cup.
"It was good to come away with a medal today after a slow start," said National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones. "We made several mistakes early, particularly on the edge of the mat and the end of the period. Tamillow was focused and determined by competing hard and battled to come away with a victory to reach the podium."
In the bronze-medal match, Tamillow defeated Hooman Sheida of Iran, 2-1, 1-0.
"Tamillow scored the first point of the match about one minute in with a high crotch takedown. Sheida took the lead by driving Tamillow out of bounds with 15 seconds left in the period. At the end of the period it looked as if Tamillow hipped Sheida out of bounds but no point was given. Caoch Zeke Jones challenged the call and on review it showed that Sheida stepped out of bounds just before the period ended giving the period to Tamillow 2-1," said National Team Director Mitch Hull.
"In the second period, Tamillow had the only score when Sheida took a shot to drive Tamillow out of bounds but Tamillow spun behind for the score," Hull said.
Tamillow was pinned in his first match by 2005 Junior World silver medalist Rasoul Tavakoli of Iran in the first period. Tavakoli qualified for the finals, making Tamillow eligible for the repechage rounds. He wins his first repechage match by forfeit, because his potential opponent was disqualified from the tournament during his semifinal match.
"Mike Tamillow lost his first match by a fall late in the first period. He was behind 1-0 when he got headlocked," said Hull. "Mike would have had one more match to qualify for the bronze-medal bout, but the wrestler that Tavakoli beat in the semis was disqualified after he walked off the mat at the end of the match and did not take part in the after-match handshake."
The other U.S. wrestler competing on Thursday, 2008 U.S. Olympian Mike Zadick (Solon, Iowa/Gator WC) was defeated in his opening match at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. He lost to Mostafa Hosein Khani of Iran, 1-0, 0-2, 1-1.
"Mike Zadick lost his first match in three periods," said Hull. "Mike scored on an ankle pick in the first period and lost the second period when he failed on a front headlock roll atempt. In the third period, Mike was up 1-0 but lost when he was taken out of bounds with only a second left in the period. A video review confirmed the point was scored prior to the end of the period."
Four other U.S. wrestlers weighed in and received their draws for Friday: Coleman Scott (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Shawn Bunch (Columbus, Ohio/New York AC) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Zack Esposito (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and 2008 World University champion Tervel Dlagnev (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.
"Tomorrow's a big day, with four of our guys wrestling," said Jones. "We'll need to focus on strategic and tactical wrestling to have a good day. The Iranians have been wrestling well and we'll need our best effort to get the job done."
There are 22 competitors at 60 kg/132 lbs. In the first round, Scott will face Ali Hassein of Iran and Bunch has drawn Majid Roodbari of Iran. If Scott and Bunch win their first two matches, they will face each other in the quarterfinals.
Esposito drew the number 1 spot in the bracket. He will face off against 2003 Asian champion Hassan Tahmasebi of Iran to open the day. If he wins, his next opponent in the quarterfinals would be the winner of Jafar Ghasemi of Iran and Magomed Magomedov of Russia.
Dlagnev faces Hadi Parvi of Iran in the opening round. If he wins, his likely next opponent is 2005 World bronze medalist Vasyl Tesmynetski of Ukraine. Also in Dlagnev's side of the bracket is 2006 World bronze medalist Fardin Masoumi of Iran, who is a potential semifinal opponent for Dlagnev.
Coaching the U.S. team is Jones and Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay.
Attending the tour as a special USA Wrestling delegate is 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo, who won the 55 kg/121 lbs. in freestyle wrestling at the Beijing Olympic Games. Cejudo competed in the 2007 Takhti Cup and won a silver medal. He is helping coach and will also attend formal activities on behalf of Team USA.
TAKHTI CUP
At Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2009
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold - Hasan Rahimi (Iran)
Silver - Mohammad Hosein Soltani (Iran)
Bronze - Hosein Mostafazzadeh (Iran)
Bronze - Farzan Bahrami (Iran)
5th - Elyas Bekbulatov(Russia)
5th - Omid Jalali Bahar (Iran)
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold - Saeid Dadashpour (Iran)
Silver - Nasrollah Fadaei (Iran)
Bronze - Reza Rajabzadeh (Iran)
Bronze - Masoud Vahedi (Iran)
5th - Mohsen Jahanbakhshian (Iran)
5th - Magomed Murad Gajiev(Russia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Gold - Rasul Tavakoli (Iran)
Silver - Komeil Ghasemi (Iran)
Bronze - Mike Tamillow(USA)
Bronze - Abdul Amaev(Uzbekistan)
5th - Hooman Sheida (Iran)
5th - Mehdi Nouri (Iran)
U.S. performances on Thursday
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Mike Zadick (Solon, Iowa/Gator WC), dnp
LOSS Mostafa Hosein Khani (Iran), 1-0, 0-2, 1-1
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Mike Tamillow (Colorado Springs, Colo./unattached), 3rd
LOSS Rasoul Tavakoli (Iran), pin
WIN by forfeit - opponent disqualified from tournament
WIN Hooman Sheida (Iran), 2-1, 1-0
U.S. first round draw for Friday
60 kg/132 lbs. - Coleman Scott (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC)
vs. Ali Hassein (Iran)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Shawn Bunch (Columbus, Ohio/New York AC)
vs. Majid Roodbari (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Zack Esposito (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC)
vs. Hassan Tahmasebi (Iran)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Tervel Dlagnev (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids)
vs. Hadi Parvi (Iran)
TEHRAN, Iran - Mike Tamillow (Colorado Springs, Colo./unattached) won a bronze-medal at 96 kg/211.5 pounds on the first day of the 2009 Takhti Cup.
