#WrestleNice

2024 Henri Deglane Grand Prix Entry List

Thursday, January 18, 2024 - 19:06 By United World Wrestling Press

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NICE, France (January 18) -- The 50th edition of the Henri Deglane Grand Prix will commence in Nice, France on January 19.

More than 300 wrestlers from around the world will take the mats over the weekend to prepare for the all-important Olympic qualifiers later this year.

A two-kilogram weight allowance is allowed at the tournament which will begin with Women's Wrestling on January 19, Freestyle on January 20 and Greco-Roman on January 21.

Here's the list of the wrestlers competing in Nice.

57kg
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX)
Gary GIORDMAINA (MLT)
Rafal SZEWC (POL)
Darian Toi CRUZ (PUR)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Cael NASDEO (USA)
Liam CRONIN (USA)
Kael LAURIDSEN (USA)
Daniel DESHAZER (USA)

61kg
Stilyan Yanchev ILIEV (BUL)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Levan METREVELI (ESP)
Jules GARDETTE (FRA)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Ramzan AWTAEW (GER)
Dario DITTRICH (GER)
Jannis REBHOLZ (GER)
Julien ZINSER (GER)
Kairat AMIRTAYEV (KAZ)
Zangar KABYLBEKOV (KAZ)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Ramon SALAZAR (USA)
Ravi KUMAR (UWW)

65kg
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Ilyas ABDURASHIDOV (BEL)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Peiman BIABANI (CAN)
Michael ZALE (CAN)
Carlos ALVAREZ (ESP)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Dominik JAGUSZ (POL)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Nahshon GARRETT (USA)
Aden VALENCIA (USA)
Paul KOLODZIK (USA)
Anthony ASHNAULT (USA)
Seth GROSS (USA)

70kg
Alexander SEIWALD (AUT)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Abdoul NAKAEV (FRA)
Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER)
Kevin HENKEL (GER)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Dias SAGDATOV (KAZ)
Zhassulan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Yernur NURGAZY (KAZ)
Rifat SAIBOTALOV (KAZ)
Timur SHANBAYEV (KAZ)
Fabian NIEDZWIEDZKI (POL)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Yahya THOMAS (USA)
Anwar ALLI (USA)
Antonio TOLBERT (USA)

74kg
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Roni NEVALAINEN (FIN)
Magamed DELIEV (FRA)
Alan GOLMOHAMMADI (GER)
Stefan KAEPPELER (GER)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Stas WOLF (GER)
Tim MUELLER (GER)
Rayanne ESSAIDI (MAR)
Nico ZARB (MLT)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Khairiddine BEN TLILI (TUN)
Alexander FACUNDO (USA)
Tyler BERGER (USA)
Joseph LAVALLEE (USA)

79kg
Lukas LINS (AUT)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Joona VUOTI (FIN)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Adam KAKHRIEV (FRA)
Pouria TAHERKHANI (GER)
Richard SCHROEDER (GER)
Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Umar MAVLAEV (SUI)

86kg
Matteo MONTEIRO (CPV)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Krzysztof SADOWIK (POL)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Kimi KAEPPELI (SUI)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Mark HALL (USA)
Taylor LUJAN (USA)
Owen WEBSTER (USA)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Rahmatullah MORADI (GER)
Islyambek ILYASSOV (KAZ)
Abdimanap BAIGENZHEYEV (KAZ)
Michal BIELAWSKI (POL)
Filip ROGUT (POL)
Camden MCDANEL (USA)

97kg
Tarik AZZOUZI(BEL)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Nurdaulet ZAUYTBEK (KAZ)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Wiktor HASA (POL)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)
Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA)
Nathan JACKSON (USA)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA)
Lucas GANSI (GER)
Omar EYUBOV (KAZ)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Hayden ZILLMER (USA)
Trent HILLGER (USA)

Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) will compete at 87kg in Nice. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Raymond LANGLET (FRA)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO)
Giorgi KOCHALIDZE (GEO)

60kg
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN)
Aser EBRO RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Ilian AINAOUI (FRA)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Beso MAKHARADZE (GEO)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Rashad ORUJEVI (GEO)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Romio GOLIATH (NAM)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Mohamed HKIRI (TUN)
Taylor LA MONT (USA)
Jamal VALIZADEH (UWW)

