#WrestleAlmaty

Bolat Turlykhanov Cup weight-to-watch: 130kg

Monday, May 30, 2022 - 13:28 By Eric Olanowski

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (May 30) -- The depth of the 10-man 130kg field at the upcoming Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Ranking Series event (June 2-5) will feature the reigning Olympic silver medalist, senior world champion, U23 world gold-medal holder, Asian championship winner and five of the top-20 ranked wrestlers in the world.

The must-watch weight will be headlined by top-ranked Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO), but Iran is bringing two young guns who are battling for a potential place on the Belgrade world championship team.

Kajaia enters the second Ranking Series event in Almaty ranked first in the world with 76, 200 points, commanding a 20,800-point lead over Riza KAYAALP (TUR). The Tokyo Olympic runner-up is on the verge of locking up the No. 1 seed for the Belgrade World Championships with a gold-medal finish. A win in Kazakhstan would give Kajaia 8,000 points, bringing his overall total to 84, 200 points. The magic number he needs to cement that top spot is 84, 000 points.

130kg Ranking Series points up for grab in Almaty:
1st - 8000
2nd - 6400
3rd - 5200
5th - 4000
7th - 3520
8th - 3200
9th - 2800
10th - 2480

With three Ranking Series events left, and without the second through fourth-ranked wrestlers -- No. 2 Kayaalp, No. 3 Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) and No. 4 Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) -- in Kazakhstan, Aliakbar YOUSOFIA (IRI) is the only other wrestler who can halt the Georgian big man’s quest from locking up that top seed.

Yousofia, the reigning 130kg world champion, is ranked fifth in the world with 45,000 points. He would need to earn 31,300 points over the next three Ranking Series tournaments to sit atop the bracket in Belgrade. Although it’s a long shot and the scenario is very unlikely to happen, the Iranian super heavyweight could steal the top spot if Kajaia missed reaching that 84,000-point mark and elected to sit out of the final two Ranking Series competitions. The Iranian also needs to win gold in Rome and Tunisia with more than 16 wrestlers entered at 130kg.

Yousofia will certainly be hunting down that top seed, but he’ll also be in a battle for Iran’s world team spot with No. 14 Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI). The winner will likely represent Iran at the World Championships later this year.

The last time the two met was at the 2021 Poland Open Ranking Series event, which determined Iran’s 130kg Tokyo Olympic spot. Mirzazadeh defeated Yousofia, 3-1, in the finals and punched his ticket to the Tokyo Games. He ultimately finished fifth in Tokyo, only falling to Lopez and Kayaalp.

Two months later, he was scheduled to compete in Oslo but tested positive for COVID and was forced to sit out of the '21 World Championships.

In Mirzazadeh’s absence, Yousofia received the nod and ran with his chance. He won all four of his Oslo matches, capping off an unthinkable run to the 130kg world title with a 3-1 win over Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RWF).

After recovering from COVID, Mirzazadeh returned to the mat at the U23 World Championships, dominating his bouts en route to winning his second world title and first since the 2018 U20 world gold.


Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) will look to try to win a second consecutive Ranking Series event. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Another guy looking to make some noise at 130kg is No. 7 Osman YILDIRIM (TUR). With Kayaalp being sidelined by personal matters, Turkey will rely on Yildirim to replace the four-time world champion for the foreseeable future.

Yildirim proved that he has the caliber to compete with the best at 130kg with a fifth-place finish at last year's World Championships and by winning gold earlier this year at the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event.

In Oslo, he reached the bronze-medal bout but fell one point shy of winning a world medal. Then in January, he scored wins over Asian champions Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) and No. 16 Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) before grabbing gold with a 3-1 win over Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) in Istanbul.

Kazakhstan’s reigning Asian champion Syzdykov is also entered at 130kg. He’s fresh off one of the best three-match stretches of his career. At the Asian Championships, the Kazakh won by technical superiority over Roman KIM (KGZ) and Arata SONODA (JPN) before pinning world bronze medalist Minseok KIM (KOR) to win continental gold.

All the action from Kazakhstan starts on Thursday and can be followed live on uww.org.

130kg (10 entries)
No. 1 Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
No. 5 Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI)
No. 7 Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)
No. 14 Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
No. 16 Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO)
SATISH (IND)
Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Anton SAVENKO (KAZ)
Murat RAMONOV (KGZ)

#WomensWrestling

'Women who fight are strong and beautiful': How wrestlers have broken barriers, one takedown at a time

Saturday, March 8, 2025 - 06:03 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 8) -- They come from the gleaming futuristic city that is Tokyo to an ancient Moldovan hamlet; the American suburbs to the rustic Indian villages. They belong to diverse backgrounds, different cultures and have undertaken contrasting journeys from obscurity to the top.

