Day 1 World Cup notes: Valdes Tobier pins Aliyev, Burroughs runs streak to 25 straight, NCAA champs honored
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Alejandro Valdes Tobier of Cuba locks up and throws Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan at 65 kg. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
Three-time World champion Aliyev pinned by Cuba’s Valdes Torres
The World Cup always features numerous World and Olympic medalists every year, but as a team tournament, sometimes the individual results are not predictable.
In the first session dual meet between Azerbaijan and Cuba, one of the top stars in this year’s World Cup, three-time World champion and Olympic medalist Haji Aliev of Azerbaijan was pinned by Cuba’s Alejandro Valdes Tobier in 2:15 at 65 kg. Tobier, a 2017 World bronze medalist, scored a bunch of points before putting Aliyev on his back for the pin.
Of course, you might think that would inspire Cuba in the dual meet, but think again. Azerbaijan won the dual meet handily by an 8-2 margin. Azerbaijan got its share of unexpected wins. At 61 kg, Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov shocked Cuba’s highlight machine Yowlys Bonne Rodriquez, 8-0. Also at 97 kg, Roman Bakirov beat multiple World medalist Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba, 3-0.
The next round Aliyev rebounded with a 7-1 win over Sayatbek Okassov of Kazakhstan. Valdes Tobier continued his torrid wrestling with a technical fall over Batnagnai Batcguluun of Mongolia, 11-0.
Burroughs World Cup winning streak runs to 25 bouts
Already one of the greatest wrestlers in history worldwide, 2012 Olympic champion and four-time World champion Jordan Burroughs has been especially dominant at the Freestyle World Cup.
Competing in his sixth Freestyle World Cup this week, Burroughs has now compiled a 25-0 record at this event, with two more wins on Saturday in Iowa City.
Among those 25 wins are victories over 13 different countries. The most wins have come against Iran, with five. Included are wins over numerous World and Olympic medalists. In the middle of the streak, Burroughs did not compete in the 2016 World Cup, missing due to the birth of one of his children.
2018 World Cup, Iowa City, Iowa , April 7-8
WIN Vinod Kumar Omprakash (India), 11-1 tech. fall
WIN Yuhi Fujinami (Japan), 7-1
2017 World Cup, Kermanshah, Iran, Feb. 16-17
WIN Jumber Kelashvili (Georgia), 2-2
WIN Murad Suleymanov (Azerbaijan), disq. 3 cautions
WIN Atsamaz Sanakoev (Russia), 10-1
WIN Peyman Yarahmadi (Iran), 3-2
2015 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif,, April 11-12
WIN Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia), 6-0
WIN Iakubali Shikhdzhamalov (Russia), 10-0 tech. fall
WIN Livan Lopez (Cuba), 6-2
WIN Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh (Iran), 10-0 tech. fall
2014 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif., March 15-16
WIN Varuzhan Kajoyan (Armenia), 16-6 tech. fall
WIN Parveen Rana (India), 2:44 pin
WIN Ezzatollah Akbari Zarinkolaei (Iran), 7-1
WIN Murat Erturk (Turkey), 2:17 pin
WIN Giya Chykladze (Ukraine), 15-4 tech. fall
2013 World Cup, Tehran, Iran, Feb. 21-22
WIN Ali Shabanau (Belarus), 1-1, 5-0
WIN Stefanov Kirov (Bulgaria), 7-0, 6-0
WIN Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei (Iran), 4-0, 2-0
WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 2-0, 7-1
WIN Jakob Makarashvili (Georgia), 3-0, 2-1
2012 World Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan, May 12-13
WIN Davit Khutsishvili (Georgia)
WIN Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran)
WIN Demirsin Batuhan (Turkey)
WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 4-5, 3-1, 3-2
WIN Ammet Gadzimagomedov (Russia)
NCAA champions Nickal, Snyder, Lee honored during Opening Ceremonies
It’s not often that wrestlers from Penn State and Ohio State get a big ovation in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but when Team USA comes together in men’s freestyle, it is time to stand together behind one nation.
As part of the Opening Ceremonies, a pair of World Cup team members who were 2018 NCAA champions were honored, Bo Nickal of Penn State and Kyle Snyder of Ohio State. Snyder, the Olympic champion and two-time World champion, won his third NCAA title this year for the Buckeyes, and went 2-0 today at 97 kg. Nickal, now a two-time NCAA champion, is the No. 2 man on the USA roster at 86 kg and did not wrestle today.
