FLASH: Perkins just misses getting Olympic berth at 66 kg at Olympics World Qualifier in Mongolia
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Video capture of 66 kg Olympic Qualification match between RaVaughn Perkins of the USA and Edgaras Venckaitis of Lithuania.
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – After a tremendous day of competition, RaVaughn Perkins (Omaha, Neb./New York AC) just missed earning a berth in the 2016 Olympic Games after he lost in the Olympic Qualification match at 66 kg/145.5 lbs, at the 1st Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament at the Buyant-Uhaa Sports Arena.
Perkins was beaten by 2014 World bronze medalist Edgaras Venckaitis of Lithuania, 0-5, in the battle between the two bronze medalists at the weight class from the day.
Athletes needed to place in the top three of their weight class to qualify their nation for that weight class at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August.
Venckaitis led 1-0 at the break after a first-period pushout. In the second period, Venkaitis scored a pair of takedowns for the margin of victory. Perkins, who had his offense going strong most of the day, was unable to get his attacks to work against Venkaitis.
The United States had not qualified for the Olympic Games at 66 kg in the first two phases of Olympic qualification, the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Pan American Olympic Qualifier. This was the third of four phases of qualification.
Perkins earned the right to compete in Mongolia after winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa, April 9-10.
Perkins had a very impressive day, going 4-2 against a field of top international stars. He opened with a pair of technical fall victories, beating Benedikt Puffer of Austria, 8-0 and Mirambek Ainagulov of Kazakhstan, 8-0.
In the quarterfinals, Perkins was beaten by Tero Vaelimaeki of Finland, a four-time World Team member in a close 2-3 battle. Vaelimaeki jumped to a 3-0 lead on a gutwrench and a passivity caution and one point penalty against Perkins. In the closing minute, Perkins received a penalty point and a pushout to score two points but not enough to win.
After Vaelimaeki reached the finals, Perkins was drawn back into the repechage rounds. He beat Hugo da Silva Passos of Portugal, 6-0 in the repechage, then dominated Pavel Liakh of Belarus, 7-0 in the bronze-medal match.
Two other U.S. athletes dropped their first match of the tournament and when their opponents were unable to reach the finals, they were eliminated and not eligible for repechage. Finishing with 0-1 records were Jesse Thielke (Germantown, Wis./New York AC) at 59 kg/130 lbs. and Joe Rau (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 98 kg/215 lbs.
After leading 5-0 against Gaurav Sharma of India in the first round, Thielke was thrown twice late in the match and lost in the closing seconds, 5-6. Sharma was beaten in his next match, knocking Thielke out of the tournament.
Rau trailed 1-2 in the first period against Carl Fredrik Schoen of Sweden. In the second period, Schoen added two points on a gutwrench for a 4-1 win. Schoen advanced all the way to the semifinals, but was then defeated, and Rau was eliminated from the repechage.
Thielke and Rau were also winners at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa, and earned the right to compete in Mongolia and attempt to qualify the weight class.
For these three Greco-Roman weight classes, there will be only one more chance for the United States to earn a spot in the Rio Olympic Games, the 2nd Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament set for Istanbul, Turkey, May 6-8. The USA is already qualified for Rio at 75 kg, 85 kg and 130 kg.
“This was an incredibly tough tournament with a lot on the line. The U.S. Greco team wrestled hard but we came up short. We are all disappointed about the results, but we are still optimistic that we will get these weights qualified in Turkey. I am confident the athletes will make the necessary adjustments and fight hard to punch their tickets to Rio,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland.
Final results of the Greco-Roman tournament will be posted when session completed.
The women’s competition will be held on Saturday, with four U.S. athletes competing. A story on the women’s pairings will be posted later on Friday morning.
United World Wrestling will provide a live webstream and updated brackets on its official website during the three days of competition.
