Asian Championship (April 13-18) Entries

Saturday, April 10, 2021 - 13:13 By Eric Olanowski

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 10) -- After the Asian OG Qualifiers wrap up, there will be a short two-day pause in action before wrestling resumes in Almaty for the '21 Asian Championships. The focus for the 315 wrestlers from 23 different nations switches from earning Tokyo Olympic berths to claiming continental gold.

The five-day competition starts with Greco-Roman action on April 13. Women's wrestling takes center stage on Thursday while freestyle action closes out the tournament beginning on Friday.

57kg
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI)
Ahmed Jawad Kadhim AL ZAIDAWI (IRQ)
Yuto TAKESHITA (JPN)
Daulet TEMIRZHANOV (KAZ)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Hyeonsik SONG (KOR)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Muhammad BILAL (PAK)
Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK)
Rozgeldi SEYIDOV (TKM)
Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB)

61kg
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Ravinder RAVINDER (IND)
Majid Almas DASTAN (IRI)
Shaheed Hussni Khalid ALKHALIFA (IRQ)
Shoya SHIMAE (JPN)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Nemekhbayar BATSAIKHAN (MGL)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB)

65kg
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
Morteza Hassanali GHIASI CHEKA (IRI)
Mohammed Al Jawad Zuhair K KAREEM (IRQ)|
Takuto OTOGURO (JPN)
Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Yongseok JEONG (KOR)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Bilguun SARMANDAKH (MGL)
Chamara Milinda Perera WEERASINGHEGE (SRI)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Kerim HOJAKOV (TKM)
Nodir RAKHIMOV (UZB)

70kg
Hasibagena HASIBAGENA(CHN)
Karan KARAN(IND)
Amirhossein Ali HOSSEINI(IRI)
Karam Shakir Mhmood MAHMOOD(IRQ)
Jintaro MOTOYAMA(JPN)
Syrbaz TALGAT(KAZ)
Islambek OROZBEKOV(KGZ)
Seungbong LEE(KOR)
Mohammed J M Th A ABDULKAREEM(KUW)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA(MGL)
Saidasan ASHRAFKHONOV(TJK)
Perman HOMMADOV(TKM)
Sirojiddin KHASANOV(UZB)

74kg
Menghejigan MENGHEJIGAN (CHN)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Mostafa Mohabbali HOSSEINKHANI (IRI)
Dawood Salman Jasim AL DULAIMI (IRQ)
Keisuke OTOGURO (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)|
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Seungchul LEE (KOR)
Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Abdullrahman Ibrahim A IBRAHIM (QAT)
Hong Yeow LOU (SGP)
Madushanka Lakmal Wijesooriya WIJESOORIYA MUDIYANSELAGE (SRI)
Gulomdzhon SHARIPOV (TJK)
Alymuhammet OVEZMYRADOV (TKM)
Atamyrat CHARLYYEV (TKM)
Ikhtiyor NAVRUZOV (UZB)

79kg
Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND)
Ali Bakhtiar SAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Ahmed Mohsin Kadhim AL GBURI (IRQ)
Ryuki YOSHIDA (JPN)
Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ)
Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Batzul DAMJIN (MGL)
Gurbanmyrat OVEZBERDIYEV (TKM)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

86kg
Vuthy HENG (CAM)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Hassan Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI)
Mustafa Abdulbasit Abd U AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN)
Yeskali DAULETKAZY (KAZ)
Mirlan CHYNYBEKOV (KGZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Abdullah F A SALEEM (KUW)
Domenic Michael ABOU NADER (LBN)
Unurbat PUREVJAV (MGL)
Bakhodur KODIROV (TJK)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Isa SHAPIEV (UZB)

92kg
Sanjeet SANJEET (IND)
Kamran Ghorban GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Anmar Hamid Hilal ALQAISI (IRQ)
Ryoichi YAMANAKA (JPN)
Elkhan ASSADOV (KAZ)
Chyngyz KERIMKULOV (KGZ)
Hyeokbeom GWON (KOR)
Tsogtgerel MUNKHBAATAR (MGL)
Azat GAJYYEV (TKM)
Rustam SHODIEV (UZB)

97kg
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Ali Khalil SHABANIBENGAR (IRI)|
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Jongku LEE (KOR)
Khalid A S ALSHAMMARI (KUW)
Altangerel CHINBAT (MGL)
Muhammad INAM (PAK)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB)

125kg
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)|
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Donghwan KIM (KOR)
Khuderbulga DORJKHAND (MGL)
Haroon ABID (PAK)
Omar Ihab SAREM (SYR)
Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Amirjon NUTFULLAEV (UZB)

Defending continental champion Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) will compete at 63kg. He's looking to win a sixth Asian title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

50kg
Sandeep SANDEEP (IND)
Poya Soulat DAD MARZ (IRI)
Sajjad Ali Muksr ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)
Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ)
Zhanserik SARSENBIYEV (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Jinhyeok KIM (KOR)
Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL)
Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK)
Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB)

