Olympic champ Orta wins first world title in move up to 67kg

Sunday, September 24, 2023 - 18:59 By Ken Marantz

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 24) -- Two years after winning the gold at the Tokyo Olympics in Greco-Roman at 60kg, Luis ORTA (CUB) made a successful jump up to the next Olympic weight and captured his first world title.

Orta rallied in the second period to defeat Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) 4-3 in the 67kg final and secure a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics for his country on Sunday, the final day of the World Championships in Belgrade.

"The result of this gold medal is due to hard training and good work of my coaches, and the good preparation we did before coming here, and in the end, we got it," Orta said.

Ali CENGIZ (TUR) survived being on his back for nearly a minute to claim the gold at 87kg, while Leri ABULADZE (GEO) finally struck gold after finishing second the past two years in the non-Olympic weight of 63kg.

Azerbaijan, with three champions and two silver medalists, won the team title for the first time in its history with 120 points, followed by Iran with 102 and Turkiye with 93.

The tournament was also serving as the initial qualifier for the Paris Games, with five berths up for grabs in each of the six Olympic divisions. Iran came away with four in Greco, while Cuba and Armenia secured three each and Kyrgyzstan, Japan, Azerbaijan and Turkey two apiece. Asian countries swept all five spots at 60kg.

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Orta transitioned to 67kg by competing at 63kg in 2022, but could only manage a seventh-place finish at last year's World Championships in the same Stark Arena in Belgrade.

"After the Olympic gold in Tokyo, I couldn't step on the podium again so I am so happy that it happened today," Orta said.

He showed he could handle the extra weight at 67kg this year, beating defending champion Mate NEMES (SRB) in a tight semifinal and winning all three of his other matches en route to the final by technical fall.

Orta denied Jafrarov, the losing semifinalist to Nemes last year, of the world title by overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the second period with two stepouts, the second one coming after he opted to stay on his feet after being awarded a second passivity point.

Orta's bypassing ground wrestling was understandable. In the first period, he was put on top in par terre, only to see Jafrarov stop him during a gut wrench for 2, then add a stepout on an attempted throw.

Luis ORTA (CUB) celebrated his gold medal with a somersault. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

"I already beat Jafrarov once, but all finals are different," said Orta, who defeated the Azeri 5-1 in an early round at the Zagreb Open in February. "They can't be compared. We had a tough match. I think he was a very good opponent, and our fight was worthy of a final match for gold."

This year, Orta prepped for Belgrade and the new weight class by entering two of the Ranking Series events, finishing third in both Zagreb and Bishkek.

"After the gold in the Olympics in 2021, we decided to change the weight category. I went from 60 to 63 last year and we did good work. We did this as a step to fighting in the 67 category where there are very tough opponents. Since the weight change, I had to work harder."

Orta said he did not make any changes to his regimen after his Olympic triumph.

"I was training as before and I did not consider winning the gold in the Olympics as something that would change my life," he said. "I don't think about it and I'm focused on what I have to do next to get the same result in Paris next year."

Ali CENGIZ (TUR) celebrates after winning the 87kg final. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

In a clash between the bronze medalists from a year ago in the 87kg final, all looked lost for Cengiz until he fought off his back and held on for an 8-7 victory over David LOSONCZI (HUN).

In the first period, after Losonczi failed to score off par terre, he was pressing Cengiz at the edge when the Turk hit a front headlock throw for 4. Losonczi had inadvertently grabbed Cengiz's singlet, resulting in another 2 being tacked on for a 6-1 lead.

Cengiz's worst nightmare nearly came true in the second period. Attempting a reverse lift from par terre, Losonczi stepped over and landed chest-to-chest, getting 2 as Cengiz fought to avoid the fall, which the mat referee signaled but got no confirmation.

Ali CENGIZ (TUR), red, defends an attempted pin from David LOSONCZI (HUN). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Losonczi's repositioning to a reverse front headlock gave him 2 more and put Cengiz in danger again. But Cengiz somehow managed to extricate himself from the predicament, although his woes were still far from over.