Click Here for the UWW video and results page – Mongolian Qualifier
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/1st-og-world-qualifying-tournament
1st OLYMPIC GAMES WORLD QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT
At Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, April 21
U.S. Greco-Roman performances
59 kg/130 lbs. – Jesse Thielke, Germantown, Wis. (New York AC/OTC),dnp
LOSS Gaurav Sharma (India), 5-6
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – RaVaughn Perkins, Omaha, Neb. (New York AC/OTC), bronze medal, lost qualification bout
WIN Benedikt Sebastian Puffer (Austria), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Mirabek Ainagulov (Kazakhstan), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Tero Vaelimaeki (Finland), 2-3
WIN Hugo da Silva Passos (Portugal), 6-0
Bronze Medal Bout - WIN Pavel Liakh (Belarus), 7-0
Olympic Qualification Bout – LOSS Edgaras Venckaitis (Lithuania), 0-5
98 kg/215 lbs. – Joe Rau, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), dnp
LOSS Carl Fredrik Schoen (Sweden), 1-4
Gold Medal Finals
59 kg/130 lbs. – Kim Seunghak (Korea) tech. fall Stig-Andre Berge (Norway), 8-0
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Ion Panait (Romania) dec. Tero Vaelimaeki (Finland), 3-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Peter Bacsi (Hungary) inj. dft. over Bin Yang (China)
85 kg/187 lbs. – Javid Hamzatau (Belarus) dec. Maksim Manukyan (Armenia), 5-4
98 kg/215 lbs. – Aliaksandr Hrabovik (Belarus) tech. fall Revazi Nadareishvili (Georgia), 8-0
130 kg/286 lbs. – Amir Ghasemimonjazi (Iran) inj. dft. over Qiang Meng China)
Olympic Qualification Bouts (for third Olympic berth)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Elmurat Tasmuradov (Uzbekistan) dec. Revaz Lashkhi (Georgia), 4-0
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Edgaras Venckaitis (Lithuania) dec. RaVaughn Perkins (USA), 5-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Arsen Jufalakyan (Armenia) dec. Pascal Eisele (Germany), 6-2
85 kg/187 lbs. – Kristoffer Berg (Sweden) dec. Amer Hrustanovic (Austria), 6-2
98 kg/215 lbs. – Carl Fredrik Schoen (Sweden) dec. Daigoro Timoncini (Italy), 2-1
130 kg/286 lbs. – Muminjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) dec. Miloslav Metodiev (Bulgaria), 4-0
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – After a tremendous day of competition, RaVaughn Perkins (Omaha, Neb./New York AC) just missed earning a berth in the 2016 Olympic Games after he lost in the Olympic Qualification match at 66 kg/145.5 lbs, at the 1st Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament at the Buyant-Uhaa Sports Arena.
Perkins was beaten by 2014 World bronze medalist Edgaras Venckaitis of Lithuania, 0-5, in the battle between the two bronze medalists at the weight class from the day.
Athletes needed to place in the top three of their weight class to qualify their nation for that weight class at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August.
Venckaitis led 1-0 at the break after a first-period pushout. In the second period, Venkaitis scored a pair of takedowns for the margin of victory. Perkins, who had his offense going strong most of the day, was unable to get his attacks to work against Venkaitis.
The United States had not qualified for the Olympic Games at 66 kg in the first two phases of Olympic qualification, the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Pan American Olympic Qualifier. This was the third of four phases of qualification.
Perkins earned the right to compete in Mongolia after winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa, April 9-10.
Perkins had a very impressive day, going 4-2 against a field of top international stars. He opened with a pair of technical fall victories, beating Benedikt Puffer of Austria, 8-0 and Mirambek Ainagulov of Kazakhstan, 8-0.
In the quarterfinals, Perkins was beaten by Tero Vaelimaeki of Finland, a four-time World Team member in a close 2-3 battle. Vaelimaeki jumped to a 3-0 lead on a gutwrench and a passivity caution and one point penalty against Perkins. In the closing minute, Perkins received a penalty point and a pushout to score two points but not enough to win.
After Vaelimaeki reached the finals, Perkins was drawn back into the repechage rounds. He beat Hugo da Silva Passos of Portugal, 6-0 in the repechage, then dominated Pavel Liakh of Belarus, 7-0 in the bronze-medal match.
