#WrestleBratislava

On 14th attempt, Prevolaraki wins historic European gold for Greece

Friday, April 11, 2025 - 22:47 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 11) -- Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) made her first trip to the European Championships in 2011 when she was 19 years old. She competed in 14 European Championships and returned home with eight medals -- four silvers and four bronzes -- over the last 13 years.

Now 33 and competing at her 14th European Championships, Prevolaraki won her first gold medal with a thrilling win over Andreea ANA (ROU), ending a 24-year wait for Greece to have a champion in Women's Wrestling at the continental event. Former world champion Sofia POUMPOURIDOU (GRE) was the last and only other European champion for Greece in Women's Wrestling.

"I am very happy that I managed to earn the gold medal," Prevolaraki said. "I was waiting so many years to be the European champion and I am 33 years old but I managed to do it."

Over the years, Prevolaraki has lost four finals, all to different opponents. But Friday, she managed to keep her composure in a close bout for the win.

"This time I am more experienced and I did not feel any pressure," she said.  I played freely and good things happen when you have no pressure."

Wrestling in Bratislava in the 53kg weight class, Prevolaraki was hit with passivity first and put on the 30-second clock which expired without Prevolaraki scoring to give Ana 1-0 lead.

Ana extended her lead to 3-0 when Prevolaraki tried to hit a cut-back but was unsuccessful in the move. With more than two minutes remaining, Ana tried defending her 3-0 lead but was put on the activity clock when 1:10 were left.

During the 30-second period, Prevolaraki went for the leg-attack but Ana moved and tried getting behind Prevolaraki which she almost did and tried throwing the Greek with a cradle. But Prevolaraki was alerted and did not land in danger and scored a takedown. The activity clock against Ana expired which added another point for Prevolaraki, making the score 3-3 with the Greece wrestler leading on criteria of last point scored.

Romania decided to challenge, a strategic one. Even a lost challenge would need Ana to score a point to win from 4-3 with Prevolaraki lead and 3-3 with criteria to Prevolaraki.

On review, Romania lost the challenge and Prevolaraki led 4-3. Ana hit a sweep single and tried forcing Prevolaraki out of bounds but the Greece wrestler turned it around to get Ana's head out first and get another point to lead 5-3 which she defended and won the gold medal.

Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) at the medal ceremony of the European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

"I think I have had a good career," she said. "I am sad that I don't have an Olympic medal but I have many European medals and world Championships medals."

Prevolaraki, a four-time Olympian, a rare feat in wrestling, paid tribute to three-time Olympic champion Buvaisar SAITIEV, by wearing a shirt with his photo and message. Saitiev had passed away in March at the age of 49 years.

"The legend [Saitiev] is for all wrestler all over the world and his legend has no bounds. I wanted to pay a tribute to this legend," she said.

#wrestlebishkek

Asian U20 Championships 2025 Entries

Friday, July 4, 2025 - 16:27 By United World Wrestling Press

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (July 4) -- The Asian U20 Championships begins on July 9 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Around 300 wrestlers are expected to participate in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

The competition will begin with Greco-Roman followed by Women's Wrestling and Freestyle will close off the competition on July 13. For full schedule of the Asian U20 Championships, click here.

Note: These are preliminary entries and subject to change 72 hours before the draws of each style. For final entries and brackets, refer to UWW Arena.

Freestyle

57kg
Wanxing LYU (CHN)
ANKUSH (IND)
Arshia HADDADI (IRI)
Rikuto NAGAI (JPN)
Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ)
Azim ABDYKALYKOV (KGZ)
Inseong BAK (KOR)
Naran Ulzii BARKHAS (MGL)
Hayden ANCHETA (PHI)
Saihusein MALIKOV (TJK)
Kabe MATJANOV (TKM)
Chih Kai LU (TPE)
Asadbek SAIDTURAEV (UZB)

61kg
Jiayu HUANG (CHN)
Anuj VISHNOI (IND)
Abolfazl BAKHSHOUDEH (IRI)
Hyuga SATONAKA (JPN)
Allan ORALBEK (KAZ)
Askat TOKTOMATOV (KGZ)
Davaadorj ARIUNBOLD (MGL)
Muhammad WAHAB (PAK)
Ahlidin JABOROV (TJK)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Abdulloh KHABIBULLAEV (UZB)

65kg
Yufei DING (CHN)
ASHWANI (IND)
Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI)
Shina YASUMI (JPN)
Yeraly ZHENISSOV (KAZ)
Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ)
Jongpil YOON (KOR)
Janchivdorj TUVDUU (MGL)
Muhammad ABDULLAH (PAK)
Ali AL MUTAWA (QAT)
Hakim GHOIBZODA (TJK)
Bagtyyar ANNAYEV (TKM)
You Wei LAI (TPE)
Komiljon YUSUFOV (UZB)

