#WrestleAlmaty

Asian Olympic Qualifier Entries

By Eric Olanowski

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (March 26) -- The final continental qualification event for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Asian Olympic Qualifier, kicks off Friday (April 9-11) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Over 200 athletes from 24 countries will attempt to qualify their nations for the Olympic Games with a top-two performance. 

Those wrestlers who fall short of reaching the finals at the Asian Olympic Qualifier will have to make it to the finals at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Sofia, Bulgaria (May 6-9) in order to earn an Olympic license for their nation.

57kg
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Ahmed Jawad Kadhim AL ZAIDAWI (IRQ)
Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)
Kodai OGAWA (JPN)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Hyeonsik SONG (KOR)
Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL)
Muhammad BILAL (PAK)
Allen Mitch ARCILLA (PHI)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Rozgeldi SEYIDOV (TKM)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

65kg
Hasibagena HASIBAGENA (CHN)
Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)
Mohammed Al Jawad Zuhair K KAREEM (IRQ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Seungbong LEE (KOR)
Yongseok JEONG (KOR)
Mohammed J M Th A ABDULKAREEM (KUW)
Dzhamshed SHARIFOV (TJK)
Kerim HOJAKOV (TKM)
Perman HOMMADOV (TKM)
Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB)
Hussein Abdullah Hussein Abdullah AL AZZANI (YEM)

74kg
Adam BATIROV (BRN)
Menghejigan MENGHEJIGAN (CHN)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI)
Dawood Salman Jasim AL DULAIMI (IRQ)
Elaman DOGDURBEK UULU (KGZ)
Seungchul LEE (KOR)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Abdullrahman Ibrahim A IBRAHIM (QAT)
Parinya CHAMNANJAN (THA)
Gulomdzhon SHARIPOV (TJK)
Alymuhammet OVEZMYRADOV (TKM)
Atamyrat CHARLYYEV (TKM)
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB)

86kg
Zushen LIN(CHN)
Mustafa Abdulbasit Abd U AL OBAIDI(IRQ)
Abdulkareem Mahmoud Abdul ABUIDAIJ(JOR)
Sohsuke TAKATANI(JPN)
Daichi TAKATANI(JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV(KAZ)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV(KGZ)
Hyeokbeom GWON(KOR)
Gwanuk KIM(KOR)
Domenic Michael ABOU NADER(LBN)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR(MGL)
Bakhodur KODIROV(TJK)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV(TKM)
Azat GAJYYEV (TKM)
Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB)

97kg
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Naoya AKAGUMA (JPN)
Taira SONODA (JPN)
Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Jongku LEE (KOR)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Muhammad INAM (PAK)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Magomed Idrisovitch IBRAGIMOV (UZB)

125kg
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Tetsuya TANAKA (JPN)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Donghwan KIM (KOR)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)}
Haroon ABID (PAK)
Omar Ihab SAREM (SYR)
Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Makhsud VEYSALOV (UZB)

Greco-Roman
60kg 

Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Karrar Abbas Mukasr ALBEEDHAN (IRQ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Mohammad F Kh M J ALAJMI (KUW)
Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Merdan ALLAYAROV (TKM)
Azimjan RAHMANOV (TKM)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)

67kg
Qiye TIAN (CHN)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Mohammadreza Abdolhamid GERAEI (IRI)
Waael Jasim Abed ALAAJAMI (IRQ)
Ahmad Mahmoud Ahmed DAHSHAN (JOR)
Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN)
Nurbek KYZYROV (KAZ)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Marlen ASIKEEV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Dohyeong KIM (KOR)
Abdwlkarim Mohammad ALHASAN (SYR)
Piyachat PHONDET (THA)
Sheroz OCHILOV (TJK)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Aram VARDANYAN(UZB)

77kg
Hujun ZHANG (CHN)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Hussein Ali Muksr ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Shohei YABIKU (JPN)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Yeonghun NOH (KOR)
Rabie K. A. KHALIL (PLE)
Bakhit Sharif K BADR (QAT)
Habibjon ZUHUROV (TJK)
Muhammetberdi MAMEDOV (TKM)

87kg
Fei PENG (CHN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Hossein Ahmad NOURI (IRI)
Abbas Shaalan Abdulkadhim AL TAMEEMI (IRQ)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Yoji KAWAMURA (JPN)
Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Jinhyeok KIM (KOR)
Seunghwan LEE (KOR)
Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
Shageldi ANNAYEV (TKM)
Jaloladdin JUMANIYAZOV (TKM)

97kg
Yanan CHEN(CHN)
Ravi RAVI(IND)
Mohammadhadi Abdollah SARAVI(IRI)
Ali Majeed Hameed AL KAABI(IRQ)
Yuta NARA(JPN)
Kaito MIYAMOTO(JPN)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY(KAZ)
Yerulan ISKAKOV(KAZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV(KGZ)
Seyeol LEE(KOR)
Seungjun KIM(KOR)
Mirzoamin SAFAROV(TJK)
Jahongir TURDIEV(UZB)

130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Ahmed Shaalan Abdulkadhim AL TAMEEMI (IRQ)
Arata SONODA (JPN)
Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Georgiy TSURTSUMIA (KAZ)
Roman KIM (KGZ)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Minjoon KIM (KOR)
Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

Women's Wrestling
50kg

Seema SEEMA (IND)
Misaki YOSHIBA (JPN)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
YeoJin KIM (KOR)
Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL)
Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB)

53kg
Assylzat SAGYMBAY (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Hyungjoo KIM (KOR)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Vatansulton SHAKARSHOEVA (TJK)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)


57kg
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Jieun UM (KOR)
Shinhye LEE (KOR)
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)


62kg
Jia LONG (CHN)
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB)

68kg
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)}
Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR)
Eun Sun JEONG (KOR)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)

76kg
Pooja POOJA (IND)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Sujin PARK (KOR)
Burmaa OCHIRBAT (MGL)
Shakhribonu ELLIEVA (UZB)

Esmaeili survives Jafarov shock to win ISG 2025 gold

By Vinay Siwach

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (November 18) -- He needed some strong defense to win the world title and on Tuesday, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) needed some clutch offense to beat Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) for the second time in two one month.

Esmaeili and Jafarov clashed in the final of the 67kg weight class at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Riyad, Saudi Arabi and it seemed that the latter was on his way to upset the Olympic champion and avenge his loss from the World Championships final.

Down 3-3 on criteria, all seemed to be over for Esmaeili as the clock ticked down. In the last 10 seconds, Esmaeili worked on a double-arm lock and then managed to throw Jafarov in danger from standing for four points which changed the result and gave him the win.

Azerbaijan challenged the call but there was no change in the result and Esmaeili defeated Jafarov 8-3, to capture yet another gold medal this year after Asian and World Championships.

Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) throws Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) during their 67kg bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In Zagreb, Esmaeili was put in par terre for third passivity call. Jafarov, down 2-1, needed a point to turn the result but he failed to score any points as Esmaeili defended the par terre position and captured his first world title.

Jafarov blamed a lapse in concentration in the final seconds that costed him the gold medal in Riyadh.

Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) won his fourth gold medal this year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's other world champion from Zagreb, Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) made it seem a little easier as he defeated former world U20 champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0, winning his third gold in one month.

Farokhi, who won gold at 82kg at the World Championships, moved to 87kg for U23 World Championships and won gold without giving up a point in Novi Sad. Just two weeks later, he now gold at 87kg on Tuesday.

Against Yevloyev in the final, Farokhi was awarded both par terre position which gave him a 2-0 lead. From the second par terre, he managed to score a point as he threw Yevloyev for a stepout. The Kazakhstan wrestler was docked two points for defensive foul making it 5-0.

Kazakhstan challenged the foul call but Yevloyev had clearly blocked Farokhi using his elbow on the Iranian's face. The lost challenged made it 6-0 for Farokhi, giving him the win.

Farokhi had a tough match in semifinals against world bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) and needed a takedown in the final minute to win 7-6, first time he has shown some difficulty winning bouts.

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) won the 77kg gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Two other gold medals were awarded on Tuesday with former U23 world champion Alisher GANIEV (UZB) winning the 60kg one and two-time Olympic medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) marking his comeback with gold medal at 77kg.

Makhmudov, who has not wrestled in a full tournament since winning bronze in Paris, was in some form as he made no mistake in his run to the gold medal. In the final, he wrestled Amir ABDI (IRI) and performed a reverse lift throw for five points before securing the fall in the second period.

Abdi got the par terre position in the first period but Makhmudov defended the position, giving only a 1-0 lead to the Iranian. When he got the par terre position, he jumped to the front before performing the lift and holding Abdi on the mat for fall.

Ganiev, who defeated European champion Nihad MAMMADLI (AZE) in the quarterfinal, defeated Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) in the semifinal and humbled Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0, in the final.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0

BRONZE: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), 3-2
BRONZE: Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ) df. Fergat ABDELKRIM (ALG), 5-1

67kg
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 8-3

BRONZE: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT), 5-2
BRONZE: Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) df. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY), via fall (9-0)

77kg
GOLD: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Amir ABDI (IRI), via fall (6-1)

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE), 2-2
BRONZE: Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT) df. Sami SLAMA (TUN), via fall (8-1)

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0

BRONZE: Sid BACHIR (ALG) df. Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK), 9-0
BRONZE: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 5-1