#WrestleCoralville

China's Women's Wrestling World Cup team announced

Sunday, November 20, 2022 - 14:16 By Gary Abbott

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CORALVILLE, Iowa (November 20) --- China’s lineup for the Women’s Wrestling World Cup has been released.

The Freestyle and Women’s Wrestling World Cup will be held at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, Dec. 10-11. It is the first time that freestyle and women’s wrestling will be held together side-by-side at the World Cup. 

The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championships, conducted by United World Wrestling. The top five teams in freestyle and the top five teams in women’s wrestling from the 2022 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in September have confirmed their participation. There is also an All-World Team in each discipline, featuring the top available athlete from the World Championships in each weight class that were not from a nation which qualified for the World Cup.

The Chinese women’s wrestling World Cup team will feature many senior and age-group world medalists. 

There are five past senior world medalists, led by 2020 Olympic silver medalist Qianyu PANG (55kg), who also won world bronze medals in 2018 and 2019. A two-time world medalist is Feng ZHOU (68kg), who was a world silver medalist in 2015 and a world bronze medalist in 2018. Zhou was also a 2012 U20 world champion.

The other senior world medalists on the roster are 2022 world silver medalist Jia LONG (65kg), 2022 world bronze medalist Xiaojuan LUO (62kg) and 2017 world bronze medalist Yue HAN (68kg). Long was a 2020 Olympian, while Han won a 2016 U20 world silver medal.

Additional age-group World medalists are Zhang QI (59kg), who won silver medals at the 2017 U23 worlds and the 2018 U20 worlds, plus Jiang ZHU (50kg), a 2017 U23 world bronze medalist. In addition, 2019 World Military Games Juan WANG (76kg) will also wrestle.

China, which placed third at the 2022 World Championships in women’s wrestling, will be joined in the World Cup by World champion Japan, second place United States, fourth place Mongolia and fifth place Ukraine, in addition to the All-World Team. 

The rosters of the World Cup teams for the other nations will be announced over the next week by USA Wrestling.

Ticket packages for the 2022 Men’s and Women’s Wrestling World Cup are currently on sale. The seating capacity for Xtream Arena for the World Cup will be approximately 5,300. Ticket packages include a Gold package for $275, Silver package for $200 and All-Session tickets for $90.

A special Presentation of Teams and Team USA Meet & Greet will also be held on Friday, December 9 at 6:45 p.m. It is free and open to the public. 

Men’s and Women’s Freestyle World Cup tickets -> https://worldcupiowacity.com/tickets/

China Women’s Wrestling World Cup team
50 kg – Meng FAN 
50 kg - Jiang ZHU
53 kg – Li DENG
55 kg – Qianyu PANG
57 kg – Yongxin FENG
59 kg – Zhang QU
62 kg – Xinyuan SUN
62 kg – Xiaojuan LUO
65 kg – Jia LONG
68 kg – Feng ZHOU
68 kg – Yue Han
72 kg – Qiandegenchagan
76 kg – Juan Wang

#WrestleBudapest

Maroulis golden in Budapest; India wins two Ranking Series golds

Friday, July 18, 2025 - 23:55 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 18) -- Three pins, zero points given and only 10 minutes spend on the mat for four bouts.

Helen MAROULIS (USA) did not show any signs of a one-year break from international wrestling and won the 57kg gold medal at the Budapest Ranking Series on Friday.

The three-time Olympic medal had not wrestled since winning the bronze-medal at the Paris Games but when she stepped on the mat in Budapest, it felt as if Maroulis was never off it.

Maroulis was the lone gold medalist from the United States among the five World Championships team members competing on Friday. India captured two of the five gold medals on offer in Women's Wrestling as ANTIM (IND) won her second straight Ranking Series gold at 53kg while Asian U20 champion HARSHITA (IND) rose above her level to beat three-time world silver medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) at 72kg.

Hosts Hungary also managed to get a gold, its third-ever in Women's Wrestling at Ranking Series events, as Erika BOGNAR (HUN) defeated Elena BRUGGER (GER) in the 59kg final. Turkiye won the 50kg gold medal through Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR).

Maroulis, who was coached by Paris Olympic champion Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA), drew compatriot Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) in the first round. She had beaten Martinez at the Final X last month to make the World Championships team.

It took Maroulis some time to pick up pace but once she did, the bout was over in two minutes as she pinned Martinez using her signature arm-bar technique.