He was assessed a 2-point caution for a foul, making it 7-7, although he held the criteria advantage due to the 4-pointer. That gave Losonczi one last chance in par terre, but he failed to budge Cengiz, and a late challenge that had no chance of succeeding over a suspected stepout added the final point.

For Losonczi, it will forever be a matter of what might have been. "I knew he would get tired, and he got tired and made a mistake," Losonczi said. "I had the opportunity to finish the match, but I didn't finish it, and that was it."

Still, achieving the objective of earning the Paris spot relieves some of the sting of defeat.

"My dream was to make it to the Paris Olympics," he said. "Being the world's best wrestler was not completed today, but I'm happy. I think I gave my all in this match. There is nothing left in me."

Leri ABULADZE (GEO) won the gold medal at 63kg after two silver-medal finishes. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 63kg, Abuladze finally made it to the top of the podium, beating Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) 2-2 on last-point criteria to add the world crown to the European title he won earlier this year.

Mammadov received the first passivity point, but Abuladze scored a reversal from par terre, only to see Mammadov gain a stepout to go up 2-1 in the first period.

Abuladze was the recipient of the second passivity point, which put him ahead on criteria. He nearly clinched the deal with a gut wrench that put Mammadov's back at about an 85-degree angle, just shy of the 90 degrees needed. Put on the bottom later, Abuladze held out for the win.

Geraei, Belenuik bag bronzes, Paris places

Two other Olympic champions in action, Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) and Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), both made it through the repechage earlier and came away with bronze medals to open the door for them to defend their Olympic crowns in Paris.

At 67kg, Geraei, taking full advantage of the challenge process as he did throughout the tournament, defeated Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) by a rare disqualification for two leg violations.

After gaining a passivity point and going on top on par terre, Geraei received a 2-point leg penalty on a challenge. That kept him on top, and he then lifted up Galstyan and unleased a 2-point throw. Again Galstyan was flagged for a leg foul, which ended the match at 2:09.

Geraei, the world champion in 2021 and silver medalist last year, posted a wild 11-10 victory over Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) in the second round. After losing to Jafarov in the quarterfinals, he made it through the repechage earlier Sunday by rallying from four points down to defeat Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) 6-5.

Beleniuk, a two-time former world champion who was competing for just the second time since his triumph in Tokyo, reeled off three rolls in par terre in the first period against Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) and cruised to a 7-2 victory at 87kg.

"It was a very difficult competition," Beleniuk said. "Today this was my second fight, but I kept with it and I got the license for the Olympic Games and a bronze medal for my country, which is very important because now is a very tough situation in Ukraine."

The victory gave the 32-year-old Beleniuk his fifth world medal. In Paris, he will have a chance at a third Olympic medal, having also won a silver in Rio in 2016.

The other 87kg bronze went to European bronze medalist Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), who used some nifty dexterity to turn the tide against Islam ABBASOV (AZE) and come out with a 6-3 victory.

After being rolled in par terre, Novikov responded with a gymnastics-like kip-up over Abbasov to secure a reversal and went right into a 4-point throw to take a 5-3 lead. Novikov received a passivity point in the second period to account for the final score.

The Ukrainian-born Novikov, who transferred to Bulgaria this year because of his inability to displace Beleniuk, lost to Losonczi in the semifinal and Cengiz at the European U23 in 2019.

Regarding his three fellow medalists, he said, "I need three rematches."

Host Serbia came away with two bronze medals on the final night from Nemes at 67kg and Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) at 63kg, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Nemes notched a 3-3 win on last-point criteria that denied Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) a second straight world bronze.

Nemes trailed after Ismailov scored with a 2-point lift from par terre in the first period. In the second, Nemes uncorked a gut wrench from par terre to make it 3-3 before running out the clock.

Tibilov, normally a 60kg wrestler, took home a medal in his first senior world appearance when he defeated Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) 4-0. Tibilov, after receiving a passivity point in the first period, stopped a lateral drop attempt for 2 in the second period, then added the icing on the cake with a stepout.

