#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (February 13) -- Close to 500 wrestlers, including world and Olympic champions, will descend upon Tirana to wrestle in the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series.

The number makes the second Ranking Series the most competitive since the start of the Ranking Series events. Iran, Japan, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the United States are sending top teams for the February 26 to March 2 event.

The Ranking Series will be live on uww.org with Freestyle kicking off things on February 26.

Note: The entry list is subject to change. For the final list of participants, refer to UWW Arena here.

Freestyle

57kg
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Jianhao LIU (CHN)
Hongzhou LIAO (CHN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Ali MOMENI (IRI)
Hadi REZAEI (IRI)
Kento YUMIA (JPN)
Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Sultan KURMANALIYEV (KAZ)
Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK)

61kg
Artem GOBAEV (AIN)
Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (AIN)
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Stilyan ILIEV (BUL)
Shengjie HU (CHN)
Chengtao WANG (CHN)
Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Takara SUDA (JPN)
Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ)
Mukhamed BALGABAY (KAZ)
Shynggyskhan ZHANTASSULY (KAZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)

65kg
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN)
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Klevisi PRECI (ALB)
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Congbao XIE (CHN)
Shuang CHEN (CHN)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Kaiji OGINO (JPN)
Kaisei TANABE (JPN)
Adilkhan ALBAIULY (KAZ)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Nursultan SADYK (KAZ)
Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Sergiu LUPASCO (MDA)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Kamol BEGAKOV (TJK)
Cavit ACAR (TUR)
Dmytro MYKHNIUK (UKR)
Real WOODS (USA)

70kg
Eriglent PRIZRENI (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Tao WEI (CHN)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Nachyn KUULAR (KAZ)
Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
Yernur NURGAZY (KAZ)
Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
James GREEN (USA)
William LEWAN (USA)
Yahya THOMAS (USA)

74kg
Magoma DIBIRGADZHIEV (AIN)
Chermen VALIEV (ALB)
Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Ning WANG (CHN)
Tao SHEN (CHN)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Otari BAGAURI (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Hikaru TAKATA (JPN)
Alibek ABDIKASSYMOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Quincy MONDAY (USA)

79kg
Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (AIN)
Orges LILA ALB
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Petar PETKOV (BUL)
Nan CAO (CHN)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Tornike TULASHVILI (GEO)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Shane JONES (PUR)
Alfred DANIEL (SLE)
David MC FADDEN (USA)
Evan WICK (USA)

86kg
Jorge LLANO (ARG)
Hui CHEN (CHN)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Tamaz NIKOLEISHVILI (GEO)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
Rustem MYRZAGALIYEV (KAZ)
Bekzat RAKHIMOV (KGZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Chandler MARSTELLER (USA)

92kg
Alan BAGAEV (AIN)
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (AIN)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
NARENMANDUHAI (CHN)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Teimuraz KOCHKIANI (GEO)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA)

97kg
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (AIN)
Ricardo BAEZ (ARG)
Gurgen SIMONYAN (ARM)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Dato PIRUZASHVILI (GEO)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN)
Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI)
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)

125kg
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (AIN)
Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (AIN)
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Gabriel DE SOUSA SILVA (BRA)
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Nursultan AZOV (KAZ)
Omar EYUBOV (KAZ)
Omarkhan NADIROV (KAZ)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Omar SAREM (ROU)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Demetrius THOMAS (USA)
Jordan WOOD (USA)

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)Two-time Olympic medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) will begin her season in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN)
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Katie DUTCHAK (CAN)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Keke SHI (CHN)
MEIDUOLAJI (CHN)
Liying YU (CHN)
Umi ITO (JPN)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Erin GOLSTON (USA)

53kg
Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN)
Adrianny CASTILLO (ARG)
Yuxuan LI (CHN)
Meilin ZHOU (CHN)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Felicity TAYLOR (USA)

55kg
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN)
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Haruna MURAYAMA OKUNO (JPN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)

57kg
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)

59kg
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Abigail NETTE (USA)

62kg
Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
LILI (CHN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)

65kg
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Yuqi RAO (CHN)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Jennifer PAGE ROGERS (USA)

68kg
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Zelu LI (CHN)
Gerda BARTH (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)

72kg
Linda MACHUCA (ARG)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Alexandria GLAUDE (USA)
Skylar GROTE (USA)

76kg
Valeriia TRIFONOVA (AIN)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Meile ZHANG (CHN)
YANGLA (CHN)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)

Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), right, will be in action at Greco-Roman 87kg in Albania. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ)
Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ)
Yersin ABYIR (KAZ)
Nurbolot BERDIKULOV (KGZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Emre MUTLU (TUR)

60kg
Ergi UKU (ALB)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Yunlong HU (CHN)
Ziyue XI (CHN)
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)
Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Enes BASAR (TUR)

63kg
Beka GURULI (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Nurzat MARAT (KAZ)
Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ)
Baiaman APILOV (KGZ)
Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
Doolotbek CHOIBEKOV (KGZ)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)

