#WrestleBelgrade

Individual World Cup Entries

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 9) -- Abdulrashid "The Tank" SADULAEV (RUS), the four-time world champion and Rio Olympic gold medalist, headlines the entry list for the Individual World Cup (December 12-18) that will feature 505 wrestlers from 51 different countries.

Sadulaev is one of 31 returning world medalists -- including five world champions from 2019 -- who will take the mat in Serbia next week. Freestyle and Greco-Roman each include 11 medal winners from Nur-Sultan, while women's wrestling welcomes 9 from the last world championships.

World Medalist By Style
Freestyle: 3 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze = 11
Greco-Roman: 1 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze = 11
Women's Wrestling: 1 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze = 9

Freestyle ('19 world champions listed in BOLD)

57kg
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Uladzislau ANDREYEU (BLR)
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP)
Adam Visrailovitch BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Rahman Mousa AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Chakir ANSARI (MAR)
Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA)
Petru CRACIUN (MDA)
Minir REDJEPI (MKD)
Richard Antonio GARCIA ANDRADE (PAN)
Razvan Marian KOVACS (ROU)
Zavur UGUEV (RUS)
Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB)
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Gamal Mohammed Yahya ALSABRI (YEM)

61kg
Abdelghani BENATALLAH (ALG)
Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Razmik PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV (AZE)
Ayub Muratovitch MUSAEV (BEL)
Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Georgios PILIDIS (GRE)
Richard VILHELM (HUN)
Rahul Balasaheb AWARE (IND)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Ivan GUIDEA (ROU)
Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Recep TOPAL (TUR)
Volodymyr BURUKOV (UKR)

65kg
Isa MERKJA (ALB)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Niurgun SKRIABIN (BLR)
Haji Mohamad ALI( BRN)
Vladimir Vladimirov DUBOV (BUL)
Juan Pablo GONZALEZ CRESPO (ESP)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)
Abdellatif MANSOUR (ITA)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Andrei PERPELITA (MDA)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Elmedin SEJFULAU (MKD)
Sixto Miguel AUCCAPINA PEDRAGAS (PER)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)
Ahmet DUMAN(TUR)
Gor OGANNESYAN(UKR)
Hussein Abdullah Hussein Abdullah AL AZZANI(YEM)

70kg
Eriglent PRIZRENI (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Gitinomagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Dzianis SALAVEI (BLR)
Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Mihail SAVA (MDA)
Valentin BORZIN (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI(MKD)
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)
George BUCUR (ROU)
Chermen VALIEV (RUS)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR)

74kg
Orges LILA (ALB)
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Azamat NURYKAU (BLR)
Ali Pasha Ruslanovich UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Leon Juan Carlos PERALTA LANAS (CHI)
Jonatan ALVAREZ DIAZ (ESP)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Charles André AFA (FRA)
Augusto MIDANA (GBS)
Osman Kubilay CAKICI (GER)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ)
Mohammed J M Th A ABDULKAREEM (KUW)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Evgheni NEDEALCO (MDA)
Riad REDJEPI (MKD)
Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL)
Maxim VASILIOGLO (ROU)
Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Zaur EFENDIEV (SRB)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Tajmuraz Mairbekovic SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Denys PAVLOV (UKR)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Rashad YUSIFLI (AZE)
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (BLR)
Dzhemal Rushen ALI (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Eduard TATARINOV (GER)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Baliyan GOURAV (IND)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Stanislav NOVAC (MDA)
Astrit ISMAILI (MKD)
Vasile Madalin MINZALA (ROU)
Akhmed USMANOV (RUS)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Rashid KURBANOV (UZB)
86kg
Hovhannes MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Rasul TSIKHAYEU (BLR)
Akhmed Adamovitch MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Bedopassa BUASSAT DJONDE (GBS)
Ahmed Ruslanovic DUDAROV (GER)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Roman MANITRA RAHARISON (MAD)
Rachid OURIBI (MAR)
Piotr IANULOV (MDA)
Stole EFTIMOV (MKD)
Pool Edinson AMBROCIO GREIFO (PER)
Zbigniew Mateusz BARANOWSKI (POL)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS)
Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mraz DZHAFARIAN (UKR)

92kg
Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV(AZE)
Arkadzi PAHASIAN(BLR)
Alejandro CANADA PANCORBO(ESP)
Ilja MATUHIN(GER)
Georgii RUBAEV(MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI(MKD)
Mihai Nicolae PALAGHIA(ROU)
Alikhan ZHABRAILOV(RUS)
Strahinja DESPIC(SRB)
Samuel SCHERRER(SUI)
Erhan YAYLACI(TUR)
Vasyl SOVA(UKR)