The Serbian came into the tournament with a third-place finish at the European Championships and the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in Warsaw, both at 60kg.

At 63kg, Enes BASAR (TUR) scored eight points in the first period, then survived a bizarre second period in which he handed Stefan CLEMENT (FRA) five free points to take the other bronze with a 9-6 victory.

Basar, making his senior world debut a decade removed from winning a world junior (U20) silver medal, was put on the bottom of par terre in the first period, but stopped a gut wrench attempt and had Clement on his back and near to a fall.

Clement was also assessed a 2-point penalty for a leg violation, which put Basar on top, and he took advantage with two gut wrenches for an 8-1 lead.

One point from ending the match, Basar instead was twice hit with a 2-point penalty for grabbing the singlet early in the second period, with an unsuccessful challenge of the second one giving Clement a further point to cut the gap to 8-6.

But a caution on Clement gave Basar a point, and the period ended with no technical points scored and the Turk, the bronze medalist at the Grand Prix of Germany, defeating the champion of that tournament in August.

Armenia, Kazakhstan gain last Olympic spots

Galstyan returned to the mat later for the fifth-place playoff for the Olympic berth but didn't stay long as he needed less than a minute to roll to an 8-0 technical fall over Ismailov to gain the spot for Armenia.

The lanky Galstyan grabbed a quick takedown and, wrapping his long arms around Ismailov's waist, put together a series of three gut wrenches to end the match in 59 seconds.

Kazakhstan's Tursynov also earned a ticket to Paris with an 8-0 victory in the first period, helped by a number of penalty points and capped with a gut wrench in defeating Abbasov.

Tursynov opened with a stepout, then, put on top in par terre, he received in succession a 2-point leg penalty, an unsuccessful challenge point, and a fleeing point. In the third start, he uncorked the gut wrench with the final move of the tournament.

Day 9 Results

63kg (24 entries)
GOLD: Leri ABULADZE (GEO) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 2-2

BRONZE: Enes BASAR (TUR) df. Stefan CLEMENT (FRA), 9-6
BRONZE: Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) df. Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM), 4-0

67kg (41 entries)
GOLD: Luis ORTA (CUB) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) 4-3

BRONZE: Mate NEMES (SRB) df. Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ), 3-3
BRONZE: Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) by Disq., 2:09 (8-0)

5th-Place Playoff: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) by TF, 8-0, :59

87kg (42 entries)
GOLD: Ali CENGIZ (TUR) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 8-7

BRONZE: Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) df. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ), 7-2
BRONZE: Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 6-3

5th-Place Playoff: Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) by TF, 8-0, 2:14

#WrestleBelgrade

Greco-Roman Preview: Young blood out to challenge old guard

Tuesday, September 12, 2023 - 23:28 By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 12) -- Out of the six Greco-Roman champions from the Tokyo Olympics, three have since returned to the mat while others have chosen different paths.

Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) retired after winning the gold medal at 77kg, 97kg champion Musa EVLOEV (ROC) is yet to be seen in competition while Mijain LOPEZ (CUB), who won his fourth gold at 130kg, is expected to compete at the Paris Olympics next year.

The three who have returned are Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), who won gold and silver in the World Championships following the Olympics, 60kg champion Luis ORTA (CUB) who moved up to 63kg last year and is now to 67kg in a bid to win his second Olympic title. The third, Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), is returning to the World Championships, only his second competition since winning the 87kg gold medal in Tokyo.

A few new wrestlers have emerged since the Tokyo Games and Beleniuk, for the meticulous person he is, will be aware of the same. The Olympic champion returned to the mat at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix in February this year and won gold. And now the two-time world champion will be in action on September 23 as he enters the race for his third Olympic medal next year in Paris.

Close to 1000 wrestlers across three styles will try to win the 90 Olympic spots that are on offer at the World Championships in Belgrade. An Olympic weight class offers five Paris Olympic quotas and a wrestler can earn it for the respective National Olympic Committee by winning a medal. The fifth will be decided via a playoff between the losers of the bronze-medal bouts.

