23 Countries Set to Compete in Freestyle Takhti Cup

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 - 04:46 By Ali Feizasa

The 38th Freestyle Takhti Cup will be held Thursday and Friday in Tabriz, Iran. The field is expected to include aproximately190 wrestlers representing 23 different countries.

Below is a look at the top competitors in each weight class.

57kg: Mongolian Erdenebat among favorites at lightweight

The favorites at lightweight are two-time world bronze medal winner and Asian champion Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL), 2016 Asian champion Sandeep TOMAR (IND) and Dmitrii AKSENOV (RUS), who placed third at the 2017 Russian championships.

In the absence of Hassan RAHIMI (IRI), it seems best Iranian representative will be Nader HAJAGHANIA (IRI), who placed third at the 2017 Asian Indoor Games.

Asian Indoor Games silver medalist Gabit TOLEPBAY (KAZ) also competes at 57kg. Tolepbay beat Hajaghania in the Indoor Games semifinals by fall. A potential rematch would be interesting.

61kg: Bulgaria, Turkey wrestlers seek gold

Two main rivals of 61kg are U23 world bronze medalist Suleyman ATLI (TUR) and 2015 world bronze medalist Vladimir DUBOV (BUL). Dubov placed fifth at the Rio Olympics. The Takhti Cup will be a test for him with the new rules.

65kg: Iranian Ehsanpoor in new weight class

Behnam EHSANPOOR (IRI), an Iranian national team member at the Olympics and World Championships, moved up to 65kg. It's his first appearance in the new weight class.

Viktor RASSADIN (RUS), who placed second at the 2017 Russian Championships, will be a notable wrestler at 65kg. Other contenders include 2016 junior world champion Pejman BYABANI (IRI), 2015 world bronze medalist Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) and 2015 European bronze medalist Volodya FRANGULYAN (ARM).

70kg: Battle of world medalists

Two world medalists step on the mat at 70kg. Nurlan BEKZHANOV (KAZ) and Uulu Elaman DOGDURBEK (KGZ) won won silver and bronze at the 2016 World Championships.

Turkey also sends strong team, which includes 2016 European silver medal winner Musfata KAYA (TUR) and 2016 junior world champion Enes USLU (TUR) at 70kg.

74kg: Gor against Iranians

Two-time world medal winner Yakup GOR (TUR) has a difficult job as two talented Iranians are looking to turn in strong performances for spots on the Iranian team at the upcoming World Cup and Asian Championships. Hamed RASHIDI (IRI) is a 2017 Asian bronze medalist, while Saeid DADASHPOUR (IRI) is a 2017 Asian Indoor Games bronze medal winner.

79kg: Veterans Azcuy, Shabanau in new weight class

Cuba and Belarus send experienced wrestlers to the Takhti Cup. 2012 Olympic bronze medal winner and two-time world medalist Livan Lopez AZCUY (CUB) competes at 79kg for the first time. Three-time world bronze medalist Ali SHABANAU (BLR), 2017 European silver medalist Murad SULEYMANOV (AZE) and two-time junior world medalist Ahmad BAZRI (IRI) are main rivals of Azcuy in 79kg.

86kg: Youngsters eye title

86kg is expected to see young wrestlers battling for medals. Two-time junior world medalist Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE), as well as two Iranians are the top wrestlers in the weight class.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) has had strong performances of late. Esmaeil MAHMOUDI (IRI) is another youngster who has an eye on the title.

92kg: Surrounded by Iranians

Former junior world champion and 2017 Yarygin silver medalist Mohammad Javad EBRAHIMI (IRI) moved up from 86kg and wants to prove himself in the Iran national team lineup.

Former Asian Games champion Jamal MIRZAEI(IRI) is back on the mat after an unsuccessful experience at 97kg. Reza BAYAT (IRI) and Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR) are two others to watch in the weight class.

97kg: Mohammadi seeks title

Amir MOHAMMADI (IRI) competed at the 2017 World Championships instead of Reza YAZDANI, who is out of competitions due to injury.

