Snyder, Diakomihalis and Gross roll to World semifinals in Belgrade
by Taylor Gregorio, USA Wrestling
Photo of Yianni Diakomihalis by Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.
BELGRADE, Serbia – The USA recorded another perfect morning session, going 8-0 against the rest of the world and sending Olympic champion Kyle Snyder and young guns Seth Gross and Yianni Diakomihalis to the World semifinals in Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday.
At 97 kg, 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Snyder, who also has two World titles and a Tokyo Olympics silver, blanked this year’s European champion Magomedkhan Magomedov from Azerbaijan 10-0 in the quarterfinals. To get there, he outlasted European bronze medalist Zbigniew Baranowski of Poland, 4-1.
In the semifinals, the USA vs. Iran rivalry continues as Snyder will face 2014 World bronze medalist Mohammadhossein Mohammadian, who won the 2022 Asian Championships.
Competing in his second-straight World Championships, Yianni Diakomihalis downed three Senior World medalists without giving up a point, starting with 2020 champion Vazgen Tevanyan of Armenia and 2013 silver and 2015 bronze winner Vladimir Dubov of Bulgaria and ending the session with a tech fall over Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and two-time World medalist Bajrang Punia of India.
Tonight, Diakomihalis takes on American-born and 2022 Pan Am runner-up Sebastian Rivera, who is representing Puerto Rico.
In his Senior World debut, Seth Gross shocked the 61 kg bracket, securing himself a shot at a medal with three decisive wins this morning. He teched Ukraine’s Andrii Dzhelep of Ukraine before scoring seven unanswered points against Poland’s two-time European bronze winner Eduard Grigorev. In the quarters, Gross was on fire against 2019 World silver and 2018 World bronze medalist Suleyman Atli of Turkey for a 10-4 victory.
Gross will battle 2016 Olympic silver medalist Rei Higuchi of Japan in the semifinals.
After the semis, the USA has World champions and Olympic bronze medalists Thomas Gilman (57 kg), Kyle Dake (74 kg) and J’den Cox (97 kg) wrestling for gold medals.
Semifinals begins at 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) followed by medal matches at 6 p.m. (noon ET) live on FloWrestling. Follow along for live updates on Twitter @USAWrestling.
For more information on the 2022 Senior World Championships, visit USA Wrestling’s Special Section.
SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sept. 10-18, 2022 | Belgrade, Serbia
Men’s freestyle results
61 kg: Seth Gross (Madison, Wisc./Badger RTC/Sunkist Kids WC) – semifinals
WIN Andrii Dzhelep (Ukraine), 13-2
WIN Eduard Grigorev (Poland), 7-0
WIN Suleyman Atli (Turkey), 10-4
vs. Rei Higuchi (Japan), 2016 Olympic silver medalist
65 kg: Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) – semifinals
WIN Vazgen Tevanyan (Armenia), 4-0
WIN Vladimir Dubov (Bulgaria), 10-0
WIN Bajrang Punia (India), 10-0
vs. Sebastian Rivera (Puerto Rico), 2022 Pan Am silver medalist
97 kg: Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) – semifinals
WIN Zbigniew Baranowski (Poland), 4-1
WIN Magomedkhan Magomedov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
vs. Mohammahossein Mohammadian (Iran),
Schedule (local time is 6 hours ahead of U.S. ET)
Saturday, Sept. 17
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (MFS 61, 65, 97 kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (MFS 57, 74, 92 kg)
4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (MFS 61, 65, 97 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (MFS 57, 74, 92 kg)
Sunday, Sept. 18
4:30 p.m. – Repechage (MFS 61, 65, 97 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (MFS 61, 65, 97 kg)