If history is anything to go by, Beleniuk can be sure of winning a medal in Belgrade. In the previous two Olympic qualifying World Championships (2015 and 2019), Beleniuk emerged as the gold medalist. Things can well be in his favor once again if we see the Beleniuk of old.

During his time off the mat, Olympic bronze medalist Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) won the World Championships in 2021 and 2022 but he won't defend his title while silver medalist from 2022, Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), will skip the tournament owing to an injury.

However, the 87kg field still poses a threat to Beleniuk and the biggest of them is, incidentally, a former Ukranian, Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), who has now transferred to Bulgaria.

Novikov is a two-time U23 world champion and was long considered as the successor to Beleniuk. The two have wrestled twice to make the Ukrainian national team with Beleniuk winning on both occasions.

"Beleniuk is not the reason I left; I'm not afraid of a rivalry," Novikov told UWW. "I believed in myself, and I felt that I had chances, but he was going to be Ukraine's representative either way. I hope we will meet in the finals. I'll be happy when I win this rematch. It means that I became a little better."

Novikov is seeded sixth at the World Championships while Beleniuk will be unseeded which means the two can meet at any stage of the bracket.

The two will also be wary of other stars in the bracket especially the top two seeds -- Ali CENGIZ (TUR) and David LOSONCZI (HUN). The two are returning bronze medalists with the hope of improving on their results.

Like Novikov, Cengiz was the second to Metehan BASAR (TUR) at 87kg in Turkiye but he has taken off since that bronze last year. He won silver medals at the Ranking Series in Alexandria and the European Championships and bronze in Bishkek.

Losonczi had to fight for his place in the Hungarian team as European champion Istvan TAKACS (HUN) was the preferred choice. Takacs beat Losonczi in the Zagreb Open but the latter won the U23 European Championships and the gold in Budapest Ranking Series which confirmed his spot.

Three-time European medalist Islam ABBASOV (AZE) will be hoping to win his first world medal and earn a Paris quota for this country. He lost to Cengiz at the European Championships before losing to Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) in the bronze-medal bout.

Tokyo Olympian Gobadze is a 2019 world champion at 82kg and is going for his second, this time in an Olympic weight class. He won bronze at the 2021 World Championships but skipped the last edition. Like Gobadze, both Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) and Alan OSTAEV (AIN) are making a return to competition since 2021 and will be medal threats in Belgrade.

Veteran Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) is in search of his first world medal since 2019 as he lost to Losonciz in the bronze-medal bout last year. The 2019 silver medalist at 77kg moved to 82kg in 2021 and to 87kg last year. Iran is sending Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) who will have to punch above his weight if Iran wants to qualify for the Paris Games from the World Championships. The former Asian champion finished fifth last year after a loss to Cengiz.

A lot of eyes will be on Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB), who won a silver medal at 82kg last year, as he has moved up to 87kg this year. The start wasn't ideal as he finished fifth at the Zagreb Open but won bronze at the Asian Championships and gold in Budapest.

Others who can spring a surprise are Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB), Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR).

130kg
Like Beleniuk, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) has a habit of winning gold at the Olympic qualifying World Championships. He achieved the feat in 2011, 2015 and 2019. And the three-time Olympic medalist looks destined to win again.

Since his bronze-medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics, Kayaalp has only lost to Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) when he got pinned at the Istanbul Ranking Series. Kayaalp has avenged that loss since but the Azerbaijan wrestler remains a big threat at the heaviest weight.

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) will be in Belgrade with an aim to upset the five-time world champion Kayaalp who defeated the Iranian 1-1 last year in a tense final. Kayaalp had also defeated Mirzazadeh in the Olympic bronze-medal bout. Mirzazadeh can draw confidence from the fact that he has a win over Oscar PINO (CUB) this year. The Cuban will try to qualify his country for the Paris Games and in all likelihood give up his spot for Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) who is chasing a fifth Olympic gold medal.

Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) has failed to reach any finals since then but the World Championships will be ideal to find his lost form. Two other Tokyo Olympians, Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI) and Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) will look to wrestle for a medal in Belgrade.