"It was good to come away with a medal today after a slow start," said National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones. "We made several mistakes early, particularly on the edge of the mat and the end of the period. Tamillow was focused and determined by competing hard and battled to come away with a victory to reach the podium."
In the bronze-medal match, Tamillow defeated Hooman Sheida of Iran, 2-1, 1-0.
"Tamillow scored the first point of the match about one minute in with a high crotch takedown. Sheida took the lead by driving Tamillow out of bounds with 15 seconds left in the period. At the end of the period it looked as if Tamillow hipped Sheida out of bounds but no point was given. Caoch Zeke Jones challenged the call and on review it showed that Sheida stepped out of bounds just before the period ended giving the period to Tamillow 2-1," said National Team Director Mitch Hull.
"In the second period, Tamillow had the only score when Sheida took a shot to drive Tamillow out of bounds but Tamillow spun behind for the score," Hull said.
Tamillow was pinned in his first match by 2005 Junior World silver medalist Rasoul Tavakoli of Iran in the first period. Tavakoli qualified for the finals, making Tamillow eligible for the repechage rounds. He wins his first repechage match by forfeit, because his potential opponent was disqualified from the tournament during his semifinal match.
"Mike Tamillow lost his first match by a fall late in the first period. He was behind 1-0 when he got headlocked," said Hull. "Mike would have had one more match to qualify for the bronze-medal bout, but the wrestler that Tavakoli beat in the semis was disqualified after he walked off the mat at the end of the match and did not take part in the after-match handshake."
The other U.S. wrestler competing on Thursday, 2008 U.S. Olympian Mike Zadick (Solon, Iowa/Gator WC) was defeated in his opening match at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. He lost to Mostafa Hosein Khani of Iran, 1-0, 0-2, 1-1.
"Mike Zadick lost his first match in three periods," said Hull. "Mike scored on an ankle pick in the first period and lost the second period when he failed on a front headlock roll atempt. In the third period, Mike was up 1-0 but lost when he was taken out of bounds with only a second left in the period. A video review confirmed the point was scored prior to the end of the period."
Four other U.S. wrestlers weighed in and received their draws for Friday: Coleman Scott (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Shawn Bunch (Columbus, Ohio/New York AC) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Zack Esposito (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and 2008 World University champion Tervel Dlagnev (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.
"Tomorrow's a big day, with four of our guys wrestling," said Jones. "We'll need to focus on strategic and tactical wrestling to have a good day. The Iranians have been wrestling well and we'll need our best effort to get the job done."
There are 22 competitors at 60 kg/132 lbs. In the first round, Scott will face Ali Hassein of Iran and Bunch has drawn Majid Roodbari of Iran. If Scott and Bunch win their first two matches, they will face each other in the quarterfinals.
Esposito drew the number 1 spot in the bracket. He will face off against 2003 Asian champion Hassan Tahmasebi of Iran to open the day. If he wins, his next opponent in the quarterfinals would be the winner of Jafar Ghasemi of Iran and Magomed Magomedov of Russia.
Dlagnev faces Hadi Parvi of Iran in the opening round. If he wins, his likely next opponent is 2005 World bronze medalist Vasyl Tesmynetski of Ukraine. Also in Dlagnev's side of the bracket is 2006 World bronze medalist Fardin Masoumi of Iran, who is a potential semifinal opponent for Dlagnev.
Coaching the U.S. team is Jones and Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay.
Attending the tour as a special USA Wrestling delegate is 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo, who won the 55 kg/121 lbs. in freestyle wrestling at the Beijing Olympic Games. Cejudo competed in the 2007 Takhti Cup and won a silver medal. He is helping coach and will also attend formal activities on behalf of Team USA.
TAKHTI CUP
At Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2009
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold - Hasan Rahimi (Iran)
Silver - Mohammad Hosein Soltani (Iran)
Bronze - Hosein Mostafazzadeh (Iran)
Bronze - Farzan Bahrami (Iran)
5th - Elyas Bekbulatov(Russia)
5th - Omid Jalali Bahar (Iran)
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold - Saeid Dadashpour (Iran)
Silver - Nasrollah Fadaei (Iran)
Bronze - Reza Rajabzadeh (Iran)
Bronze - Masoud Vahedi (Iran)
5th - Mohsen Jahanbakhshian (Iran)
5th - Magomed Murad Gajiev(Russia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Gold - Rasul Tavakoli (Iran)
Silver - Komeil Ghasemi (Iran)
Bronze - Mike Tamillow(USA)
Bronze - Abdul Amaev(Uzbekistan)
5th - Hooman Sheida (Iran)
5th - Mehdi Nouri (Iran)
U.S. performances on Thursday
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Mike Zadick (Solon, Iowa/Gator WC), dnp
LOSS Mostafa Hosein Khani (Iran), 1-0, 0-2, 1-1
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Mike Tamillow (Colorado Springs, Colo./unattached), 3rd
LOSS Rasoul Tavakoli (Iran), pin
WIN by forfeit - opponent disqualified from tournament
WIN Hooman Sheida (Iran), 2-1, 1-0
U.S. first round draw for Friday
60 kg/132 lbs. - Coleman Scott (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC)
vs. Ali Hassein (Iran)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Shawn Bunch (Columbus, Ohio/New York AC)
vs. Majid Roodbari (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Zack Esposito (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC)
vs. Hassan Tahmasebi (Iran)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Tervel Dlagnev (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids)
vs. Hadi Parvi (Iran)
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