It doesn’t matter if you are Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), Amit ELOR (USA) or ANTIM (IND). One thing binds them all.

At every step, they were told: “Wrestling isn't for girls.” Taunted and heckled for cutting their hair short and playing a ‘man’s sport’, they shattered stereotypes and broke barriers one takedown at a time. Today, they are role models for wrestlers not just in their respective countries but beyond borders.

“Every time I was told that wrestling isn’t for girls, I thought, "I'll prove them wrong. Gender has nothing to do with strength,” two-time world champion Ozaki says.

Elor adds: “Every time I felt doubted or like I didn’t belong, it only made me work harder to prove them wrong. I love showing that women are just as tough, skilled, and capable as anyone else on the mat.”

For some, discrimination started at home. Antim -- Hindi for ‘last’ -- got her name because her family hoped she would be the last girl child. Antim grew up to land an ever-lasting punch to patriarchy with her exploits on the mat, which have contributed to the changing mindset towards women in her village in Northern India.

Thousands of miles away, Nichita faced similar struggles. Growing up in Tataresti, Moldova, Nichita was told by her family not to wrestle, as it wasn’t ‘meant for girls’. “But I loved this sport so much that I didn’t pay attention to what others were saying. When you do something with your heart, something you truly love, it doesn’t matter what others think,” she says.

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) is the Olympic champion at 50kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Empowerment and self-belief

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) insists wrestling ‘empowered’ her ‘confidence and self-belief because its lessons and processes’ gave her the opportunity to ‘combine things like strength and grace, logic and intuition, deliberateness and flow…and endless other dualities’.

Hildebrandt won the gold medal in the 50 kg weight class at last year’s Paris Olympics. It was a classic redemption for her, having missed out on the gold medal in a cruel manner at the Tokyo Olympics. And on her way to the top of the podium in Paris, Hildebrandt showcased her wide-ranging skills, which she says also help her in everyday life.

"Through that, I’ve gotten to learn just who I am and challenge myself not only to grow through wrestling but also to express who I’ve uncovered. To feel confidence because what I uncover is authentically ME," Hildebrandt says. "It’s given me identity- not through accolade or achievement but through my process and the values I sharpen as I work toward those achievements. I can apply these lessons and skills to all areas of my life. It’s invaluable."

Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) is a two-time Olympian from Tunisia. (Photo: United World Wrestling /Amirreza Aliasgari)

Teenage prodigy Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) agrees that wrestling is a great source of 'confidence and patience', which help them in daily life. "It might not be easy to be a woman wrestler in a male-dominated society but with love for the wrestling and passion rooted in our hearts, no one can stop us," the two-time Olympian says.

Hildebrandt is conscious that the sport will test them in ‘countless ways’. “Being a woman in this sport is an additional test at times. But a woman wrestler is not deterred by those tests. They recognize the power the lessons in wrestling hold,” the American wrestler says. “The vulnerability required to step on the mat is exactly why it is the greatest sport in the world and a woman wrestler is a woman who craves that so they can discover just who they are.”

Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)Paris Olympic silver medalist at 57kg Anastasia NICHITA (MDA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Indeed, the challenges for a wrestler extend beyond the mat. For Nichita, the constant injuries pegged her back but she braved them to finish second on the podium in the French capital last year.

"The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was injuries. Throughout my career, I’ve had to push through many injuries—knees, shoulders, back, ribs—but it was all worth it for the sake of my dream and my love for wrestling,” Nichita says.

Eventually, love for the sport is what keeps them going.

For Ozaki, wrestling is a way to best express herself. “Women who fight are strong and beautiful,” she says. “You can see this by watching women’s wrestling.”

Elor dreams that ‘women’s wrestling continues to grow worldwide, with more opportunities, more support, and more respect.’

As the new Olympic cycle gains momentum, the wrestlers are resetting their targets and evolving their training plans. Nichita, for one, hopes to covert her Paris silver into gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics gold medal. ”I know it will be very difficult,” she says. “But after everything I’ve been through, nothing scares me anymore.

But amidst her personal goals, she hasn’t lost the sight of the bigger picture: “I will continue to prove that wrestling is not just for boys."