SANCHEZ AMITA downs MAYNARD; veterans KOUTCHERENKO TSENOV advance
American Mujaahid MAYNARD had a tough draw, and Cuban Wilber SANCHEZ AMITA made him pay.
SANCHEZ AMITA, the World Champion in 1993 and 1994, rolled to an 8-0 lead and beat MAYNARD 12-3 in first-round competition Saturday morning at the Georgia World Congress Center.
MAYNARD was the only one of five Americans to lose his first-round match. The USA contingent finished the Saturday morning session 5-2 and advanced three in Pool A, the championship bracket.
The highly-touted Eastern Europeans rolled to victories. Oleg KOUTCHERENKO, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist for Russia who emigrated to Germany after the Barcelona Games, scored a 10-0 technical superiority win over the tournament's youngest competitor, Tahir ZAHIDOV of Azerbaijan. ZAHIDOV, who turned 17 on February 10, was the Cadet (age group 15-16) World Champion in 1994 and 1995.
Also advancing was 32-year-old Bratan TSENOV of Bulgaria, in his first World-level competition since finishing fifth in the 1992 Olympic Games. TSENOV was the 1983 World Champion and 1998 Olympic bronze medalist.
World Champion HALL prevails in overtime; MELNICHENKO pounds IGNATENKO
Dennis HALL of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, one of five world champions in this loaded wrestling weightclass, scored all his points in overtime as he outlasted Seref EROGLU of Turkey 3-0 in his first-round match in the Saturday morning competition at the Georgia World Congress Center.
The match was scoreless at the end of the 5-minute regulation period, with HALL having been assessed two passivity cautions against only one for EROGLU, the 1996 European champion. But HALL's superior conditioning took over in the 3-minute overtime session. Putting EROGLU on the defensive, HALL spun behind for takedowns 40 and 90 seconds into overtime and ended the match by scoring an escape with just 7 seconds left in overtime.
Earlier in the round, 1994 World Champion Yuriy MELNICHENKO of Kazakhstan, the wrestler HALL defeated in the World Championships final last year, wasted little time putting away two-time World Champion Alexsandr IGNATENKO of Russia, scoring two spectacular throws for 5 and 3 points in a 10-0 technical superiority win at just 2 minutes, 29 seconds. IGNATENKO is a six-time World Championships medalist and won back-to-back titles in 1990 and 1991.
The other two World Champions at the weight also won. Rifat YILDIZ of Germany, the 1990 and 1991 World Champion, won a 12-0 technical superiority decision over Armando FERNANDEZ of Mexico at 1:52. Aghasi MANUKYAN of Armenia, the 1993 World Champion, blanked Nabil SALHI of Tunisia 4-0.
Quote:
"I knew that if I gave it everything I had, (EROGLU) would break sooner or later," HALL said. "He broke later. But it's better than never."
SMITH wins twice; 1992 gold medalist REPKA, defending World Champion ADZHY fall
Rodney SMITH of Fort Benning, Georgia, the 1992 Olympic bronze medalist, outscored his two opponents 18-2 to advance to the quarterfinals at 68kg in the the opening Greco-Roman session Saturday morning at the Georgia World Congress Center.
SMITH beat Jose ESCOBAR of Colombia 6-1 in his opening match, then used his conditioning advantage to score 10 points in the second half of his second-round match - including two 3-point dumps to finish the match - in a 12-1 technical superiority win over Yalcin KARAPINAR of Turkey, which ended at 4:33 of their 5-minute match.
SMITH will meet Grigoriy PULYAYEV of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals.
Two of the top stars of the weightclass, however, were eliminated in the first round. Attila REPKA of Hungary became the second 1992 Olympic gold medalist to be eliminated from the title chase, losing 4-3 to Ryszard WOLNY of Poland. WOLNY broke a 3-3 tie with 28 seconds remaining in regulation time. Meanwhile, Marko YLI-HANNUKSELA of Finland, whose only previous world-level finish was sixth in the 1994 World Championships, dumped 1995 World Champion Rustam ADZHY of Ukraine 6-2.
Defending gold medalist FARKAS falls in overtime; HENDERSON wins, then loses
Peter FARKAS of Hungary, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist, was the victim of the Olympic wrestling tournament's first upset, losing 3-0 in overtime in his first-round match to Sergey TSVIR of Russia in the Saturday morning session at the Georgia World Congress Center.
