Tim Hands of Five Point Move fills us in on everything that happened at the final UWW Greco-Roman Ranking series of 2019, the Oleg Karavaev Memorial.

Kim, Ota, and Sasunouski Rise Up the Rankings

United World Wrestling’s “Ranking Series”, instituted last year, is intended to do two things: create a bit more separation between top athletes in World brackets, thus reducing the number of matches pitting would-be favorites against one another too early; and provide wrestlers with a reason to enter more tournaments in effort to chase down the points necessary to garner one of the coveted top-4 seeds at the World Championships. 

It’s too soon to tell how much those seeds might matter, given that the big show is still roundabout seven weeks away. But as far as fabricating a “down-to-the-wire” scenario which sees high-profile wrestlers dash to the finish and gobble up points, and by extension, a top-4 seed in Nur-Sultan, the final “Ranking Series” event of 2019 accomplished its mission. 

Upheaval was witnessed in five weight classes beginning at 60 kilograms, where 2017 World bronze Kim Seung-Hak (KOR) ran the table, closing out with a 3-1 victory over Ahmet Uyar (TUR). The Korean was paired with ‘17 Senior/’18 U23 World Champion Kenichiro Fumita of Japan in the round-of-16, but the matchup never came to fruition, as Fumita wound up a late scratch. That left some breathing room. In the quarterfinals, Kim blasted Rakhimatsikhudo Khaibarau (BLR) before shutting out Sadyk Lalaev (RUS) 5-0. 

With a possible 16 “Ranking Series” points on the line, Kim faced off with Ahmet Uyur (TUR) in a rematch of the Sassari City International final from May, a bout he had won 5-0. The score was different on Sunday but the result stayed the same. Down 1-0 in the second, Kim used his passivity/par terre chance to drum up a gutwrench and a 3-1 lead he would not relinquish. The gold medal and accompanying 16 points propel Kim to the #2 seed at the World Championships, overtaking returning World silver and ‘19 Euros winner Victor Cioabanu (ROU), who will now be seeded third. 

Last weekend, 2016 Olympic silver Shinobu Ota (JPN) was given a new lease on life (sort of) by his national federation. After coming up short to teammate Fumita for the 60-kilogram World Team spot, Ota received the chance to wrestle-off Yoshiki Yamada at 63 kilos, and easily prevailed 11-0 thanks to a string of front headlock tosses. That’s Ota’s preferred weapon, and it worked for him just as well in Belarus on Saturday. 

Ota had four matches in this tournament. He dominantly breezed through three of them. It was his semifinal opposite ‘17 World runner-up Meirembek Ainagulov that stood out. Ainagulov had opened up an 8-3 advantage in the first period, though Ota had managed a takedown before the break to nudge closer. A step-out early in the second brought the score to 8-6 -- and then a caution on Aingaulov for leading with the head followed by another step-out with a minute remaining -- gave the Japanese star a 9-8 decision he badly needed. 

It all made for a final that unfolded with an anticlimactic tone. Taking on former Junior World bronze and reigning Asian Championships gold Islomjon Bakhramov (UZB), that trusty front headlock was responsible for a wipeout. Ota went to the maneuver early and often in the first, and raked it once more in the second to shut the door on a 11-0 tech. 

Now, the particulars. Ota won the Hungarian Grand Prix this past February, which means he entered action this weekend holding 16 points. With his gold from the Oleg Karavaev Memorial, his new total is 32 points, leapfrogging Slavik Galstyan of Armenia (28 points) for the #3 seed. 

Things were even more interesting all the way up at 82 kilograms. 

The athlete who had the most to gain in this weight class, ‘15 World runner-up Viktar Sasunouski (BLR), got what he came for. And Emrah Kus, World silver from a year ago and the top-ranked athlete at 82 kilograms, didn’t do too badly, either, though he wasn’t thrilled with how his tournament ended. 

Sasunouski (world no. 4) only needed one measly point to hop over World/Olympic bronze Saied Abdevali (IRI) and snatch the third seed. That was easily achieved. The hometown hero scorched his way to the semis, engaged in a decent dustup with Milad Alirzaev (RUS), and met up with Kus in a somewhat-controversial gold-medal match. Kus enjoyed a 3-1 lead late in the second period when Sasunouski clasped around the body. Rather than attempt to corkscrew a bodylock or elevate his opponent, he chose to regrip and wail a headlock. Kus adjusted mid-flight, landing on his stomach while Sasunouski nearly went head over heels himself. No points were initially rewarded, but it looked like a correct throw despite the messy result. And following a Sasunouski challenge, it was scored accordingly. The two points gave the Belarusian a nice head-to-head win -- along with 16 points, many more than he required to jump up the standings. 

