#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone Entries

By Eric Olanowski

For the second consecutive year, the Italian ancient port city of Ostia will host the opening Ranking Series event of the year, the Matteo Pellcione. The "Pellicone" kicks off March 4-7 and will feature 360 athletes from 32 different countries.

57kg
Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA( CUB)
Brandon Jesus ESCOBAR AMADOR (HON)
Pankaj PANKAJ (IND)
Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ)
Daulet TEMIRZHANOV (KAZ)
Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR)
Nicholas Raymond SURIANO (USA)
Joseph Daniel COLON (USA)

61kg
Anvar SUVINIITTY (FIN)
Kumar RAVI( IND)
Suraj Sanju ANNIKERI (IND)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Tyler Lee GRAFF (USA)
Ethan Ryan LIZAK (USA)


Bajrang PUNIA (IND) is one of two freestyle wrestlers looking to win back-to-back Matteo Pellicone titles. (Photo: Bajrang Punia)

65kg
Alejandro Enrique VALDES TOBIER (CUB)
Mauricio Javier SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU)
Rohit ROHIT (IND)
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
Behnam Eshagh EHSANPOOR (IRI)
Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Jose Javier RODRIGUEZ COLON (PUR)
David HABAT (SLO)
Selim KOZAN (TUR)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Joseph Christopher MCKENNA (USA)

70kg
Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)
Mustafa KAYA (TUR)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Alec William PANTALEO (USA)


London Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is on a quest to win his third Ranking Series gold medal and first since the '19 Yasar Dogu. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

74kg
Jeandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND)
Jitender JITENDER (IND)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)

79kg
Rahul RATHI (IND)
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Muhamed Mustafa MC BRYDE (USA)
David Vincent MC FADDEN (USA)

86kg
Clayton Steven PYE (CAN)
Hunter Jeffery LEE (CAN)
Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB)
Chahar PARVEEN (IND)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Yeskali DAULETKAZY (KAZ)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Ethan Adrian RAMOS (PUR)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Mark John HALL II (USA)
Myles Najee MARTIN (USA)

92kg
Gino Tanislado AVILA DILBERT (HON)
Parveen PARVEEN (IND)
Elkhan ASSADOV (KAZ)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
James Patrick DOWNEY III (USA)
 

97kg
Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE)
Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Alireza Mohammad KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Evan Amadour RAMOS (PUR)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Kollin Raymond MOORE (USA)
Hayden Nicholas ZILLMER (USA)


Rio Olympic champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) is returning to the mat for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in early '20. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

125kg
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amin Hossein TAHERI (IRI)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Anthony Robert NELSON (USA)


Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) is 23-0 in Ranking Series events and is looking to bag his seventh RS gold. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ)
Andre Ricardo CARDOSO OLIVEIRA SILVA (POR)
Joshua Xavier MEDINA (PUR)
Viktor VEDERNIKOV (RUS)
Serif KILIC (TUR)
Elcin ALI (TUR)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)

60kg
Adam Takahashi MACFADYEN( CAN)
Luis Alberto ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)
Antonio Jordan RUIZ MORA (ECU)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Zhanserik SARSENBIYEV (KAZ)
Antonio MARTINS CABRAL (POR)
Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Dylan Steven GREGERSON (USA)

63kg
Sachin RANA (IND)
Giovanni Paolo ALESSIO (ITA)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Julinho Benjamim CORREIA DJU (POR)
Marat Maksumovitch GARIPOV (RUS)
Aleksei TADYKIN (RUS)
Abdurrahman ALTAN (TUR)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)
Samuel Lee JONES (USA)


Rio Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) will compete at 67kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

67kg
Daniel Troy COLES (CAN)
Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB)
Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
Mate KRASZNA I(HUN)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Steve MOMILIA (ITA)
Nurbek KYZYROV (KAZ)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Nazir Rachidovitch ABDULLAEV (RUS)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Haci KARAKUS (TUR)
Atakan YUKSEL( TUR)
Raymond Anthony BUNKER III (USA)
Jamel Rasheed JOHNSON (USA)

72kg
Cristhian Alberto RIVAS CASTRO( ECU)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
Amit AMIT (IND)
Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)
Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)

77kg
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Ciro RUSSO (ITA)
Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Askhat DILMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Marciano George ALI (PUR)
Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Furkan BAYRAK (TUR)
Fatih CENGIZ (TUR)
Patrick Harrison SMITH (USA)
Peyton Burke WALSH (USA)
Benjamin Errol PROVISOR (USA)


Reigning 77kg world champion Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) will compete up at 82kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

82kg
Laszlo SZABO( HUN)
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Singh HARPREET (IND)
Miras BARSHYLYKOV (KAZ)
Adlan AKIEV( RUS)
Emrah KUS( TUR)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Salih AYDIN (TUR)
Terrence Mosley ZALESKI (USA)
John Walter STEFANOWICZ JR (USA)
Ravaughn Richard Ravelle PERKINS (USA)

87kg
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Ariel Andres ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ (HON)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Nikolay KOZHUKHOV (ISR)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Bekkhan OZDOEV (RUS)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Josef Patrick RAU (USA)
Alan Ernesto VERA GARCIA (USA)
Patrick Anthony MARTINEZ (USA)


Reigning two-time world champion Musa EVLOEV (RUS) is searching for his third Ranking Series title (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

97kg
Gabriel Alejandro ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON)
Balazs KISS (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Hardeep HARDEEP (IND)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Yerulan ISKAKOV (KAZ)
Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
Cenk ILDEM (TUR)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Daniel Collett MILLER (USA)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)

130kg
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB)
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Samuele VARICELLI (ITA)
Luca GODINO (ITA)
Nurmakhan TINALIYEV (KAZ)
Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)
Riza KAYAALP( TUR)
Adam Jacob COON (USA)
Cohlton Michael SCHULTZ (USA)
Lance Westley CATHCART (USA)