70kg
Jinrui LIU (CHN)
SOURABH (IND)
Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI)
Ariya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Sungkar SEIDAKHMET (KAZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Ankh Erdene ALTANGEREL (MGL)
Sohail KHAN (PAK)
Muhammadfoteh OLIMOV (TJK)
Batyr BEGENJOV (TKM)
Javokhir CHULIBOYEV (UZB)

74kg
Jinpeng ZHU (CHN)
VIVEK (IND)
Mohammad MAMIVAND (IRI)
Yujin TAKIZAWA (JPN)
Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ)
Ilim ZHUMABEKOV (KGZ)
Yong SHIN (KOR)
Burenjargal BATBAYAR (MGL)
Saad AL SULAITI (QAT)
Muhammadamin ABDULOEV (TJK)
Vatan ANNAORAZOV (TKM)
Jeng CHUAN (TPE)
Umarkhon MUYDINOV (UZB)

79kg
Guanpeng XIAO (CHN)
AMIT (IND)
Abolfazl Mehdi SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Natsura OKAZAWA (JPN)
Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ)
Zhakshylyk BAITASHOV (KGZ)
Gan Erdene BAATARKHUU (MGL)
Alp Arslan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Jorullo ABDUFATTOKHOV (UZB)

86kg
Chunchen LIU (CHN)
SACHIN (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Rintaro INOUE (JPN)
Navruz AKHMEDKHANOV (KAZ)
Elnur AKYBAEV (KGZ)
Juhwan LEE (KOR)
Ganbat TSERENPUNTSAG (MGL)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Nodirbek ABDULLAEV (UZB)

92kg
Iqbal AHMADI (AFG)
Hairui YUE (CHN)
SACHIN (IND)
Toohid NOORY (IRI)
Yuya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Iakov CHAPLIN (KGZ)
Bayarbaatar ERDENEMUNKH (MGL)
Orazmuhammet HOJALYYEV (TKM)
Sherzod POYONOV (UZB)

97kg
Jiawei LI (CHN)
VISHAL (IND)
Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI)
Genki HOKI (JPN)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Aitenir MAKSATOV (KGZ)
Yujun LEE (KOR)
Temuujin ENKHMEND (MGL)
Muhammetdurdy MUHAMMETDURDYYEV (TKM)
Mukhammadjon ISMOILJONOV (UZB)

125kg
Maysam SHAH QOL (AFG)
Ruijie LI (CHN)
Jaspooran SINGH (IND)
Mohammadreza LOTFI (IRI)
Akinari ORIYAMA (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Sulde DONGAK (KGZ)
Baejoon JANG (KOR)
Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL)
Eldorbek KHASANOV (UZB)

Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) is the defending champion at Greco-Roman 130kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Zongyao WU (CHN)
NITIN (IND)
Payam AHMADI (IRI)
Masatora HONDA (JPN)
Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ)
Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ)
Nuryagdy DOVRANOV (TKM)
Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB)

60kg
Dahua XIONG (CHN)
SURAJ (IND)
Seyediman HOSSEINI (IRI)
Sota SAKAKI (JPN)
Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)
Erbol OZGONOV (KGZ)
Jueui YANG (KOR)
Muteb ALMUWALLAD (KSA)
Abbosjon TURAQULOV (TJK)
Husniddin ULUGBEKOV (TKM)
Shu Wei CHUNG (TPE)
Khurshidbek NORMUKHAMMADOV (UZB)

63kg
Xiaoli FAN (CHN)
VARUN (IND)
Mohammad ABOUTALEBI (IRI)
Kazuto FURUICHI (JPN)
Yesbol SHAMILOV (KAZ)
Emirlan DUISHENALIEV (KGZ)
Haitham BARAHMAH (KSA)
Muhammadjon ABDULOEV (TJK)
Kemal KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Ming Han SHEN (TPE)
Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB)

67kg
Zhengye HAN (CHN)
YOGESH (IND)
Gholamreza ABDOVALI (IRI)
Taisei MAEDA (JPN)
Alibek TURLYGAZY (KAZ)
Zhantoro MIRZALIEV (KGZ)
Mingun JEONG (KOR)
Sunat ABDULLOEV (TJK)
Ding Jen HUANG (TPE)
Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB)

72kg
Rihao YAN (CHN)
Akash PUNIA (IND)
Amir SAEIDI (IRI)
Kento NOMURA (JPN)
Alikhan DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Ilgis KANYBEKOV (KGZ)
Anvarjon JURAEV (TJK)
Kaka CHARYYEV (TKM)
Ahmad KODIROV (UZB)

