Ranking Series

Olympic Champ Borrero Headlines World Greco-Roman Rankings

Friday, May 11, 2018 - 16:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) headlines the May 2018 Ranking Series for Greco-Roman. 

Borrero, ranked No.1 at 67kg, has accumulated 47 ranking points, which is more points than any Greco-Roman wrestler in any weight class. The Cuban star recently cruised to his fourth overall Pan American gold, picking up four technical falls and outscoring his opponents by a combined score of 40-0. Earlier this year Borrero won a gold medal at the Cerro Pelado International.

Another Cuban wrestler, Oscar PINO HINDS (130kg), a returning world bronze medalist, earned a No.1 ranking. Like Borrero, Pino Hinds claimed a gold medal at the Pan American Championships. He topped Robby SMITH (USA) to win his third consecutive continental title.

Kyrgyzstan also has a pair of top-ranked Greco-Roman wrestlers, K. ZHOLCHUBEKOV (60kg) and U. AMATOV (63kg).

Zholchubekov opened the year by winning a gold medal at the Takhti Cup and followed it up with a bronze at the Asian Championships. 


Amatov earned medals at both the Takhti Cup (bronze) and Asian Championships (silver). 

2016 world champion Balint KORPASI (HUN) is the top-ranked wrestler at 72kg. He was a Cerro Pelado International champion in February and recently captured a bronze medal at the European Championships. 

Returning world bronze medalist Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) occupies the top spot at 77kg. He has been a Takhti Cup champion and Asian Championships silver medalist this year. 

Another returning world bronze medalist, Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO), tops the rankings at 87kg. He recently claimed a gold medal at the European Championships. 


Other top-ranked Greco-Roman wrestlers include Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) at 55kg, Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) at 82kg and Orkhan NURIYEV (AZE) at 97kg. 

The 2018 season is the first in which United World Wrestling is utilizing an objective ranking system. The points acquired at continental championships and select rankings series will determine the top four seeded athletes at the 2018 World Championships in October held in Budapest.

For more on the Ranking Series format, be sure to check out this article. 

View all the rankings on United World Wrestling's homepage. 

55kg
1. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) // 30 Points
2. Reza KHEDRI (IRI) // 24 Points
3. Shota TANOKURA (JPN) // 22 Points
4. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) // 20 Points
5. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) // 20 Points

60kg
1. K. ZHOLCHUBEKOV (KGZ) // 36 Points
2. Luis Alberto ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) // 35 Points
3. Sergey EMELIN (RUS) // 27 Points
4. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) // 25 Points
5. Shinobu OTA (JPN) // 23 Points

63kg
1. U. AMATOV (KGZ) // 30 Points
2. Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU) // 28 Points
3. Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR) // 26 Points
4. Zaur KABALOEV (RUS) // 24 Points
5. Donior ISLAMOV (MDA) // 24 Points

67kg
1. Ismael BORRERO (CUB) // 47 Points
2. Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ) // 42 Points
3. Artem SURKOV (RUS) // 32 Points
4. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) // 30 Points
5. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) // 28 Points

72kg
1. Balint KORPASI (HUN) // 42 Points
2. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) // 38 Points
3. Adam KURAK (RUS) // 33 Points
4. Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) // 31 Points
5. Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) // 29 Points

77kg
1. Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) // 38 Points
2. Ariel FIS BATISTA (CUB) // 34 Points
3. Roman VLASOV (RUS) // 34 Points
4. Viktor NEMES (SRB) // 32 Points
5. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) // 30 Points

82kg
1. Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) // 40 Points
2. Laszlo SZABO (HUN) // 31 Points
3. Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) // 29 Points
4. Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR) // 27 Points
5. Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) // 25 Points

87kg
1. Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) // 33 Points
2. Bekkhan OZDOEV (RUS) // 31 Points
3. Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB) // 29 Points
4. Khussein MUTSOLGOV (KAZ) // 29 Points
5. Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE) // 29 Points

97kg
1. Orkhan NURIYEV (AZE) // 42 Points
2. Cenk ILDEM (TUR) // 38 Points
3. Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN) // 34 Points
4. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) // 33 Points
5. Gabriel Alejandro ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB) // 32 Points

130kg
1. Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) // 36 Points
2. Behnam mahdizadeh ARPATAPEH (IRI) // 34 Points
3. Lam BALINT (HUN) // 32 Points
4. Ciurariu alin ALEXUC (ROU) // 30 Points
5. Riza KAYAALP (TUR) // 27 Points
 

#JapanWrestling

Another Ono rises: Konami follows brother's footsteps

Friday, August 29, 2025 - 02:52 By Ikuo Higuchi

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TOKYO (August 27) -- When you think of the name Ono from Shimane Prefecture, many will recall Masanosuke ONO (JPN), a world champion who is quickly becoming a global star, who now primarily competes in the United States.

