#RankingSeries

Matteo Pellicone Postponed, 2022 Calendar Finalized

Thursday, January 20, 2022 - 10:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (January 20) – The United World Wrestling postponed the Matteo Pellicone and announced Almaty and Tunis as the host sites for the remaining pair of '22 Ranking Series events Thursday.

Despite the efforts of the Italian Wrestling Federation to host Rome's Matteo Pellicone on the previously scheduled dates of February 4-7, the latest restrictions due to the Omicron variant proved to be a roadblock in hosting the event.

The tournament will now be held June 22-25 in Rome, Italy preceding the U20 European Championships, which begin June 27 at the Pala Pellicone.

In the same meeting, the Bureau finalized the '22 Ranking Series calendar. In their continued efforts to spread the Ranking Series events worldwide, United World Wrestling selected Africa and Asia as host continents for the remaining pair of 2022 events.

Apart from the season opener Ranking event – the Yasar Dogu – in Istanbul, Turkey (February 24-27), the second event will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan (June 2-5). The Matteo Pellicone will be the third event (June 22-25), with Tunis, Tunisia being the final Ranking Series stop of the season (July 14-17).

Matteo PelliconeThe Matteo Pellicone Ranking event will now be held on June 22-25 in Rome, Italy. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Ranking Series Calendar 2022:

1st Ranking Series: February 24-27, Istanbul (TUR)
2nd Ranking Series: June 2-5, Almaty (KAZ)
3rd Ranking Series: June 22-25, Rome (ITA)
4th Ranking Series: July 14-17, Tunis (TUN)

"We really think that these adjustments will benefit the sport and for the competitions organized every year," UWW President Nenad LALOVIC said while announcing the changes. "Points will be allocated to the wrestlers, depending on their rank at these events. At the end of the year, the athletes who will have the highest number of points will become the best wrestlers of the year."

Updated Ranking System

Throughout '21, UWW has worked tirelessly to find improvements in the competition system. As a result, the Technical Commission and Bureau Members analyzed the current system and several other topics.

One of the most significant changes made by the Bureau was the approval of the updates to the current competition's ranking and seeding system.

UWW decided to add the XIX Mediterranean Games in Oran, Algeria (June 27-30) as a trial event to award ranking points to wrestlers participating in the Games. Other Regional Games could potentially be added to the Ranking system on a case-by-case basis. However, the final ranking points will only be awarded based on results in four out of the five events for the athletes who compete in Regional Games. The Olympics, Senior World and Continental Championships points remain unaffected.

The following competitions will determine the ranking of a wrestler:

Ranking Series (international tournaments selected by UWW)
Senior Continental Championships
Senior World Championships or Olympic Games
XIX Mediterranean Games (eligible wrestlers)

"We encourage all your athletes to compete during these events," Lalovic said. "The [ranking] points will serve them when we establish the seeds for the Senior Continental and World Championships."

The new rankings have been updated on uww.org, with wrestlers holding points from the Tokyo Olympic Games and Oslo World Championships.

Another significant decision was changing the number of seeds at different competitions. As a result, the Bureau approved to have eight seeds for the Senior World Championships and the Olympic Games instead of the previous four.

Similarly, the number of seeded wrestlers at the '22 Senior Continental Championships will now be four instead of two. The seeds will be determined by the Ranking Series events organized before the aforementioned competitions but also by taking into account the points earned at the 2021 Senior World Championships and the Tokyo Olympic Games.

World CupThe 2018 freestyle World Cup was hosted by the USA in Iowa City. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

USA, Azerbaijan to host '22 World Cups

In a first, UWW will host a combined Freestyle and Women's Wrestling World Cup in Iowa, USA.

Iowa will host the combined World Cup for two consecutive years – 2022 and 2023 – marking a new beginning in the wrestling calendar. This will also be the second time Iowa has hosted the Freestyle World Cup. The legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa hosted the '18 World Cup.

After a four-year absence, wrestling will return to Baku, as the Bureau provisionally approved the Azerbaijan capital to host the Greco-Roman World Cup pending a venue inspection visit. The tournament will be held on November 5-6.

Rounding off the calendar was the selection of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as the host city for the Senior Asian Championships (April 19 to 24).

#WrestleBudapest

Maroulis golden in Budapest; India wins two Ranking Series golds

Friday, July 18, 2025 - 23:55 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 18) -- Three pins, zero points given and only 10 minutes spend on the mat for four bouts.

Helen MAROULIS (USA) did not show any signs of a one-year break from international wrestling and won the 57kg gold medal at the Budapest Ranking Series on Friday.

The three-time Olympic medal had not wrestled since winning the bronze-medal at the Paris Games but when she stepped on the mat in Budapest, it felt as if Maroulis was never off it.

Maroulis was the lone gold medalist from the United States among the five World Championships team members competing on Friday. India captured two of the five gold medals on offer in Women's Wrestling as ANTIM (IND) won her second straight Ranking Series gold at 53kg while Asian U20 champion HARSHITA (IND) rose above her level to beat three-time world silver medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) at 72kg.

