#Trnava2018

Japan Wins Two Golds, Leads Russia Heading into Day Five

Thursday, September 20, 2018 - 21:53 By Eric Olanowski

Share this article

TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 20) – Japan leads Russia by 15 points heading into the final day of women’s wrestling at the 2018 Junior World Championships in Trnava, Slovakia. 

The most dominant women’s wrestling nation in the world, Japan, medaled in all five weight categories, winning a pair of golds, a silver and two bronze medals on the fourth day of wrestling at the City Sports Hall. 

Yui SUSAKI was the first Japanese wrestler to reach the top of the podium, burying her fourth straight opponent by technical superiority. 

In the finals, Susaki routed Ellen RIESTERER (GER), stopping Germany from winning their first women’s wrestling gold medal since Anita SCHAETZLE (GER) reached the top of the podium back in 2001. 

Susaki jumped out to a 4-0 opening period lead, scoring twice off a pair of snapdown spin-behinds. While on top, the 19-year-old dropped down to the ankles, scoring a pair of leg laces to command the 8-0 lead. She nearly ended the match with a third leg lace, but give credit to Riesterer for sacrificing her knees and not budging. 

A low single to a double ended the 50kg finals, giving Susaki her fifth straight world title across three age divisions, confirming her as one of the best wrestlers in the world, regardless of age, gender or style. 

Susaki’s next competition will be October’s senior-level World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Saki IGARASHI (JPN) was the second Japanese wrestler to claim gold via technical superiority, blasting Khaliunaa BAYARAA (MGL), 10-0 in the 55kg gold-medal bout. 

Igarashi’s 2018 junior world gold medal is an improvement from her 2015 cadet world runner-up finish.

Meanwhile, last year’s runner-up Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) stopped Japan from winning their third straight gold medal of the day. Nichita built a four-point lead with two first period takedowns before fighting off a late Japanese rush, defeating Sae NANJO (JPN), 5-4 in the 59kg finals. 

 

The final two weights that did not feature a Japanese finalist were 68kg and 72kg. 

The 68kg finals pitted 2018 cadet world champion Macey Ellen KILTY (USA) and reigning junior world champion Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) against each other. But Velieva’s experience was on display as she shutdown Kilty for six straight minutes, limiting her opportunities to score on her way to winning her second junior world title in as many years.

The final gold medal of the night went to China’s HUANG Yuanyuan. Huang shot a high crotch in the opening period and dumped Russia’s Elmira KHALAEVA to her back and picked up the fall, giving China their first gold medalist of these Junior World Championships.  

RESULTS 

Team Scores 
GOLD  – Japan (100 points)
SILVER  – Russia (85 points)
BRONZE – China (68 points) 
Fourth – Ukraine (50 points) 
Fifth – India (37 points)

50kg 
GOLD - Yui SUSAKI (JPN) df. Ellen RIESTERER (GER), 10-0 

BRONZE -  Marina ZAKSHEVSKAYA (KAZ) df. Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA), 12-0 
BRONZE - Veronika GURSKAYA (RUS) df. Yumei ZHONG (CHN), via fall 

55kg
GOLD - Saki IGARASHI (JPN) df. Khaliunaa BAYARAA (MGL), 10-0

BRONZE -  Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS) df. Anju ANJU (IND), 12-2 
BRONZE - Jiajing HOU (CHN) df. Eunyoung PARK (KOR), 7-4 

59kg
GOLD - Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) df. Sae NANJO (JPN), 5-4

BRONZE -  Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR) df. Yekaterina FIRSTOVA (KAZ), via fall
BRONZE - Anshu ANSHU (IND) df. Alina KAZYMOVA (RUS),  11=5

68kg
GOLD -  Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Macey Ellen KILTY (USA), 7-0 

BRONZE -  Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR), via fall 
BRONZE - Alina RUDNYTSKA LEVYTSKA (UKR) df. Yan WANG (CHN), via fall

76kg
GOLD - Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN) df. Elmira KHALAEVA (RUS), 6-0 

BRONZE - Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN) df. Anna TISLICHENKO (UKR), 10-0 
BRONZE -  Denise Sabina MAKOTA STROEM (SWE) df. Inkara ZHANATAYEVA (KAZ), 10-0 

#BeachWrestling

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

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

Share this article

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.