Burroughs storms back to win bronze medal at World Championships
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
Jordan Burroughs won a bronze medal despite injuring his knee in his first match on Tuesday. Larry Slater photo.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Nobody is going to ever question the grit, moxie and heart that American star Jordan Burroughs displays whenever he steps on a wrestling mat.
Competing with a heavily wrapped left knee, Burroughs capped a courageous performance by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships on Tuesday night at the Gymnastics Palace.
Burroughs suffered a left knee injury in his first match of the day, but still managed to win four of five matches. The final win was a first-period pin over Ukraine’s Rustam Dudaev in the bronze-medal freestyle bout at 74 kg/163 lbs.
Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion, is now a remarkable 92-2 in his international career.
Burroughs gave up the opening takedown against Dudaev before storming back with a strong attack to take a 7-2 lead. His final takedown put Dudaev on his back and Burroughs recorded a fall at the 2:48 mark of the first period.
Burroughs’ run at a third straight World title was stopped in a 9-2 semifinal setback to two-time World champion Denis Tsargush of Russia. Burroughs had beaten 2009 and 2010 World champion Tsargush in the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics.
“I’m not going home with what I want, which was gold, but I still got a bronze so I’m happy about that,” Burroughs said. “Obviously, I wasn’t the same (after the injury), but Tsargush was well-prepared. He’s a stud and he hasn’t won a World championship since 2010, so he’s been waiting for his shot to get back on top of the podium.
“I’ll be back next year for the Worlds in Las Vegas. I’m not done yet.”
Burroughs turned in a gutsy performance just to reach the semifinals.
Burroughs survived a huge scare in gaining a narrow 4-3 first-round win over Augusto Midana of Guinea Bisau. Burroughs injured his left knee late in the first period, but scored on a second-period pushout to earn the win.
Burroughs followed with a 13-2 win over Korea’s Yun-Seok Lee in the second round. Burroughs then earned with a gritty 5-0 win over 2013 World bronze medalist Rashid Kurbanov of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals.
Burroughs won a World title last year less than a month after breaking his left ankle.
2012 Olympic champion Jake Varner, first-time World Team member Jimmy Kennedy and third-time World Team member Brent Metcalf came up short of medaling on Tuesday.
Varner, a 2011 World bronze medalist, opened with a 7-0 win over Germany’s William Harth at 97 kg/213 lbs.
Varner then dropped a 5-3 second-round decision to Valeri Andriitsev of Ukraine. Varner was eliminated when Andriitsev did not make the finals.
Metcalf, wrestling in his third World Championships, opened with an 11-0 technical fall over Korea’s Yunseok Lee in the first round at 65 kg/143 lbs.
Metcalf then dropped a 6-4 decision to Turkey’s Mustafa Kaya in the second round.
Metcalf was eliminated when Kaya fell short of advancing to the finals.
“I got in a scrap with a guy and wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do,” Metcalf said. “I need to build and get better. I feel like I have a whole lot of experience. It’s time to just do it. My ability level and how I feel about myself in my weight class is a lot better than what showed today.”
Kennedy opened with a quick 10-0 technical fall over Indonesia’s Hamka Hamka at 61 kg/134 lbs. Kennedy then fell 6-4 to Moldova’s Andrei Perpelita in the second round.
Kennedy was eliminated when the Moldovan fell short of the finals.
“It’s not what I wanted obviously,” Kennedy said. “I just didn’t get any offense going. It’s hard to get here and it’s even harder to win. You just got to find a way. I need to learn from this.”
The U.S. finished in ninth place in the team standings with 20 points. Russia won the team title with 62 points, Iran was second with 45 points and Turkey third with 41.
Champions crowned on Tuesday included Tsargush, Haji Aliev of Azerbaijan at 61 kg/134 lbs., Soslan Ramonov of Russia at 65 kg/143 lbs. and Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia at 97 kg/213 lbs.
2014 World Championships
Sept. 8-14
Gymnastics Palace, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
61 kg/134 lbs.
