#RankingSeries

Rankings See Big Shifts After Yasar Dogu

By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Turkey (March 1) -- The first Ranking Series event on the calendar is in the rearview, and after the event, several wrestlers have improved their rankings, which will ultimately be used for the seedings at the 2022 Continental and World Championships. 

This year, UWW will award points according to the new ranking system. 

The top eight wrestlers who acquired the most points from the four Ranking Series events and the Continental Championships will earn a seed for September's World Championships, held in Belgrade, Serbia. 

As of now, wrestlers who competed and subsequently earned points from the Tokyo Olympic Games and Oslo World Championships fill out the top-20 in the rankings heading into Istanbul.

Updated Ranking Series Point Distribution:
1st - 8000
2nd - 6400
3rd - 5200
5th - 4000
7th - 3520
8th - 3200
9th - 2800
10th - 2480
11th - 800
12th - 100
13th - 75
14th - 50
15th - 25
16th - 13

The number of points awarded at a competition will also be impacted by the number of wrestlers entered in each bracket. In weight categories with 2-5 competitors, ranking points will be reduced in half and only the top three finishers will be awarded points. In brackets that feature 6-12 participants, no additional points will be added. For weight categories with 13-16 entries, an additional 3000 points will be given. For categories with 16+ wrestlers entered, an additional 5000 will be awarded.

Additional points:
1 participant - no ranking or additional points
2-5 participants - ranking points reduced in half and only the first three will be awarded
6-12 participants - no additional points
13-16 participants - 3000 additional points to all wrestlers
16+ participants - 5000 additional points to all wresters

Greco-Roman

55kg
There were no changes in the top-10 but gold medalist Adem UZUN (TUR) debuts at No.11 with 8000 points, while silver medalist Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) enters the rankings at No. 13 with 6400 points.

60kg
No changes in the top-10.

63kg
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) moved up one sport after Istanbul. He went from being sixth to fifth after winning a bronze medal. He earned 5200 points, which moved him from 25000 points to 30200 points.

Gold medalist Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) entered the rankings at No.13 with 8000 points.

67kg
No changes in the top-10

72kg
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) was ranked third with 31000 points. He moved to the second spot ahead of Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF) with a 9400-point silver-medal finish.

Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) moved from eighth to seventh with a 10th-place finish. He's earned 5480 points, enough to take him past Valentin PETIC (MDA).

Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN) moved into the top-10 from 12th with a fifth-place finish. He received 7000 points for his finish, bringing his tally to 15200 points.

77kg
World silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) moved to the third spot after his silver medal in Istanbul. He had 37000 points but added 9400 points, bringing his overall total to 46400 points.

Viktor NEMES (SRB) broke into the top-10 after his fifth-place finish. He was ranked 12th previously but received 7000 points.

82kg
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) are ranked first and second, respectively. The two met in the semifinals in Istanbul, with Akbudak winning the 8000-point gold, while Huseynov picked up 5200 points for bronze. The Azerbaijan wrestler remains first with 50200 points, while Akbudak is second with 45000 points.

87kg
World champion Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) improved his points tally from 79200 points to 85600 points with a silver medal. Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL) was ranked seventh [31000 points] but is now sixth after finishing seventh and getting 3520 points.

97kg
Young star and Tokyo fifth-place finisher Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) made a big jump from 12th to sixth place with a silver medal. He scored 11400 points and moved from 23000 points to now 34400 points.

130kg
Riza KAYAALP (TUR) reached the fifth spot from seventh after he won a bronze medal. He had 34200 points, and the additional 8200-point bronze gave him 42200 points. 

Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) also moved two spots from ninth to seventh after the gold win and 11000 points. He now has 36000 points to his name.

Silver medalist and Kayaalp-slayer Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) entered top-10 at the No. 10 position with his silver medal. He had 17000 points but now has 26400 points.

Freestyle

57kg
World bronze medalist Horst LEHR (GER) missed out on earning a medal but still picked up 5100 points for finishing 12th in a bracket that had more than 16 participants. That helped him jump from his seventh position to fifth.

61kg
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) jumped seven places to break into the top-10 at 61kg. The former U23 world champion won a bronze medal and collected 10200 points. He was ranked 16th before the Yasar Dogu with 5400 points, but ended with 15600 points and is now ninth in the rankings.

Gold medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND), who is competing up a weight from his Tokoyo silver-medal winning weight of 57kg, added 13000 points and jumped up into the 12th spot.