'19 world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) is one of three women's wrestling returning champions. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Patricia Alejandra BERMUDEZ (ARG)
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
Madison Bianca PARKS (CAN)
Yusneylis GUZMAN LOPEZ (CUB)
Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Meenakshi MEENAKSHI (IND)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS)
Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (RUS)
Aynur ERGE (TUR)
Whitney CONDER( USA)
Victoria Lacey ANTHONY (USA)

53kg
Diana Mary Helen WEICKER (CAN)
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Lianna de la Caridad MONTERO HERRERA (CUB)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Nandini Bajirao SALOKHE (IND)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)
Sara ETTAKI (ITA)
Assylzat SAGYMBAY (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS)
Aleksandra SKIRENKO (RUS)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Esra PUL (TUR)
Areana Louise VILLAESCUSA (USA)
Alexandra Wray HEDRICK (USA)

55kg
Jacqueline Del Rocio MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Ambra CAMPAGN A(ITA)
Aisha UALISHAN( KAZ)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)


Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR), the two-time world medal winner, will compete at 57kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL)
Tianna Grace KENNETT (CAN)
Anju ANJU (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Morena DE VITA (ITA)
Rebecca DE LEO (ITA)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Altynay SATYLGAN( KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Irina OLOGONOVA (RUS)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (RUS)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Jenna Rose BURKERT (USA)
Allison Mackenzie RAGAN (USA)

59kg
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Sarita SARITA( IND)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Aleksandra NITSENKO (RUS)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Abigail Elizabeth NETTE (USA)

62kg
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Michelle Christina FAZZARI (CAN)
Jessica Lise BROUILLETTE (CAN)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Valeria KOBLOVA ZHOLOBOVA (RUS)
Anzhela FOMENKO (RUS)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Mallory Maxine VELTE (USA)

65kg
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Veronica BRASCHI (ITA)
Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RUS)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON( SWE)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)


World champion Tamyra STOCK MENSAH (USA) will try to improve on her runner-up finish from last year's Matteo Pellicone. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

68kg
Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Olivia Grace DI BACCO (CAN)
Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Anita ANITA (IND)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Battsetseg SORONZONBOLD (MGL)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
Valeriia TRIFONOVA (RUS)
Tindra Linnea SJOEBERG (SWE)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)
Tamyra Mariama STOCK MENSAH (USA)
Alexandria Junis GLAUDE (USA)

72kg
Yekaterina LARIONOVA (KAZ)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Marina SUROVTSEVA (RUS)
Kristina DUDAEVA (RUS)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)


Olympic champions Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) and Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN) are both entered at 76kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

76kg
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Mariya Gerginova ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS)
Precious Rosanna BELL (USA)

#WrestleAthens

Olympic legend Icho returns to Athens to lead Japan’s next generation

By Vinay Siwach

ATHENS, Greece (August 2) -- In Athens, home of the Olympics, Kaori ICHO (JPN) is already one of the pantheon of greats.

Having once made history as an athlete here -- winning the first of four Olympic gold medals at the 2004 Olympics -- Icho now sets out to carve a new legacy, this time as coach to the next generation of Japanese talent.

In Athens, she is making her international debut as coach of the Japanese women's team at the World U17 Championships as she returns to the Ano Liossia Olympic Sports Hall, the same venue she won the Olympic gold.

"I have returned to this arena for the first time in 21 years," Icho told United World Wrestling. "I won an [Olympic] gold medal in this arena for the first time."

Icho, who ended her wrestling career in 2019, started coaching after the Tokyo Olympics. She has coached Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) domestically as both Morikawa and Icho are recruited with ALSOK.

Japan managed to win only one gold medal in Women's Wrestling at the World Championships and finished third in the team race. While Japan is not used to finishing at that position in Women's Wrestling, the third-place highlighted that even Japan's second-tier team poses a significant challenge to the world.

The presence of Icho definitely helped the wrestlers, who were not only helped by her experience but the presence of the four-time Olympic champion motivated them.

Japan's world champion in Athens, Hanano OYA (JPN), said that watching Icho win her record fourth gold medal in Rio 2016 inspired her to take up wrestling.

"The reason I started wrestling was because of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics," Oya said. "It was when Kaori achieved her fourth consecutive victory, and I saw it on TV. I started wrestling myself, so I was very happy when she accompanied me and acted as my second coach, and I felt that I had to live up to her expectations."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) coaches one of the members of the Japanese team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For Icho, not being on the mat and coaching from the corner was a different experience.

"I feel really strange being able to come back here as a coach," she said. "This tournament is the World Championships for those under 17 years old. I also became an Olympic gold medalist at this venue when I was 20 and I hope that the young athletes will work hard towards their Olympic dreams."

Back in 2004, the first Olympics when Women's Wrestling became part of it, Icho remembered the nervous and the excitement. The enjoyment, however, came only after she had won the gold.

"It was my first Olympics," she said. "I was very nervous and excited. I was here for about two weeks, from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. After winning, I went swimming in the Aegean Sea. It was a very enjoyable Olympics."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) during a warm-up session of the Japanese team in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

When she landed at the airport in Athens on Monday, memories from the past came rushing back.

"I don't particularly feel it at the airport, but I wondered if it was this hot," she said. "I wondered what the venue will be like. I was reminiscing about 21 years ago."

Once at the venue, Icho was requested for photos from wrestlers and coaches which she obliged. With her first tournament as coach behind her, Icho is determined to work even harder as she prepares the senior Japan team for the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, this September.

"Coaches and players asked me to take pictures with them," she said. "I felt stronger coming here. I want to work harder as a coach."