#WrestleBudapest

Must-watch storylines from Budapest Ranking Series

Tuesday, June 4, 2024 - 23:52 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 4) -- As the Budapest Ranking Series gets underway Thursday in the Hungary capital, a few intriguing storylines will be seen on the mats. Countries will be finalizing their Olympic line-ups, a few star wrestlers are returning to competition while others are competing for the ranking points.

Here are the top storylines that no wrestling fan should miss at the Budapest Ranking Series which will be live on uww.org using UWW+.

Iran's dilemma

A wrestle-off is set to be held by Iran in Budapest to decide on the Paris Olympic team. Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) won the spot by winning bronze at the World Championships. But Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) won the Asian Championships to lay his claim for the 67kg gold medal.

60kg will also see a wrestle-off as Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) is set to face Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI) to decide who goes to the Paris Games.

Also, Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) is wrestling!

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will wrestle for the first time since winning gold medal at the Asian Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Sachiko Hotaka)

Yazdani returns

Undoubtedly Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returning to competition is the big show in Budapest. Since winning the silver medal at the World Championships in Belgrade, Yazdani has wrestled only once, winning the gold medal at the Asian Games. A shoulder injury kept him out for eight months but Yazdani will be wrestling at 86kg on Thursday.

Before the Ranking Series, there were talks in Iran about a potential clash of Yazdani against 92kg world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) who is looking to make the Paris Olympic team for Iran. But Iran decided to send Yazdani alone and will assess his performance before deciding on a trial between the two.

Ziqi FENG (CHN)Ziqi FENG (CHN) gave a scare to Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the Asian Championships final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

China's problem of plenty

China rarely sends a portion of its team to the Ranking Series. But it has sent only five wrestlers for Budapest, all in Women's Wrestling. Three wrestlers are entered at 50kg and two at 57kg, expected for a wrestle-off.

Yu ZHANG (CHN), Jiang ZHU (CHN) and Ziqi FENG (CHN) are fighting for the Paris Olympic spot at 50kg. Feng won the quota for China by winning the bronze medal at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Qi ZHANG (CHN) and Kexin HONG (CHN) will wrestle off for the spot at 57kg. Hong won the quota at the Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek. But Zhang, a world champion at 59kg, won the Asian Championships, a run that also had a win over Risako KINJO (JPN) in the first round.

Jamalov's switch

Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) has been waiting for his Uzbekistan debut which will finally happen in Budapest. Jamalov will take the mat at 74kg and can also face Bekzhod ABURKHAMANOV (UZB), meaning that their match can also be a wrestle-off.  Jamalov has not wrestled at an international event since finishing fifth at the 2021 European Championships but has previously shown that he can win against any top wrestler on his day.

#wrestlemanama

Bahrain to host 2026 World Championships

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 12:02 By United World Wrestling Press

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- For the first time in history, the World Championships are headed to Bahrain.

The 2026 World Championships will be held in Manama, Bahrain from September 5 to 13, United World Wrestling announced on Tuesday, during the ongoing World Championships in Zagreb.

No Arab country has ever hosted a World Championships but Bahrain will etch its name in history with the 2026 edition.

Secretary General of the Bahrain Olympic Committee Faris AL-KOOHEJI attended the press conference at the Arena Zagreb for the historic announcement. UWW President Nenad LALOVIC and Al-Kooheji announced the host together and signed the agreement.

"Bahrain has a superstar in wrestling," UWW President Lalovic said. "They probably want to use this opportunity to promote the sport through this superstar [Akhmed] TAZHUDINOV (BRN). But he's not the only one.

"They also want to develop the local Bahrain born athletes to compete because they have the role model of the top achievement in wrestling. This is something that we considered and that is why we made this decision.

Bahrain won its first-ever gold medal in Olympics in Paris when Tahzudinov ran-through the 97kg weight class and captured the gold medal. A year before that, he won the world title in the same weight class.

Tazhudinov is also an Asian champion, Asian Games champion and winner of other Ranking Series events.

Lalovic on the fact that wrestling wants to change the host continent of the World Championships more regularly.

 "We also want to change the continent regularly," he said. "A state that can organize the Asian [Youth] Games like they will do now in October, they will not face any problem with the championships, especially that we give all the assistance possible for the execution"

Manama, Bahrain will host the Asian Youth Games in which wrestling will be held from October 28 to 30.

Expressing its gratitude to UWW and readiness to host the mega event, Al-Kooheji said that the tournament will help Bahrain take wrestling to the grassroot levels in the country.

"For us, wrestling is a long term project," Al-Kooheji said. "Wrestling is a growing sport. It's a strategic sport for us. We got a gold medal in Paris, and we're looking to getting more medals. That gold medal started to inspire a lot of people, locally, to pursue wrestling, which is why part of the discussions with United World Wrestling is to even help us add wrestling in schools."

The Bahrain Olympic Committee expects that the World Championships will have a positive impact in growing the sport in the country.

"Strong economic impact [from the event]," he said. "We're going to get lots of travel spectators from Iran, the United States, and other countries as well. It's going to encourage the local community. They will understand more wrestling."