TSVIR led 2-0 at the end of the 5-minute regulation period. However, since a wrestler is required to score 3 points to win a match in regulation time, the match continued on to a 3-minute overtime session. TSVIR scored his third and winning point on a takedown 37 seconds into the overtime period.
TSVIR was involved in controversy in his second-round match, however. Trailing 1994 World Champion Thomas Zander of Germany 3-0 early in the bout, TSVIR cranked ZANDER's left arm 90 degrees against the shoulder, then jerked the arm forward, causing an unknown injury to ZANDER's left shoulder. FARKAS was awarded the match by disqualification when he was unable to continue.
The TSVIR-FARKAS first-round match was the first of three consecutive showdowns involving the weightclass's standouts. In the next match, 1994 World Champion Thomas ZANDER of Germany had little trouble scoring a 10-0 technical superiority win over Felix ISISOLA of Peru, followed by 1995 World silver medalist Gotcha TZITZUASHVILY of Israel's 2-0 overtime victory over 1994 World silver medalist Tuomo KARILA of Finland.
American Dan HENDERSON of Huntington Beach, California, 10th in the 1992 Olympic Games, won his opening match 3-1 over two-time world championships placewinner Pavel FRINTA of the Czech Republic. But he lost by the same score in his second round to Martin LIDBERG of Sweden to drop into the consolation bracket.
Quote: "I made a mistake at the beginning and got caught," HENDERSON said. "It could have been worse. I just have to keep my head together and go for the bronze (medal)."
Gold medalist MILIAN PEREZ, World Champions LJUNGBERG and WRONSKI advance
Unlike the middle weights, there were no surprises in the first round at 100kg Saturday morning at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Hector MILIAN PEREZ of Cuba, the looking for his first World-level title since winning the Olympic gold medal in 1992, won a 11-0 technical superiority decision over Colbie BELL of Canada at 3:16 of the five-minute regulation session. MILIAN PEREZ was the 1991 World Champion and was the runnerup the past two years.
Two-time World Champions Mikael LJUNGBERG of Sweden and Andres WRONSKI of Poland also won by technical superiority. LJUNGBERG, who defeated MILIAN PEREZ in the World Championship finals last year, needed only 1 minute, 44 seconds to beat Takashi NONOMURA of Japan 10-0. WRONSKI put away Mohamed NAQUAR of Tunisia in only 78 seconds.
Technical superiority is achieved, and the match terminated, when one wrestler earns a 10-point advantage over his opponent.
Jason GLEASMAN of Boonville, New York, who still has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining at Syracuse University, put on a throwing clinic in his 15-2 technical superiority win over BA Yanchuan of China. GLEASMAN, who once trailed 1-0, scored a pair of three-point gut wrench lifts, then five points on a high-arching belly-to-back suplay with 27 seconds remaining in the five-minute regulation period to end the match. If GLEASMAN beats Sergey LISTVAN of Belarus in the second round, his next opponent probably would be MILIAN PEREZ.
Quote: ``The crowd played into my hands,'' said GLEASMAN, competing in his first Olympic Games at age 20. ``I had butterflies about three matches before mine. I knew I had to concentrate on my game plan. Once in the warmup area, I couldn't wait to go.''
SANCHEZ AMITA Edges KOUTCHERENKO; SIM also Advances:
Cuban Wilber SANCHEZ AMITA is determined to make amends after falling off the World Championship pedestal last year.
SANCHEZ AMITA, the World Champion in 1993 and 1994 who slipped to 10th place in the 1995 World Championships, scored a major victory in his quest for Olympic gold, scoring a referee's decision victory over 1992 Olympic gold medalist Oleg KOUTCHERENKO of Germany in the second round to reach the semifinals against Alexsandr PAVLOV of Belarus.
The 1995 World Champion, SIM Kwon-Ho of Korea, also advanced to the semifinals with a pair of victories Saturday evening: 2-1 in overtime over Zafar GULYOV of Russia and 4-1 over Varntan Ioann AGAKATZANIAN of Greece.
SANCHEZ AMITA teams with 1992 Olympic gold medalist Hector MILIAN PEREZ (100kg) to make Cuba one of five nations with two wrestlers still in the hunt for gold medals.
GULYOV's loss was one of three suffered by Russian wrestlers Saturday evening. That left Russia, winner of the team title in the last three World Championships, without a wrestler still alive for a gold medal in Group A.