Two-time University World champ, Fatih Baskoy (97 kg, TUR), felled by the US’ G’Angelo Hancock earlier this year in Hungary, was in prime position to convert his #7 ranking into a top-4 seed (if not the third seed by tournament’s end), but apparently decided to mail it in. Baskoy advanced to the semifinal where he faced countryman Suleyman Demirici (who, coincidentally, defeated the aforementioned Hancock in the ‘17 Junior Worlds) and dropped a 2-1 decision. And that was that, Baskoy forfeited out of the bronze round against Russia’s Artur Sargsian, leaving a minimum of ten points on the table. The Turkish wrestler had needed only four to secure a top-4 seed, or eight to grab the third spot. 

2018 World bronze Kim Min-Seok (KOR) bounced back from a 7-2 semifinal loss to Turkey’s Osman Yildirim by rolling over Dumir Kuzumbaev (KAZ)  for bronze. As such, he earns 12 points -- which takes his previous total of 47 and balloons it to 59 -- overtaking two-time World 

Champion Heiki Nabi (EST) for the #3 seed, just below American Adam Coon. 

2019 Oleg Karavaev Memorial Results

55 kg

GOLD: Emin Sefershaev (RUS) def. Vladmir Zabeyvorota (RUS) 7-0
BRONZE: Manjeet Manjeet (IND) def. Masym Vysotoskyi (ISR) via fall

60 kg

GOLD: Kim Seung-Hak (KOR) def. Ahmet Uyar (TUR) 3-1
BRONZE: Artur Petrosian (RUS) def. Manish Manish (IND) 6-2
BRONZE: Saddyk Lalaev (RUS) def. Rakhmatsikhudo Khaibarau (BLR) 9-0, TF

63 kg

GOLD: Shinobu Ota (JPN) def. Islomjon Bakhramov (UZB) 11-1, TF
BRONZE: Sailike Walihan (CHN) def. Erbatu Tuo (CHN) 2-1
BRONZE: Meirembek Ainagulov (KAZ) def. Roman Ivanov (RUS) 9-0, TF

67 kg

GOLD: Mohamed Elsayed (EGY) def. Ryu Han-Soo (KOR) via fall
BRONZE: Abouhalima Elsaid Abouhalima (EGY) def. Mirzobek Rakhmatov (UZB) 2-1
BRONZE: Daniyar Kalenov (KAZ) def. Miakhdi Iakhiaev (RUS) 7-2

72 kg

GOLD: Magomed Yarbilov (RUS) def. Narek Oganian (RUS)
BRONZE: Meirzhan Shermkhanbet (KAZ) def. Hassan Mohamed (EGY) via fall
BRONZE: Uladzislau Mankevich (BLR) def. Miras Akhmetzhanov (KAZ) 7-1

77 kg

GOLD: Pavel Liakh (BLR) def. Shohei Yabiku (JPN) 11-0, TF
BRONZE: Yasaf Zeinalov (UKR) def. Ibragim Magomedov (KAZ) 2-1
BRONZE: Akhmed Kaytsukov (RUS) def. Hukun Zhang (CHN) 6-4

82 kg

GOLD: Viktar Sasunouski (BLR) def. Emrah Kus (TUR) 3-3 (criteria)
BRONZE: Bilan Nagliev (UZB) def. Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (UZB) 4-2
BRONZE: Milad Alirzaev (RUS) def. Haitao Qian (CHN) 9-4

87 kg

GOLD: Radzik Kuliyev (BLR) def. Dogan Goetkas (TUR) 2-2 (criteria)
BRONZE: Vaag Margarian (RUS) def. Gazi Khalilov (RUS) via injury forfeit
BRONZE: Kiryl Maskevich (BLR) def. Takahiro Tsuruda (JPN) 8-0, TF

97 kg

GOLD: Siarhei Staradub (BLR) def. Suleyman Demirci (TUR) 6-1
BRONZE: Artur Sargsian (RUS) def. Fatih Baskoy (TUR) via forfeit
BRONZE: Yerulan Iskakov (KAZ) def. Aliaksandr Hrabovik (BLR) 2-2 (criteria)

130 kg

GOLD: Osman Yildirim (TUR) def. Abdelatif Mohamed (EGY) 9-0, TF
BRONZE: Naveen Naveen (IND) def. Tuomas Lahti (FIN) 2-0
BRONZE: Kim Min-Seok (KOR) def. Damir Kuzembaev (KAZ) via fall