Shows strength at African & Oceania qualifiers, Elsayed falls
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (March 22) — Algeria emerged as the most successful nation on the first day of the African & Oceania OG Qualifiers, with five Greco-Roman quotas in Alexandria. Egypt was second with four spots, Tunisia won two, and Morocco managed to grab one, Vinay Siwach reports for UWW.
Egypt has the chance to complete the line-up with six quotas as it has already won one at the World Championships and was hoping to win the remaining five in Alexandria. But Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), the top seed and favorite to win one of the two 67kg spots, lost to Souleymen NASR (TUN) 7-4.
For Algeria, Tokyo Olympians Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) and Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) led a strong performance, qualifying for the 60kg and 87kg weight classes. Fadi ROUABAH (ALG) grabbed the quota at 97 kilograms, Abd OUAKALI (ALG) made it at 77kg, and Ishak GHAIOU (ALG) won at 67 kilograms.
Fergat controlled his semifinal against Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR) and scored two turns from par terre, while Ettalibi failed to score any. Fergat won 5-1. In the second semifinal, Moamen MOHAMED (EGY) survived a scare against Latuf MADI (COM), winning 6-5.
Made did well in not giving up any points from par terre in the first period, but Mohamed managed to push out in the second period to make it 2-0. As Mohamed tried to hit another big move on Madi, he fell on his own back, giving Madi two points. A lost challenge from Egypt made it 3-2. It became 5-2 when Madi once again blocked an attempted throw from Mohamed.
With time ticking, Mohamed got Madi in a bear hug and launched a big move, earning him four points and a 6-5 lead. He kept Madi in danger till 10 seconds left, which he saw off.
Sid Azara dominated his bouts, winning all three, including the semifinals, via superiority. He defeated Roberto NSANGUA (ANG) 8-0 in a minute and 52 seconds to earn a Paris ticket.
Fellow Tokyo Olympian Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) also dominated his earlier bouts but was in trouble in the semifinal against Hakim TRABELSI (TUN). Metwally perhaps took it easy against Trabelsi, who threw him for four and used a headlock in the first second of the semifinal.
He mentally gathered himself after that eye-opener. Trabelsi was penalized for a headbutt but kept a 4-3 lead. The referees then cautioned Metwally for a headbutt, extending Trabelsi’s lead to 6-3. But Metwally came out all guns blazing in the second period and, at one point, caught Trabelsi in a lock. Unfortunately, he fell back and gave up two points before scoring a reversal. As Metwally tried scoring from that position, Trabelsi committed a leg four, getting him a second caution and a two-point penalty. Trabelsi was finally cautioned out of the way when he blocked Metwally, who hit a four and tried to pin Trabelsi.
At 67kg, after beating Elsayed, Nasr earned a Paris quota with a solid 11-0 win over Sahid KARGBO (SLE) in the semifinals. In the quarterfinal, Nasr was the first to get the par terre advantage, and he rolled Elsayed twice to lead 5-0 before Elsayed scored a step out to cut it to 5-1. In the second period, Elsayed scored a turn from par terre to make it 5-4, and as he was trying to lift Nasr for a throw, Nasr’s head touched outside the zone, and the referee blew the whistle. Elsayed gave up another point for a challenge.
With 1:33 left on the clock, Nasr scored a step out when Elsayed tried an arm throw. Nasr’s lead swelled to 7-4, and Elsayed found no opening in the remaining time. Elsayed was in disbelief as he left the mat.
Ghaiout denied Australia a Greco-Roman qualification after he defeated Ando LEHTMETS (AUS) 5-1 in the semifinal.
At 97kg, Rouabh denied Tokyo Olympian Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN) another trip to the Games after an 8-0 Win in a minute and 57 seconds. The other Tokyo Olympian in this weight class, Mohamed GABR (EGY), won a spot with a 10-0 win over Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR).
The same set of countries earned the Paris spots at 77kg as well, with Abd OUAKALI (ALG) beating Yassine CHEKLY (MAR) 11-0 and Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (EGY) blanking Dean VAN ZYL (RSA) 9-0 just before the first period ended.
Four wrestlers were entered in the tournament in the 130 kg weight class. Oussama ASSAD (MAR) confirmed his Paris Olympic qualification in the morning, while Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) got a walkover from Marcus CARNEY (NZL) and earned the ticket to Paris.
The African & Oceania OG Qualifiers will continue on Saturday, with Women’s Wrestling and Freestyle on Sunday. Watch live on uww.org or UWW+.
RESULTS
60kg
Paris Qualification Bouts
SF 1: Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) df. Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR), 5-1
SF 2: Moamen MOHAMED (EGY) df. Latuf MADI (COM), 6-5
67kg
Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Souleymen NASR (TUN) df. Sahid KARGBO (SLE), 11-0
SF 2: Ishak GHAIOU (ALG) df. Ando LEHTMETS (AUS), 5-1
77kg
Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (EGY) df. Dean VAN ZYL (RSA), 9-0
SF 2: Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG) df. Yassine CHEKLY (MAR), 11-0
87kg
Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) df. Hakim TRABELSI (TUN), via cautions (13-9)
SF 2: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) df. Roberto Mbaio NSANGUA (ANG), 8-0
97kg
Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Mohamed GABR (EGY) df. Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR), 10-0
SF 2: Fadi ROUABAH (ALG) df. Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN), 8-0
130kg
Paris Qualified Wrestlers
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)