Now Mohammadi needs to win a 97kg title to be among the Iranians competing at the 2018 World Cup and Asian Championships.

Asian junior champion Danial SHARIATI (IRI) is young but motivated to prove himself at the Takhti Cup.

125kg: Experienced Saidau (BLR) among young rivals

2016 Olympics bronze medalist Ibrahim SAIDAU (BLR) is in the Belarus lineup but he has some young rivals.
U23 world bronze medalist Danylo KARTAVYI(UKR), junior world bronze medal winner Amir Reza AMIRI (IRI) and 2017 junior world silver medalist Naeim HASSANZADEH (IRI) are young contenders at heavyweight.

Takhti Cup schedule

Thursday
7:15 a.m: Medical Examination
7:30: Weigh in (All weight categories)
10 to 14: Elimination rounds
15 to 16:30: Elimination rounds
16:30 to 17: Opening ceremony
17 to 21: Elimination rounds and semifinals

Friday
7:45 a.m: Weigh in (All weight categories)
10 to 13: Repechage
13 to 16: Final matches
Expected rosters of the teams:

Mongolia (4 wrestlers)
57kg- Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT
65kg- Tulga TUMUR-OCHIR
97kg- Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN
125kg- Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR

Turkey (22 wrestlers)
57kg- Ali KARABOGA
57kg- Ismail BASKA
61kg- Saban KIZILTAS
61kg- Suleyman ATLI
70kg- Zafer DAMA
70kg- Enes USLU
70kg-Servet COSKUN
70kg- Musfata KAYA
74kg-Ilyas GUNES
74kg- Halil SARIKAYA
74kg- Yakup GOR
79kg- Ayhan SUCU
79kg-Abdulkadir OZMEN
79kg- Ender COSKUN
86kg- Ahmet BILICI
86kg- Osman GOCEN
92kg- Ibrahim BOLUKBASI
92kg- Semih YAZICI
97kg- Salih ERINC
97kg- Faruk AKKOYUN
125kg- Abdullah OMAC
125kg- Oktay GUNGOR

Ukraine (10 wrestlers)
57kg- Armen ARAKELIAN
61kg- Vitaliy HURSKYY
65kg- Vasyl SHUPTAR
70kg- Semen RADULOV
74kg- Ivan KUSYAK
79kg- Rustam DUDAIEV
86kg- Mraz DZHAFARIAN
92kg- Liubomyr SAGALIUK
97kg- Murazi MCHEDLIDZE
125kg- Danylo KARTAVYI

Kazakhstan (16 wrestlers)
57kg- Azamat TOIBEK
57kg- Gabit TOLEPBAY
57kg- Berdakh PRIMBAYEV
61kg- Yeldos ABIKENOV
61kg- Kuanysh ZHAKSYBAY
61kg- Madiyar BURKHAN
61kg- Nurlan TURGAN
65kg- Sayatbek OKASSOV
70kg- Nurlan BEKZHANOV
74kg- Bolat SAKAYEV
74kg- Bakhtiyar IZBASSAROV
74kg- Alexandr GOLTSMAN
79kg- Nurdaulet KOKTEUBAYEV
86kg- Saken AITZHANOV
86kg- Elkhan ASSADOV
86kg- Zhiger ZAKIROV

India (4 wrestlers)
57kg- Sandeep TOMAR
74kg- Parveen PARVEEN
92kg- Deepak PUNIA
97kg- Viky VIKY

Azerbaijan (10 wrestlers)
61kg- Parviz IBRAHIMOV
61kg- Elchin VALIYEV
70kg- Panah ILYASLI
70kg- Joshgun AZIMOV
79kg- Murad SULEYMANOV
86kg-Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV
86kg- Ibrahim YUSUBOV
92kg- Javid SADIGOV
97kg- Roman BAKIROV
125kg- Umar ISRAILOV

Hungary (4 wrestlers)
79kg- Péter NAGY
79kg- Mihály NAGY
92kg- Bendegúz TÓTH
125kg- Mihály NAGY