97kg
Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR)
Ahmed Sultanovich BATAEV (BUL)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Edon SHALA (KOS)
Nicolai CEBAN (MDA)
Samhan JABRAILOV (MDA)
Magomedgadji Omardibirovich NUROV (MKD)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Michael MANEA (ROU)
Abdulrashid SADULAE V(RUS)
Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR)
Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Catriel Pehuen MURIEL (ARG)
Hovhannes MAGHAKYAN (ARM)
Jamaladdin MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR)
Islam Timurovich ADIZOV (BUL)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Egor OLAR (MDA)
Boban DANOV (MKD)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Shamil SHARIPOV (RUS)
Oktay GUNGOR (TUR)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)


Roman VLASOV (RUS), a two-time Olympic champion, will wrestle at 77kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Greco-Roman ('19 world champion listed in BOLD)

55kg
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Nedyalko Petrov PETROV (BUL)
Fabian Bernhard SCHMITT (GER)
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND)
Balbai DORDOKOV (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Leonid MOROZ (MDA)
Andre Ricardo CARDOSO OLIVEIRA SILVA (POR)
Cristian Vasile VAGIUNIC (ROU)
Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR(SRB)
Serif KILIC (TUR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)

60kg
Abdennour LAOUNI (ALG)
Armen MELIKYAN (ARM)
Nihat Zahid MAMMADLI (AZE)
Maksim KAZHARSKI (BLR)
Tsvetan Metodiev SIRASHKI (BUL)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Fouad FAJAR I(MAR)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Joao Marco BENAVIDES ROCHABRUN (PER)
Razvan ARNAUT(ROU)
Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS)
Kristian FRIS (SRB)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)

63kg
Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Soslan DAUROV (BLR)
Nikalas Petrov SULEV (BUL)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Sachin RANA (IND)
Kaly SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Mohammad F Kh M J ALAJMI (KUW)
Mateusz Radoslaw SZEWCZUK (POL)
Julinho Benjamim CORREIA DJU (POR)
Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)
Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)
Abdurrahman ALTAN (TUR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)

67kg
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Islambek DADOV (AZE)
Konstantin Ivanovich STAS (BUL)
Cristobal Alonso TORRES NUNEZ (CHI)
Gagik Mishai SNJOYAN (FRA)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Khalmurat IBRAGIMOV (KGZ)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Alex Salomon PINEDA MARIN (PAN)
Nilton Gonzalo Marcos SOTO GARCIA (PER)
Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)
Nazir Rachidovitch ABDULLAEV (RUS)
Davor STEFANEK (SRB)
Atakan YUKSEL (TUR)
Artur POLITAIEV (UKR)

72kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed Hassan GHANEM (FRA)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Balint KORPAS I(HUN)
Aditya KUNDU (IND)
Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Valentin PETI C(MDA)
Mihai PETIC (MDA)
Narek OGANIAN (RUS)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Aleksandar MAKSIMOVIC (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Leos DRMOLA (SVK)
Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)
Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR)

77kg
Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Pavel LIAKH (BLR)
Rosian Ognyanov DERMANSKI (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Sajan SAJAN (IND)
Roman ZHERNOVETSKI (ISR)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)
Igor BESLEAGA (MDA)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Iwan NYLYPIUK (POL)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Roman VLASOV (RUS)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Furkan BAYRAK (TUR)
Yasaf ZEINALOV (UKR)

82kg
Chawki DOULACHE (ALG)
Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Radzik KULIYEU (BLR)
Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Igor PETRISHIN (ISR)
Kairatbek TUGOLBAEV (KGZ)
Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Alvis Albino ALMENDRA JIMENEZ (PAN)
George Vlad MARIEA (ROU)
Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Salih AYDIN (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Artur SHAHINYAN (ARM)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR)
Yoan Danielov DIMITROV (BUL)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Hossein Ahmad NOURI (IRI)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Davit CHAKVETADZE (RUS)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR)
Luis Eduardo AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)

97kg
Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR)
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Melonin NOUMONVI (FRA)
Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN)
Hardeep HARDEEP (IND)
Mohammadhadi Abdollah SARAVI (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Choucri ATAFI(MAR)
Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Suleyman DEMIRCI (TUR)
Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR)
Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN)

130kg
Hemza HALOUI (ALG)
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Radoslav Plamenov GEORGIEV (BUL)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Eduard POPP (GER)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Rafal Andrzej KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Sergey SEMENOV (RUS)
Boban ZIVANOVIC (SRB)
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)
Mykola KUCHMII (UKR)