Semifinals: Gela PAPASHVILI (GEO) vs. SIM Kwon-Ho (KOR); Wilber SANCHEZ AMITA (CUB) vs. Alexsandr PAVLOV (BLR).
World Champion HALL Rallies in Overtime; MELNICHENKO Rematch Looms:
Dennis HALL of Stevens Point, Wisconsin won his second overtime victory Saturday evening, scoring a 3-point reversal to erase a 2-1 deficit and beat PARK Chi-Ho of Korea to advance to the 57kg semifinals at the Georgia World Congress Center.
PARK led 2-1 at the end of the five-minute regulation period, but since he had not scored the required three points, the match proceeded to overtime. After HALL was cautioned for passivity with more than a minute gone in overtime, PARK elected to put HALL down on the mat, as most wrestlers who are awarded a caution against their opponent choose to do. PARK locked up a turn which, if successful, would have given him the upset win. But HALL reversed PARK to his back for 3 points and the win.
HALL is the only American still alive for a medal in Group A.
HALL faces SHENG Zatian of China in the semifinals Sunday morning. Should he win, Yuriy MELNICHENKO of Kazakhstan looms in a potential rematch of the 1995 World Championship final, which HALL won. MELNICHENKO faces two-time World Champion Rifat YILDIZ of Germany in the other semifinal.
Semifinals: Yuriy MELNICHENKO (KAZ) vs. Rifat YILDIZ (GER); Dennis HALL (USA) vs. SHENG Zetian (CHN)
1992 Gold Medalist REPKA, Defending World Champion ADZHY Go Out Winless: New faces will dot the medalist's platform at 68kg after a pair of the weight class's standouts were eliminated Saturday night without winning a single match.
Attila REPKA of Hungary, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist, was pinned at 2:03 of his Group B consolation match by Valeri NIKITIN of Estonia at the Georgia World Congress Center. REPKA, who had lost a protested 4-3 decision to Ryszard WOLNY of Poland in the first round Saturday morning, was carried off the mat on a stretcher. He was hospitalized for treatment of a minor concussion and a strained neck, then released.
The defending World Champion, Rustam ADZHY of Ukraine, met the same fate in a 3-1 overtime loss to Alexsandr TRETYAKOV of Russia Saturday night.
WOLNY shut out Liubal COLAS ORIS of Cuba 6-0 to advance to the semifinals against Grigoriy PULYAYEV of Uzbekistan, a 4-0 winner over American RODNEY SMITH of Fort Benning, Georgia in the quarterfinals. The other semifinal matches Kamandar MADZHIDOV of Belarus against Ghani YOLOUZ of France.
SMITH was eliminated less than an hour later in his Group B match, losing 3-2 to COLAS ORIS.
68kg semifinals: Kamandar MADZHIDOV (BLR) vs. Ghani YOLOUZ (FRA), Grigoriy PULYAYEV (UZB) vs. Ryszard WOLNY (POL)
LJUNGBERG dominant; MILIAN PEREZ, WRONSKI set for showdown
Mikael LJUNGBERG of Sweden, the defending World Champion, is picking right up where he left off last year.
LJUNGBERG, 26, hasn't allowed a point in three matches as he easily advanced to the semifinals Saturday evening at the Georgia World Congress Center.
LJUNGBERG, also the 1993 World Champion, followed up his technical superiority win Saturday morning by blanking Stipe DAMJANOVIC of Croatia 5-0 and pinning Heorihy SOLDADZE of Georgia at 2:45. He will face Sergey LISHTVAN of Belarus in the semifinals Sunday morning.
"I've had no problems so far," LJUNGBERG said after his win over DAMJANOVIC. "This match was much tougher than the first one, and I think the next match will be much, much tougher. I feel good about the way I've wrestled."
LJUNGBERG has been so dominant that he's nearly pushed Hector MILIAN PEREZ of Cuba, the wrestler he defeated in last year's World Championship final, out of the spotlight. MILIAN PEREZ, looking for his first world-level title since winning the Olympic gold medal in 1992, beat Giuseppe GIUNTA of Italy 3-0 and will face two-time World Champion Andrzej WRONSKI of Poland. WRONSKI outlasted Igor GRABOVETSKI of Moldova on a referee's decision after the two had wrestled eight scoreless minutes.
100kg semifinals: Mikael LJUNGBERG (SWE) vs. Sergey LISHTVAN (BLR),
Hector MILIAN PEREZ (CUB) vs. Andrzej WRONSKI (POL).
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