63kg
Gildas CHAMBINAUD (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Avtandil MAMALADZE (GEO)
Beka GURULI (GEO)
Jonas MUELLER (SUI)
Mathias MARTINETTI (SUI)

67kg
William REENBERG (DEN)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Hocine AKLI (FRA)
Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Piotr STOLARCZYK (POL)
Michal BISKUPSKI (POL)
Dorien HUTTER (SUI)
Saya BRUNNER (SUI)
Fritz REBER (SUI)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)

72kg
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Haik Michel SARGSYAN (FRA)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Piotr LEWANDOWSKI (POL)

77kg
Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO)
Shafaihuuna BENHARD (NAM)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
David LOHER (SUI)
Sami SLAMA (TUN)

82kg
Yvan GUIADEM (FRA)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)

87kg
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Daniel HERRERO (ESP)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Artem SHAPOVALOV (FIN)
Tourpal MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Islam ALIEV (POL)
Hakim TRABELSI (TUN)

97kg
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Artsiom SHUMSKI (POL)
Igor SHEPETUN (POL)

130kg
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)

Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) is entered at 53kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg 
Katie DUTCHAK (CAN)
Justine VIGOUROUX (FRA)
Joséphine HAEMMERLE (FRA)
Juliette LESCURE (FRA)
Lola JACQUINOT (FRA)
Jasmine BOUAZERIA (FRA)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Joanna SAMSONOWICZ (POL)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Natalia WALCZAK (POL)
Georgiana ANTUCA (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Erin GOLSTON (USA)

53kg
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Aintzane GORRIA (ESP)
Maria BAEZ (ESP)
Maelyss ROUSSELET (FRA)
Lilya COHEN (FRA)
Laurie LESAFFRE (FRA)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (FRA)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NIG)
Florentina ROTARU (ROU)
Elena IONESCU (ROU)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)
Abir ZARROUKI (TUN)
Alisha HOWK (USA)
Katie GOMEZ (USA)
Hannah HALL (USA)
Lauren MASON (USA)

57kg
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Graciela SANCHEZ (ESP)
Celeste SION (FRA)
Gaelle RUIZ (FRA)
Mia OLIVIER (FRA)
Romaissa EL KHARROUBI (FRA)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Ester ABRAHAM (NAM)
Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL)
Julia NOWICKA (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Tilda NAESLUND (SWE)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
Alexandra HEDRICK (USA)
Abigail NETTE (USA)
Bridgette DUTY (USA)

62kg
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Mathilde GUEDON (FRA)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NIG)
Nicola WASILEWSKA (POL)
Olha PADOSHYK (POL)
Aleksandra WITOS (POL)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Lexie BASHAM (USA)
Ana LUCIANO (USA)
Lauren LOUIVE (USA)
Skylar HATTENDORF (USA)

65kg
Madison CLAYTON (CAN)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)

68kg
Nerea PAMPIN (ESP)
Lorena LERA (ESP)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Georgiana ANDRIES (ROU)
Nour JELJELI (TUN)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Kaylynn ALBRECHT (USA)

72kg
Thamires MARTINS (BRA)
Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Karolina JAWORSKA (POL)
Paula ROTARU (ROU)
Maria NITU (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

76kg
Meiriele CHARAMBA (BRA)
Epp MAE (EST)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Anna BRAUN (SWE)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
Skylar GROTE (USA)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)
Precious BELL (USA)
Brooklyn HAYS (USA)

#WrestleZagreb

Kusaka earns shot at world title; Iran puts 3 in final

Thursday, September 18, 2025 - 15:57 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 18) -- Olympic champion Nao KUSAKA (JPN) is a step away from winning his first world title.

After finishing with a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships at 77kg, Kusaka went on to win the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the same weight. The Olympic champion now wants the tag of world champion.

Returning for the first time since Paris, Kusaka wrestled like is the Olympic champion, beating Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1, in the semifinals. He scored a takedown to open the scoring before getting the par terre advantage. He failed to score but led 3-0. Fritsch was in danger of giving up a four-pointer but he flung Kusaka on counter for a point to make it 3-1.