Bulgaria (4 wrestlers)
61kg- Vladimir DUBOV
65kg- Filip NOVACHKOV
74kg- Ali-Pasha UMARPASHAEV
79kg- Engin ISMAIL

Belarus (6 wrestlers)
57 kg- Dzimchyk RYNCHYNAU
61 kg- Asadulla LACHINAU
61 kg- Niurhun SKRABIN
79 kg- Ali SHABANAU
86 kg- Raman CHYTADZE
125 kg- Ibrahim SAIDAU

Armenia (12 wrestlers)
57kg- Mihran JABURYAN
61kg- Garik BARSEGHYAN
65kg- Volodya FRANGULYAN
70kg- Valter MARGARYAN
70kg- Narek SIRUNYAN
74kg- Grigor GRIGORYAN
74kg- Davit APOYAN
79kg- Varujhan KAJOYAN
86kg- Marzpet GALSTYAN
92kg- Shamir ATYAN
92kg- Arman MKRTCHYAN
125kg- Andranik GALSTYAN

Kirgizstan (10 wrestlers)
57kg- Almaz SMANBEKOV
61kg- Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV
65kg- Ernazar AKMATALIEV
70kg- Uulu Elaman DOGDURBEK
70kg- Mansur SYRGAK UULU
74kg- Bekzhan KAMCHYBEKOV
79kg- Atai IZABEKOV
86kg- Dinislam TAALAIBEK UULU
92kg- Baktyiar KARAGUL UULU
97kg- Aibek USUPOV

Russia (2 wrestlers)
57kg- Dmitrii AKSENOV
65kg- Viktor RASSADIN

Georgia (12 wrestlers)
61kg- Levan MURTSKHVALADZE
61kg- Giorgi REVAZISHVILI
65kg- Shota PHARTENADZE
70kg- Giorgi SULAVA
74kg- Aleksander JATCHVADZE
74kg- Giorgi LOBJANIDZE
86kg- Tornike ALADASHVILI
86kg- Dato PIRUZASHVILI
92kg- Davit KHUTSISHVILI
92kg- Iuza TSERTSVADZE
97kg- Zviad METREVELI
125kg- Rolandi ANDRIADZE

Turkmenistan (10 wrestlers)
57kg-Meretmuhammet ATAYEV
61kg- Gerchek HEMRAYEV
65kg- Saparmyrat MYRODOV
70kg- Batyr ORAZGYLYJOV
74kg- Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV
79kg- Sahergeldi SAPARMYRADOV
86kg- Arslan HUDAYBERDIYEV
92kg- Selimmuhammet MUHADYYEV
97kg- Sohbet BELLIYEV
125kg- Yazmyrat GOKJAYEV

Afghanistan (10 wrestlers)
57kg- Hamidullah ABDULLAH
61kg- Zubaidullah TIMORI
65kg- Malik Jan SADEED
70kg- Mushtaq JABARI
74kg- Abdul Ghafar QADERI
79kg- Farhad MALIKZADA
86kg- Abdul Hai FAQIRI
92kg- Noor Ahmad AHMADI
97kg- Bezhand AMIRI
125kg- Sayed Khalid HASHIMI

Tajikistan (7 wrestlers)
61kg- Dzhamshed SHARIFOV
65kg- Azizbeki SHARIFZODA
70kg- Sorbon ABDULKHAEV
74kg- Gulomdzhon SHARIPOV
86kg- Bakhodur KODIROV
125kg- Farkhod ANAKULOV
Sakhob NIMATZODA

Wrestlers of Latin America (6 wrestlers)
57kg- Cristian Jose Mox ARIAS (GUA)
61kg-Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG)
65kg- Ipuz Hernan GUZMAN (COL)
70kg- Luis Isaias Portillo MEJJIA (ESA)
79kg- Livan Lopez AZCUY (CUB)
86kg- Pool Edinson Ambrocio GREIFO (PER)

