#RankingSeries

El Sayed, Amine headline Mediterranean Games entries

By Vinay Siwach

ORAN, Algeria (June 16) -- The XIX Mediterranean Games are scheduled to be held in Oran, Algeria from June 26 to 29 and will see a number of stars in the action next week.

Not only the Games will see some of the biggest names of the sport, but it will also mark the Ranking Series points being at any Games for the second time after the South-East Asian Games last month.

United World Wrestling's decision to include the Mediterranean Games, which struggled to get wrestlers to compete in the Games, in the ranking system has received a tremendous response which resulted in nearly twice as many athletes registering for this edition as the previous ones. This year's edition received entries from countries like Turkey, France, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Algeria, Morocco, San Marino, North Macedonia and Albania.

Olympic bronze medalist Yasemin ADAR (TUR) will be leading the women's wrestling field while the Games will also mark the return of Mohamed EL SAYED (EGY), who won a bronze medal in the 67kg weight class at the Tokyo Olympics. History maker for San Marino with a bronze medal in Tokyo and European champion, Myles AMINE (SMR) is entered at 86kg.

Turkey is sending a strong team with European champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR), Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) and Murat FIRAT (TUR) wrestling in Oran.

Earlier this year, United World Wrestling had added the Games before the September World Championships as part of the Ranking Series.

Wrestlers competing at these Games are eligible for Ranking points that will ultimately count for the seeds at the World Championships. The points will be calculated from the four Ranking Series events and the continental championships. Between the Games and four Ranking Series events, a wrestler's best four results will be counted for the seeding.

Across 17 Olympic weight classes, a total of 145 wrestlers will be competing at the EMEC Hall over the four days beginning June 26.

Myles AMINEEuropean champion Myles AMINE (SMR) is entered at 86kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Salah KATEB (ALG)
Mohamed GAMAL (EGY)
Valentin DAMOUR (FRA)
Nikolaos VLANDOS (GRE)
Morris OBISPADO (ITA)
Levan METREVELI (ESP)
Muhammed KARAVUS (TUR)

65kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Yehia HAFEZ (EGY)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Stevan MICIC (SRB)
Juan GONZALEZ (ESP)
Ahmad DIRKI (SYR)
Munir AKTAS (TUR)

74kg
Orges LILA (ALB)
Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG)
Amr HUSSEN (EGY)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Jacopo MASOTTI (ITA)
Alban SOPA (KOS)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Samet AK (TUR)

86kg
Osman HAJDARI (ALB)
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Choiras CHARALAMBOS (CYP)
Mahmoud BADAWI (EGY)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Damian IGLESIAS (ESP)
Feda ALASTA (SYR)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)

97kg
Mohamed FARDJ (ALG)
Mostafa ELDERS (EGY)
Simone INNATTONI (ITA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Alejandro CANADA PANCORBO (ESP)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)

125kg
Mohamed KHELIL (ALG)
Alexios KAOUSLIDIS (CYP)
Youssif HEMIDA (EGY)
Konstantinos ALEXANDRIDIS (GRE)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO (ITA)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB)
Omar SAREM (SYR)
Salim ERCAN (TUR)

Kerem KAMAL (TUR)Kerem KAMAL (TUR) will looking to win the 67kg gold in Oran. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Abdeldjbar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Fouad FAJARI (MOR)
Ahmad ALNAKDALI (SYR)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)

67kg
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Pedro MIGUEL (POR)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Mohamad FAWAZ (SYR)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)

77kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Elkrim Abd OUAKALI (ALG)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Ciro RUSSO (ITA)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Luka GUMILAR (SLO)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Mohamad ALOBEID (SYR)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Vjeksolav LUBURIC (CRO)
Noureldin HASSAN (EGY)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Zarko DICKOV (SRB)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)

130kg
Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Samuele VARICELLI (ITA)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)

Marwa AMRI (TUN)African champ Marwa AMRI (TUN) will be wrestling at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Mohamed NADA (EGY)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Imane BOUJNANE (MOR)
Aintzane GONI (ESP)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)

53kg
Chemlal LAMIA (ALG)
Mohamed SHAIMAA (EGY)
Tatiana SALAH (FRA)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)
Zinem HASSOUNE (MOR)
Marina RUEDA (ESP)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)

57kg
Rayane HOUFAF (ALG)
Farah HUSSEIN (EGY)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Morena DE VITA (ITA)
Atika EL ASLA (MOR)
Garciela SANCHEZ (ESP)
Bediha GUN (TUR)

62kg
Mastoura SOUDANI (ALG)
Soaad ABDELDAYIM (EGY)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Ana FABIAN (SRB)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)

68kg
Houria BOUKRIF (ALG)
Menatalla BADRAN (EGY)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Nerea PAMPIN (ESP)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)

76kg
Hadil BOUGHEZAL (ALG)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Stefania ZACHEILA (GRE)
Enrica RINDALI (ITA)
Carla LERA CELDA (ESP)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)

#development

Road to Dakar 2026 Continues with Successful Central Africa Programme in Brazzaville

By United World Wrestling Press

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (June 21) -- The second stop of the United World Wrestling (UWW) Africa Regional Educational Development Programme, Road to Dakar 2026, concluded successfully in Brazzaville after a week combining athlete preparation, education, technical development and competition in Olympic and Beach Wrestling.

Held from June 8 to 14 in the Republic of Congo, the Central Africa phase brought together National Olympic Committees and National Federations from across the region under a unified objective: strengthening wrestling ecosystems and creating more accessible pathways toward the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026.

As the second of four regional tournaments scheduled within the continental Road to Dakar programme, the event represented another important milestone on the road to the first Olympic event to be hosted on African soil.

Africa REDT

The UWW Africa Regional Educational Development Programme was designed as a comprehensive and sustainable model that extends beyond competition. The initiative combines athlete development camps, coach and referee education, and practical competition opportunities.

By decentralising activities across regions and consolidating training and competition into one structure, the programme aims to reduce financial barriers for national federations and increase opportunities for athletes and technical officials.

Throughout the week, athletes participated in intensive daily training sessions, as coaches attended the UWW Technical Course - Level 2, focused on improving technical knowledge, athlete development methodologies and long-term performance planning.

Africa REDT

Simultaneously, referees took part in dedicated education sessions covering Beach Wrestling and introductory officiating pathways, preparing them for selection to undertake the International Category III referee examination in the future.

The programme concluded with the Regional Tournament, followed by the Beach Wrestling Regional Tournament, giving participants the opportunity to apply lessons learned during the educational phase directly into competition conditions.

The programme specifically prioritised youth development, with participating athletes largely drawn from the U17 age group and encouraging the involvement of emerging coaches across Central Africa. Support mechanisms jointly delivered by UWW and Olympic Solidarity helped facilitate participation through travel, accommodation, training access and tournament organisation.

Africa REDT

More than just a standalone event, Brazzaville demonstrated the long-term vision behind Road to Dakar 2026 by building stronger national structures, expanding participation and creating sustainable development opportunities well before the final qualification stages for the Youth Olympic Games.