Ono's younger sister Konami, who was undefeated in the national tournament during her elementary school years, is just like her brother. She went on to attend Nippon Sport Science University Ohka High School in Tokyo, where she grew up steadily, winning the Inter-High School Championships in 2023 and also winning silver at the U17 World Championships the same year.

A shoulder injury caused her to slow down, but through repeated practice at Nippon Sport Science University she regained her former strength and won the East Japan Student Championships and the All Japan Amateur Championships [women's competition is open to university students as well] last week.

Konami ONO (JPN)Konami ONO (JPN), left, won a silver medal at the 2023 U17 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Being coached by 2004 Athens Olympic bronze medalist Chikara TANABE and Kaori ICHO, she described herself as being in "the best environment."

Ono had been suffering from pain in the right shoulder and had to undergo a surgery in June last year. She had initially aimed for a comeback last year at the All Japan Championships [Emperor's Cup] in December, but was forced to withdraw. She returned to competition in April of this year at the Junior Queen's Cup U20, where she won one match, but lost the next match to a junior from high school by technical superiority.

"There were times when my shoulder would dislocate just by walking. It was a frustrating year," said Ono with her voice becoming teary, as if the pain had returned. "I'm happy because I was injured and couldn't wrestle for a while," she said but added, "I realized I need to practice more and get stronger."

Inspiration from brother Ono

While she was off the mat, Konami watched her brother Masanosuke win the gold medal at the U20 World Championships in 2024 and later become the world champion at 61kg at the Non-Olympic World Championships.

"It's not something I could ever imitate," she says, and although he is someone she should "admire" rather than "target," he is also someone close to her, having competed alongside since childhood. "I want to study hard and catch up," she says.

Konami ONO (JPN)Konami ONO (JPN) with world and Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA). (Photo courtesy: Masaharu Ono) 

Earlier in spring, Konami accompanied her older brother to the United States, where he trains at Pennsylvania State University. She was still recovering and was unable to train, but she watched her brother's win against 2024 Paris Olympic silver medalist Spencer LEE (USA).

"I thought American wrestling was really amazing. It was inspiring," she said.

What made the biggest impression on Konami was how much fun her brother seemed to be having wrestling, even though he was in a foreign country.

"He really enjoys wrestling," she said. "I was amazed that there are people who love wrestling that much [laughs].

"My brother is my role model," she said. "I often watch his techniques and aspire to be like him."

What she finds particularly impressive is his speed, and the way he unconsciously develops his techniques. She herself sometimes has trouble deciding what to do next during a match, but her brother's body moves without a second thought. "I need to be able to come out with techniques one after the other," she said.

Training with Fujinami, Onishi

While Ono found his path in the United States, Konami is thinking of firmly establishing herself in Japan.

"I think that if I stay at Nippon Sport Science University, I will become really strong," she says, believing that his current environment is the place where she can develop the skills to compete on the world stage.

Not only is there an impressive coaching staff, but there are also world-class athletes such as 2024 Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) and Asian champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN) in the 57kg and 59kg weight class, respectively. Fujinami won gold at the Olympics in 53kg.

"I practice with Akari every day. She's really strong..." she said, admiringly, and when she's not sparring, she's always following Fujinami's movements to study them.

Since they are both in the 57kg weight class, could she challenge Fujinami as early as the All Japan Championships in December? To that question, she gave no clear answer, saying, "I'm not at the level where I can fight yet..." and said that she might move up a weight class as her body grows, so it's still up in the air, but perhaps the day is approaching when the middleweight trio, including Onishi, will take to the world stage.

Rather than setting big goals, her current goal is to "compete in many matches and enjoy wrestling." She says that she is actually enjoying it, so perhaps she is getting closer to her brother's level. Her next concrete goal is the All Japan Women's Open Championships in October.

She vowed to make a leap forward, saying, "I want to train both my body and mind and become even stronger. I want to become a star from Shimane Prefecture!"