Diakomihalis, Dieringer and Gwiazdowski advance to semis of Yasar Dogu

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Three Americans—Yianni Diakomihalis, Alex Dieringer and Nick Gwiazdowski—advanced to the semifinals of the Yasar Dogu International on Friday in Istanbul, Turkey.

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the day, Americans Yianni Diakomihalis and Zain Retherford went head-to-head in the first round at 65 kg.

Retherford struck first with a takedown and took a 2-1 lead over Diakomihalis into the break. From there, the two put up lots of points, including two takedowns and a four-pointer from Diakomihalis and a reversal and takedown from Retherford.

At the final whistle, it was Diakomihalis who held a 9-5 advantage to move onto the quarterfinals.

In the quarters, Diakomihalis made easy work of 2018 U23 World silver medalist Ali Rahimzade of Azerbaijan, collecting six takedowns for a 13-2 tech fall.

Diakomihalis, a two-time Cadet World champion, will face 2013 Junior World silver medalist and 2018 Russian Nationals runner-up Ismail Musukaev, who now wrestles for Hungary.

Should Diakomihalis win his semifinal, Retherford will be pulled into tomorrow’s repechage.

At 79 kg, Dieringer wrestled one match to advance to the semifinals.

He took on Abubakr Abakarov of Azerbaijan, who is a 2016 Cadet World champion, 2018 Junior World silver medalist and 2019 Junior European champion.

Dieringer opened the match with a four-point move and tacked on three tilts with a gut wrench for a 10-0 tech fall in less than a minute.

In the semifinals later today, the four-time National Team member will face 2018 World Military silver medalist and 2019 Asian champion Bahman Teymouri of Iran.

Two-time World bronze medalist Gwiazdowski moved into the semifinals at 125 kg after his opponent, Fatih Cakiroglu of Turkey, was a scratch today.

In the semis, Gwiazdowski will take on Sumit Sumit of India, who was third at the 2019 Asian Championships.

The semifinals will take place on Friday at 5:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. ET) live on Flowrestling.

At 6 p.m. (11 a.m. ET), Forrest Molinari will wrestle in the 65 kg women’s freestyle finals.

2019 YASAR DOGU INTERNATIONAL
at Istanbul, Turkey, July 11-14

U.S. Men’s freestyle draws
65 kg: Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/FLWC)
WIN Zain Retherford (USA), 9-5
WIN Ali Rahimzade (Azerbaijan), 13-2
vs. Ismail Musukaev (Hungary)

65 kg: Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC)
LOSS Yianni Diakomihalis (USA), 9-5

79 kg: Alex Dieringer (Stillwater, /Titan Mercury WC/Cowboy RTC)
WIN Abubakr Abakarov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
vs. Bahman Teymouri (Iran)

125 kg: Nick Gwiazdowski (Raleigh, N.C./Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC)
WIN Fatih Cakiroglu (Turkey), win by forfeit
vs. Sumit Sumit (India)