Beka Melelashvili (82 kg, NYAC) secured victories in his first three matches of the tournament and has become only the second Team USA representative to, thus far, advance to a semifinal round at the U23 Worlds.
Day 1 of the 2024 U23 World Championships began at 10:00am local time from Tirana, Albania (4:00am ET) and is streaming live on FLOWrestling.
Melelashvili has exhibited every meaningful attribute necessary to attain victory at such an event. The native of Georgia (for whom he competed in the ’22 version of this tournament and finished 5th) was dominant in his disposing of Daniel Bello Vega (VEN) via technical superiority in the qualification round but had to dig a little deeper to get past Belarusian Vadzim Paleyenka (AIN) in his next match. Following a productive first period for Paleyenka, Melelashvili strung together a series of clutch scoring actions to eventually prevail by a score of 12-7.
And he had to dig deeper, still, in order to defeat former countryman Data Chkhaidze (GEO). Chkhaidze carried a 1-0 passive lead into the second period — but Melelashvili scampered to a takedown and inched ahead 2-1. However, a proceeding turn attempt from the US saw Chkhaidze score a reversal. After a reset, Melelashvili leveraged an arm spin to collect a step-out point. Another restart then gave way to yet another scoring action. As Melelashvili worked in position behind Chkhaidze, he sought a throw off the edge that yielded a step-out point, thus updating the score to 4-2. Georgia challenged the call but the sequence stood. Melelashvili was awarded an additional point for the call being upheld and soon walked away the winner of a 5-2 decision.
The first American to have earned a spot in a semifinal round at the U23 World Championships was Taylor LaMont, who did so in ’21. LaMont would go on to finish 5th at 55 kilograms in that tournament. Melelashvili will face young Elmin Aliyev of Azerbaijan when the semifinal round for this year’s event resumes this afternoon.
Black, Perez, Scott, & Voelker
Two-time U20 World Team member Max Black (60 kg, NMU/NTS) was defeated by Nihad Guluzade (AZE). Guluzade — who already owns a U23 World silver from ’23 and a bronze from ’21, as well as U20 World title — received the bout’s first passivity/par terre chance and was able to execute a gutwrench that netted four turns to end the match prematurely. In a related note, it was Guluzade who defeated LaMont in the bronze round at the ’21 U23 World tournament.
One of the best young Greco-Roman athletes in the US is Robert Perez III (67 kg, NYAC), who earned for himself an impressive first-round win over Nestor Almanza (CHI) via criteria. Almanza had defeated Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) in the Pan-Am Olympic Qualifier this past February and has been an impressive competitor in continental tournaments. It was a different story for Perez in the following round. Reigning U23 World bronze Haruto Yabe (JPN) scored a succession of points to oust Perez 8-0. Yabe fell to Razzak Belshekeev (KAZ) in the quarterfinal, which means that Perez will not have an opportunity in the repechage round.
’23 US Open winner Justus Scott (Army/WCAP) fought for as long as he could against ’22 U23 World champ Seyed Shamsollah Sohrabi (IRI) but was ultimately on the wrong side of a 10-1 VSU that was achieved in the second period. Sohrabi, indeed previously considered among the favorites in the bracket, was defeated by two-time U23 World bronze Shant Khachatryan (ARM) in the quarterfinal to eliminate Scott from re-entering the tournament in the repechage.
Wyatt Voelker (97 kg, Panther WC RTC) stared a 5-1 deficit opposed by Christos Chatsatourov (GRE) in the qualification round before turning up the heat and knocking Chatsatourov off the line twice, with the latter instance having been accompanied by a fleeing caution on Greece. But it would not be enough, as Chatsatourov clung to his tight margin and triumphed 6-4. Chatsatourov was beaten down by Richard Karelson (EST) in the proceeding round, thus ending Voelker’s appearance in the ’24 U23 World Championships.
Semifinal Round
At press time, Black is still potentially eligible for repechage provided Guluzade is victorious in the 60 kg semifinal. As mentioned, Melelashvili is in the semifinal round at 82 kg and will square off against Aliyev. Wrestling is scheduled to resume at 6:00pm local time (12:00pm ET) with FLOWrestling carrying the broadcast for the US audience (subscription required).
2024 U23 World Championships
October 21-23 — Tirana, ALB
DAY 1 TEAM USA RESULTS
60 kg: Max Black (NMU/NTS)
LOSS Nihad Guluzade (AZE) 9-0, TF
67 kg: Robert Perez (NYAC)
WON Nestor Almanza Truyol (CHI) 3-3 (criteria)
LOSS Haruto Yabe (JPN) 8-0, TF
72 kg: Justus Scott (Army/WCAP)
LOSS Seyed Shamsollah Sohrabi (IRI) 10-1, TF
82 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC)
WON Daniel Bello Vega (VEN) 9-0, TF
WON Vadzim Paleyenka (AIN) 12-7
WON Data Chkhaidze (GEO) 5-2
97 kg: Wyatt Voelker (Panther WC RTC)
LOSS Christos Chatsatourov (GRE) 6-4
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