#WrestleBratislava

European Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (March 17) -- The European Championships will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia from April 7 to 13.

More than 450 wrestler will be in action in 30 weight classes in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

The Championships will be live on UWW+ which can be accessed on uww.org and UWW App. Follow United World Wrestling on Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook and TikTok.

Note: These are preliminary entries and subject to change. For final entries, refer to arena.uww.org on the day of the competition.

Freestyle

57kg
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Rocco TERRANOVA (ITA)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Aryan TSIUTRYN (UWW)
Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW)

61kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Stilyan ILIEV (BUL)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Robert MESZAROS (SVK)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (UWW)
Zavur UGUEV (UWW)

65kg
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Carlos ALVAREZ IGLESIAS (ESP)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Sergiu LUPASCO (MDA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Cabbar DUYUM (TUR)
Andrii SVYRYD (UKR)
Islam GUSEINOV (UWW)
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Ibragim VELIEV (BEL)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Viktor VOINOVIC (SRB)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Oleksii BORUTA (UKR)
George KOLIEV (UWW)
David BAEV (UWW)

74kg
Chermen VALIEV (ALB)
Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Rasul SHAPIEV (MKD)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Ivan KUSYAK (UKR)
Yahor AKULICH (UWW)
Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW)

79kg
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Lucas KAHNT (GER)
Jacopo MASOTTI (ITA)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Okan TAHTACI (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Akhmed USMANOV (UWW)

86kg
Lukas LINS (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Rolan ARNTASEV ARDASHEV (GRE)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Kornelijus STULGINSKAS (LTU)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW)
Artur NAIFONOV (UWW)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Rahmatullah MORADI (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Cezary SADOWSKI (POL)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Azamat ZAKUEV (UWW)
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (UWW)

97kg
Gurgen SIMONYAN (ARM)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Resul GUNE (TUR)
Vasyl SOVA (UKR)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Mohsen SIYAR (GER)
Georgios KOTANIDIS (GRE)
Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN)
Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Omar SAREM (ROU)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW)
Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (UWW)

Buse TOSUN (TUR)Buse TOSUN (TUR), Paris bronze medalist at 68kg and returning champion, will be in action after eight months. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Ana TORRES (ESP)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Agata WALERZAK (POL)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Evin DEMIRHAN YAVUZ (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Natallia VARAKINA (UWW)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (UWW)

53kg
Oleksandra KOGUT (AUT)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Maria BAEZ (ESP)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Reka HEGEDUS (SVK)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW)
Viyaleta REBIKAVA CHYRYK (UWW)

55kg
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Aliaksandra BULAVA (UWW)
Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Jenna HEMIAE (FIN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Alesia HETMANAVA (UWW)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW)

62kg
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)
Nina BODISTEANU (MDA)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Veranika IVANOVA (UWW)
Alina KASABIEVA (UWW)

65kg
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Marta OJEDA NAVARRO (ESP)
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Krystsina SAZYKINA (UWW)
Dinara KUDAEVA (UWW)

68kg
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Nerea PAMPIN BLANCO (ESP)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)
Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (UWW)

72kg
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Jennifer ROESLER (GER)
Emilia CRECIUN (MDA)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Elvira ERSSON (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (UWW)
Kseniia BURAKOVA (UWW)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (UWW)
Valeriia TRIFONOVA (UWW)

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)Four-time Olympic medalist Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) is going for his eighth European Championships title. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Arnold MEGALY (SVK)
Emre MUTLU (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW)

60kg
Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Tommaso BOSI (ITA)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)
Sadyk LALAEV (UWW)

63kg
Karen ASLANYAN (ARM)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Beka GURULI (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)
Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW)
Dinislam BAMMATOV (UWW)

67kg
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
Ruslan BICHURIN (UWW)

72kg
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Jakub SIMCIK (CZE)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Mihai PETIC (MDA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Henrik DAHLEN (SWE)
Mehmet SAHIN (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (UWW)
Alen MIRZOIAN (UWW)

77kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Georgios SOTIRIADIS (GRE)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Oliver OLAH (SVK)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Maksim SHEDZ (UWW)
Sergei STEPANOV (UWW)

82kg
Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Ivo SVIGLER (CZE)
Artem SHAPOVALOV (FIN)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Ilya BITSEYEU (UWW)
Islam ALIEV (UWW)

87kg
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Norbert SIPKA (SVK)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
Ihar YARASHEVICH (UWW)
Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW)

97kg
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Gerard KURNICZAK (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Serhii OMELIN (UKR)
Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW)
Artur SARGSIAN (UWW)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE)
Darius VITEK (HUN)
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Hamza BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (UWW)
Sergei SEMENOV (UWW)

2026 U17 World Championships

U17 World Championships 2026 Preview

By Vinay Siwach

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 22) -- Records are usually made at the U17 World Championships. In Baku, one has been broken before the opening bout.

The tournament will have 675 wrestlers, the most-ever for a U17 World Wrestling Championships -- 242 Greco-Roman, 242 in Freestyle and 191 in Women's Wrestling, breaking the record of the 2017 edition in which 186 women participated.

From July 27 to August 2, the U17 World Championships will be live on UWW+. Subscribe to UWW+ using the code BUNDLE20 and get 20 percent off for all age-group World Championships - U17, U20 and U23.

Wrestling UWW+

The competition is also set to return to Baku after 14 years and as it always does, it will be dramatic.

For instance, last year, the United States and Iran were locked in a tight race for the Freestyle team title. The former edged Iran in a dramatic final-day comeback, and the rivalry is expected to continue in Baku. Russia, which was not allotted team points last year, will be back in the race and with a strong team.

Russia will have most of its U17 national champions including Aldar BADMAEV (RUS), the first-ever national gold medal from Kalmykia, at 45kg. Five wrestlers hail from Dagestan and the team also includes four U17 European champions from 2026.