Apart from all the familiar faces, Kayaalp, the most successful Turkish wrestler ever, may see an old foe. Heiki NABI (EST), 38, is preparing to qualify for the Paris Games in a bid to win a second Olympic medal, 12 years after winning silver at the London Games.

Nabi won bronze in 2019 to qualify for the Tokyo Games but in June 2021, he was banned for two years by Estonian Anti-Doping and Sports Ethics Foundation for using performance-enhancing substances. He missed the Tokyo Games which had been pushed to 2021 due to the pandemic. Nabi appealed EADSE's decision in the International Court of Arbitration for Sport which ruled, that while Nabi could not be considered to have willingly used the substances, his ban would not be overturned.

97kg
In another Olympic weight class which has been dominated by a wrestler for more than a decade, Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) has no intentions of letting take away that domination. The Armenian legend will work towards his fifth world title when he takes the mat at 97kg, hoping to defend the gold medal he won in 2022.

That was Aleksanyan's first gold in five years as the rise of Musa EVLOEV combined with injuries had hampered Aleksanyan's run at the top. While Evloev is not there, Aleksanyan will have to once again go through Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) who has lost to Aleksanyan in their three previous meetings -- 2019 and 2022 World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics.

But Saravi seems to push Aleksanyan to the limits and a trick here and there can change the results of the bout. Both wrestlers are evenly matched in par terre defense but Saravi's failure to score from standing has been a big issue for the Iranian.

Add to the mix Kiril MILOV (BUL) who won the European Championships last year and has been in the world top three for the last two years. Youngsters and former U23 world champions Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) and Artur SARGSIAN (AIN) will be returning to the World Championships after two years and will be big medal threats. 2022 world bronze medalist Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE) is also returning in a bid to improve on his result after losing to Milov in the semifinal last year.

Hungary is banking on Tamas LEVAI (HUN) who used to be at 77kg two years ago. He finished seventh at the European Championships this year. Felix BALDAUF (NOR), Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) and recently crowned U20 world champion Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) are no pushovers while it won't be wise to count out the old wily fox Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) and former two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR).

77kg
The weight class with the most entries, 45, can throw some surprising results. Defending champion and history maker Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) will lead the field as he tries to win another world title and ultimately achieve the goal of becoming Kyrgyzstan's first Olympic champion in Paris.

Barring one bout, the semifinal against Yunus BASAR (TUR), Makhmudov looked in no trouble last year. He is since unbeaten in three tournaments, winning the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament, the Asian Championships and the Ljubomir Ivanovic Gedza International in August.

Returning silver medalist Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) lost to Viktor NEMES (SRB) at the European Championships semifinals and finished with a bronze medal, an improvement after finishing 12th and 13th in Zagreb and Alexandria at the start of the year, respectively. He finished fifth in Budapest before earning bronze in Serbia in August.

Levai's struggles this year make a few others favorites to reach the final, especially European champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM). The returning bronze medalist has had a great run as he won the U23 World Championships in October and wrestled Makhmudov in the final in Bulgaria in February. He defended his European title in April, including a win over Basar in the semifinals, and will be a front-runner for gold in Belgrade.

Basar will be hoping to reverse the result over Makhmudov from last year and improve on his bronze-medal finish. He won bronze at the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series and the European Championships this year but finished ninth in Bishkek and a lowly 19th at the Grand Prix of Germany.

He did not have a great showing last year but Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) is back with some gold medals to back himself this year. He began the year with a gold at the Zagreb Open and added another in Bishkek. It is yet to be seen if he can continue this form in Belgrade where he was beaten in the 1/8 finals last year.

Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), a silver medalist from 2021, along with young stars Deni NAKAEV (GER) and Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) and high-flying Kamal BEY (USA) will be the ones to keep an eye on. And he may have been away for more than two years but Gurpreet SINGH (UWW) still possesses the ability to shock with his big throws.

60kg
Kyrgyzstan's other history maker Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) will also have to bring his 'A' game in Belgrade as he goes for his second straight title.