Iran (38 wrestlers)
57kg- Nader HAJAGHANIA – Hamid KHALILI – Mehran REZAZADEH – Mohammad TAHMASEBI
61kg- Mohammad RAMEZANPOUR – Bagher YAKHKESHI – Ali HAJAGHANIA
65kg- Morteza GHIYASI – Shayan HAMZE – Pejman BYABANI – Behnam EHSANPOOR
70kg- Mohammadreza SARGOO – Nima ESHGHAGHI – Hossein MOSTAFAVI – Milad TAHMASEBI
74kg- Hamed RASHIDI – Omid KHEDMATI – Hamidreza ZARRINPEYKAR – Saeid DADASHPOUR
79kg- Omid HASSANTABAR – Aram RAHIMI – Mohammad MOTAGHINIA – Ahmad BAZRI
86kg- Kamran GHASEMPOUR – Masoud MADADI - Esmaeil MAHMOUDI
92kg- Mohammad Javad EBRAHIMI – Jamal MIRZAEI – Arashk MOHEBI – Reza BAYAT
97kg- Abazar ESLAMI – Alireza GOUDARZI – Amir MOHAMMADI – Danial SHARIATI
125kg- Jafar SHAMS NATERI – Elyas BAKHTIARI – Amirreza AMIRI – Naeim HASSANZADEH- Ahmad MIRZAPOUR

#JapanWrestling

Olympic Champs Fumita, Higuchi Emerge Unscathed on Return Since Paris 2024

Thursday, May 21, 2026 - 15:09 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (May 21) -- They both were returning to the mat for the first time since winning gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and both moved up a weight class, for now, with the next Olympic qualifiers still far off.

And each was watched and cheered on for the first time by their most precious fan.

Kenichiro FUMITA and Rei HIGUCHI shook off the rust and emerged unscathed on Thursday to advance to their respective finals at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

Fumita, the Paris gold medalist at Greco 60kg, handily won two matches to secure a spot in the 63kg final on Friday, where he will face 2025 world team member Manato NAKAMURA in a bid for his first Meiji Cup title since 2022 and fifth overall.

Higuchi, who struck gold in Paris at freestyle 57kg, needed three wins to set up a showdown in the 61kg final with defending champion and former world bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA.

Arash YOSHIDA, coming off winning a second straight freestyle 97kg gold at the Asian Championships, also advanced to the finals on the opening day of the four-day Meiji Cup, which is serving as the second of two domestic qualifiers for both this year's World Championships and, in the Olympic weight classes, the Asian Games that will be hosted by Japan.

Winners from the first qualifier, the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held in December, can clinch a spot with a victory at the Meiji Cup; if the two champions are different, a playoff will be held at the end of the day.

Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) hits a four-point throw in his round one bout. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

Fumita, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion, had planned to return to competition at the Emperor's Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

As for the move up to 63kg, he said, "Looking at the competitions and my own personal objectives, and my current physical ability, I decided to enter at 63kg. I've really on been on edge up to this point leading up to the competition. It's quite a few years since I've had a match at Komazawa. But I feel great, and was able to enjoy myself."

The return from a long layoff can be as testing mentally as it is physically, and Fumita used the experiences of others to guide him through it.

"I thought I would feel more pressure," said Fumita, who advanced to the final with a 7-1 victory over Kensho NATAMI in the semifinals. "After Paris, I watched [fellow gold medalists] Kotaro [KIYOOKA] and Nao [KUSAKA] up close before their [comeback] matches, and both said they were very nervous.

"Having seen that, it gave me an image of what to expect. I stayed calm and, staying aware of what was going on around me, I felt I was able to control the matches."

Helping calm his nerves was the lilty voice of a child clearly heard amid the sparse crowd on the opening day as she yelled, "Papa, ganbatte (fight hard)!" For the first time, the oldest of his two
daughters, now 3, was old enough to see him compete and understand what he was doing.

Fumita related the emotions he went through seeing fellow Nippon Sport Science University alumnus Shota TANOKURA being inspired by his son loudly yelling that set phrase as he ended his career at the Meiji Cup two years ago.

