To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world

                    

By William May
(Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public Information Committee
Kyodo World Services, senior sports writer:wmay52@hotmail.com


LOPEZ, MANSUROV RETAIN WORLD TITLES, TURKEY TAKES TEAM CROWN



HERNING, Denmark (September 27) ? World champions Mijain Lopez (CUB) and Farid Mansurov (AZE) successfully defended the titles they won in 2007 as the senior wrestling world championships came to a close in Herning. Lopez pinned 2002 world champion Dremiel Byers (USA) in the tourney finale at Messecenter Herning for a third world title to go with the gold medal he won last summer at the Beijing Olympics.

Mansurov, meanwhile, defeated European bronze medalist Manuchar Tskhadaia (GEO) for his second world title after his triumph in Baku in 2007. Mansurov was also the Olympic gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, but slumped to 19th in Beijing.

Beijing 66kg gold medalist Steeve Guenot (FRA) was upset in the early rounds by Juha Hiltunen (FIN) and did not have a chance to wrestle for the medals.

At 74kg, Olympic champion Manuchar Kvirkvelia (GEO) was knocked out in the first round by Tsukasa Tsurumaki (JPN), opening the door for Denmark’s favorite son Mark Madsen (DEN).

Madsen, a world silver medalist in 2005 and 2007, muscled his way into the finals with a series of hard-fought wins, but in the end, was sent home with a third silver medal by Selcuk Cebi (TUR). Cebi broke open a close match in second period as he flipped Madsen over with a front headlock early in the stanza, recorded a nearfall point and then sealed the win with a gut wrench.

Cebi’s triumph helped Turkey win the team title with 44 points, followed by Iran (39) and Azerbaijan (38). Perennial champion Russia was relegated to fourth with one champion, two bronze medalists and 31 points.


Men’s Greco-Roman

66kg (40 entries)
F1 ? Farid Mansurov (AZE) df. Manuchar Tskhadaia (GEO), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
F3 ? Ambako Vachadze (RUS) df. Tamas Lorincz (HUN), 2-0 (2-0, 2-0)
F3 ? Pedro Isaac Mulen (CUB) df. Sasun Ghambaryan (ARM), 2-0 (1-0, 2-0)
SF ? Tskhadaia (GEO) df. Vachadze (RUS), 2-0 (2-0, 3-0)
SF ? Mansurov (AZE) df. Isaac Mulen (CUB), 2-1 (0-2, 1-0, 1-0)


74kg (36 entries)
F1 ? Selcuk Cebi (TUR) df. Mark Madsen (DEN), 2-0 (1-0, 6-0=0:40)
F3 ? Aliaksandr Kikiniov (BLR) df. Konstantin Schneider (GER), 2-0 (2-0, 1-0)
F3 ? Farshad Alizadeh Kalehkeshi (IRI) df. Rafiq Huseynov (AZE), 2-0 (1-0, 3-0)
SF ? Cebi (TUR) df. Schneider (GER), 2-0 (2-0, 1-0)
SF ? Madsen (DEN) df. Alizadeh Kalehkeshi (IRI), 2-1 (2-0, 0-1, 3-0)


120kg (30 entries)
F1 ? Mijain Lopez (CUB) df. Dremiel Byers (USA) by fall, 2P=0:40 (2-0, F4-1)
F3 ? Jalmar Sjoeberg (SWE) df. Nico Schmidt (GER), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
F3 ? Riza Kayaalp (TUR) df. Ioseb Chugoshvili (BLR), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
SF ? Byers (USA) df. Schmidt (GER), 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0)
SF ? Lopez (CUB) df. Kayaalp (TUR), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)