60kg
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Mehdi Seifollah MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Karrar Abbas Mukasr ALBEEDHAN (IRQ)
Ayata SUZUKI (JPN)
Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)|
Kuttubek ABDYKERIM UULU (KGZ)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Mhdasad Aldein ALOSTA (SYR)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Merdan ALLAYAROV (TKM)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)

63kg
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Neeraj NEERAJ (IND)
Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI)
Mohammed Abbas Shyaa AL SAEDI (IRQ)
Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Urmatbek AMATOV(KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Mohammad F Kh M J ALAJMI (KUW)
Muhamad FWAZ (SYR)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)

67kg
Qiye TIAN (CHN)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Hossein Nasrollah ASSADI KOLMATI (IRI)
Waael Jasim Abed ALAAJAMI (IRQ)
Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN)
Nurbek KYZYROV (KAZ)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Dohyeong KIM (KOR)
Abdwlkarim Mohammad ALHASAN (SYR)
Sheroz OCHILOV (TJK)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

72kg
Kuldeep MALIK (IND)
Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Taha Yaseen Dhahir AL SALIHI (IRQ)
Taishi HORIE (JPN)
Azat SADYKOV (KAZ)
Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Muslihiddin UROQOV (TJK)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)

77kg
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Pejman Soltanmorad POSHTAM (IRI)|
Hussein Ali Muksr ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Askhat DILMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ)
Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Kairatbek TUGOLBAEV (KGZ)
Yeonghun NOH (KOR)
Rabie K. A. KHALIL (PLE)
Bakhit Sharif K BADR (QAT)
Daler REZA ZADE (TJK)
Muhammetberdi MAMEDOV (TKM)
Bilan NALGIEV (UZB)

82kg
Singh HARPREET (IND)
Mahdi Asgar EBRAHIMI (IRI)
Satoki MUKAI (JPN)|
Miras BARSHYLYKOV (KAZ)
Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ)
Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Mohammad A H ALSAYEGH (KUW)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

87kg
Fei PENG (CHN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Naser Ghasem ALIZADEH (IRI)
Abbas Shaalan Abdulkadhim AL TAMEEMI (IRQ)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)|
Seunghwan LEE (KOR)
Tokhirdzhon OKHONOV (TJK)
Shageldi ANNAYEV (TKM)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

97kg
Ravi RAVI (IND)
Mehdi Mohammad BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Ali Majeed Hameed AL KAABI (IRQ)
Masayuki AMANO (JPN)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Yerulan ISKAKOV (KAZ)
Beksultan Makhamadzhanovich MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Seyeol LEE (KOR)
Amirjon JURAEV (TJK)
Ergali AYKHIMBAEV (UZB)

130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI)
Ahmed Shaalan Abdulkadhim AL TAMEEMI (IRQ)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Nurmakhan TINALIYEV (KAZ)
Murat RAMONOV (KGZ)
Minjoon KIM (KOR)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Sukhrob FATTOEV (UZB)

Vinesh VINESH (IND), a '19 world bronze medalist and Tokyo Olympian, will compete at 53kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
Samnang DIT (CAM)
Seema SEEMA (IND)
Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ)
Ayazhan MARKASHEVA (KAZ)
YeoJin KIM (KOR)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Anudari NANDINTSETSEG (MGL)
Yung Hsun LIN (TPE)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)

53kg
Vinesh VINESH (IND)
Assylzat SAGYMBAY (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Shakhnozakhon MAKHMUDOVA (UZB)

55kg
Pinki PINKI (IND)
Aisha UALISHAN (KAZ)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Hyungjoo KIM (KOR)
Dulguun MUNKHBOLD BOLORMAA (MGL)
Madina USMONJONOVA (UZB)

57kg
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Shinhye LEE (KOR)
Battsetseg ALTANTSETSEG (MGL)
Danielle Sue Ching LIM (SGP)
Sevara ESHMURATOVA (UZB)

59kg
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Jieun UM (KOR)
Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)
Dilfuza AIMBETOVA (UZB)

62kg
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Deepika WEERABAHU (SRI)
Rushana ABDIRASULOVA (UZB)

65kg
Jia LONG (CHN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB)

68kg
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Eun Sun JEONG (KOR)
Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Azoda ESBERGENOVA (UZB)

72kg
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
Valeriya GONCHAROVA (KAZ)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Sujin PARK (KOR)
Tsevegmed ENKHBAYAR (MGL)

76kg
Pooja POOJA (IND)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL)
Ozoda ZARIPBOEVA (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Gomi Takes Big Strides as Japan’s Next Greco-Roman Hope

Wednesday, February 18, 2026 - 13:33 By Vinay Siwach

JAPAN (February 18) -- Koto GOMI (JPN) has been racking up titles in recent times. Last year, he won the U23 world title, the first for Japan in six years. He then won the All-Japan Championships gold in December for the first time.