Like Makhmudov, Sharshenbekov has also won three tournaments since winning the World Championships. He has gold at Dan Kolov, the Asian Championships and the Ljubomir Ivanovic Gedza International.

Among the wrestlers hoping to stop him from repeating, a few formidable names are Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL), Victor CIOBANU (MDA), Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN), Kerem KAMAL (TUR), Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) and Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN).

Nazaryan met Sharshenbekov in the final last year but suffered an 11-2 defeat in an anti-climatic final. The 21-year-old, who became a European champion at 18, has put that loss behind and won the European Championships in April by defeating Ciobanu in the final and reached the semifinal in Budapest before injury defaulting against Kamal.

Ciobanu has returned to 60kg after spending most of his time at 63kg since he became Moldova's first-ever world champion in 2021. Sharshenbekov would remember Ciobanu as the Moldovan defeated him in the final of the Oslo World Championships. Ciobanu and Kamal had a slugfest in Zagreb which the former won.

Returning bronze medalist and Olympic silver medalist Fumita would be keen on facing Nazaryan as he lost to the Bulgarian 5-5 in the semifinals. Since Fumita is not seeded, he can land anywhere in the bracket. After that bronze, Fumita has wrestled only at the German Grand Prix this year, finishing second at 63kg.

Fumita had defeated Kamal last year which ended the World Championships for Mohsen Nejad who will be eager to get his hands on Kamal. The Iranian got pinned by the Turkish wrestler after leading 9-4.

Mohsen Nejad began this year with gold at the Zagreb Open but slumped to eighth at the Asian Championships after losing to Yernur FIDAKHAMETOV (KAZ). He did win a bronze medal in Bishkek after losing to Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), the gold medalist in Biskhek and who will be in Belgrade.

Mammadli has been a beast at the age-group level and could not find a better place to showcase his talent while Allakhiarov will return to Belgrade, a city in which he became a U23 world champion in 2021, to resume his international career.

67kg
Two Olympic champions, Olympic silver and bronze medalists, a young sensation, a home world champion, the Asian champion and a dark horse.

The 67kg weight class is the drama that the World Championships needed. Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) is hoping to return to the top of the world after being stunned by Mate NEMES (SRB) in the final last year in front of a packed Stark Arena. But if Geraei had hoped for an easier path, he is in for bad news.

60kg Olympic champion Luis ORTA (CUB) has moved up 67kg this year with three gold medals -- Henri Delgane Grand Prix, Pan-Am Championships and the Central American and Caribean Games -- already in his pocket. He has suffered two losses, both to HUSIYUETU (CHN), in 2023 to finish with bronze medals in Zagreb and Biskek. Orta was at 63kg last year and finished seventh but will be going for gold in Belgrade in the new weight class.

Nemes, after his extraordinary run in 2022, has only competed twice, finishing ninth at the Thor Masters and second at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in July. It will be interesting to see if he can repeat the heroics of last year.

European champion and Azerbaijan's best talent Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) is keen on improving his bronze-medal finish from last year. He lost to Nemes in the semifinal but has already avenged that loss by winning the European Championships over the Serbian. He would now hope to go all the way in Belgrade and win the senior world title, adding to his U20 and U23 ones.

Olympic silver medalist Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) finished 10th last year but will look to bounce back and earn a spot for the Paris Games. The same will be on the mind of bronze medalist from Tokyo Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) who finished 22nd after losing the first round to Abror ATABAEV (UZB) who returns to the World Championships as the Asian champion.

Returning bronze medalist Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) defeated Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) last year but has to be wary of the Georgian who has won silver medals at four tournaments this year.

55kg
In the non-Olympic weight classes, the wrestlers will still be vying for the world title. At 55kg, Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) will be hoping to become only the second Azerbaijan wrestler to hold three world titles if he defends his gold.

His long-time rival and 2019 world champion Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) will try to find a way to beat the Azerbaijan wrestler. Apart from Tsurtsumia, Azizli will have to watch for Adem UZUN (TUR) who defeated him to win the European Championships.

U23 world and Asian champion Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), who had finished eighth last year, reserves a big nudge for Azizli as the Azerbaijan wrestler defeated the Iranian at the World Cup in Baku.