Hosts Hungary also managed to get a gold, its third-ever in Women's Wrestling at Ranking Series events, as Erika BOGNAR (HUN) defeated Elena BRUGGER (GER) in the 59kg final. Turkiye won the 50kg gold medal through Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR).

Maroulis, who was coached by Paris Olympic champion Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA), drew compatriot Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) in the first round. She had beaten Martinez at the Final X last month to make the World Championships team.

It took Maroulis some time to pick up pace but once she did, the bout was over in two minutes as she pinned Martinez using her signature arm-bar technique.

In the only match she failed to pin her opponent, Maroulis defeated Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW), 7-0, keeping her position as solid as possible. In the semifinals, Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) was pinned using the same arm-bar after an 11-0 lead to reach the final.

Neha SANGWAN (IND), world U20 bronze medalist and Mongolia Open winner, reached the other side of the bracket with good wins. She got the taste of elite wrestling when Maroulis foot-swept her on the mat and then secured the fall in just 31 seconds.

Maroulis did her punch in the air celebrations after the final and felt ready for the World Championships in September when she can win her fourth world title.

Twin golds for India

Antim and Harshita were the two gold medal winners for India, the only country to achieve two golds on Friday in Women's Wrestling.

Antim picked up from where she had left off in Ulaanbaatar and won three of her four bouts via technical superiority including a 10-0 opening round victory over Zeynep YETGIL (TUR). Antim had lost 10-0 to Yetgil in the first round of Paris Olympics and left the mat in tears.

But Budapest was entirely different as she did not even let Yetgil reach her legs, forget scoring points on her. In the semifinal, she blanked Felicity TAYLOR (USA), 10-0, and booked a place in final against Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW).

In Ulaanbaatar, Antim had beaten Malysheva twice, both via technical superiority. While the final did not go how she planned, Antim still beat Malysheva 7-4 to win the gold medal for India.

Malysheva was on the activity clock after avoided a few attacks from Antim who scored a takedown soon after the activity period to lead 3-0 in the final. But she got a misdirection takedown in the second period to cut the lead to 3-2.

Antim performance a slide to go-behind and score another takedown and stretch the lead to 5-2. An ankle pick made it 7-2 before a last-second takedown from Malysheva cut the lead to 7-4.

But Antim would the win, two months before the World Championships where she is already has a bronze medal.

Harshita was a little more dominant at 72kg as she won gold over Bakbergenova by blanking the Kazakhstan wrestlers 10-0 in the Round 5 bout as this weight class had five wrestlers.

She opened the day with a fall over Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA) in the first round. Lecarpentier was not happy with the fall and pushed Harhista as the Indian was trying to stand up after the whistle. Lecarpentier was disqualified for her actions.

Harshita was unfazed by that incident and continued her progress, winning the next bout against Kseniia BURAKOVA (UWW), again via fall. She got a walkover by Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW) in Round 4.

The Round 5 bout against Bakbergenova became a virtual final and Harshita was the underdog against the former Asian champion.

Bakbergenova was put on the activity clock and after getting the one point, Harshita scored a double-leg takedown to make it 3-0. In the second period, Harshita got Bakbergenova in trouble using a double-leg attack but the Kazakhstan wrestler throw her using chest-wrap. Harshita defended it well and kept control on Bakbergenova which ultimately got her four points.

In the same sequence, Harshita rolled Bakbergenova for two more points to lead 9-0. A stepout finished the bout 10-0.

Hosts Hungary celebrated the gold medal at 59kg after Bognar defeated Brugger 2-1 in the 59kg final, with all three points begin activity clock points. Brugger got a passivity against her t o give Bognar the lead. Brugger took a 1-1 criteria lead when Bognar was called passive and put on the activity clock.

There was third passivity it was Brugger who was put on an activity clock. She once again failed to score and Bognar took a 2-1 lead and the victory.

Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) needed a late counterattack against Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) to win 50kg gold medal.

RESULSTS

50kg
GOLD: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW), 9-6

BRONZE: Natalia PUDOVA (UWW) df. Erin GOLSTON (USA), 10-0
BRONZE: NEELAM (IND) df. Kseniya STANKEVICH (UWW), 6-3

53kg
GOLD: ANTIM (IND) df. Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW), 7-4

BRONZE: Felicity TAYLOR (USA) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 11-0
BRONZE: Seoyoung PARK (KOR) df. Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU), 5-0

57kg
GOLD:  Helen MAROULIS (USA) df. NEHA (IND), via fall

BRONZE: Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ) df. Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), 7-4
BRONZE: Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) df. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN), 10-3

59kg
GOLD: Erika BOGNAR (HUN) df. Elena BRUGGER (GER), 2-1

BRONZE: Nadzeya BULANAYA (UWW) df. Arian CARPIO (PHI), via fall
BRONZE: Abigail NETTE (USA) df. Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW), 7-1

72kg
GOLD: HARSHITA (IND)
SIILVER: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE: Kseniia BRATCHIKOVA (UWW)