U23 World C'ships

Demirhan and Laroqque Advanced to Women’s Wrestling Finals

Friday, November 24, 2017 - 15:05 By Taylor Miller

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BYDGOSZCZ, Poland – The final four women’s freestyle finals are set for the inaugural U23 World Championships for Friday night in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The finals feature two Senior World bronze medalists among several other Junior and Cadet World champions.

U23 World finalists Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) and Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) each brought home bronze hardware from this year’s Senior World Championships in Paris, France, in August at 48 kg and 69 kg, respectively.

Tonight Islamic Solidarity Games finalist and three-time World bronze medalist Demirhan seeks her first World gold medal, while Larroque is chasing her second.


Demirhan raced to the finals, taking out three-time World medalist Rina Okuno of Japan in the quarterfinals and 2015 Junior World champion and two-time World medalist Turkan Nasirova of Azerebaijan in the semifinals.

In the finals, she’ll go up against 2017 Senior Asian Championships silver winner Ritu RITU (IND).

Ritu escaped Jiang ZHU (CHN), who appeared to score a winning takedown at the final buzzer of the semifinals, but no points were awarded as the clock expired.

Larroque, a 2016 Junior World champion and 2015 Cadet World champion, picked up decisive wins en route to her fourth World final.

For 69 kg gold, she’ll face Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN), who took fifth at the Juinor World Championships in Tampere, Finland, this summer. Matsuyuki won the 2016 Cadet Asian Championships.

There are two other Japanese wrestlers looking for gold tonight, including Miho IGARASHI and Yui SAKANO.

Igarashi, a three-time World champion, advanced to the 53 kg finals, where she will battle 2017 Senior Asian Championships bronze medalist.

A close 3-0 win over two-time Junior World bronze medalist Kayla MIRACLE (USA) put 2011 Cadet World champion Sakano in the 60 kg finals.

Looking to continue Japan’s dominant run in the finals, Sakano will take on Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR), who finished fifth at the 2017 Junior World Championships.

So far, Team Japan has sent seven of its eight women’s freestyle wrestlers to the U23 World finals this week.

The finals are set to begin at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. U.S. ET).

Finals matchups
48 kg
Gold - Ritu RITU (IND) vs. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Bronze - Rina OKUNO (JPN) vs. Turkan NASIROVA (AZE)
Bronze - Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL) vs. Jiang ZHU (CHN)

53 kg
Gold - Qi ZHANG (CHN) vs. Miho IGARASHI (JPN)
Bronze - Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS) vs. Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR)
Bronze - Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL) vs. Amy Ann FEARNSIDE (USA)

60 kg
Gold - Yui SAKANO (JPN) vs. Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Bronze - Yuliya PISARENKA (BLR) vs. Gantuya ENKHBAT (MGL)
Bronze - Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE) vs. Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA)

69 kg
Gold - Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) vs. Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Bronze - Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB) vs. Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
Bronze - Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU) vs. Divya KAKRAN (IND)

#BeachWrestling

Youth Olympic quotas in focus as Katerini hosts U17, U20 BW Worlds

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 08:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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KATERINI, Greece (September 23) -- Thirty countries, close to 300 wrestlers, a global glory and a Youth Olympic dream.

Over two days this week, on September 25 and 26, the world’s best age-group beach wrestlers descend upon the scenic Katerini Beach, where the sun sets behind the imposing Mount Olympus. In this postcard-perfect surroundings, they will hope to write their scripts at the U17 and U20 World Championships.

The tournament will be live on the YouTube channel of United World Wrestling's Beach Wrestling channel.

The championships will be taken into consideration for quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games qualifier, adding another layer of significance to the U17 event.

United World Wrestling has received a request for quotas from more than 100 National Olympic Committees with a total of 300 male and 269 female wrestlers. Currently, there are 48 quotas per gender. In this context, the World Championships in Katerini will add excitement to the race for the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Dakar.

The U17 and U20 World Championships will be held across eight weight classes each in men’s and women’s categories. Last year, Ukraine and the United States reigned supreme in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, of the U17 World Championships. This year, too, they will be among the favorites to lift the team titles.

Once again, this year, Ukraine has entered a jumbo team with eight wrestlers in the U17 men’s competition. Only hosts Greece (12), Georgia (11), and Moldova (9) have a contingent bigger than theirs. On the women’s side, the USA has fielded the largest delegation among the 24 teams, with 9 wrestlers. In Beach Wrestling, a country can register a maximum of 3 athletes per weight category.

It won’t be so straightforward for both teams to retain their titles, with challengers emerging from other nations, particularly hosts Greece, who would hope to put on a good show in front of their home crowd. Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Iran will remain strong contenders despite Ukraine's legacy in the competition, especially the women's.

Earlier this month, the U15, U17 and U20 African Beach Wrestling Championships were held in Casablanca, where Algeria bagged the U17 men’s and women’s titles. The serene Ain Diab beach in the Moroccan capital hosted the age-group tournaments before the Beach Wrestling World Series, marking the first time the event was held in an African city.

Soon after the U17 and U20 Beach World Championships, the Katerini Beach will host the World Series on September 27 and 28. The penultimate stop of the event is set to be the biggest of the 2025 season so far in terms of participation. There have been a record number of entries, underlining the sport’s continued global growth.

The World Series will return to Africa in October for its final instalment of this season, when the tournament will be held in Alexandria, Egypt, on October 18 and 19.