#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.

#WrestleAmman

U20 Worlds: Red-hot Shapiro wins gold; Nishiuchi repeats

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 15) -- Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) talks about his mental game. Whether it was the lectures from Jonh DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) before coming to Amman or surviving the heat in the city, Shapiro thinks he has managed to keep himself calm despite thinking about his final all day.

"I woke up this morning but it [the final] was always at the back of my mind," Shapiro said. It's hard to think about something all day and not be worried about it. Yesterday [Monday] was a grueling day. The country is hot so that was something I had to add to my mental game. The first session took a lot out of me. Tough matches."

Perhaps with lessons from those tough matches on Monday, Shapiro, on a sweltering day in Amman, kept his cool against Ali REZAEI (IRI) to win his second age-group world title, winning the 70kg gold medal at the U20 World Championships on Tuesday.

After trailing 4-0 and busting his head after a head collision with Rezaei, Shapiro gathered himself and continued his red-hot form to win the final 11-6 and give the United States its first champion of the tournament.

The 2021 U17 world champion entered the competition as one of the favorites and Rezaei, who was a bronze medalist in the 2021 tournament, and over the two days, he proved why his "creative and funky" wrestling was too much to handle for his opponents.

"My wrestling style is creative and I like the flow," Shapiro said. "I envisioned myself wearing this white tracksuit on the podium since they gave it to the senior world team [in 2022] and having that belt."

Shapiro achieved that by wrestling one of the greatest finals in tournament history as he broke Rezaei with his hard wrestling and remained unbeaten internationally. 

Though the final did not positively for Shapiro as he got spun for two before Rezaei scored a trap for two more points, Shapiro headed a hit to the head, literally to regain his focus. Shapiro hit his head against Rezaei's hip and a cut to his took some serious medical attention.

Despite "freaking out", Shapiro returned with a focused mind and opened his scoring with a stepout. He then added two points via exposure by thrusting Rezaei to the mat when he was trying to lift Shapiro.

"Lot of emotions in that match," he said. "I came out hard and he also came out hard. In that exchange, a lot of emotions were going on in my head. I was freaking out a little bit. But that was enough time to reset my mind. It looks hard out there but that was my favorite match of the tournament. I really got to show off my skill. 

Shapiro was a different wrestler in the second period as he used his reach to score via ankle picks. He scored a takedown 10 seconds after the break. A stepout and another counter takedown made it 8-4 for the U.S. wrestler. Rezaei got one back using a lighting double and closed the gap to 8-6. But Shapiro controlled the center of the mat and put Rezaei in uncomfortable positions. He managed one more stepout and takedown to win 11-6.

"I have long arms and legs. I can use that pretty well," he said. "Being able to wrestle into positions, wrestling with Yianni [Diakomihalis] and other guys who push me, I kept being told that put these guys in position, they are not better than you."

Shapiro will try proving that in the domestic college season later this year when he wrestles for Cornell University, home to Diakomihalis and four-time world champion Kyle DAKE (USA). But before that is his introduction where, in most likelihood, Shapiro will reach with a bruised eye and a cut to his head.

"I got a few bruises and cuts but I will be back to training," he said.

Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) celebrates after winning the gold medal against Jesse MENDEZ (USA). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The United States had two more wrestlers in the finals both failed to repeat what Shapiro managed.

At 65kg, Jesse MENDEZ (USA) wrestled Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) and just could not match Shakeri's level, dropping the final 5-2.

Shakeri, who had finished ninth at last year's U20 World Championships, jumped levels to win the gold medal this year. He put Mendez in strong underhooks and opened the scoring via a steptout before getting a point for the U.S. wrestler's inactivity.

In the second period, Shakeri was put on the shot clock and gave up a point but added a stepout to lead 3-1. He made it 4-1 with a minute left with another stepout. Mendez got on a single leg but only managed to push Shakeri out for a point. As Mendez's desperation grew, Shakeri kept his ground to win 5-2, earning himself a first world medal as he finished fifth at the 2021 U17 World Championships.

Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN)Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) scores a takedown against Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Last year's U17 world champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) was looking to add a U20 world title to his resume to he ran into Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) who won the U20 world title at 61kg in 2022.

Wrestling in the 57kg final this year, Nishiuchi created history by becoming the first wrestler from Japan to win two U20 world gold medals in Freestyle.

A wrestler who has won medals at the senior Ranking Series events, Nishiuchi used his experience to completely shut down Lilledahl who reached the final after a buzzer-beating fall over Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the semifinal.

But there were no comebacks from him in the final as Nishiuchi scored two takedowns and one stepout to win the gold medal 5-0.

"I wanted to go harder, widen the gap in points, and aim for a technical fall win," he said. "My opponents were physically strong and we couldn't attack as much as I wanted."