The biggest cheers, of course, came for Iowa’s NCAA champion Spencer Lee, who won the 125-pound title for the Hawkeyes as a freshman this year. Lee is no stranger to championship freestyle, boasting two Junior World titles and a Cadet World title for Team USA. Immediately following that, Lee received the Hammer Award from Amateur Wrestling News for winning the toughest weight class at the 2018 NCAA Championships.
Of course, even Spencer Lee wasn’t the most popular person in the opening ceremonies. When they gave Dan Gable the microphone, the house rocked. You might say Carver-Hawkeye is the house that Gable built during his legendary career as a head coach here.
10 Team USA wrestlers undefeated after first day of Freestyle World Cup
With a 2-0 record in their dual meets, Team USA also has 10 individual wrestlers with unbeaten records after the first day of the World Cup. Five of them have 2-0 records, with five with 1-0 records.
Three have two technical falls already: Kyle Dake (79 kg), David Taylor (86 kg), Kyle Snyder (96 kg)
USA with 2-0 records
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green - dec. Kirin Kinoshita (Japan), 8-5; tech. fall Arun Kumar (India), 10-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs- dec. Yuhi Fujinami (Japan), 7-1; tech. fall Vinod Kumar Omprakash (India), 11-1
79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake - tech. fall Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 10-0; tech. fall Sachin Giri (India), 11-0
86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor - tech. fall Masao Matsusaka (Japan), 12-2; tech, fall Pawan Kumar (India), 10-0
97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyle Snyder - tech. fall Taira Sonoda (Japan), 10-0; tech. fall Viky (India), 10-0
USA with 1-0 record
61 kg/134 lbs. – Joe Colon - dec. Sandeep Tomar (India), 6-4
92 kg/202.5 lbs. – Hayden Zillmer - dec. Deepak Punia (India), 7-0
92 kg/202.5 lbs. - J’den Cox - tech. fall Takashi Ishiguro (Japan), 11-0
125 kg/275 lbs. – Nick Gwiazdowski - tech. fall Nobuyoshi Arakida (Japan), 10-0
125 kg/275 lbs. – Dom Bradley - tech. fall Pushpender Singh (India), 10-0
Three-time World champion Aliyev pinned by Cuba’s Valdes Torres
The World Cup always features numerous World and Olympic medalists every year, but as a team tournament, sometimes the individual results are not predictable.
In the first session dual meet between Azerbaijan and Cuba, one of the top stars in this year’s World Cup, three-time World champion and Olympic medalist Haji Aliev of Azerbaijan was pinned by Cuba’s Alejandro Valdes Tobier in 2:15 at 65 kg. Tobier, a 2017 World bronze medalist, scored a bunch of points before putting Aliyev on his back for the pin.
Of course, you might think that would inspire Cuba in the dual meet, but think again. Azerbaijan won the dual meet handily by an 8-2 margin. Azerbaijan got its share of unexpected wins. At 61 kg, Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov shocked Cuba’s highlight machine Yowlys Bonne Rodriquez, 8-0. Also at 97 kg, Roman Bakirov beat multiple World medalist Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba, 3-0.
The next round Aliyev rebounded with a 7-1 win over Sayatbek Okassov of Kazakhstan. Valdes Tobier continued his torrid wrestling with a technical fall over Batnagnai Batcguluun of Mongolia, 11-0.
Burroughs World Cup winning streak runs to 25 bouts
Already one of the greatest wrestlers in history worldwide, 2012 Olympic champion and four-time World champion Jordan Burroughs has been especially dominant at the Freestyle World Cup.
Competing in his sixth Freestyle World Cup this week, Burroughs has now compiled a 25-0 record at this event, with two more wins on Saturday in Iowa City.
Among those 25 wins are victories over 13 different countries. The most wins have come against Iran, with five. Included are wins over numerous World and Olympic medalists. In the middle of the streak, Burroughs did not compete in the 2016 World Cup, missing due to the birth of one of his children.