There was no action in the second period and Kusaka defended his lead till the time expired to earn his first trip to the finals at a World Championships.

"Like at the Olympics, you can't predict what will happen. But a year after the Olympics, I want to show my strength to the world again," Yoshida said after the win. " I always worked out with him, so we know each other well. But to me, it didn't matter if he had a strategy or not."

Earlier in the quarterfinals, he defeated Olympic silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 4-2, in a rematch of the Olympic final. Kusaka had to come back as he was down 2-2 on criteria as Zhadrayev launched a counter throw for two points. But Kusaka added two stepouts in the second period to win 4-2.

He will now face Olympic bronze medalist Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) for the gold medal after the Armenian defeated world U20 champion Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) in a one-move semifinal.

Amoyan got the first chance in par terre and he loaded for a suplex on the edge. Abdevali was ready to land on his hands but Amoyan changed his throw and slammed the Iranian in a reverse throw for four and lead 5-0.

Abdevali failed to score from par terre in the second period and dropped the semifinal 5-1 against Amoyan.

Despite Abdevali's loss, Iran managed three other wrestlers in the finals with world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) leading the way. Two World Championships debutants, Payam AHMADI (IRI) and Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) reached the finals at 55kg and 82kg, respectively.

At 130kg, world champion Mirzazadeh had no trouble reaching the final after he defeated Wenhao JIANG (CHN), 3-1, in the semifinals. He got a roll from par terre for two points and despite par terre position in the second period, he won 3-1.

He will face a surprise finalist Darius VITEK (HUN) who denied Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), 1-1, as he got the criteria for the first point in a 1-1 finish.

Farokhi, who won the Zagreb Open this year, powered his way to the 82kg final after denying local star Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-1, in the semifinals. Farokhi led 3-1 at the break after a takedown. He scored another as soon as the second period began before adding two stepouts to win.

He will face Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) for the gold medal after the Georgian denied Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) yet another comeback as he had all day on Thursday. Yoshida began with two stepouts before getting the par terre. He failed to score any points but led 3-0 at the break.

It was all Bolkvadze in the second period as he scored three turns from par terre to take a 7-3 lead. Japan challenged the last turn saying that Yoshida's head was out of bounds before last turn. However, the review showed that it was inside and Bolkvadze got a point for the lost challenge to make it 8-3 with 1:10 remaining. 

Yoshida used an arm drag to takedown and make it 8-5 but he did not have any another action and Georgia got its second finalist of the night.

Ahmadi upsets Azizli

Iran's gamble to switch Pouya DAD MARZ (IRI) with world U20 champion Payam AHMADI (IRI) a week before the World Championships paid off as he denied four-time world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) a record fifth at 55kg.

Ahmadi was subjected to a selection bout against Dad Marz in Iran and he defeated the former world silver medalist with ease thus earning a trip to Zagreb a month after winning the gold at the U20 World Championships.

In the semifinals, Ahmadi got a takedown to put Azizli on the backfoot. He was awarded the par terre position as well but failed to score. However, he led 3-0 at the break. Azizli got his chance in the second period but Ahmadi brought out his top defense to not give up any points and keep his 3-1 lead, a score he went on to win with.

He will face another teenager for the gold medal, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO), who defeated Emin CAKIR (TUR), 2-2, on last point criteria to earn a spot in the final.

Lolua, just 18 years of age, won a bronze medal at 55kg at the U20 World Championships in which Ahmadi was the champion. Lolua and Cakir traded passivity points with the latter holding first-point criteria. Lolua got a third passivity which is without points and only position, but he failed to score from that as well. Georgia challenged for a leg-foul but there was none.

Cakir got a point for lost challenge from Georgia which made it 2-1 with 40 seconds left. However, Lolua got a stepout soon after and got the 2-2 criteria for the last point scored to win.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Payam AHMADI (IRI) vs. Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)

SF 1: Payam AHMADI (IRI) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Emin CAKIR (TUR), 2-2

77kg
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) vs. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1
SF 2: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI), 5-1

82kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) vs. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)

BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN), 8-5
BRONZE: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-1

130kg
GOLD: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Darius VITEK (HUN)

SF 1: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Wenhao JIANG (CHN), 3-1 
SF 2: Darius VITEK (HUN) df. Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), 1-1