67kg
Ardit ZENELI (ALB)
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Dongfu XIE (CHN)
Lei LI (CHN)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
HARUTO YABE (JPN)
Abylaikhan AMZEYEV (KAZ)
Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ)
Madiyar MAULITKANOV (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)

72kg
Xhorxh FRROKAJ (ALB)
Emiljano TAFA (ALB)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Ji LENG (CHN)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Sajjad IMENTALAB (IRI)
Nikolay KHAPKO (KAZ)
Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Mehmet SAHIN (TUR)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)

77kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Albert DOEV (BUL)
Yuhe HUANG (CHN)
Likui SHI (CHN)
Zhihuan WANG (CHN)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Abolfazl MOHMEDI (IRI)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Iznovr ABAYEV (KAZ)
Yeldos KAMELOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Maurus ZOGG (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)
Artur POLITAIEV (UKR)

82kg
Boris FRROKAJ (ALB)
Ardit NDOJ (ALB)
Kelsi NELAJ (ALB)
Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Dias KALTAY (KAZ)
Olzhas YERGALI (KAZ)
Talas ASHIRKHANOV (KAZ)
Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ)
Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Emrah KUS (TUR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)

87kg
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Jiaxin HUANG (CHN)
Jianwen LUO (CHN)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Ilimdor SATAYEV (KAZ)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Nurzhan ASSAN (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Artur OVSEPYAN (UKR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)

97kg
Julijan SHEHU (ALB)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Youfang ZHANG (CHN)
Shange ZHANG (CHN)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN)
Aidos AMIROV (KAZ)
Yerzat YERLANOV (KAZ)
Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ)
Nurmanbet RAIMALY UULU (KGZ)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Nicu Samuel OJOG (ROU)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)

130kg
Rigers KURTI (ALB)
Laga BAYI (CHN)
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Darius VITEK (HUN)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Assylbek ABDIKALYK (KAZ)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Muhammet Hamza BAKIR (TUR)

#development

UWW and Inspire Institute of Sport host first-ever coaching course

By United World Wrestling Press

VIJAYANAGAR, India (July 9) -- United World Wrestling hosted a international coaching course at Inspire Institute of Sport in India from June 27 to July 1.

This was the first-ever coaching course held in India under the partnership that UWW signed with IIS in 2024 to help develop wrestling in India. The Level 2 coaching course was led by July and was lead by Ahmed KHEDHRI (TUN).

"The group was distinguished by a wide diversity of experiences and backgrounds, which added a special richness to the discussions and allowed for fruitful exchanges of ideas and practices," Khedhri said. "The coaches’ enthusiasm and commitment to enhancing their knowledge and skills to serve wrestling in their respective countries were clearly evident. This positive interaction added a dynamic and engaging spirit to the course, making it a truly rich and effective educational experience."

The Level 2 coaching course focused on the designing and implementing of practice plans and had nine coaches from three countries namely India, Singapore, and Nigeria that participated in the course.

The course covered various topics including seven basic skills of wrestling, introduction to performance analysis designing effective practice sessions, risk management, mental development, Anti-Doping, environmental impact and included technical sessions. During the course, the coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations.

"The course was very successful and impactful. It was truly excellent, characterized by clarity, depth, and practical application that added real value for all participants. I feel deeply grateful and very excited, as this was our first education clinic, through which we have already seen many promising potentials and future opportunities," Rishabh CHAUHAN, Head of Sports Excellence Program at IIS, said.

INDParticipants at the  Level 2 coaching course work through designing and implementing a wrestling practice plan. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Quotes from some of the participants:

Timothy Loh Yu (SGP)

“Completing the UWW Coaching Course Level 2 was an enriching experience that deepened my technical knowledge and coaching philosophy. The course focused on athlete-centered development, advanced planning, and effective communication. Key takeaways included structuring training cycles, integrating strength and conditioning, and applying sports science for better athlete management. Practical sessions improved my technical instruction and feedback skills. Overall, the course strengthened my confidence and commitment to continuous learning. The venue, facilities, accommodation, and the facilitation by Mr. Ahmed were also excellent and supported the success of the program.”

Gurpreet Kaur (IND)

“I would like to express my gratitude for facilitating the UWW Level 2 Coaches Course. The course was highly informative, engaging, and practical, covering key topics such as basic wrestling skills, training phases and periodization, video analysis, practice planning, nutrition and weight management, and athlete management. It has deepened my perspective as a coach and equipped me with practical tools to use in my training sessions. To further enhance learning, incorporating more case studies, video breakdowns of real matches, and live or recorded athlete demonstrations could strengthen technical and tactical understanding. Overall, the course struck a good balance between theory and real-life application.”

Blessing Oborududu (NGR)

“The UWW Level 2 Coaching Course has been a game-changer for me. I’ve gained practical skills to enhance my coaching, including analyzing and correcting techniques, planning effective training programs, and applying strength & conditioning and nutrition to optimize athlete performance. I’ve also developed leadership and communication skills to foster a supportive training environment. This course has truly elevated my coaching abilities and will help me better support my athletes’ growth and success.”