The U.S. will be led by returning silver medalist Arseni KIKINIOU (USA) at 65kg. In 2025, Kikiniou became the first wrestler in history to win a medal in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman since it was restarted in 2011, and he will attempt to repeat in Baku as well, perhaps with a gold medal.

Iran has four U17 Asian champions in its squad but to challenge for the team title, it will need its wrestlers to step up and not tank like they did in Athens last year, when the country did not win a single gold medal.

Hosts Azerbaijan, which had an exceptional U17 European Championships with seven medals including three golds, will hope to repeat the performance at home and stand among the top teams.

Here's a breakdown of 10 Freestyle weight classes:

45kg: Since this weight class was introduced in 2018, the U.S. and Iran have won all the golds. The former has won five golds while two have gone to Iran, one being Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in 2018.

This year will be no different as Iran bring U17 Asian champion Mahdi DAMERCHELI (IRI) and the U.S. is going with U17 Pan-Am champ Rylen WAX (USA). Badmaev from Russia will have his first taste of international wrestling. U17 European champion Marko KVASNIUK (UKR) is also in the entries.

48kg: The best chance for hosts Azerbaijan will be Huseyn RZAZADE (AZE), the U17 European champion. He will likely have a rematch with Volodymyr BOIKO (UKR) from the final in Samakov, Bulgaria.

Both finalists from U17 Asia are also in the fray with the champion Farrukh MAKHMUDOV (UZB) hoping to add a world title to his name. Iran has silver medalist Amirali RAGHEB (IRI). But expect a tough challenge from Kirill KONDRASHOV (RUS) who won the U15 Europeans in 2025.

51kg: Ibrahim HASANOV (AZE), the U17 European champion, has the home crowd behind him as he tries to add a world title to his name. But in his part will be U17 Asian champion Benyamin ASHOFTEH (IRI), silver medalist Masamune USHIMADO (JPN) and Pan-Am champion Evan RESTIVO (USA).

Russia is going with Islam KURAKHMAEV (RUS), a rising prospect from Dagestan.

55kg: Can Chase KARENBAUER (USA), who made the team after beating Keegan BASSETT (USA), match the likes of wrestlers from Asia and Europe? He will be up against Arman ELAHI (IRI) won gold at the U17 Asian Championships, silver medalist Kyosuke IKEDA (JPN) and bronze Temirlan MURAT (KAZ), getting a chance to wrestle various styles.

Mustafa BERSANUKAEV (RUS) will make his U17 debut after making the team by winning the national championships. European bronze medalist Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO) is also in the mix along with Jakhongir TULKUNOV (UZB) who gave Elahi the toughest match in Da Nang.

60kg: The only weight class in which the defending champion is returning - SITENDER (IND). He won the gold medal in Athens but had close matches with wrestlers from Iran and Japan. To defend his title, Sitender will have to go through U17 European champion Sergei KARMRIAN (RUS), silver Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR) and even U17 Asian champion Bekzodbek IBROHIMOV (UZB).

Among one of the toughest weight categories, the 60kg also includes U17 Asian silver Mardan ORYNBASSAR (KAZ), bronze medalists from Europe and Asia. Joseph BURKE (USA) will also be a tough bet.

65kg: Arseni KIKINIOU (USA) created history in Athens by winning medals in both styles. Now, he would like to repeat with at least one gold medal. He finished with a silver medal in Athens in Freestyle. Unless a huge upset, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to stop the American.

Sam ARSHADGH (IRI) will throw a challenge from Iran but while Jovani SOLIS (PUR) is the U17 Pan-Am champion but Kikiniou did not participate in the tournament. Russia will be represented by Magomed IBRAGIMOV (RUS), who finished 10th last year.

71kg: In a very open weight class, U17 Asian champion Adilet RYSBAY (KAZ) and U17 European champion Nikolay ILIEV (BUL), both will fancy their chances to win gold. Iran has Reza SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) who will also be in the race to win along with Mokhmad BAISULTANOV (RUS).

Camryn HOWARD (USA) will be representing the challenge from the U.S.

80kg: Hosts Azerbaijan will hope that U17 European champion Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE) can give it a home world gold and also improve on his 13th place finish from last year. The route, however, may be a tough one. Amirali FERASATI (IRI), the U17 Asian champion, dominated his way to gold in Da Nang and is expected to have good result in Baku.

The weight class also has returning bronze medalist from 71kg Ayubjon BOZORZODA (TJK) and Arshavir DARAKHSHANIFARA (FIN), who won U17 European bronze and will now try to give Finland its first Freestyle medal at the U17 Worlds.

The U.S. challenge comes from Jayden OFARRILL (USA), while U17 European bronze medalist Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO) will be at his third U17 Worlds, hoping for his first medal and Kantemir ELMESOV (RUS) will also be in the mix.

92kg: U17 European champion Abdurazak SHABANOV (RUS) is a favorite to win gold in the weight class. However, Ali DADAEV (FRA), silver to him, will try to avenge the loss from Bulgaria.

Iran, among the best as the weights get heavier, will be represented by Reza ISAZADEH (IRI), with U17 European bronze Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO), U17 Pan-Am champion Salah TSARNI (USA) and U17 Asia silver Amirbek FAZLITDINOV (UZB) also entered.

110kg: Returning bronze medalist Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE) will try to improve his medal but will have to be wary of U17 European champion Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO) and silver medalist Stefan STEFANOV (BUL), both lost the bronze-medal bouts in Athens.

Arush RANA (IND), U17 Asian champion, and silver medalist Amirhossein ESMALI (IRI) will also be top prospects. Magomed OMAROV (RUS) and Peter MOCCO (USA) can make the run as well.