Marlan MUKASHEV (KAZ) won silver medals at the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series and German Grand Prix and gold in Bishkek and can upset any of the big names in Belgrade. Denis MIHAI (ROU) and returning bronze medalist Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB) will be tricky for some of the wrestlers.

63kg
Leri ABULADZE (GEO) has been denied the gold medal at two consecutive World Championships, by Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) in 2021 and Sebastian NAD (SRB) in 2022. Both Dalkhani and Nad are not entered at 63kg so will the third time be lucky for Abuladze?

The European champion started the year with silver in Alexandria where Dalkhani handed him another heartbreaking loss in the final. But he won the European Championships followed by a gold medal in Bishkek. But he recently lost to Ismail CULFA (TUR) in the final of Ion Corneanu & Ladislau Simon Memorial in Bucharest.

Despite the absence of Dalkhani and Nad, Abuladze will still face a lot of challenges in Belgrade. U23 world champion Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) will be the biggest of them all as the Iranian seeks to avenge his semifinal loss from Bishkek. Mohammadi had a stunning 2022 as he won bronze at the Asian Championships, and gold at the U20 Asian and World Championships. He also won the U23 World Championships before finishing the year with gold with Iran at the World Cup in which he won all his bouts.

Since Abuladze and Mohammadi are seeded first and third respectively, the two can only meet in the final. But Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) and Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) look to spoil that plan.

72kg
Ali ARSALAN (SRB) and Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) had a dream tournament last year as both reached the final before the former won the gold medal over Ganizade with a 7-4 victory. The two can meet only in the semifinals this year as Ganizade is seeded second and Arsalan third. But the Azerbaijan wrestler will be hoping to get his hands on the Serbian again.

Since last year's final, the two have entered the same tournament only once, the European Championships in April. Ganizade, who became the European champion, would have hoped to face the Serbian in the final but Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) defeated the world champ 6-3 in the semifinals. Arsalan had pinned Ghanem at the last World Championships.

So can Ghanem deny Arsalan another final appearance? He won't be alone with that hope. Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) will look to avenge his European loss as well while Robert FRITSCH (HUN) has unfinished business from 2022.

Returning bronze medalist and top seed Selcuk CAN (TUR) had lost 4-3 to Ganizade in the semifinals and then at the European Championships. Belgrade will provide another opportunity for him to get past Ganizade.

Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) will draw confidence from the fact that he defeated Geraei at 72kg in Bishkek. The only thing is, Geraei has moved back to 67kg and Danial SOHRABI (IRI) is coming to Belgrade.

Sohrabi is clearly a favorite to win the gold but with little experience at the senior level, it is yet to be seen how he reacts at the big stage. Sohrabi won the U23 World Championships last year and has lost only two bouts since then. The first of those came against Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) in the World Cup while the second came against Luis ORTA (CUB) at the Zagreb Open. But he bounced back and won gold in Bishkek and Budapest. Since he is unseeded, a few seeded wrestlers may suffer an early loss.

82kg
2021 world champion Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) and 2022 world champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) will resume their rivalry after a small halt due to the former changing weight classes. Huseynov is back at 82kg, hoping to win his second world title while Akbudak is also looking for his second gold.

Akbudak lost to Huseynov in the Oslo final before beating him at the Istanbul Ranking Series five months later. The third meeting between the two was at the 2023 European Championships in which Akbudak pinned Huseynov. If the seeds hold, Akbudak and Huseynov can square off in the semifinals.

A surprise returnee to the mat is 36-year-old Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM). The Rio Olympian and 2017 world champion last wrestled at the 2020 European Championships but will put his shoes on again in Belgrade.

Returning bronze medalist and third seed Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) will be keen on getting one past Akbudak as he has lost to him in their last two meetings. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), youngsters Idris IBAEV (GER) and Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) and Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist at 77kg Shohei YABIKU (JPN) will be the others to keep an eye on.

Olympic champ Orta wins first world title in move up to 67kg

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Greco-Roman Preview: Young blood out to challenge old guard