The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Team USA dominates India in first dual of wrestling World Cup

The United States picked up a clean sweep of India in its first dual of the wrestling World Cup in Carver-Hawkeye.
Jordan+Burroughs+%28red%29+of+America+competes+against+Vinod+Kumar+Omprakash+%28blue%29+of+India+in+the+74+kg+bout+during+the+2018+Mens+Freestyle+World+Cup+at+Carver-Hawkeye+Arena+on+Saturday%2C+April+7.+%28Ben+Allan+Smith%2FThe+Daily+Iowan%29
The Daily Iowan; Photos by Ben A
Jordan Burroughs (red) of America competes against Vinod Kumar Omprakash (blue) of India in the 74 kg bout during the 2018 Men’s Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, April 7. (Ben Allan Smith/The Daily Iowan)

Carver-Hawkeye was pretty much as loud as it could get when former Hawkeye Thomas Gilman took the mat for the first time for Team USA in the wrestling World Cup on April 7.

But those ear-piercing cheers quickly turned to boos when it was announced that Gilman’s opponent, Amit Kumar of India, had forfeited.

The crowd stayed loud throughout, as the win by default kicked things off for a dominant performance from the United States in its 10-0 win over India in its first dual of the World Cup.

“When our guys are performing good skills, the crowd gets loud, and it inspires everybody, so it’s a lot of fun to wrestle in front of this crowd,” Team USA coach Bill Zadick said.

After a 6-4 win by Clear Lake native Joe Colon at 61 kilograms, Team USA put the pressure on with five-consecutive technical falls to end India’s hopes of a victory.

The streak almost ended at two after quick superiorities from Logan Stieber and James Green when four-time World gold medalist Jordan Burroughs took the mat against Vinod Kumar Omprakash.

Burroughs endured two blood timeouts and almost two full periods before finally pushing his opponent out of bounds for a final time for the 11-1 victory. The former Olympic gold medalist only scored 1 point in the first for passivity but turned it on in the second to steamroller Kumar Omprakash.

“The expectation is just continue to push the pace,” Burroughs said. “I believe in my conditioning, I believe in my abilities, so at some point out there when stuff happens, I’ll be able to finish.”

Kyle Dake and David Taylor followed with first-period technical falls before Hayden Zillmer pulled out a 7-0 win at 92 kg.

Kyle Snyder then responded to being back in Big Ten country with a win that resembled Team USA’s performance throughout the session — pure dominance and a 10-0 superiority.

Dom Bradley — who didn’t know he was going to wrestle until about a half hour before the competition started — closed the dual with another 10-0 technical fall to give the U.S. a 10-0 victory.

Zadick decided to put Colon and Bradley on the mat instead of Kendric Maple and J’den Cox, but it is likely Cox and Maple will be called upon in Session 2.

Team USA faced the test of Japan at 2:30 p.m. April 7. At the 2017 World Championships, the Japanese squad placed sixth in freestyle, but had six gold medalists, the most of any country.

After a successful showing following a World title, it’s time for the United States to prove it is one of the most elite countries in wrestling.

“Last year, we won the World Championship, so this is kind of like the first step to defending our title,” Snyder said. “A lot of people, when you win something once, they can say it was a fluke, but then if you pair that up with a World Cup title, another World Championship defense, then you start to get pretty serious.”

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About the Contributor
Pete Ruden, Pregame Editor
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @PeteyRuden Pete Ruden is the Pregame Editor at The Daily Iowan, where he has worked since the beginning of his college career. He has covered a variety of sports at the DI, including football, men's basketball, baseball, wrestling, and men's tennis. Currently a senior, he served as a sports reporter his freshman year, before becoming the Assistant Sports Editor and then Sports Editor his junior year.