Nishiuchi was relieved with the gold medal as he had to recover from a knee injury suffered at the Meiji Cup in June in a short period of time.

"I was injured at the Meiji Cup and was worried if I will be able to recover in the short period before this World Championships. But I am in good condition now with taping," he said.

Dropping down from 61kg to 57kg brought its own challenges and the biggest one for Nishiuchi was the weight cut. That caused a few bumps on his way but the Japan wrestler managed to keep things under control.

"The most difficult match was the first one against Uzbekistan because I was cutting weight and I was not moving smoothly," he said."But my condition improved later."

Aware of the fact that he can create history, Nishiuchi felt the pressure of being a defending champion.

"I knew that no Japan wrestler has won two times at the U20 world championships," he said. "Last year I was the challenger but this year I was the champion so I was under pressure and also nervous.

"Even though I won last year, I didn't expect it to be easy because it's a world championship. However, I had been fighting for the Paris Olympics, so I could not afford to lose in the U20 category."

Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) defeated Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR), 5-0, in the 97kg final. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Iran won its second gold medal of the day when Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) defeated Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR), 5-0, in the 97kg final.

In a remarkable turnaround, Babaloo went from finishing fifth at the U20 Asian Championships in Amman to becoming a U20 world champion in a month. He avenged his losses to Kamil KURGULIYEV (KAZ) and Deepak CHAHAL (IND).In the final, Babaloo got a point for Prymachenko's inactivity before adding two stepouts to lead 3-0 at the break. Any attempt from Prymachenko was easily defended by Babaloo who scored takedown to win 5-0.

Once the best wrestler in the world called him a 'machine', Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) had little choice but to accept the adjective. On Tuesday, he managed to live up to it.

Abdulrashid SADULAEV's one-word description of Kadiev was well on display as the 79kg wrestler clinched the gold medal after beating Sagar JAGLAN (IND) 17-6 in the final.

Kadiev, who trains at the Sadulaev Sports School, exploited Jaglan's open stance and attacked his legs to score the majority of his points. He began with a slide-by takedown but hit a double to score a stepout. Another takedown made it 5-0.

However, Jaglan, who is known to outpace his opponents, opened his scoring with a go-behind before adding a lace to cut the lead to 5-4. Kadiev was warned for an eye-poke and the caution gave Jaglan a 5-5 criteria lead at the break.

But Kadiev made a powerful start to the second period with a stepout and takedown, both using double-leg attacks. Jaglan continued to push the pace and Kadiev was cautioned for fleeing. As the bout restarted in par terre, Jagland tried to turn Kadiev who held Jaglan mid-turn and scored two more points to extend his lead 10-6.

Kadiev followed that up with a four-pointer which India challenge to only see it going against them as Kadiev now led 15-6. In the final scramble, Kadiev scored via exposure to win the gold after a draining bout.

df

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) df. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA), 5-0

BRONZE: Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 8-4
BRONZE: Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB) df. SAGAR (IND), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) df. Jesse MENDEZ (USA),

BRONZE: Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN) df. Kaiji OGINO (JPN), 9-2
BRONZE: Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) df. Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ), 5-3

70kg
GOLD: Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) df. Ali REZAEI (IRI), 11-6

BRONZE: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) df. Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), 3-2
BRONZE: Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) df. Julian GEORGE (PUR), 12-2

79kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Sagar JAGLAN (IND), 17-6

BRONZE: Matthew SINGLETON (USA) df. Ahmet YAGAN (TUR), 9-7
BRONZE: Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) df. Farzad SAFIJAHANSHAHI (IRI), 11-1

97kg
GOLD: Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) df. Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR), 5-0

BRONZE: Deepak CHAHAL (IND) df. Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN), 9-8
BRONZE: Camden McDANEL (USA) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 8-2

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Mohit KUMAR (IND) vs. Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (AIN)

SF 1: Mohit KUMAR (IND) df. Besir ALILI (MKD), via fall (8-6)
SF 2: Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (AIN) df. Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI), 10-9

74kg
GOLD: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) vs. Hossein AGHAEI (IRI)

SF 1: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) df. Zhakshylyk BAITASHOV (KGZ), 10-0
SF 2: Hossein AGHAEI (IRI) df. Anton SUCHKOV (AIN), 9-0

86kg
GOLD: Fumiya IGARASHI (JPN) vs. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)

SF 1: Fumiya IGARASHI (JPN) df. Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA), 10-0
SF 2: Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) df. Bennett BERGE (USA), 9-2

92kg
GOLD: Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI) vs. Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)

SF 1: Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM), 10-0
SF 2: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) df. Giorgi ROMELASHVILI (GEO), 11-1

125kg
GOLD: Said AKHMATOV (AIN) vs. Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)

SF 1: Said AKHMATOV (AIN) df. Karanveer MAHIL (CAN), 6-3
SF 2: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR), 11-0