Multi-time US World Team member Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) might have been disappointed with his result from this morning but a strong day tomorrow could return a smile to his face.
Day 1 of the 2024 Non-Olympic Weight World Championships began at 11:00am local time from Tirana, Albania (6:00am ET) and streamed live on FLOWrestling.
Hafizov faced off with ‘24 European Championships gold/multi-time age-group World medalist Nihad Mammadli (AZE) in the qualification round and was defeated 10-0. Mammadli had been awarded par terre via passivity and scored with a gutwrench, four-point lift, and gutwrench (9-0). The tenth point was added when Hafizov challenged the sequence and the call was upheld by the officials.
But – Mammadli has advanced to the finals on Tuesday evening, which provides for Hafizov another route to a World medal. It is a pathway that begins with another significant adversary, Abu Amaev, who defected to Bulgaria from Russia just over two competitive seasons ago. Amaev has earned two European Championships bronze thus far as a Bulgaria representative; and, unlike Hafizov, 63 kg is his preferred weight category and he has wrestled as high as 67 kg.
Hafizov is the only American Greco-Roman wrestler who is still alive entering action on Tuesday.
Koontz, Peak, & Kikiniou
Now two-time World Teamer Brady Koontz (55 kg, TMWC/Dubuque RTC) was felled by Sanjeev Sanjeev of India in the qualification round. Koontz had next to no trouble acquiring his lock and turning Sanjeev for two points in the first period and held a 3-0 lead. Sanjeev had his own try from par terre in the second period and he took advantage by turning Koontz twice to surge ahead 5-3. There was no further scoring in the match and Sanjeev moved into the quarterfinal against Denis Mihai (ROU), who prevailed via technical superiority. Sanjeev’s loss meant that Koontz’s time in the tournament had concluded.
Although Benji Peak (72 kg, Combat WC) will not leave Albania with his first piece of World hardware, he still managed to make a splash. In his first bout of the day, Peak shocked the field by downing ‘20 Olympic/’21 World champ Mohammadreza Geraei (IRI) by way of technical fall. Geraei opened the scoring by securing a takedown. Peak answered back with his own takedown, and then a subsequent lift attempt on his part resulted in correct hold points off the edge. Geraei challenged the call, which might have been a mistake because, upon further review, it was determined that the Iranian had committed a defensive leg foul. Two more points went to Peak and, all of the sudden, he was ahead 6-2. The ensuing par terre failed to yield additional points and Geraei would soon grab a point in return via step-out. As the first period dwindled down to its last minute, Geraei responded to a deep right underhook from Peak by wrapping a body attack that, at first glance, had appeared to net four points. But the officials discerned that Geraie had offensive leg involvement, which nullified the action and allowed Peak to walked into the break with a 6-3 lead.
Late in the second period, Geraei had begun to increase his sense of urgency in the ties and Peak was ready with a counter-attack takedown that further widened his margin. One more reset and it was all over. As Peak hawked over the top, Geraei had little recourse other than to try and duck-under the hold. Peak instinctively followed the motion and collapsed Geraie to the tarp for the two match-clinching points.
One round later it was ‘19 European Championships bronze Dominik Etlinger (CRO), to whom Peak had lost 3-1 last month at the Valamar Cup in Croatia. In that match, Etlinger had received the second-period passivity/par terre chance and converted with a single gutwrench. It was a solid overall effort by Peak, however, and one indicative of a potential alteration in outcome should they meet again. And sure enough, they did, and in relatively short order.
Only this time, Peak was unable to stop the bleeding from par terre. Etlinger was gifted the bout’s first passivity/PT before scoring four gutwrench turns to end the match prematurely. Etlinger was defeated by Ulvi Ganizade (AZE) in the quarterfinal to put a cap on Peak’s brief but memorable showing in Tirana.
Prior to Monday, the ‘12 London Olympic Games had been the last time Aliaksandr Kikiniou (82 kg, NYAC) suited up for a World-level tournament. The former Belarusian competitor, who was a World bronze in ‘09, was nevertheless someone opponents should not take lightly entering this week and his first-round antagonist, Per Albin Olofsson (SWE), would agree with that directive. Kikiniou kept Olofsson honest in the trenches as both worked to garner meaningful position through the preamble. The first passivity/par terre opportunity went to Kikiniou, but his proceeding attempt from par terre came up empty. The passives flipped in the second frame and, likewise, Olofsson could not generate his own offensive measures. Still, Sweden owned criteria with time a factor, which meant that Kikiniou would have to drum up a score of any variety. He opted for a throw – but Olofsson landed on top for four points and the 5-1 decision was his. Olofsson was on the wrong side of criteria in a 9-9 loss to Karlo Kodric (CRO) in the next round to eliminate Kikiniou from possible contention for bronze through the repechage system.
Day 2
The repechage round on Tuesday is scheduled for 10:30am local time (5:30am ET). The medal rounds are slated to begin at 6:00pm local time (1:00pm ET). All of the action can be viewed live in the United States on FLOWrestling.
2024 Non-Olympic World Championships
October 28-29 – Tirana, ALB
TEAM USA DAY 1 RESULTS
Brady Koontz (TMWC/Dubque RTC
LOSS Sanjeev Sanjeev (IND) 5-3
63 kg: Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP)
LOSS Nihad Mammadli (AZE) 10-0, TF
vs. Abu Amaev (BUL)
72 kg: Benji Peak (Combat WC)
WON Mohammadreza Geraei (IRI) 11-3, TF
LOSS Dominik Etlinger (CRO) 9-0, TF
82 kg: Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC)
LOSS Per Albin Olofsson (SWE) 5-1
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