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)

Japan Wrestling

High schooler Yoshida completes historic Japan national title double

Thursday, December 19, 2024 - 15:00 By Ken Marantz

Taizo YOSHIDA, left, battles Yuya OKAJIMA in the Greco 82kg final. (photo by Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

TOKYO (December 19) -- As the wrestling world still buzzes about those four gold medals won by Japanese men at the Paris Olympics, a rising star is emerging who looks capable of showing that there will more of that ahead.

Teenager Taizo YOSHIDA, already a senior Asian champion, became just the fourth high schooler in history to win a men's title at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships when he triumphed at Greco 82kg on Thursday in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Ami ISHII and Miwa MORIKAWA, who both medaled at the Non-Olympic Weight Category World Championships after failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics, regained the women's 68kg and 65kg titles, respectively.

The 18-year-old Yoshida recorded three straight technical falls before defeating veteran Yuya OKAJIMA 5-0 in the final on the opening day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Yoyogi No. 2 Gym that is serving as the first of two domestic qualifiers for next year's World Championships.

The other world qualifier is the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, which will be held in June next year. Having won that tournament this year, Yoshida's victory on Thursday made him the only male high schooler to achieve the Emperor's-Meiji double.

"To win both the Meiji Cup and Emperor's Cup as a high schooler is quite a feat, and I achieved it," said Yoshida, who lost a close match in the final at last year's Emperor's Cup. "To be able to say I was the first makes me really happy."

Yoshida made his first mark on the global stage by winning the world U17 gold at 80kg in 2023. That was just a prelude for what was to come in 2024, as he won the gold at the Asian Championships, then took a bronze at the world U20 and finished fifth at the senior worlds.

He said that working on his par terre wrestling has made a difference. "Up to the Meiji Cup, I was at a level where I couldn't get a roll even once. But I worked on improving my ground wrestling, and I think this was the payoff."

Yoshida is from the same rural high school in western Japan that produced Paris Olympic champion Nao KUSAKA, and he will follow in Kusaka's footsteps and enroll at powerhouse Nippon Sports Science University (known informally as Nittaidai) in the spring as he begins his quest for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Takamatsu Kita High School is really out in the country, and we had few members on the [wrestling] team and not a good practice environment," Yoshida said. "But out of that an Olympic champion emerged, and that makes me believe that it is possible for me.

"I will be in my senior year of college at the time of the Los Angeles Olympics. The training situation will be at a much higher level at Nittaidai, and as a culmination of my four years, I want to win an Olympic title along with Nao."

While victory laps are not standard procedure at the Emperor's Cup, Yoshida made an exception by taking one that was more a tribute to Kusaka -- instead of a Japanese flag, he ran a quick lap with one of the towels that Kusaka's supporters brandished in Paris.

"It wasn't very exciting, but it made him happy. Maybe he'll buy me something," Yoshida joked.

JPN1 Ami ISHII scores a takedown on Mahiro YOSHITAKE in the women's 68kg final. (photo by Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

Ishii captures 7th straight major tournament title

Ishii, coming off winning her first world title with a victory at 72kg in Tirana -- which she preceded the week before by capturing the world U23 gold at 68kg -- easily plowed through a thin field to regain the 68kg Emperor's Cup crown that she won in 2023.

Ishii, who still feels the sting of a crushing, last-second loss to Nonoka OZAKI in a playoff for the Paris Olympic 68kg berth, won both of her round-robin group matches 10-0, then repeated that score in routing Asian 65kg champion Mahiro YOSHITAKE in the final.

"I lost in the qualifying for Paris, and I have set a goal of going to the Los Angeles Olympics and winning the gold," Ishii said. "My main objective is getting to Los Angeles and it started by winning today at the Emperor's Cup by focusing on each and every match."

The pain of missing out on Paris was so sharp that Ishii revealed that she did not even watch the wrestling competition, with the exception of her Ikuei University teammates Tsugumi SAKURAI and Sakura MOTOKI, who both went on to win gold medals.

"Half of me didn't want to, but I had worked so hard with Sakura and Tsugumi to make us all better, so of course I had to support them. But I didn't watch anyone else," she said, adding that she did watch other Olympic sports.

Since the playoff in January, Ishii has been among the busiest of Japan's top wrestlers. While the Olympic medalists have been barely seen outside of television appearances and hometown events -- only Ozaki is entered in this year's Emperor's Cup -- Ishii entered seven high-level tournaments, as well as a few small regional events, and won them all.

"There was no pressure that if I lost, I wouldn't qualify for something else. I was really happy to take part. And it was half-joking, half-serious, but after my first win after the playoff, I would say I was on my way to beating Akari FUJINAMI's winning streak, which was 127 at the time. Right now I am at 27 in a row."

JPN2 Miwa MORIKAWA, right, holds off Momoko KITADE in the women's 65kg final. (photo by Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

Morikawa, the 2022 world champion at 65kg, had also tried to make the Olympic team at 68kg, a quest that ended with a loss in last year's Emperor's Cup final to Ozaki. She then won a playoff to get to the non-Olympic worlds at 65kg, where she took a bronze home from Tirana.

On Thursday, Morikawa was not overly dominating. In the final, she scored four stepouts -- one with a fleeing point tacked on -- in a 5-0 victory over Momoko KITADE.

"I had aimed for winning by technical superiority, but this whole tournament, nothing went right for me," Morikawa said. "But I think I have some clear issues to work on in the future."

Morikawa has twice been foiled in a bid to make it to the Olympics, and is determined to not have to endure a third time. The domestic qualifying for Los Angeles will start with the 2026 Emperor's Cup, so for now, she will stay at 65kg and work on sharpening her game and rebuilding confidence.

"To be honest, there are strong wrestlers in every weight class. I want to dominate this weight class and, with the qualifying for Los Angeles starting [in two years], I am only thinking about improving."

jpg Yoshinosuke AOYAGI works to turn Toki OGAWA in the freestyle 70kg final. (photo by Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

Aoyagi cruises to 3rd straight freestyle 70kg crown

Another medalist from the non-Olympic worlds who made it to the top of the podium was Yoshinosuke AOYAGI, who won a third straight crown at 70kg by defeating Toki OGAWA by 10-0 technical fall in the final.

For Aoyagi, it capped a productive year in which he won a silver medal at the Asian Championships, won the title at the Meiji Cup, finished third at the world U23 (a year after placing second), then took a silver at the non-Olympic worlds in Tirana.

"I feel like I won because the flow of my matches went really well," Aoyagi said.

Acknowledging that his overseas success this year has boosted his confidence, he added that he feels pressure from within the training group at Yamanashi Gakuin University, from which he graduated last spring. That includes Kaito MORITA, who he faced and defeated 5-0 in the semifinals.

"There are guys coming up from within my own team that are steadily turning up the heat," Aoyagi said. "The semifinal was tough; to be honest, it scared me. In the final, you never know what will happen."

At freestyle 65kg, Kaisei TANABE, whose father Chikara was a bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, defeated world U23 silver medalist Kaiji OGINO 2-0 in the final to add that title to the one he won last year at 61kg.

In the semifinals, Tanabe scored a 7-2 victory over two-time world U20 champion Yuto NISHIUCHI, who had beaten him at the collegiate championships in August.

The 61kg title went to Takara SUDA in the absence of world champion and Yamanashi Gakuin teammate Masanosuke ONO, who is still recovering from a broken foot suffered en route to winning the gold in Tirana.

Day 1 Results

Freestyle

61kg (16 entries)
GOLD -- Takara SUDA df. Hiroyuki ISHIHARA, 5-2
BRONZE -- Akito MUKAIDA df. Toshihiro HASEGAWA, 6-3
BRONZE -- Takeru OIKAWA df. Haruto OURA, 4-0

65kg (17 entries)
GOLD -- Kaisei TANABE df. Kaiji OGINO, 2-0
BRONZE -- Yuto NISHIUCHI df. Reiji UCHIDA by TF, 10-0, 3:15
BRONZE -- Ryuto SAKAKI df. Yuta MIYAZAKI, 7-0

70kg (20 entries)
GOLD -- Yoshinosuke AOYAGI df. Toki OGAWA by TF, 10-0, 1:14
BRONZE -- Kanata YAMAGUCHI df. Kaito MORITA by TF, 11-0, 2:21
BRONZE -- Yuma TOMIYAMA df. Yuto MIWA, 9-6

Greco-Roman

82kg (17 entries)
GOLD -- Taizo YOSHIDA df. Yuya OKAJIMA, 5-0
BRONZE -- Konosuke TANIZAKI df. Yuto SAWADA by TF, 8-0, 1:35
BRONZE -- Reon KAKEGAWA df. Yudai KOBORI by TF, 9-0, 1:46

87kg (9 entries)
GOLD -- So SAKABE df. Daisei ISOE by TF, 8-0, 1:27
BRONZE -- Isshin ONITSUKA df. Kou FUKUSHIMA by TF, 9-1, 4:13
BRONZE -- Akira YOSHIZAWA df. Sora SATO by TF, 8-0, 3:50

97kg (12 entries)
GOLD -- Yuri NAKAZATO df. Takahiro TSURUTA, 2-1
BRONZE -- Kanta SHIOKAWA df. Hikaru ISOTANI by TF, 9-0, 1:11
BRONZE -- Riku NAKAHARA df. Sorato KANAZAWA, 11-5

Women's Wrestling

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD -- Miwa MORIKAWA df. Momoko KITADE, 5-0
BRONZE -- Nana IKEHATA df. Miyu YOSHIKAWA, 4-4
BRONZE -- Rin TERAMOTO df. Horu SATO by TF, 11-0, 4:41

68kg (6 entries)
GOLD -- Ami ISHII df. Mahiro YOSHITAKE by TF, 10-0, 2:24
BRONZE -- Seia MOCHINAGA df. Kaede MATSUYAMA, 3-1

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

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High schooler Yoshida completes historic Japan national title double