The United States Greco-Roman program has their first finalist at the U23 Worlds following a clutch victory from Beka Melelashvili (82 kg, NYAC) in the semifinals that ended in extremely tight fashion.
The semifinal round at the 2024 U23 World Championships began at 6:00pm local time from Tirana, Albania (12:00pm ET) and streamed live in the US on FLOWrestling.
Melelashvili started strong by overwhelming Daniel Bello Vega (VEN) via technical superiority before staging a second-period blitz to decision Vadzim Paleyenka (AIN) 12-7. The quarterfinal provided a test for Melelashvili courtesy of former countryman Data Chkhaidze (GEO). Melelashvili trailed Chkhaidze 1-0 entering the second period but came up with a takedown and two step-outs (plus another point from a challenge call) to walk away the winner 5-2.
Thus the stage was set for Melelashvili to take on Elmin Aliyev (AZE) with a spot in the finals on the line.
It was Aliyev who had an early advantage. A front headlock try on the part of Melelashvili went awry, allowing Aliyev to scramble through the maneuver and gain two points. Passivity also favored the Azer in the first period, though his follow-up from par terre failed to create further distance. In the second period, the passivities flipped to allow Melelashvili his own opportunity from top PT. He achieved his lock and cranked for a turn near the boundary; initially, the attempt did not yield a score. But after a review, it was determined that Aliyev had exposed and two points went to Melelashvili, who had assumed a 3-3 criteria lead. Aliyev worked in spaces to negotiate a score as the match ebbed towards its conclusion. Any and all of his efforts were thwarted by Melelashvili, who stood tall till the end to earn a place in the gold-medal round on Tuesday against Mohammad Naghousi of Iran.
“Beka’s performance today was truly inspiring,” said US National Team head coach Herb House after action on Monday had ended. “He fought hard and showed incredible determination, and in the process demonstrated what it means to be a champion. It is clear how proud he is to represent the United States in this historic moment, and we in the Greco community share that pride. But the journey isn’t over yet. He still has to compete in the finals tomorrow. We’re all rooting for him as he aims to bring home a World title.”
When Melelashvili — who is one of a growing number of wrestlers to sign with Critical Sports and Entertainment — defeated Chkhaidze, he became only the second American in the short history of the tournament to have advanced to a U23 World semifinal (Taylor LaMont was the first in ’21 at 55 kg). On Monday, he not only became the first American to earn a berth in the U23 World finals, he has also already notched the most career victories of any USA athlete at the tournament.
Black Eliminated; Day 2 Notes
There will not be a U23 World medal for Max Black (60 kg, NMU/NTS) in ’24. His vanquisher on Monday — highly-decorated Nihad Guluzade of Azerbaijan — was defeated in the semifinal by Alisher Ganiev (UZB).
Going on Day 2 (Tuesday) for Team USA are five more competitors: Billy Sullivan (55 kg, Army/WCAP), Jonathan Gurule (63 kg, NYAC/NTS), Hunter Garvin (77 kg, IA), ’24 Olympian Payton Jacobson (87 kg, NMU/NTS), and Keith Miley (130 kg, Arkansas RTC). Their opening-round draws can be found below. Wrestling is set to start at 10:00am local time (4:00am ET). The finals — featuring Melelashvili versus Naghousi for U23 World gold — are slated for 6:00pm (12:00pm ET).
55 kg: Billy Sullivan (Army/WCAP)
vs. Dieymer Amundaray (VEN) — qual. round
63 kg: Jonathan Gurule (NYAC/NTS)
vs. Mairbek Salimov (POL) — qual. round
77 kg: Hunter Garvin (IA)
vs. Karan Karan (IND) — qual. round
87 kg: Payton Jacobson (NMU/NTS)
vs. Tomislav Brkan (CRO) — qual. round
130 kg: Keith Miley (Arkansas RTC)
vs. winner between Uttam Rana (IND) and Tomasz Wawrzynczyk (POL) — round-of-16
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
WON Elmin Aliyev (AZE) 3-3 (criteria)
97 kg: Wyatt Voelker (Panther WC RTC)
LOSS Christos Chatsatourov (GRE) 6-4
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