#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series entries

By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (June 14) -- The third stop on the Ranking Series calendar will travel through the cobblestone-lined streets of Rome starting next Wednesday (June 22-25) for the Matteo Pellicone. The competition will feature nearly 320 athletes from 34 different nations stretching across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Italian Wrestling Federation's Matteo Pellcone has been featured on the Ranking Series calendar. The event was held on the Italian island of Sardinia in 2019 before relocating to the Pala Pellicone Italian Olympic Training facility in early 2020.

Next Wednesday's opening day of wrestling starts with seven Greco-Roman weight classes. The final trio of Greco and the first four women's wrestling weights will be contested on Thursday. Friday's action closes out the women's categories and welcomes in the two heaviest freestyle weights, 97kg and 125kg. The final day of the competition will be on Saturday, when the remaining eight freestyle golds will be handed out.

SCHEDULE | EVENT PAGE 

Freestyle

57kg
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Abhishek DHAKA (IND)
Madhushika DE SILVA (SRI)
Mehmet YUCE (TUR)
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR)

61kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Tural Ebdul HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Ravi KUMAR (IND)
Kenneth KOECH (KEN)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Ahmet TAS (TUR)
Recep TOPAL (TUR)

65kg
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Tornike KATAMADZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Anuj KUMAR (IND)
Shamil OMAROV (ITA)

Daniel PACINO (ITA)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Sandaruwan GUNAWARDANA (SRI)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)

70kg
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)

Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE)
Murad EVLOEV (AZE)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Mulayam YADAV (IND)
Gianluca COLETTI (ITA)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR)
Servet COSKUN (TUR)

74kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Otari BAGAURI (GEO)
Dimitri JIOEVI (GEO)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)

79kg
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Gadzhimurad OMAROV (AZE)
Nestor TAFUR (COL)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Giorgi SULAVA (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
DEEPAK (IND)
Raffaele MATRULLO (ITA)
Mark ONGUYESI (KEN)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Jakub SYKORA (SVK)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)

86kg
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO)
Zaur BERADZE (GEO)
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Sanjeet KUNDU (IND)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Krzysztof SADOWIK (POL)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Saba CHIKHRADZE (GEO)
AKASH (IND)
John OMONDI (KEN)
Andrian GROSUL (MDA)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Erik Sven THIELE (GER)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Sahil SEHRAWAT (IND)
Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Dan CHEPTAI (KEN)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Mustafa SESSIZ (TUR)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Mohit GREWAL (IND)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Anil KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)


Reigning world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) will compete at 63kg at the Matteo Pellicone. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND))
Mohammad HOSSEINVAND (IRI)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Florin TITA (ROU)
Max NOWRY (USA)

60kg
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Gyanender DAHIYA (IND)
Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)

63kg
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
ANIL (IND)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Jesse THIELKE (USA)

67kg
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Kenedy MORAES (BRA)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND)
Sajjad IMENTALAB (IRI)
Mohammad REZAEI (IRI)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Furkan YILDIZ (TUR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Vikas VIKAS (IND))
Filippo BIONDI (ITA)
Brian OLOO (KEN)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Patrick SMITH (USA)

77kg
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
SACHIN (IND))
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Ali Mohammad GHOLAMI (IRI)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Abdurrahman KALKAN (TUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)

82kg
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Roni PUROLAINEN (FIN)
Harpreet SINGH (IND))
Rasoul Sadegh GARMSIRI (IRI)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Daniel CATARRAGA (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Hasan KILINC (TUR)

87kg
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Manoj KUMAR (IND))
Hossein Ahmad NOURI (IRI)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Nicu Samuel OJOG (ROU)
Kristoffer BERG (SWE)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Emincan ENEZ (TUR)
Mehmetali KUCUKOSMAN (TUR)
Alan GARCIA (USA)

97kg
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Igor DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
RAVI (IND))
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)

130kg
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
SATISH (IND))
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)



Reigning world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) will return to the mat for the second time this season. Earlier this year, she won gold at the European Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Shivani PAWAR (IND))
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Agata WALERZAK (POL)
Shriyanthika NIROSHANI (SRI)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Emine CATALOGLU (TUR)

53kg
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Oriana DI STEFANO (ITA)
Emma Nekesa WANGILA (KEN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Chamodya KESHANI (SRI)
Emma MALMGREN (SWE)

Lilia MALANCHUK (UKR)

55kg
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sushma SHOKEEN (IND)
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)

Alice BEVILACQUA (ITA)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Ahinsa FERNANDO (SRI)

MARIIA VYNNYK (UKR) 

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Mansi Ahlawat (IND))
Sophia AYIETA (KEN)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)

59kg
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Sarita MOR (IND))
Nairomi SPERANDIO (ITA)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Abigail NETTE (USA)

Solomia VYNNYK (UKR)

62kg
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Ana GONZALEZ (CAN)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Sakshi MALIK (IND))
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)

65kg
MANISHA (IND))
Veronica BRASCHI (ITA)
Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)

Rfteryna ZELENYKH (UKR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
Grabriela PEDRO DA ROCHA (BRA)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Nisha DAHIYA (IND))
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)

Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

72kg
Anna SCHELL (GER)
MANJU (IND))
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Skylar GROTE (USA)

Marilyn GARCIA (USA)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Epp MAE (EST)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Pooja SIHAG (IND))
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)

Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

#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."