77kg
Wentao RAO (CHN)
Sachin KUMAR (IND)
Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI)
Fuga MISAIZU (JPN)
Omar DUISEMBEK (KAZ)
Adilet ABYKEEV (KGZ)
Juwan CHOI (KOR)
Ali A MAJRASHI (KSA)
Kemal BERDILIYEV (TKM)
Jeng Jung CHUAN (TPE)
Bekmurod RUSTAMOV (UZB)

82kg
Zheying SONG (CHN)
PRINCE (IND)
Alireza MOHAMMAD (IRI)
Aito TANGE (JPN)
Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ)
Mirsaid IUNUSOV (KGZ)
Majd M HAWSAWI (KSA)
Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB)

87kg
Xinyu LIU (CHN)
ROHIT (IND)
Hamidreza KESHTKAR (IRI)
Rondo KODAMA (JPN)
Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ)
Asylbek NIIAZBEK UULU (KGZ)
Kangju LEE (KOR)
Chen Feng SUNG (TPE)
Bobur ABDURASULOV (UZB)

97kg
Yikai KAN (CHN)
NAMAN (IND)
Mohammad SEYDI (IRI)
Koki MATSUMOTO (JPN)
Beibit KORGANOV (KAZ)
Rustam SADYKOV (KGZ)
Jaeno CHOI (KOR)
Javohir KHUJAEV (UZB)

130kg
Yeersheng YEERGEN (CHN)
Joginder RATHEE (IND)
Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)
Taiki IWASAWA (JPN)
Ilya BORODAY (KAZ)
Talasbek BOOBEKOV (KGZ)
Seunggyu MIN (KOR)
Amirkhon BERDIKULOV (UZB)

Mansi LATHER (IND)Senior Asian Championships bronze medalist Mansi LATHER (IND) is aiming for her first Asian U20 gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari) 

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Shenyu LIU (CHN)
SHRUTI (IND)
Mai OGAWA (JPN)
Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ)
Dilnaz ABDYKADYROVA (KGZ)
Nilufar NURMUKHAMMADOVA (UZB)

53kg
Xiaole HAN (CHN)
SAARIKA (IND)
Mihoko TAKEUCHI (JPN)
Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ)
Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Roeun SONG (KOR)
Ya Hsin CHEN (TPE)
Khusniobod SULTANNAZIROVA (UZB)

55kg
Huiyi WEI (CHN)
REENA (IND)
Yuna SAWATANI (JPN)
Aida ALZHAN (KAZ)
Aziza SHUMKAROVA (KGZ)
Odonchimeg TSEVEEN (MGL)
Yi Hsuan TSENG (TPE)
Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)

57kg
Xinyu WANG (CHN)
Neha SHARMA (IND)
Rin KINOSHITA (JPN)
Anna STRATAN (KAZ)
Akylai SATYBAEVA (KGZ)
Eunso CHO (KOR)
Yu Hsuan CHENG (TPE)
Ulmeken ESENBAEVA (UZB)

59kg
YANGJIBAZONG (CHN)
Ashlesha BAGADE (IND)
Sae NOGUCHI (JPN)
Akmarzhan MAYABAS (KAZ)
Aidai NURUDINOVA (KGZ)
Erdenebolor LKHAGVASUREN (MGL)
Kai Yi LI (TPE)
Ulbiyke KARLYBAEVA (UZB)

62kg
Zhengwei MA (CHN)
ANJLI (IND)
Hana YOSHIKAWA (JPN)
Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ)
Manzura ZHUSUEVA (KGZ)
Yeyeon LEE (KOR)
Gundegmaa ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Tzu Ling WU (TPE)
Nigina SABIROVA (UZB)

65kg
Sangquzhen GE (CHN)
MUSKAN (IND)
Ayana HISHINUMA (JPN)
Kyzzhibek ZHARKYNBAYEVA (KAZ)
Asel ZHAPAROVA (KGZ)
Narkhajid NYAMSUREN (MGL)
Kang Yu CHIANG (TPE)
Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB)

68kg
Wenjin QIU (CHN)
Mansi LATHER (IND)
Haruka KOBARU (JPN)
Uldana TILEUKHAN (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Yeonwoo SONG (KOR)
Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL)
Enejan YOLDASHOVA (TKM)
Sheng Fang CAI (TPE)
Iroda TURDYMURATOVA (UZB)

72kg
Yawen WEI (CHN)
HARSHITA (IND)
Ai SAKAI (JPN)
Meiramgul MAKSOT (KAZ)
Kaiyrkul SHARSHEBAEVA (KGZ)
Oyun Erdene ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Nazik BAZAROVA (TKM)
Saodat TURAEVA (UZB)

76kg
Saihan AO (CHN)
KAJAL (IND)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Meruyert NAZARBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aizharkyn ZHANYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Tuvshinjargal TARAV (MGL)
Gulnaz BAKYYEVA (TKM)
Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB)