Olympic Champ Kim Remains Lone Non-European No. 1 Ranked Wrestler

Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - 17:40 By Eric Olanowski

VEVEY, Switzerland (June 25) – Korea's Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo captured a gold medal at the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial last month on the Italian island of Sardinia and remained the lone non-European to hold a No. 1 ranking heading into the final Greco-Roman Ranking Series event, the Oleg Karavaev (July 26-28).

Of the nine top spots held by European wrestlers, five Russian wrestlers are ranked first in their respective weight class. The Russian-five are Sergey EMELIN (60kg), Stepan MARYANYAN (63kg), Artem SURKOV (67kg), Musa EVLOEV (97kg), and Sergey SEMENOV (130kg).

Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), Frank STAEBLER (GER), Emrah KUS (TUR), and Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) give Azerbaijan, Germany, Turkey, and Ukraine the remaining four top spots.

Azizli Remains Top-Ranked Wrestler at 55kg
Eldaniz Azizli comes in as the No.1 seed at 55kg. The Azeri has a resounding 30-point lead over second-ranked Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) and has the luxury of sitting out of the Oleg Karavaev and still keeping his top spot.

Bakhromov has the narrow six-point lead over Budapest world runner-up Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), and a nine-point lead over fourth-ranked Ekrem OZTURK (TUR). But this may not matter because there are only two athletes entered into the Oleg Karavaev at 55kg and neither are within striking distance of earning a seed for Nur-Sultan World Championships.

If the entry list stays the same, this weight won't change before September, leaving the potential semifinals matchup between Azizli and Ozturk on the top side, and Bakhromov and Sharshenbekov on the bottom side.

Top 10 at 55kg
76 - Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
46 - Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB)
40 - Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
37 -Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
35 - Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
27 - Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
24 - Reza Kheirollah KHEDRI (IRI)
20 - Liguo CAO (CHN)
20 - Norayr HAKHOYAN (ARM)
20 - Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS)

Emelin Holds Criteria over Ciobanu, Will be No. 1 Seed at 60kg
Sergey Emelin and Victor CIOBANU (MDA) traded golds at the World and European Championships and could meet each other in another gold-medal match if the rankings hold through the World Championships.

Emlin, the first ranked wrestler at 60kg, holds an 18-point advantage over the man who upset him in the European finals, Vicotr Ciobanu, but the Russian holds criteria and has locked up the top seed because of it.

KIM Seunghak (KOR) climbed to the third spot in the latest rankings and established himself as a credible threat to win a 60kg medal at the world championships after winning back-to-back Ranking Series titles. Earlier this year, Kim won the Hungarian Grand Prix, then won the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial last month.

Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO) is ranked fourth in the world at 60kg and only sits four points behind Kim. But Kazakhstan's 11th ranked Aidos SULTANGALI sits 17 points behind Lizatovic and will wrestle at the final Ranking Series event. He'd need a gold medal in a weight class with greater than 20 athletes to earn the 18 points he needs to overthrow Lizatovic for the fourth spot.

Top 10 at 60kg
78 - Sergey EMELIN (RUS)
60 - Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
46 - Seunghak KIM (KOR)
42 - Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
39 - Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
38 - Se Ung RI (PRK)
34 - Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
28 - Firuz TUKHTAEV (UZB)
28 - Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
26 - Virgil MUNTEANU (ROU)

Top Three at 63kg Locked in For Nur-Sultan
Reigning world champion Stepan Maryanyan's record has remained unblemished since he won the world title in Budapest. He's since won the Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament and the European Championships and has cemented his spot at the top of the 63kg weight class with 80 Ranking Series points.

The two wrestlers right behind him, Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) and TUO Erbatu (CHN), have also locked up their top-four seed, but only six points separate the two. Tasmuradov, who got hurt at the Asian Championships, holds a six-point lead over Tuo.

Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) is ranked fourth in the world at 63kg, 22 points behind Tuo. Galstyan still has some work to do if he hopes to lock up a seed at Worlds. Thirty-three wrestlers can still catch him, and one of the wrestlers looking to steal a spot is 22nd ranked Shinobu OTA (JPN). Ota is entered into the Oleg Kavaraev and needs 15 to take over the fourth spot from the Armenian.

Top 10 at 63kg
80 - Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS)
56 - Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)
50 - Erbatu TUO (CHN)
28 - Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
28 - Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
26 - Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR)
26 - Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
25 - Rahman BILICI (TUR)
25 - Lenur TEMIROV (UKR)
20 - Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)

Surkov Stands at No. 1 at 67kg
Defending world champion Artem Surkov has a 30-point advantage over second-ranked RYU Hansu (KOR) and will sit out of the Oleg Kavaraev because he's locked up the No. 1 seed.

But Korea's Ryu only has a three-point cushion over Poland's third-ranked Gevorg SAHAKYAN and Kazahkstan's Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET.

From there, six wrestlers can claim a seed, but only two of them will wrestle at the Oleg Kavaraev, and they both happen to be from Japan. Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA and Shogo TAKAHASHI, who are ranked ninth and tenth respectively, are tied with 28 points.

Since they are the only two top-ten ranked wrestlers entered into the final Ranking Series event, if more than 20 wrestlers show up in their bracket and either win a gold medal, they could jump inside the top-three just before the World Championships.

Top 10 at 67kg
78 - Artem SURKOV (RUS)
48 - Hansu RYU (KOR)
45 - Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
43 - Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
40 - Davor STEFANEK (SRB)
30 - Danijel JANECIC (CRO)
30 - Mate NEMES (SRB)
28 - Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
28 - Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN)
28 - Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN)

Mnatsakanian Moves to No. 1 After Staebler Dropping Down to 67kg
Germany's Frank STAEBLER has been making his way down to the Olympic weight of 67kg since winning his third world title in Budapest and will be forfeiting his top-ranked at 72kg. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) will be the beneficiary of the German wrestler's move. After he moves up to No. 1, and with no ranked wrestlers entered into the Oleg Kavaraev, the other top-three seeded wrestlers at the World Championships will be Balint KORPASI (HUN), Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS), and Tarek Aziz BENAISSA (ALG), respectively.

Top 10 at 72kg
60 - Frank STAEBLER (GER)
55 - Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
52 - Balint KORPASI (HUN)
40 - Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
38 - Tarek Aziz BENAISSA (ALG)
32 - Hujun ZHANG (CHN)
30 - Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)
26 - Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
26 - Mateusz Lucjan BERNATEK (POL)
25 - Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE)

Kim Remains Lone Non-European No.1-Ranked Wrestler
Korea's London Olympic champion Kim Hyeonwoo is the lone non-European wrestler to hold the world's No. 1 ranking. Kim won the Asian Championships and the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial, while also finishing with bronze medals at the Zagreb Open and Hungarian Grand Prix. His 87 points are 26 more than second-ranked Viktor NEMES (SRB), which means he'll be the top-seeded wrestler at 77kg when the World Championships roll around.

Nemes has a one-point lead over reigning world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS), though it's not clear if Russia will go with Chekhirkin or two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS), who won the European title at this weight.

Hungary's Tamas LORINCZ is the fourth-ranked wrestler and is only in danger of losing his seed to Kamal BEY (USA), but since the American failed to make the world team, Lorincz should be safe not competing in Belarus.

Top 10 at 77kg
87 - Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
61 - Viktor NEMES (SRB)
60 - Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)
52 - Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
36 - Kamal Ameer BEY (USA)
32 - Bilan NALGIEV (UZB)
22 - Roman VLASOV (RUS)
20 - Alex Michel BJURBERG KESSIDIS (SWE)
20 - Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
20 - Roland SCHWARZ (GER)

Kus' European Bronze Pushes Him Past Bacsi Who Recently Retired
Emrah KUS (TUR) and Peter BACSI (HUN) are ranked first and second respectively heading into July, but since Bacsi has announced his retirement, Saeid Morad ABDVALI (IRI) will move into to the second slot come September.

Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR) is the fourth-ranked wrestler, but that's likely to change because two top-eight wrestlers who are close enough to steal the fourth seed will wrestle in Belarus.

Reigning European champion Rajbek BISULTANOV (DEN) is three points away from Sasunouski, and Asian bronze medalist Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ), who is seven points from the Belarusian, are both aiming for gold at the Oleg Karavaev.

Top 10 at 82kg
70 - Emrah KUS (TUR)
60 - Peter BACSI (HUN)
38 - Saeid Morad ABDVALI (IRI)
37 - Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR)
36 - Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
34 - Rajbek Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
32 - Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
30 - Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ)
25 - Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM)
20 - Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)

87kg Seeds Set Heading into Oleg Karavaev
The seeds at 87kg for the World Championships are set in stone. The reason being, Hungary has two wrestlers in the top-four and can only enter one of them into the World Championships. In addition to that, there's only one unseeded wrestler who can jump into the top four, but he'll receive a bump because of the two seeded Hungarians.

Reigning European champion Zhan Beleniuk will be first. Turkey's two-time world champion Metehan BASAR will follow him in the second spot. Hungary will most likely go with fourth-ranked Viktor LORINCZ, who has defeated third-ranked Erik SZILVASSY three times this year. This means Lorincz will be the third-seeded wrestler, with Islam ABBASOV (AZE) moving into the fourth slot.

Top 10 at 87kg
62 - Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)
60 - Metehan BASAR (TUR)
56 - Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
52 - Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
40 - Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
32 - Radzik KULIYEU (BLR)
32 - Hossein Ahmad NOURI (IRI)
32 - Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
28 - Mikalai STADUB (BLR)
26 - Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

Evloev Enters Nur-Sultan No. 1 at 97kg
You can lock in Musa Evloev, Kiril MILOV (BUL), and Tracy HANCOCK (USA) to the top three seeds at 97kg for the World Championships. They've built enough points to sit out of the final Ranking Series event and still sit in the top three.

The remaining top-four ranked wrestler who hasn't locked up his spot is Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI). Aliyarifeizabadi sits in fourth with 39 points. There are still seven wrestlers, none of which are entered into the Oleg Karavaev, that could pass him if they were to show up. Of those seven wrestlers that can catch Aliyarifeizabadi, four of them sit within nine points. That means, a medal at the Oleg Kavaraev would steal the spot from the Iranian.

Top 10 at 97kg
82 - Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
74 - Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
60 - Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)
39 - Mahdi Abbas ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI)
35 - Mihail KAJALA (SRB)
32 - Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN)
32 - Fatih BASKOY (TUR)
30 - Balazs KISS (HUN)
28 - Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
28 - Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB)

Semenov Seals No. 1 Spot at 130kg
Similar to 97kg, the top-three wrestlers at 130kg have locked up their spot for at least a top-four seed for the World Championships. Sergey Semenov, Adam Jacob COON (USA), and Heiki NABI (EST) will be the top-three seeds respectively come September's World Championships.

When it comes to the fourth-ranking, KIM Minseok (KOR) holds the spot as of now. Though it's unlikely to happen because there are only eight wrestlers entered into the Oleg Kavaraev, Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) can still overtake the Korean with a gold-medal performance in a bracket with 20+ wrestlers.

Top 10 at 130kg
76 - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS)
60 - Adam Jacob COON (USA)
52 - Heiki NABI (EST)
47 - Minseok KIM (KOR)
30 - Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
28 - Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
28 - Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
28 - Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
26 - Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
26 - Balint LAM (HUN)

#WrestleAmman

Masoumi: Young star's quest for wrestling glory

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 15:56 By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (March 18) — Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) already has his eyes set on next week’s Asian Championships in Amman. His goal is clear: gold. But the path to the podium runs through two opponents he knows all too well — Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) and BUHEEERDUN (CHN).

Two years ago at the Asian Championships in Astana, the then 18-year-old Masoumi suffered his only international losses to non-Iranian wrestlers. A semifinal defeat to Munkhtur was followed by a bitter loss to Buheeerdun in the bronze-medal bout at 125kg. Now, as a more focused and confident 20-year-old, Masoumi is eager to avenge those setbacks.

Masoumi has grown immensely since then. He is now a six-time world champion in various age groups, with two more titles added in 2024. In those competitions, he didn’t allow a single point to be scored against him. He continued his flawless form at the 2025 Zagreb Open, outscoring his opponents 42-0 in four matches. His elbow, which had once been a source of discomfort, is now fully healed, and Masoumi shows no signs of slowing down.

"I hope to use this experience and return to win the World Championships in Zagreb," he says after claiming gold in the Croatian capital.

Masoumi is on phone with his family, showing them the new sneakers he has bought in Zagreb. Not one but three pairs.

He loves shoes.

"I have a sneaker collection myself, and I really love shoes," he said. "I always carry a lot of them with me. For example, in this tournament alone, I brought five pairs. I mostly try to wear special brands and new collections. I think I have around 100 pairs of shoes."

That's where he spends most his money.

"I don't have to spend money on my face because it's perfect."

That is one way of easing off before the interview. Masoumi settles down with a big bar of chocolate which he finishes by the first two questions into the interview.

Masoumi has just won the Zagreb Open gold medal in a dominating manner and began the new Olympic cycle with a bang.

"The ultimate dream for every athlete is definitely an Olympic gold, and that’s mine as well," he says. "I want to stand on the podium in Los Angeles in four years."

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Masoumi is the most exciting heavyweight wrestling on the planet. He isn't your regular teenager of 125kg. Masoumi is a very quick for 125kg who destroys his opponents with a smile. He has six age-group world titles in three years.

He can gut-wrench, switch to the typical Iranian underhook pushouts and even wore down the opponents with his heavy-hands.

Masoumi was 16 when made his international debut at the 2021 U17 World Championships in Budapest at 110kg. He outscored his opponents 35-1 in four bouts and won gold. Then came the U20 World Championships next year. He won gold at 125kg and followed it with a gold medal at the U23 Worlds the same year. He was 17.

His senior debut came in 2022 at the World Cup in Coralville, Iowa, where he won all three of his bouts as Iran finished second to the United States.

The year 2023 wasn’t as fruitful, with Masoumi suffering losses at the Asian Championships and domestically. However, he was given the chance to challenge Zare for a spot in the Iranian team for the Paris Olympics. The match-up took place at the 2024 Zagreb Open, but Masoumi came up short.

Since then, he has bounced back with gold medals at five international tournaments, and now he is aiming for a sixth in Amman.

So, how did a wrestler from Gilan, a province not traditionally known for freestyle wrestling, rise to prominence so quickly?

“There’s no rivalry between us and Mazandaran,” Masoumi says. "It feels good to beat a province known for producing many wrestlers like Mazandaran, but I don’t feel good about defeating a specific city or village. There’s no animosity."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) with his father Fardin. (Photo courtesy Amirreza Masoumi)

Masoumi was born in Masal village of the Gilan town in northern Iran. His father, Fardin, is a two-time World Championships medalists and the one who pushed him into wrestling.

"When I was three or four years old, when my father wrestled and I went to the competition hall to watch his practice, my childhood was intertwined with wrestling right there," he says. "I was able to get to know the wrestling environment much better in my childhood."

But it was a third-place finish, Masoumi's first medal at a national tournament, which resulted in congratulatory message and reception for Masoumi which he loved.

"I was 12 or 13 years old at the time," he said. "When I came third, I saw everyone come to our house and congratulate me, and I saw what a good feeling it was. So I tried to continue this process until now that I am here."

Standing tall at two metres, Masoumi is lanky for 125kg. More Geno than Zare. But he has to continuously monitor his weight which he does not want to go too high.

"My mother is almost 180cm tall and my father is 186cm," he said. "We're a tall family overall. However, I still control myself a lot to keep my weight down, especially since my mom tries not to feed me too much. I'm right on the edge for the 125 kg weight class, and if I gain any more weight, I'll have to cut it. That's why I'm very careful. My physique is also more similar to my mom and dad's."

Fardin was his first coach and Masoumi would watch his father's bouts against different competitors. While he kept a few techniques of his father, Masoumi was impressed with the others as well. Like the double underhooks he uses to drive his opponents out-of-bounds. Masoumi says he picked that from former world champion Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS).

"I mostly learned this from Makhov and his techniques in the World Championship final -- how he would get under his opponent’s armpit and drive them backward," he said. "I really liked how he was always moving forward. He was physically huge and kept attacking non-stop."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) with former world champion Reza YAZDANI (IRI). (Photo courtesy Amirreza Masoumi)

As he kept putting Gilan on the wrestling map, Masoumi was now being known. People will come to his home, farm and his father's business to congratulate. Being a successful Iran has its share of challenges. Growing up in Gilan and around wrestling, Masoumi wasn't unaware of the pressure it brings. There are fans who become your coach from stands, or even warm-up partners. Iran wrestlers are in the public eye most of their lives.

"I don't know about other countries, but in Iran, it's like that," Masoumi says. "It's the love."

Masoumi's first experience of "stardom" came after he former Asian champion Yadollah MOHEBI (IRI) at the selection trials in Iran.

"When I came out [of the stadium], there was a huge crowd, and a lot of spectators had come for the wrestling," Masoumi recalls ."I noticed many fans were coming up to take pictures with me. That’s when I felt like I was slowly entering an environment with a lot of pressure, and I realized I was growing in this kind of atmosphere."

Masoumi's personality clicks with the fans. He is humble yet celebrates his wins, he acknowledges the fans and doesn't shy away from being cheeky with his opponents after winning the bouts. He also witty.

"I think this comes down to my personality. I’m a bit hyperactive and always try to have my own unique style without being afraid," he says.

He expects them in Amman as well.

For Masoumi, the Asian Championships hold major significance -- not just for this year, but for his entire career. While world champion and Olympic silver medalist Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) holds the top spot for Iran at 125kg, Masoumi is gunning for that position.

A gold medal in Amman would give Masoumi the chance to challenge Zare for a spot on Iran team for the 2025 World Championships.

"My opponent, Zare, is a tough competitor," Masoumi says. "I’ve been wrestling against him in Iran’s national team trials for three years now. I believe I can secure my spot on the national team this year and win gold at the World Championships."

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) defeated Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) in the 125kg final at the Zagreb Open in 2024. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Zare is also in top form, having won gold at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in similar dominant fashion. The world waits for their third meeting, likely at the Takhti Cup, Iran’s premier tournament, at the end of April. The winner of the best-of-three series will secure a spot at the World Championships.

"I need to compete in the Asian Championships," Masoumi says. "Any wrestler who wants to start in Iran should begin with the Takhti Cup and then move on to the 2025 World Championships."

Masoumi believes his unique wrestling style will give Zare trouble.

"I feel that match will be a great one for all wrestling fans. I think my wrestling style in the heavyweight category is quite unique. I don’t think there’s anyone in Iran’s heavyweight division with a six-pack. Naturally, in my mind, I aim to defeat Amirhossein to make up for my two previous losses."

Olympic Champ Kim Remains Lone Non-European No. 1 Ranked Wrestler

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Masoumi: Young star's quest for wrestling glory