Gold – Haji Aliev (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Masoud Esmailpoorjouybari (Iran)
Bronze – Nyam-Ochir Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia)
Bronze – Yowlys Rodriguez (Cuba)
65 kg/143 lbs.
Gold – Soslan Ramonov (Russia)
Silver – Sayed Ahmad Mohammadi (Iran)
Bronze – Mihail Sava (Moldova)
Bronze – Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia)
74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – Denis Tsargush (Russia)
Silver – Sohsuke Takatani (Japan)
Bronze – Jordan Burroughs (USA)
Bronze – Livan Lopez (Cuba)
97 kg/213 lbs.
Gold – Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia)
Silver – Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Valeri Andriitsev (Ukraine)
Bronze – Samil Erogran (Turkey)
Finals results
61 kg/134 lbs.
Haji Aliev (Azerbaijan) dec. Masoud Esmailpoorjouybari (Iran), 12-7
65 kg/143 lbs.
Soslan Ramonov (Russia) pinned Sayed Ahmad Mohammadi (Iran), 2:59
74 kg/163 lbs.
Denis Tsargush (Russia) dec. Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 8-2
97 kg/213 lbs.
Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia) dec. Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan), 2-1
U.S. freestyle results
61 kg/134 lbs. – Jimmy Kennedy, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)
WIN Hamka Hamka (Indonesia), 10-0
LOSS Andrei Perpelita (Moldova), 4-6
65 kg/143 lbs. – Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC/Hawkeye WC)
WIN Yun-Seok Lee (Korea), 11-0
LOSS Mustafa Kaya (Turkey), 4-6
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska Wrestling TC) – Bronze Medal
WIN Augusto Midana (Guinea Bisau), 4-3
WIN Yunseok Lee (Korea), 13-2
WIN Rashid Kurbanov (Uzbekistan), 5-0
LOSS Denis Tsargush (Russia), 2-9
WIN Rustam Dudaev (Ukraine), fall 2:48
97 kg/213 lbs. – Jake Varner, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
WIN William Harth (Germany), 7-0
LOSS Valeri Andriitsev (Ukraine), 3-5
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Nobody is going to ever question the grit, moxie and heart that American star Jordan Burroughs displays whenever he steps on a wrestling mat.
Competing with a heavily wrapped left knee, Burroughs capped a courageous performance by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships on Tuesday night at the Gymnastics Palace.
Burroughs suffered a left knee injury in his first match of the day, but still managed to win four of five matches. The final win was a first-period pin over Ukraine’s Rustam Dudaev in the bronze-medal freestyle bout at 74 kg/163 lbs.
Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion, is now a remarkable 92-2 in his international career.
Burroughs gave up the opening takedown against Dudaev before storming back with a strong attack to take a 7-2 lead. His final takedown put Dudaev on his back and Burroughs recorded a fall at the 2:48 mark of the first period.
Burroughs’ run at a third straight World title was stopped in a 9-2 semifinal setback to two-time World champion Denis Tsargush of Russia. Burroughs had beaten 2009 and 2010 World champion Tsargush in the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics.
“I’m not going home with what I want, which was gold, but I still got a bronze so I’m happy about that,” Burroughs said. “Obviously, I wasn’t the same (after the injury), but Tsargush was well-prepared. He’s a stud and he hasn’t won a World championship since 2010, so he’s been waiting for his shot to get back on top of the podium.
“I’ll be back next year for the Worlds in Las Vegas. I’m not done yet.”
Burroughs turned in a gutsy performance just to reach the semifinals.
Burroughs survived a huge scare in gaining a narrow 4-3 first-round win over Augusto Midana of Guinea Bisau. Burroughs injured his left knee late in the first period, but scored on a second-period pushout to earn the win.
Burroughs followed with a 13-2 win over Korea’s Yun-Seok Lee in the second round. Burroughs then earned with a gritty 5-0 win over 2013 World bronze medalist Rashid Kurbanov of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals.
Burroughs won a World title last year less than a month after breaking his left ankle.