In the only match she failed to pin her opponent, Maroulis defeated Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW), 7-0, keeping her position as solid as possible. In the semifinals, Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) was pinned using the same arm-bar after an 11-0 lead to reach the final.

Neha SANGWAN (IND), world U20 bronze medalist and Mongolia Open winner, reached the other side of the bracket with good wins. She got the taste of elite wrestling when Maroulis foot-swept her on the mat and then secured the fall in just 31 seconds.

Maroulis did her punch in the air celebrations after the final and felt ready for the World Championships in September when she can win her fourth world title.

Twin golds for India

Antim and Harshita were the two gold medal winners for India, the only country to achieve two golds on Friday in Women's Wrestling.

Antim picked up from where she had left off in Ulaanbaatar and won three of her four bouts via technical superiority including a 10-0 opening round victory over Zeynep YETGIL (TUR). Antim had lost 10-0 to Yetgil in the first round of Paris Olympics and left the mat in tears.

But Budapest was entirely different as she did not even let Yetgil reach her legs, forget scoring points on her. In the semifinal, she blanked Felicity TAYLOR (USA), 10-0, and booked a place in final against Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW).

In Ulaanbaatar, Antim had beaten Malysheva twice, both via technical superiority. While the final did not go how she planned, Antim still beat Malysheva 7-4 to win the gold medal for India.

Malysheva was on the activity clock after avoided a few attacks from Antim who scored a takedown soon after the activity period to lead 3-0 in the final. But she got a misdirection takedown in the second period to cut the lead to 3-2.

Antim performance a slide to go-behind and score another takedown and stretch the lead to 5-2. An ankle pick made it 7-2 before a last-second takedown from Malysheva cut the lead to 7-4.

But Antim would the win, two months before the World Championships where she is already has a bronze medal.

Harshita was a little more dominant at 72kg as she won gold over Bakbergenova by blanking the Kazakhstan wrestlers 10-0 in the Round 5 bout as this weight class had five wrestlers.

She opened the day with a fall over Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA) in the first round. Lecarpentier was not happy with the fall and pushed Harhista as the Indian was trying to stand up after the whistle. Lecarpentier was disqualified for her actions.

Harshita was unfazed by that incident and continued her progress, winning the next bout against Kseniia BURAKOVA (UWW), again via fall. She got a walkover by Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW) in Round 4.

The Round 5 bout against Bakbergenova became a virtual final and Harshita was the underdog against the former Asian champion.

Bakbergenova was put on the activity clock and after getting the one point, Harshita scored a double-leg takedown to make it 3-0. In the second period, Harshita got Bakbergenova in trouble using a double-leg attack but the Kazakhstan wrestler throw her using chest-wrap. Harshita defended it well and kept control on Bakbergenova which ultimately got her four points.

In the same sequence, Harshita rolled Bakbergenova for two more points to lead 9-0. A stepout finished the bout 10-0.

Hosts Hungary celebrated the gold medal at 59kg after Bognar defeated Brugger 2-1 in the 59kg final, with all three points begin activity clock points. Brugger got a passivity against her t o give Bognar the lead. Brugger took a 1-1 criteria lead when Bognar was called passive and put on the activity clock.

There was third passivity it was Brugger who was put on an activity clock. She once again failed to score and Bognar took a 2-1 lead and the victory.

Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) needed a late counterattack against Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) to win 50kg gold medal.

RESULSTS

50kg
GOLD: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW), 9-6

BRONZE: Natalia PUDOVA (UWW) df. Erin GOLSTON (USA), 10-0
BRONZE: NEELAM (IND) df. Kseniya STANKEVICH (UWW), 6-3

53kg
GOLD: ANTIM (IND) df. Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW), 7-4

BRONZE: Felicity TAYLOR (USA) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 11-0
BRONZE: Seoyoung PARK (KOR) df. Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU), 5-0

57kg
GOLD:  Helen MAROULIS (USA) df. NEHA (IND), via fall

BRONZE: Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ) df. Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), 7-4
BRONZE: Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) df. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN), 10-3

59kg
GOLD: Erika BOGNAR (HUN) df. Elena BRUGGER (GER), 2-1

BRONZE: Nadzeya BULANAYA (UWW) df. Arian CARPIO (PHI), via fall
BRONZE: Abigail NETTE (USA) df. Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW), 7-1

72kg
GOLD: HARSHITA (IND)
SIILVER: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE: Kseniia BRATCHIKOVA (UWW)