65kg
World champion Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF) is the new number-one ranked wrestler at 65kg. He won a silver medal in Istanbul and overtook the top spot from Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN). He now has 56400 points as he added 11400 for his silver.

Otoguro [51000 points] has now slipped to third as Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) improved to second with a fifth-place finish. He entered the competition with 44500 points but now has 53500 points after the additional 9000 points.

Rohit ROHIT (IND) improved his ranking by one place. He grabbed 8200 points for his eighth-place finish and sit No. 8. Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IRI) also moved from 16th to 13th with a 12th-placed finish and 5100 points.

70kg
World silver medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) finished seventh in Istanbul but moved to the number-one ranking at 70kg after collecting 8520 points. He was ranked second with 37000 points but now leads world champion Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) by 520 points.

Bronze medalist at Yasar Dogu, Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO), maintained his third position with 10200 points. He now has 41400 points.

Silver medalist James GREEN (USA) improved from seventh to fifth after leaving Istanbul with 11400 points. He now has 29600 points.

Gold medalist Amir YAZDANI (IRI) debuted at 70kg with 13000 points and is now ranked 11th.

Viktor RASSADIN (RWF) won bronze and has entered the rankings at 12th with 10200 points.

The two fifth-placed wrestlers -- Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO) and Aliakbar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI) -- debut at 14th and 15th with 9000 points each. Since the Georgian had more classification points than Fazlikhalili in the tournament, he is ranked above the Iranian.

74kg
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR) broke into the top-three with a silver-medal finish in Istanbul. He was awarded 11400 points, enough to take him from the previous eighth position to third. He now has 42400 points.

86kg
Osman GOCEN (TUR) made a big leap from the 15th position to the seventh after he won the 86kg title. He now has 26500 points, adding 13000 points to his earlier total of 13000. Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) also jumped from 14th to ninth after he finished fifth in Istanbul and picked up 9000 points. He now has 24500 points.

92kg
Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) and Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) were the two wrestlers who improved their ranking at 92kg. Bazrighaleh debuts in this month's rankings with 11000 points for his gold medal in Istanbul.

Yaylaci, who won silver, added 9400 points to his previous 6600 points. That took him from 14th rank to ninth as he now has 16000 points.

97kg
Gold medalist at 97kg Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) made a marginal jump of three spots from 17th to 14th despite getting 11000 points for the win. He now has 16400 points.

125kg
Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) won the gold and silver, respectively, giving them 13000 and 11400 points. They remained third and fourth in the rankings.

The Turkish wrestler now has 78200 points but is still behind number two Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) who has 78400 points. Munkhtar now has 65400 points but no change in the rank.

Bronze medalist Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) made a big jump from 22nd rank to 12th as he collected 10200 points. He had 6200 points but now has 16400 points to be placed 12th. Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ) improved from seventh to sixth with 8520 points for his eighth-place finish in Istanbul.

Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER, who was previously ranked 13th,  jumped to eighth. He started with 23200 points and was awarded 8200 points for finishing eighth in the competition.

Women's Freestyle

50kg
Emilia VUC's (ROU) gold-medal win in Turkey moved her to the fourth position. She previously sat at No. 11 with 13000 points. She now has 42600 points.

Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) [31700 points] had a chance to be fourth but she missed out on winning gold. She received 10200 points for her bronze and is now fifth with 41900 points.

It was a similar case for Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) [31000 points] and Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RWF) [31000 points]. They remain seventh and eighth, respectively, despite winning bronze and finishing eighth.

Sarra HAMDI (TUN) finished 10th, which gave her 7480 points. That took her from 16th to 13th. She now has 20980 points.

53kg
Olympic bronze medalist Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) managed to topple Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) from the weight's No. 1 by winning the gold in Istanbul. She had 43200 points but an additional 13000 points brought her total to 56200, enough to move past Mukaida's 51000 points.

World silver medalist Iulia LEORDA (MDA) won a bronze and improved from sixth to fourth adding 10200 points to her previous 37000 points.

Junior world champion Emma MALMGREN (SWE) moved from 15th to 11th thanks to her ninth-place finish and 7800 points. Annika WENDLE (GER) moved from 17th to 12th as she finished seventh and got 8520 points.

55kg
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR) moved from tenth to seventh after collecting 8520 points for her eighth-place, while gold medalist Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) is 11th with 11000 points.

57kg
Olympic bronze medalist Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) added 13000 points for her gold medal and consolidated her second position in the rankings. She now has 64200 points. Tokyo silver medalist Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) was fifth with 41400 points but is now third after her 10200-point bronze.

Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RWF) moved from eighth to sixth after winning a bronze medal and 10200 points. She now has a total of 35200 points.

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), previously ranked tenth, moved to seventh with a bronze medal. She had 14300 points before the tournament but now has 22500 points.

Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) broke into the top-10 with a bronze medal and 8200 points. She is now ranked tenth from her earlier 12th as she now has 16400 points.

62kg
Taybe YUSEIN (BUL), who had 34200 points, jumped to the third-ranking after she collected 9000 points. She now has 43200 points, the same as fourth-ranked Kayla MIRACLE (USA), but is ranked third because the USA wrestler is yet to participate in a Ranking Series event this year.

Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) was ranked eighth-ranked with 29600 points but is now fifth with 37400 points as she finished ninth and collected 7800 points.

Veranika IVANOVA (BWF) entered top-10 from No. 15 with a fifth-place finish and 9000 points. She had 15500 points but is now at 24500 points, 500 points shy of ninth place.

65kg
Forrest MOLINARI (USA) improved to the second rank at 65kg after she won the gold. Her points jumped from 31000 to 44000.

Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RWF) moved from tenth to seventh as she earned 5050 points for her 14th place finish. She now has 19350 points.

Kriszta INCZE (ROU) entered top-10 after a seventh-place finish. She picked up 8520 points which took her tally from 8200 points to 16720 points.

Silver medalist Mallory VELTE (USA) debuts at 13th place with 11400 points, while two bronze medalists Khadija JLASSI (TUN) and Emma BRUNTIL (USA) enter at 14th and 15th, respectively, with 10200 points.

Jlassi grabbed four extra classification points pushing her ahead of Bruntil.

68kg
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) is now the top-ranked wrestler at 68kg. Despite winning the silver in Istanbul, the 6400 points were enough to take her tally to 83600 points, 3600 points more than Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA), who has 80000 points.

Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) won gold but remains third with 64400 points.

Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) moved from 10th to seventh with a bronze medal and 5200 points. She now has 28200 points.

72kg
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) won the gold for 8000 points, tying her with top-ranked Masako FURUICHI (JPN). But as Furuichi finished with gold at the World Championships and Bakbergenova silver, the Kazak wrestler remains second.

World bronze medalist Anna SCHELL (GER) retained her third place with a silver medal, while Buse CAVUSOGLU TOSUN (TUR) fumbled her shot at jumping to No. 3 in the rankings after she finished fifth on home soil.

Kseniia BURAKOVA (RWF) moved from 13th to 11th with 4000 points for her fifth-place finish.

76kg
Second-ranked Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) closed the gap against top-ranked Adeline GRAY (USA) [86400 points] after winning a gold and 13000 points in Istanbul. She now has 67000 points

World bronze medalist Samar HAMZA (EGY) had 43300 points and needed to finish ninth or better to overtake Olympic champion Aline FOCKEN (GER) for the fourth spot. She finished ninth and took home 7800 points, moving past Focken for the fourth rank.

Francy RAEDELT (GER) won a bronze medal and jumped from 18th to 12th, thanks to the 10200 points. She now has 18400 points.

#WrestleZagreb

Kayaalp Returns with Gold at Zagreb Open; Gomi stuns Ganiev

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 8) -- Wearing gold medals is nothing new for Riza KAYAALP (TUR), an Olympic, world and 12-time European champion with a career spanning more than 15 years.

But wearing the Zagreb Open gold on Sunday felt different for Kayaalp.

Returning to the mat after a hiatus of 18 months, Kayaalp wrestled at the Ranking Series event and claimed the 130kg gold medal. The 36-year-old looked sharp in Zagreb, repeatedly using the trademark gut-wrench to win his bouts. He showed no signs of fading in any bout and remained in complete control throughout.

Kayaalp opened with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Aden ATTAO (USA) and followed with another 9-0 victory against Rati TALIKISHVILI (GEO). In the semifinals, he was content with winning 4-0 against Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ), getting both passivity advantages.

 Facing Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) in the final, Kayaalp scored three turns from par terre to lead 7-0. Schultz was given par terre advantage in the second period but failed to score as Kayaalp secured a 7-1 victory.

"It has been a day full of pride and joy for me to return to this beautiful mat," Kayaalp said. "I returned to the place that has been a part of my life, and to wear the gold medal here again."

At the 2023 European Championships at the same Arena Zagreb, Kayaalp had won his record-tying 12th gold medal. Later that year, he qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics with a silver medal at the World Championships.