Two other U.S. athletes dropped their first match of the tournament and when their opponents were unable to reach the finals, they were eliminated and not eligible for repechage. Finishing with 0-1 records were Jesse Thielke (Germantown, Wis./New York AC) at 59 kg/130 lbs. and Joe Rau (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 98 kg/215 lbs.
After leading 5-0 against Gaurav Sharma of India in the first round, Thielke was thrown twice late in the match and lost in the closing seconds, 5-6. Sharma was beaten in his next match, knocking Thielke out of the tournament.
Rau trailed 1-2 in the first period against Carl Fredrik Schoen of Sweden. In the second period, Schoen added two points on a gutwrench for a 4-1 win. Schoen advanced all the way to the semifinals, but was then defeated, and Rau was eliminated from the repechage.
Thielke and Rau were also winners at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa, and earned the right to compete in Mongolia and attempt to qualify the weight class.
For these three Greco-Roman weight classes, there will be only one more chance for the United States to earn a spot in the Rio Olympic Games, the 2nd Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament set for Istanbul, Turkey, May 6-8. The USA is already qualified for Rio at 75 kg, 85 kg and 130 kg.
“This was an incredibly tough tournament with a lot on the line. The U.S. Greco team wrestled hard but we came up short. We are all disappointed about the results, but we are still optimistic that we will get these weights qualified in Turkey. I am confident the athletes will make the necessary adjustments and fight hard to punch their tickets to Rio,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland.
Final results of the Greco-Roman tournament will be posted when session completed.
The women’s competition will be held on Saturday, with four U.S. athletes competing. A story on the women’s pairings will be posted later on Friday morning.
United World Wrestling will provide a live webstream and updated brackets on its official website during the three days of competition.
Click Here for the UWW video and results page – Mongolian Qualifier
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/1st-og-world-qualifying-tournament
1st OLYMPIC GAMES WORLD QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT
At Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, April 21
U.S. Greco-Roman performances
59 kg/130 lbs. – Jesse Thielke, Germantown, Wis. (New York AC/OTC),dnp
LOSS Gaurav Sharma (India), 5-6
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – RaVaughn Perkins, Omaha, Neb. (New York AC/OTC), bronze medal, lost qualification bout
WIN Benedikt Sebastian Puffer (Austria), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Mirabek Ainagulov (Kazakhstan), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Tero Vaelimaeki (Finland), 2-3
WIN Hugo da Silva Passos (Portugal), 6-0
Bronze Medal Bout - WIN Pavel Liakh (Belarus), 7-0
Olympic Qualification Bout – LOSS Edgaras Venckaitis (Lithuania), 0-5
98 kg/215 lbs. – Joe Rau, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), dnp
LOSS Carl Fredrik Schoen (Sweden), 1-4
Gold Medal Finals
59 kg/130 lbs. – Kim Seunghak (Korea) tech. fall Stig-Andre Berge (Norway), 8-0
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Ion Panait (Romania) dec. Tero Vaelimaeki (Finland), 3-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Peter Bacsi (Hungary) inj. dft. over Bin Yang (China)
85 kg/187 lbs. – Javid Hamzatau (Belarus) dec. Maksim Manukyan (Armenia), 5-4
98 kg/215 lbs. – Aliaksandr Hrabovik (Belarus) tech. fall Revazi Nadareishvili (Georgia), 8-0
130 kg/286 lbs. – Amir Ghasemimonjazi (Iran) inj. dft. over Qiang Meng China)
Olympic Qualification Bouts (for third Olympic berth)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Elmurat Tasmuradov (Uzbekistan) dec. Revaz Lashkhi (Georgia), 4-0
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Edgaras Venckaitis (Lithuania) dec. RaVaughn Perkins (USA), 5-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Arsen Jufalakyan (Armenia) dec. Pascal Eisele (Germany), 6-2
85 kg/187 lbs. – Kristoffer Berg (Sweden) dec. Amer Hrustanovic (Austria), 6-2
98 kg/215 lbs. – Carl Fredrik Schoen (Sweden) dec. Daigoro Timoncini (Italy), 2-1
130 kg/286 lbs. – Muminjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) dec. Miloslav Metodiev (Bulgaria), 4-0