2012 Olympic champion Jake Varner, first-time World Team member Jimmy Kennedy and third-time World Team member Brent Metcalf came up short of medaling on Tuesday.
Varner, a 2011 World bronze medalist, opened with a 7-0 win over Germany’s William Harth at 97 kg/213 lbs.
Varner then dropped a 5-3 second-round decision to Valeri Andriitsev of Ukraine. Varner was eliminated when Andriitsev did not make the finals.
Metcalf, wrestling in his third World Championships, opened with an 11-0 technical fall over Korea’s Yunseok Lee in the first round at 65 kg/143 lbs.
Metcalf then dropped a 6-4 decision to Turkey’s Mustafa Kaya in the second round.
Metcalf was eliminated when Kaya fell short of advancing to the finals.
“I got in a scrap with a guy and wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do,” Metcalf said. “I need to build and get better. I feel like I have a whole lot of experience. It’s time to just do it. My ability level and how I feel about myself in my weight class is a lot better than what showed today.”
Kennedy opened with a quick 10-0 technical fall over Indonesia’s Hamka Hamka at 61 kg/134 lbs. Kennedy then fell 6-4 to Moldova’s Andrei Perpelita in the second round.
Kennedy was eliminated when the Moldovan fell short of the finals.
“It’s not what I wanted obviously,” Kennedy said. “I just didn’t get any offense going. It’s hard to get here and it’s even harder to win. You just got to find a way. I need to learn from this.”
The U.S. finished in ninth place in the team standings with 20 points. Russia won the team title with 62 points, Iran was second with 45 points and Turkey third with 41.
Champions crowned on Tuesday included Tsargush, Haji Aliev of Azerbaijan at 61 kg/134 lbs., Soslan Ramonov of Russia at 65 kg/143 lbs. and Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia at 97 kg/213 lbs.
2014 World Championships
Sept. 8-14
Gymnastics Palace, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
61 kg/134 lbs.
Gold – Haji Aliev (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Masoud Esmailpoorjouybari (Iran)
Bronze – Nyam-Ochir Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia)
Bronze – Yowlys Rodriguez (Cuba)
65 kg/143 lbs.
Gold – Soslan Ramonov (Russia)
Silver – Sayed Ahmad Mohammadi (Iran)
Bronze – Mihail Sava (Moldova)
Bronze – Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia)
74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – Denis Tsargush (Russia)
Silver – Sohsuke Takatani (Japan)
Bronze – Jordan Burroughs (USA)
Bronze – Livan Lopez (Cuba)
97 kg/213 lbs.
Gold – Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia)
Silver – Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Valeri Andriitsev (Ukraine)
Bronze – Samil Erogran (Turkey)
Finals results
61 kg/134 lbs.
Haji Aliev (Azerbaijan) dec. Masoud Esmailpoorjouybari (Iran), 12-7
65 kg/143 lbs.
Soslan Ramonov (Russia) pinned Sayed Ahmad Mohammadi (Iran), 2:59
74 kg/163 lbs.
Denis Tsargush (Russia) dec. Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 8-2
97 kg/213 lbs.
Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia) dec. Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan), 2-1
U.S. freestyle results
61 kg/134 lbs. – Jimmy Kennedy, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)
WIN Hamka Hamka (Indonesia), 10-0
LOSS Andrei Perpelita (Moldova), 4-6
65 kg/143 lbs. – Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC/Hawkeye WC)
WIN Yun-Seok Lee (Korea), 11-0
LOSS Mustafa Kaya (Turkey), 4-6
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska Wrestling TC) – Bronze Medal
WIN Augusto Midana (Guinea Bisau), 4-3
WIN Yunseok Lee (Korea), 13-2
WIN Rashid Kurbanov (Uzbekistan), 5-0
LOSS Denis Tsargush (Russia), 2-9
WIN Rustam Dudaev (Ukraine), fall 2:48
97 kg/213 lbs. – Jake Varner, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
WIN William Harth (Germany), 7-0
LOSS Valeri Andriitsev (Ukraine), 3-5
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