2018 World Cup, Iowa City, Iowa , April 7-8
WIN Vinod Kumar Omprakash (India), 11-1 tech. fall
WIN Yuhi Fujinami (Japan), 7-1
2017 World Cup, Kermanshah, Iran, Feb. 16-17
WIN Jumber Kelashvili (Georgia), 2-2
WIN Murad Suleymanov (Azerbaijan), disq. 3 cautions
WIN Atsamaz Sanakoev (Russia), 10-1
WIN Peyman Yarahmadi (Iran), 3-2
2015 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif,, April 11-12
WIN Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia), 6-0
WIN Iakubali Shikhdzhamalov (Russia), 10-0 tech. fall
WIN Livan Lopez (Cuba), 6-2
WIN Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh (Iran), 10-0 tech. fall
2014 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif., March 15-16
WIN Varuzhan Kajoyan (Armenia), 16-6 tech. fall
WIN Parveen Rana (India), 2:44 pin
WIN Ezzatollah Akbari Zarinkolaei (Iran), 7-1
WIN Murat Erturk (Turkey), 2:17 pin
WIN Giya Chykladze (Ukraine), 15-4 tech. fall
2013 World Cup, Tehran, Iran, Feb. 21-22
WIN Ali Shabanau (Belarus), 1-1, 5-0
WIN Stefanov Kirov (Bulgaria), 7-0, 6-0
WIN Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei (Iran), 4-0, 2-0
WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 2-0, 7-1
WIN Jakob Makarashvili (Georgia), 3-0, 2-1
2012 World Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan, May 12-13
WIN Davit Khutsishvili (Georgia)
WIN Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran)
WIN Demirsin Batuhan (Turkey)
WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 4-5, 3-1, 3-2
WIN Ammet Gadzimagomedov (Russia)
NCAA champions Nickal, Snyder, Lee honored during Opening Ceremonies
It’s not often that wrestlers from Penn State and Ohio State get a big ovation in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but when Team USA comes together in men’s freestyle, it is time to stand together behind one nation.
As part of the Opening Ceremonies, a pair of World Cup team members who were 2018 NCAA champions were honored, Bo Nickal of Penn State and Kyle Snyder of Ohio State. Snyder, the Olympic champion and two-time World champion, won his third NCAA title this year for the Buckeyes, and went 2-0 today at 97 kg. Nickal, now a two-time NCAA champion, is the No. 2 man on the USA roster at 86 kg and did not wrestle today.
The biggest cheers, of course, came for Iowa’s NCAA champion Spencer Lee, who won the 125-pound title for the Hawkeyes as a freshman this year. Lee is no stranger to championship freestyle, boasting two Junior World titles and a Cadet World title for Team USA. Immediately following that, Lee received the Hammer Award from Amateur Wrestling News for winning the toughest weight class at the 2018 NCAA Championships.
Of course, even Spencer Lee wasn’t the most popular person in the opening ceremonies. When they gave Dan Gable the microphone, the house rocked. You might say Carver-Hawkeye is the house that Gable built during his legendary career as a head coach here.
10 Team USA wrestlers undefeated after first day of Freestyle World Cup
With a 2-0 record in their dual meets, Team USA also has 10 individual wrestlers with unbeaten records after the first day of the World Cup. Five of them have 2-0 records, with five with 1-0 records.
Three have two technical falls already: Kyle Dake (79 kg), David Taylor (86 kg), Kyle Snyder (96 kg)
USA with 2-0 records
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green - dec. Kirin Kinoshita (Japan), 8-5; tech. fall Arun Kumar (India), 10-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs- dec. Yuhi Fujinami (Japan), 7-1; tech. fall Vinod Kumar Omprakash (India), 11-1
79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake - tech. fall Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 10-0; tech. fall Sachin Giri (India), 11-0
86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor - tech. fall Masao Matsusaka (Japan), 12-2; tech, fall Pawan Kumar (India), 10-0
97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyle Snyder - tech. fall Taira Sonoda (Japan), 10-0; tech. fall Viky (India), 10-0
USA with 1-0 record
61 kg/134 lbs. – Joe Colon - dec. Sandeep Tomar (India), 6-4
92 kg/202.5 lbs. – Hayden Zillmer - dec. Deepak Punia (India), 7-0
92 kg/202.5 lbs. - J’den Cox - tech. fall Takashi Ishiguro (Japan), 11-0
125 kg/275 lbs. – Nick Gwiazdowski - tech. fall Nobuyoshi Arakida (Japan), 10-0
125 kg/275 lbs. – Dom Bradley - tech. fall Pushpender Singh (India), 10-0