"I was very moved seeing how he responded," Fumita said. "To continue my career and win with my children with me is really a special feeling. Here, I am wholeheartedly determined to perform for them."

Fumita said there are still aspects of his job about which his daughter is blissfully oblivious.

"Sometimes I take [my daughter] to practice. For her, it is really a fun place. So she thinks I go to a fun place every day and I'm just someone who plays all the time," he said with a laugh.

Fumita already has a memento from his first competition in over two years -- a gash over his left eye that was treated with tape wrapped around his head.

"It happens a lot in practice and in matches," Fumita said. "I have many photos of me in the past with my head taped. It gave me a feeling of going back to my roots, which I thought was great."

Higuchi, who like Fumita is 30, an alumnus of NSSU and is sponsored by children's clothing giant Miki House, was wrestling for the first time in front of his 2-year-old daughter (and like Fumita, he has a second infant daughter).

"She kind of knows what's going on," said Higuchi, who defeated world U23 bronze medalist Akito MUKAIDA 12-1 in the semifinals.

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) reached the 61kg final at the Meiji Cup. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

For Higuchi, a battle with weight loss proved more daunting than any opponent he faced on the mat on Friday. He normally should have had no trouble making weight at 61kg, but said he didn't manage it correctly.

"It was my first competition in awhile, and my preparation did not go so well," he said. "There are parts that I have to work on. All went well in practice, but I need to do better at conditioning and cutting weight or I won't be able to win out in December [at the Emperor's Cup]."

A notoriously slow starter, Higuchi said he gradually began to find his groove, culminating in his one-sided win over Mukaida.

"My first match, my movement was not very good," he said. "The water loss as a I cut weight didn't go so well either, so the first and second matches were touch and go.

"During the second match, I was able to get in gear. In the third match in the semifinals, my opponent was third at the world U23, which normally should have been a close match. But I was able to put on a fairly good performance, which I give a grade of 80 [out of 100]."

Higuchi is looking forward to mixing it up with another high-level opponent, one he knows quite well. Hasegawa is yet another NSSU alumnus who still trains at the facility.

"From an emotional viewpoint, I was really excited about facing tough opponents," Higuchi said. "Tomorrow, Hasegawa is world-class wrestler. I don't know if I will win or lose, but I'm really happy to be able to have such a showdown on this big stage."

Asian champion Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) returned to the final of Meiji Cup at 97kg. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

At 97kg, defending champion Yoshida stormed to a pair of 10-0 victories, defeating Satoshi MIURA, a 2025 world U23 bronze medalist at 86kg, in the semifinals to advance to the final against teenager Noah LEIBOWITZ.

The final will be a repeat of the gold-medal match at the Emperor's Cup, which Yoshida won 11-0.

Leibowitz is now a freshman at Nihon University, from which Yoshida just graduated in March. Since then, he began living on his own for the first time.

"I have to prepare my own meals," Yoshida said on how his life has changed. "Instead of always being with a group, I am living a life on my own. My father brings over dinner every Friday, but other than that, I prepare it myself. My specialty is pork kimchi; actually that's all I can make."

Meanwhile, Taishi NARIKUNI, who attempted a rare freestyle-Greco double at the Asian Championships in Bishkek, advanced to the freestyle 70kg final, where he will face collegiate champion Yuma TOMIYAMA.

In women's action, world U20 bronze medalist Shirin TAKEMOTO pulled an upset of sorts at 72kg, knocking off Asian silver medalist Mahiro YOSHITAKE 11-6 in the semifinals. She will face Chisato YOSHIDA in the final.

At 65kg, Asian silver medalist Nana IKEHATA scored a takedown and stepout in the final 1:10 to edge Misuzu ENAMOTO 4-3 and set up a gold-medal clash with Hiyori MOTOKI, the younger sister of Paris Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI.

23 Countries Set to Compete in Freestyle Takhti Cup

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Olympic Champs Fumita, Higuchi Emerge Unscathed on Return Since Paris 2024