ISTANBUL, Turkey – The United States achieved a historic victory at the 2023 U17 World Championships, securing their first medal of the tournament in spectacular fashion.
Jordyn Raney, of Kentucky, captivated the audience with his exceptional performance and emerged as the undisputed champion in the 55 kg Greco-Roman category, clinching the coveted gold medal on Tuesday night.
Raney showcased his offensive ability in the second period, overwhelming Suraj, the reigning 2022 U17 World champion from India, with a resounding 12-2 technical fall in the thrilling gold-medal final. With a narrow 1-0 lead at the break, Raney swiftly executed a takedown at the start of the second period, followed by two impressive headlocks that shattered Suraj's defenses. Despite India's challenge on the scoring, which was ultimately denied, Jordyn Raney emerged as the World Champion. Overwhelmed with joy, he even performed a celebratory flip on the mat before embracing his coaches.
The road to victory began for Raney on Monday, where he embarked on a remarkable winning streak. He commenced his campaign with two dominant technical falls, triumphing over Ahmed Shaban of Egypt and Shu Wei Chung of Taipei, both with commanding 8-0 margins. In the quarterfinals, he halted the progress of Aytjan Khalmakhanov, the 2021 U17 World champion from Uzbekistan, with a hard-fought 9-7 victory. In the semifinals, despite trailing 4-1, Raney displayed incredible resilience and executed two crucial moves in the dying moments of the match, securing an 8-7 triumph over Mohammadreza Gholamreza Gholami, the 2022 U17 World bronze medalist from Iran.
This victory marks the second consecutive year that the United States has claimed a gold medal in the U17 World Championships in Greco-Roman wrestling. In 2022, Joel Adams of the USA emerged victorious in the U17 Greco-Roman World title at 65 kg.
In the 110 kg category, Nicholas Sahakian from California narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing in fifth place. Trailing 2-1 in the first period, Sahakian was caught off guard by Individual Neutral Athlete Eldar Emirov, who executed a flawless throw, earning four points and ultimately securing the fall with just one second remaining in the first period.
Sahakian began his tournament on Monday with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Daniel Szilagyi of Hungary. However, his journey was halted in the quarterfinals, where he suffered a defeat at the hands of Ronak from India, who emerged victorious with a commanding 9-0 scoreline. When Ronak secured a spot in the semifinals on Monday night, Sahakian was granted an opportunity to compete in the repechage.
On Tuesday morning, Sahakian seized the chance and emerged victoriously in his 110 kg repechage match, securing a convincing 5-1 decision over Tomas Rusi of Finland. Sahakian's success was attributed to his exceptional execution of a pair of gut wrench turns in the first period.
In the first group of five weight classes, the United States celebrated another achievement, with Adam Waters from Pennsylvania securing eighth place in the 80 kg category. Waters commenced his campaign on Monday with two impressive victories but unfortunately suffered a defeat in the quarterfinals, which prevented him from participating in the repechage.
After the completion of the first five weight classes, the United States currently occupies fourth place in the overall standings with 41 points. India leads the standings with an impressive 63 points, closely followed by Iran with 60 points and Uzbekistan with 52 points.
The remaining five weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling will be concluded on Wednesday. Unfortunately, none of the U.S. athletes from Group Two advanced to compete on the second day, as all five entries were defeated and failed to qualify for the repechage.
The final two U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers from Group Two at the U17 World Championships were eliminated from the tournament after the athletes who defeated them on Tuesday morning were subsequently defeated in the semifinals.
Henry Aslikyan, competing in the 45 kg category, was eliminated when Alireza Ahmad Amirighasroddashti of Iran, who had defeated Aslikyan earlier in the day, suffered defeat in the semifinals.
Similarly, Aiden Cooley, competing in the 92 kg category, was knocked out after being defeated in the quarterfinals by Gabriel Stan of Romania, who was then defeated in the subsequent semifinals.
In order to qualify for the repechage, an athlete must lose to an opponent who reaches the gold medal finals. Unfortunately, none of the five U.S. wrestlers in Group Two lost to a finalist.
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