However, his career stalled in 2024 when he received a competition ban. Following a lengthy appeal process, Kayaalp cleared his name and returned to the sport, with the Zagreb Open being his first tournament.

"It was a stressful time. Things I never wanted happened to me," he said. "There is nothing worse in life than not being able to explain yourself. But we still have something to live for."

Kayaalp had planned to retire after the Paris Games. After missing the event, however, he returned with renewed motivation to win medals at the Olympics, World Championships and the European Championships.

"There is great fire, ambition and renewal within me," he said. "That old boredom in my mind is gone. I got angry, very angry. But now I hope to have good goals."

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) receives the gold medal from Taha AKGUL (TUR). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Taha AKGUL (TUR), a long-time teammate of Kayaalp but in Freestyle and now the President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, called Kayaalp the magician.

"He came here with around twenty percent preparation," Akgul said about Kayaalp. "We have the European Championship ahead and we will prepare well. Hopefully, he will break Karelin's record by becoming European champion for the thirteenth time."

Kayaalp and Aleksandr KARELIN are tied at 12 European gold medals, and the former nearly broke the record in 2024. However, he got pinned by Sergey SEMENOV (UWW) in the final.

"He is the brother, the captain, the magician of the team," Akgul said. "We set out on this journey as two brothers. It was the same when I was an athlete. We won our gold medals together. Now, we want to represent Turkish wrestling in the same way."

Turkiye won the second gold medal of the day through Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) who denied Mihail BRADU (MDA), 5-0, in the final.

As soon as the second period began, Bradu tried hitting an arm-throw on Saricicek but the Turkiye wrestler countered and flung Bradu and got four points.

That was the only action in the second period as Saricicek claimed the gold medal. Saricicek survived a tough semifinal against Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) but managed to scrap past 4-3.

Alex SZOKE (HUN)Alex SZOKE (HUN) tries to score against Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Alex SZOKE (HUN) took a step closer to making the Hungarian team at 97kg for the European Championships after winning gold medal at the same weight here in Zagreb.

Facing former U20 world champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) in the final, Szoke managed to get both par terre position and also a turn to lead 4-0, which was also the winning score for him.

Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI) emerged as the latest entry in Iran for a weight class. Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) had long been Iran's go-to at 55kg but then emerged Payam AHMADI (IRI) who won gold at U20 World Championships and silver at the senior level.

Now, Hosseinvand defeated Dad Marz in the semifinal in Zagreb and later went on to win the gold medal, defeating Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), 2-0, in the final.

Hosseinvand got both par terre advantages in the match. While he did not score any points in the final, he defended his positions and did not give any either to claim the gold medal.

 

At 72kg, former U20 world champion Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY) controlled his final against Nika BROLADZE (GEO) and won the gold medal, posting a 4-1 victory.

Alameldin was put in par terre in the first period which gave Broladze a point. As he was unable to score any points, Broladze led only 1-0 at the break.

Broladze gave up a point via stepout at the start of the second period which gave Alameldin a 1-1 criteria lead. Alameldin then got the par terre advantage, making the score 2-1.

In the final 30 seconds, Broladze tried some desperate moves but Alameldin bodylocked him and brought him down for two points which sealed the win for him.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI) df. Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), 2-0

BRONZE: Omer RECEP (TUR) df. Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ), 8-0
BRONZE: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. LALIT (IND), 5-3

60kg
GOLD: Koto GOMI (JPN) df. Alisher GANIEV (UZB), 10-0

BRONZE: Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) df. Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), 1-1
BRONZE: Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ) df. Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI), via fall

72kg
GOLD: Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY) df. Nika BROLADZE (GEO), 4-1

BRONZE: Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ) df. Abror ATABAEV (UZB), 3-3
BRONZE: Shakhzod KUCHKOROV (UZB) df. Alejandro SANCHO (USA), 11-0

82kg
GOLD: Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) df. Mihail BRADU (MDA), 5-0

BRONZE: Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) df. Beka MELELASHVILI (USA), 10-1
BRONZE: Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) df. Jesse PORTER (USA), 7-2

97kg
GOLD: Alex SZOKE (HUN) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 4-0

BRONZE: Hadi SEYDI AVENDI (IRI) df. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ), 1-1
BRONZE: Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Mihail KAJAIA (SRB), 2-1

130kg
GOLD: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA), 7-1

BRONZE: Darius VITEK (HUN) df. Artur SARKISJAN (CZE), 1-1
BRONZE: Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ) df. Rati TALIKISHVILI (GEO), 6-1