2021 Russian Wrestling Nationals Day 3 Recap
Sergey Kozyrev wins heavyweight national title over Atsamaz Tebloev
Sergey Kozyrev capped off his cinderella run at 125 KG Russian nationals with a gutsy 3-3 finals wins over fellow surging contender Atsamaz Tebloev to take home his first Russian Nationals title and his senior national title. Rebounding from his pin loss in the semis, #8 Baldan Tsyzhipov pinned Saypudin Magomedov to take bronze and has been the custom for as long as they have wrestled each other #6 Anzor Khizriev won by forfeit over his brother 2019 Yarygin bronze medalist Zelimkhan Khizriev. I am very excited to see how Kozyrev does against 2020 Individual cup world champion #2 Shamil Sharipov in a wrestle-off against Sharipov competes at the European Olympic qualifying tournament. I believe Sharipov has the necessary tools come match time to beat Sharipov.
GOLD: Sergey Kozyrev over Atsamaz Tebloev 3-3
BRONZE: #8 Baldan Tsyzhipov over Saypudin Magomedov by pin
BRONZE: #6 Anzor Khizriev over Zelimkhan Khizriev by forfeit
Fourth time the charm for Israil Kasumov as he upsets Evgheni Zherbaev for 70 KG Russian Nationals title.
In his fourth Russian nationals finals appearance and fist since 2016, perennial contender Israil Kasumov was finally able to take home gold with a 6-3 win over long time foe two time Russian nationals bronze medalist Evgeni Zherbaev. Kasumov was able to crowd the physical Zherbaev in tie ups and score off crucial scrambles to win the tactical minded matchup and prevent the host Buryatia from crowning a champion. In the bronze medal matches, #3 Cherman Valiev won a razor close 7-6 match against 2020 Yasar Dogu bronze medalist Viktor Rassadin and Abdulla Akhmedov won a tech fall late over #18 Anzor Zakuev 12-1. The strange thing is is that Abdulla Akhmedov competed at and won Belarusian nationals earlier this year which has me to believe he is in a similar boat to what #7 Ramazan Ramazanov (BLR) was back in 2019 when he won Belarusian nationals in the fall and still was the runner-up in December at the Alans to #3 Cherman Valiev while his documentation was finalized. The veteran savvy of Kasumov to finally be able to come away with a senior national title after having been a perennial contender at multiple weight classes and establish consistency in the absence of a dominant domestic talent such as Gazimagomedov, Tsabolov, Ramonov, or Baev has been something especially promising to see in his development this late into his career. Also pour one out for #6 Aznaur Tavaev who lost a heartbreaker late in the third round of consolation after hitting a beautiful chin whip early in the match.
GOLD: Israil Kasumov over Evgheni Zherbaev 6-3
BRONZE: Abdulla Akhmedov over #18 Anzor Zakuev 12-1
BRONZE: #3 Cherman Valiev over Viktor Rassadin 7-6
#3 Zaurbek Sidakov wins fourth national title with step out in final 10 seconds against #1 Razambek Zhamalov
In a match largely controlled by reigning national champion #1 Razambek Zhamalov, two time world champion #3 Zaurbek Sidakov was able to overcome a sluggish early start to get a step out to tighten up the score to 2-1 and with 10 seconds left in the match put up an absolutely furious effort to take a 2-2 criteria lead and defeat Zhamalov. This match was huge for Sidakov as reestablishing himself after his upset loss last year to #2 Khetik Tsabolov and he will be the favorite to win gold in Tokyo later this year. In the bronze medal matches, the positionally savvy #7 Magomed Kurbanaliev was able to stymie all of the offense of #8 Timur Bizhoev for a 1-1 win and #9 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov took bronze with a controlled 4-2 win over 2019 Intercontinental Cup runner-up #19 Magomed Dibirgadzhiev
GOLD: #3 Zaurbek Sidakov over #1 Razambek Zhamalov 2-2
BRONZE: #7 Magomed Kurbanaliev over #8 Timur Bizhoev 1-1
BRONZE: #9 Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov over #19 Magomed Dibirgadzhiev 4-2
Healed #5 Gadzhimurad Rashidov makes his fourth Russian nationals finals at 65 kilograms while #9 Zagir Shakhiev reasserts himself as dominant presence.
After a heartbreaking injury at the 2020 Individual World Cup, 2019 world champion #5 Gadzhimurad Rashidov was forced to sit on the sidelines and it was in question how he would fare in what was an absolutely stacked 65 KG field at Russian Nationals that included #1 David Baev, #4 (70) Kurban Shiraev, #7 Naachyn Kuular, #8 Akhmed Chakaev, #9 Zagir Shakhiev and #2 (61) Ramazan Ferzaliev. Rashidov showed he was more than up for the challenge as he put together a strong run to the finals on the top half with wins over surging #14 Murshid Mutalimov 11-0 in the quarters and a 2-2 semifinal win over #2 (61) Ramazan Ferzaliev. Other notable action on the top half of the bracket was #14 Murshid Mutalimov’s stunning 8-2 upset of 2019 70 KG world champion #1 David Baev in the round of 16 and #2 (61) Ramazan Ferzaliev’s impressive semifinals run punctuated by wins over past Russian nationals bronze medalists #12 Islam Dudaev and #17 Dasha Sharastepanov
The bottom half of the bracket saw #8 Akhmed Chakaev avenge his 2020 Yarygin loss to #7 Naachyn Kuular 5-1 in the round of 16 and #4 (70) Kurban Shiraev take out Chakaev 6-3 in the quarters to make the semis. Shiraev notched another win over returning 5th place finisher Muslim Saidulaev who beat him int he 2018 Alans finals and an 8-0 win over 2019 Alans bronze medalist Sayin Kazyryk who pinned 2019 61 KG world runner-up Magomedrasul Idrisov in the round of 32. #9 Zagir Shakhiev proved he was no flash in the pan after last year’s sensational Russian nationals run that saw him earn bronze with wins over Kezhik Chimba, Soslan Ramonov, and #13 Artur Badtiev by making the finals. Shakhiev’s finals run was highlighted by a 7-0 win over returning 61 KG bronze medalist #7 (61) Ibragim Abdurakhmanov in the round of 16, an 11-2 win over 2019 bronze medalist Julian Gergenov in the quarters and a 6-3 win over #4 (70) Kurban Shiraev in the semis. Attention needs to be given to 2019 bronze medalist Julian Gergenov’s strong run to the quarterfinals that saw him beat a pair of top ten foes in #6 (61) Magomed Magomedov 7-2 in the round of 32 and #9 (70) Alan Gogaev 3-2 in the round of 16.