Making his senior debut in 2026, the 21-year-old had an extraordinary run at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event, winning the 60kg gold medal and giving up only three points in four bouts. In the final, Gomi defeated world silver medalist Alisher GANIEV (UZB), 10-0, using three arm-throws to secure the victory inside the first period.

Koto GOMI (JPN) defeated Alisher GANIEV (UZB) in the Zagreb Open final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

While it may be too early to call Gomi a protégé, he may have already ended Japan's search for a new star at 60kg and a replacement for Olympic champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN).

The 30-year-old Fumita is a two-time world champion and won silver at the 2023 World Championships. A silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, he turned it into gold at Paris 2024.

But Fumita has not stepped on the mat since. He took time off and was entered in the All-Japan Championships at 63kg, but later pulled out. Though he did not mention it, most in Japan cite weight-cut issues for his delayed return.

That leaves Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), Kaito INABA (JPN) and Gomi as the front-runners for the spot if Fumita cannot make it. Gomi pinned Shiotani and then beat Inaba via technical superiority at the National Sports Festival in October.

Two months later in December, he again beat Shiotani to earn a spot on Japan’s Asian Championships team.

Koto GOMI (JPN), left, after winning the All-Japan University Championships. (Photo: Koto Gomi / Instagram)

Early start

Gomi was born in the Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo. The prefecture has given wrestling some of its biggest stars including Olympic champions Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) and Tatsuhiro YONEMITSU (JPN).

He was introduced to wrestling by his father Joe, a kickboxer. Joe would take his eldest son Koto to far away tournaments to compete. Though the results were not always satisfying, Shiro wanted his son to face high-level competition every year.

"Wrestling has few injuries," he was quoted as saying by Japan Wrestling Federation in 2010. "It's a sport that develops physical ability and trains both the body and mind. I think it's the perfect martial art for children.

"It's a sport where older students take care of younger students. They naturally take care of you without you having to teach them."

It's true in Gomi's case. Like Gomi, both Fumita and Inaba hail from the same prefecture and attended the same high school.

Fumita's father, Toshiro, introduced most wrestlers to Greco in their high school. While Fumita and Inaba moved to Nippon Sports Science University, Gomi is at the Ikuei University, same as the world and Olympic champions in women's Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN).

Koto GOMI (JPN), blue, at the 2022 U20 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Gomi began competing exclusively in Greco-Roman around 2022 but did not get satisfactory results internationally, finishing fifth and ninth at the two U20 World Championships.

In one of the memorable matches early in his career, Gomi had troubled the now Olympic Saied ESMAEILI (IRI). At the 2022 U20 Worlds, he was led 6-4 and then 9-4 at one point in the match against the Iranian but he lost it 13-9.

Two years later, Gomi emerged as a dominant force. He won the gold medal at the U20 Asian Championships and all age-group domestic competitions. His only losses came at the senior All-Japan Championships, winning bronze at three of them.

Gomi said his recent success was the result of years of hard work, particularly at university.

"I don't seem to be the athletic type, but rather a refreshing liberal arts type, and that's how I'm often seen," Gomi said. "I'm competitive. I get really annoyed and frustrated when I lose in practice. The hard work I've put in over the past four years at university is starting to show in the past year."

Domestic challenges

In 2025, Gomi suffered only one loss in five tournaments -- a 10-0 humiliation to Shiotani in May. But in December, he avenged that loss in the final of the All-Japan Championships and earned a chance to represent Japan at the 2026 Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in April.

The December win also put Gomi a step closer to the 2026 World Championships and Asian Games. He now has to win the Japan National Championships in May to qualify for both. If he fails to win, he will have a wrestle-off with the winner on the same day.

Both the U23 World Championships and the Zagreb Open showcased Gomi's technical excellence. He often uses a two-on-one to set up his arm-throws and arm-drags. It is his swiftness, rather than brute force, that allows him to complete his attacks.

In par terre, Gomi has an excellent high gut-wrench, which he used effectively against Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI) in Zagreb and Maxwell BLACK (USA) at the U23 Worlds.

"I'm starting to find my strengths, like in terms of technique, so I think that's a good thing," he said.

Despite his rapid rise, Gomi is cautious about calling himself the best yet. He knows he still needs to get past several domestic rivals before becoming Japan’s first-choice wrestler at 60kg.

"It's not like that, but I was conscious of focusing on my strengths and techniques and taking the initiative to attack," he said. "But, there are many other players in Japan, like Fumita and Inaba, and I don't think I can beat them yet, so I'll continue to practice hard."

But if Zagreb was any indication, it may not take long.

Asian Championship (April 13-18) Entries

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Gomi Takes Big Strides as Japan’s Next Greco-Roman Hope