Aisuulu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) is the lone returning world champion entered in women's wrestling. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Women's Wrestling ('19 world champion listed in BOLD)

50kg
Turkan NASIROVA (AZE)
Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Debora Valeria TURE (GBS)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Devi NIRMALA (IND)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Emilia CIRICU BUDEANU (MDA)
Gloria Estefanny ASCA VILCAPOMA (PER)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)

53kg
Tatyana VARANSOVA (AZE)
Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR)
Sezen Behchetova BELBEROVA (BUL)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Hilary Ysaline HONORINE (FRA)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Thalia Jihann MALLQUI PECHE (PER)
Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)
Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Khrystyna Zoryana DEMKO (UKR)

55kg
Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Pinki PINKI (IND)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Tetyana KIT (UKR)

57kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Maria Victoria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)
Laura MERTENS (GER)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Antonyna KULAHINA (UKR)

59kg
Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Magdalena Urszula GLODEK (POL)
Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)

62kg
Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Anna Hella SZEL (HUN)
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Liubov OVCHAROVA(RUS)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)

65kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Debora LAWNITZAK (GER)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
IrIna  Petrovna NETREBA (AZE)
Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR)
Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR)

72kg
Gozal ZUTOVA (AZE)
Yuliana Vasileva YANEVA (BUL)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)
Preet Kaur GURSHARAN (IND)
Yanet Ursula SOVERO NINO (PER)
Alexandra Nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU)
Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

76kg
Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Mariya Gerginova ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Pauline Denise LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)

*Please note that this list is an unoffical list and is subject to change.

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Azarpira beats Snyder; Zare, Susaki dominate

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 11) -- He was ready to take over the 97kg weight class in Iran after the Tokyo Olympics. He won the U23 World Championships aged 19 years. He repeated as the champion in 2022. But then Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) rose along with Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI).

After spending a year struggling at 92kg because of the decision of Iran's management, Amirali AZAPIRA (IRI) is back to his best at 97kg. He defeated Goleij and Mohammadian in Iran and shocked the wrestling world on Thursday with a controlled win over Kyle SNYDER (USA) at the Zagreb Open to win the gold medal.

Snyder, who was the favorite to win the gold medal, especially after his easy 4-0 win over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) in the semifinal, was shut down by Azarpira in the second period, suffering a 6-3 loss after leading 3-0.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) scores on Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the 97kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Memories from last year's Zagreb Open final must have flashed for Azarpira as he lost that match 3-0 to return with a silver medal. But this year, despite Snyder's 3-0 lead, Azarpira continued his attacks and scored two takedowns in the second period to win 6-3.

"I had already thought about the final," Azarpira said. "I had practiced with the other guys [on the Iran team] for a long time for this competition. Last year, I lost to Snyder in the same tournament and the same final but this year, I was confident that I could defeat him."

Snyder led 1-0 at the break after Azarpira was on the activity clock and opened the second period with a takedown to lead 3-0. But Azarpira answered with a takedown of his own to make it 3-2 and added a stepout which Snyder challenged but lost.

Azarpira led 4-3 with over a minute remaining in the final and Snyder came close to scoring the winning stepout twice but Azarpira's defended well.

"It was a good takedown in the first period and then he got into my legs and scored," Snyder said. "I still had a minute and 15 seconds to score but could not. He had good defense. It was good to compete and keep learning. I need to get better at opening guys up and score points."

Azarpira used Iran's traditional underhooks and kept his legs away from Snyder's reach to avoid getting taken down or double-leg attacks.

"I was three points behind but I didn’t lose my focus because I had a plan," Azarpira said. "I knew that even if I was six points behind, I could win it. I was relieved because I already knew that I was going to win. My mind was ready for this competition and I had gained self-confidence."

Azarpira lost some of his self-confidence in 2023 when Iran decided to prepare him for the World Championships at 92kg after Ghasempour's injury. He finished fourth at the Ranking Series event in Budapest and eighth at the World Championships after a loss to Zahid VALENCIA (USA).

But come 2023, he won the Iran nationals to earn his spot for Zagreb and with the win over Snyder, he will be headed to the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek in April.

"I’ve been playing at the weight of 97kg for about three or four years and I fit in this weight," he said. "But according to the opinion of the technical staff of my country, they allowed me to participate in the World Championships at 92kg. But at this weight, considering the weight I lost and the circumstances, I didn’t have the necessary preparation for the competition and I was very annoyed during this time. But I wasn’t real me in the World Championships when I lost."