Revenge the theme of 79 KG, returning national champion #1 Akhmed Usmanov makes finals.
The top half of the 79 KG bracket was all about establishing consistency and dominance for returning national champion, top ranked Akhmed Usmanov who cruised with an 8-2 win over 2019 Junior world champion #10 Amkhad Tashukhadzhiev and a 6-2 semifinals win over 2019 world bronze medalist Gadzhi Nabiev. Nabiev, a 2017 74 KG national runner-up, 2018 bronze, 2019 champ, and returning bronze was able to notch an impressive 6-3 quarterfinal upset over returning bronze medalist Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov. The bottom half of 79 KG was all about North Ossetia, specifically two North Ossetians in the form of Malik Shavaev and #5 Radik Valiev.
Shavaev on the top of the bottom half of the bracket got to work right away tech falling returning national runner-up #2 Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev 10-0 in the round of 16 after Alikhmaev had beaten 2019 national runner-up #4 Atsamaz Sanakoev 6-2 in the round of 32. To make the semifinals, Shavaev notched another strong tech fall win in the quarterfinals over Ernak Kardanov, who had upset 2020 Junior national champion Magomed Magomaev 3-2 in the qualification round and owned a win over Gadzhi Nabiev in the 2019 Ali Aliev.
#5 Radik Valiev was a man possessed on his way to the semis, as he avenged his loss from the 2020 Yarygin bronze medal match to 2019 Russian nationals bronze medalist Khalid Yakhiev 8-6 in the round of 16 and showed he is still the man to beat against perennial top talent Khalil Aminov in the quarterfinals. Aminov, a 2019 Alans champion and who was ranked #2 in the world back in January 2020 avenged his loss from last year’s Russian nationals to returning bronze medalist #3 Evgeni Lapshov 8-0 in the round of 16. In the pivotal semifinal matchup, Malik Shavaev was able to notch an 8-6 upset over #5 Radik Valiev to earn his first finals berth and medal at Russian nationals while Valiev will look for his second Russian nationals medal after having finished as national runner-up at 70 KG back in 2016.
Returning 92 KG world bronze medalist #1 (92) Alikhan Zhabrailov makes successful return to 97 KG to face off against returning national runner-up #17 Aslanbek Sotiev
With #1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev allowed not to compete at nationals, 2020 92 KG Individual World Cup champion #1 (92) Alikhan Zhabrailov was the man to beat as he moved up to 97 KG. This holds up as Zhabrailov pinned 2019 bronze medalist Georgi Gogaev in his first match on the bottom half of the bracket, won 5-2 over Asadulla Ibragimov, teched 2014 bronze medalist Azret Shogenov and teched Khokh Khugaev 11-0 in the semis. Khokh Khugaev did have a strong upset win over 2019 runner-up Igor Ovsyannikov 2-0 in the quarterfinals, but other than that the whole bottom half was all Zhabrailov.
The top half of the bracket was all about returning national runner-up Aslanbek Sotiev who beat 2018 Intercontinental Cup runner-up Tazhudin Mukhtarov in his opening round match 6-2, pinned Abdulhamim Javatkhanov in the quarters, and won 6-4 over 2016 Junior world bronze medalist Znaur Kotsiev in the semis.
I have Zhabrailov winning 6-0 off timing Sotiev’s entires into his underhook in the finals tomorrow. Kotsiev over Mukhtarov for bronze and Khokh Khugaev over Asadulla Ibragimov as well for bronze.
#1 Abasgadzi Magomedov dominates on route to 61 KG national finals, veteran Nodar Arabidze upsets surging #10 Muslim Mekhtikhanov to make finals
2020 Individual World Cup champion #1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov looked sublime on his way to the finals, with three tech falls and his closest match being a 8-4 win over 2019 57 KG Alans bronze medalist Alexander Sabanov in the quarterfinals. On the bottom half of the bracket, 2020 Junior national champion Fedor Baltuev upset a pair of past bronze medalists in 2019 bronze #9 Dinislam Takhtarov in the round of 32 and in the round of 16 upset two time Russian nationals bronze medalist #11 Zelimkhan Abakarov. In the quarters, Baltuev would be stymied by the veteran 2016 Medved champion Nodar Arabidze in the quarters 7-5. Arabidze however would not be able to stop North Caucasian Federal District runner-up #10 Muslim Mekhtikhanov who pinned Arabidze up 7-0. Mekhtikhanov and Magomedov will be an exceptional matchup and I take Magomedov in an absolute shoot out.