Azarpira opened the day with a 5-0 win over Radoslaw BARAN (POL) and survived a scare against Isaac TRUMBLE (USA) 8-7 before winning 10-0 against VICKY (UWW).

But Snyder was dominant in the first three matches. He defeated Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN), Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) and Cristian SARCO (VEN) via technical superiority. He would then beat Ghasempour 4-0 in their second career meeting.

Azarpira's win over Snyder has all but ended Ghasempour's Olympic hopes. Winning the quota in Bishkek would mean that Azapira's ticket to Paris is all but guaranteed.

"It can be said that this weight is the hardest weight in the World, Olympic, Asian," Azarpira said. "With the plans I have, I hope I can get the best results in this weight and I have high hopes in myself.

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) defeated Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) 5-0 in the 125kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another Iran wrestler who has confirmed his Paris Olympics ticket is world champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) as he defeated Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) in the 125kg final. The bout was a playoff for the Olympic spot as Masoumi had won the national championships. Like their previous encounters, Zare was in control of the bout which he won 5-0.

"Masoumi is a young and powerful wrestler and he wrestles with high physical strength," Zare said. "Because of that, I was under pressure but according to the training I had done before this tournament, I showed my body was ready to defeat all my opponents."

Throughout the day, Zare showed why he remains the top wrestler at 125kg, winning two bouts via technical superiority before the final.

"The competition was high level and in our weight, except for one or two wrestlers, the champions of different countries were all present and this shows that this year is the year of the Olympics," he said.

Having won the World Championships twice now and a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Zare said that he would do everything in his control to win the Paris Olympics.

"The biggest dream of every athlete is Olympic gold and I practice and work hard every day to achieve the Olympic gold and I wanna do it not just once, but several times."

Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) won the 79kg gold after a 6-0 win over Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran's third gold medal was won by Mohamad NOKHODI (IRI) who recovered from a grueling semifinal against Evan WICK (USA) to win gold at 79kg with a 6-0 win over Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO). The two-time world silver medalist Iranian struggled with his conditioning in the semifinal but managed to win 6-6. In the final, he scored all the points in the first period and then defended Kentchadze's attacks to win the gold.

Kentchadze finished with a silver medal last year as well after losing to Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) in the final.

In the other non-Olympic weight class in Freestyle, Nathan JACKSON (USA) won the gold medal at 92kg after a fall over Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) in the final.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) defeated Ziqi FENG (CHN) in the 50kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Susaki show

A fully fit and rejuvenated Yui SUSAKI (JPN) remained untouchable in wrestling as she won the 50kg gold medal with ease, finishing each of her five bouts well before time.

Her opponent in the final and world bronze medalist Ziqi FENG (CHN) had similar results, finishing her three bouts before time but suffered a 10-0 loss to Susaki in the final.

At the World Championships, Feng had troubled Susaki and only lost 4-2 but Susaki said it wasn't a big deal.

"I have no injury now," Susaki said. "After the World Championships, I planned a lot [for Feng]."

The 24-year-old has been on a long exposure trip to Europe in which she trained in Germany and France.

"I want to train with foreign athletes and know the style," she said. "I have the Olympics so I want to feel the power of foreign wrestlers, how to fight them, how to plan against them. I had a great experience."

At 55kg, Samantha STEWART (CAN) came home with a gold medal after a 3-1 victory over Roksana ZASINA (POL) in the final.

df

RESULTS

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), 6-0

BRONZE: Evan WICK (USA) df. Abdollah SHEIKHAZAMI (IRI), 

92kg
GOLD: Nathan JACKSON (USA) df. Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO), via fall

BRONZE: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Eric SCHULTZ (USA), 8-7

97kg
GOLD: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Kyle SNYDER (USA), 6-3

BRONZE: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) df. Erhan YAYLACI (TUR), 3-1
BRONZE: Isaac TRUMBLE (USA) df. VICKY (UWW), 8-5

125kg
GOLD: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) df. Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI), 5-0

BRONZE: Zhiwei DENG (CHN) df. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Mason PARRIS (USA) df. Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE), 6-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Yui SUSAKI (JPN) df. Ziqi FENG (CHN), 10-0

BRONZE: Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN) df. Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN), via fall (10-2) 
BRONZE: Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 7-6

55kg
GOLD: Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Roksana ZASINA (POL), 3-1

BRONZE: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), 2-2
BRONZE: Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) df. Albina RILLIA (UKR), via fall (4-0)