CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland – Heading into summer preparations for the senior wrestling world championships in September, this month’s FILA World Rankings for men’s freestyle are marked with “returns,” “comebacks” and a key recovery.

London 2012 Olympic Games medalists Yogeshwar DUTT (IND) and Sushil KUMAR (IND) returned to international competition at the City of Sassari Tournament while 2011 world champion Aleksey SHEMAROV (BLR) laced up the shoes for the first time in 22 months at the German Grand Prix. 

World bronze medalist Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) also returned to the junior ranks to win the European junior crown for a second year in a row in Katowice, Poland, after competing 10 months at the senior level.

And, along with the theme of “returns,” world champion David SAFARYAN (ARM) seems to be well on his way to recovery from a shoulder problem that plagued him over the winter – with bronze and silver medals in June to mark the way. 

Former junior world champ ERDENEBAT Bekhbayar (MGL) also got back on track with his first triumph of 2014 after early exits in his previous three starts and University Games bronze medalist Semyon RADULOV (UKR) returned to the medals podium for the first time in nearly one year in Sassari.

Entries in the rankings are listed by name, country code, most recent or most significant result in the last 12 months, and ranking the previous month.

57kg – Defending champion ERDENEBAT Bekhbayar (MGL) stopped European bronze medalist Zoheir EL OUARRAQE (FRA), 5-2, in the semifinals at the German Grand Prix and ran over teammate BATBOLD Nomin (MGL), 6-0, in the final to join the rankings at No.9. 

El Ouarraqe, who won the City of Sassari tourney at the end of May, came back for the bronze medal in Dortmund after Dan Kolov bronze medalist Andrei DUKOV (ROU) squandered a 4-1 lead and was tagged with a fleeing the hold penalty in the closing seconds.

1. Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) – Europe No.1 (1)

2. Rasul KALIEV (KAZ) – Asia No.1 (2)

3. Viktor LEBEDEV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.5 (3)

4. DAMDINBAZAR Tsogtbaatar (MGL) – Asia No.2 (3)

5. Fumitaka MORISHITA (JPN) – Asia No.3 (4)

6. Samat NADYRBEK UULU (KGZ) – Asia No.3 (5)

7. Hassan RAHIMI (IRI) – World Cup No.1 (7)

8. Artyom GEBEKOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (8)

9. ERDENEBAT BEKHBAYAR (MGL) – German GP No.1 (not ranked)

10. BATBOLD Nomin (MGL) – Yasar Dogu No.1 (10)

11. Amit KUMAR (IND) – Schultz Memorial No.2 (11)

12. Zoheir EL OUARRAQE (FRA) – Europe No.3 (15)

13. Andrei DUKOV (ROU) – Dan Kolov No.3 (18)

14. Ghenadi TULBEA (MON) – Europe No.2 (13)

15. Garik BARSEGHYAN (ARM) – Europe No.3 (14)

16. JIN Jong-Hak (PRK) – Takhti Cup No.1 (16)

17. Sezer AKGUL (TUR) – Yasar Dogu No.3 (17)

18. Nariman ISRAPILOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.3 (9)

19. Vladislav ANDREEV (BLR) – Medved Prizes No.3 (17)

20. Mehrab REZAZADEH (IRI) – Asia No.5 (18)

61kg – European champion Haji ALIEV (AZE) tested the waters at the Olympic weight category of 65kg in Dortmund and came away with a 7-2 triumph over 2013 world champion David SAFARYAN (ARM). 

London 2012 gold medalist Dyamal OTARSULTANOV (RUS) stunned world champion Bekhan GOYGEREEV (RUS) in the Yarygin Grand Prix in January, but wrestling fans continue to wait for his next move as he slumps to No.12 in the rankings for a lack of activity.

1. Haji ALIEV (AZE) – Europe No.1 (1)

2. Masoud ESMAILPOUR (IRI) – Asia No.1 (4)

3. Bekhan GOYGEREEV (RUS) – Europe No.2 (3)

4. Murshid MURTALIMOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (7)

5. Bajneesh BAJRANG (IND) – Asia No.2 (6)

6. Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ) – Asia No.3 (5)

7. Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV (AZE) – Ali Aliev No.3 (8)

8. ENKHSAIKHAN Nyam-Ochir (MGL) – Yasar Dogu No.2 (7)

9. Aleksander BOGOMOEV (RUS) – Buryatia Cup No.1 (nr)

10. Behnam EHSANPOUR (IRI) – Ali Aliev No.3 (10)

11. Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) – Europe No.5 (14)

12. Dyamal OTARSULTANOV (RUS) – Yarygin GP No.1 (2)

13. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) – Europe No.3 (12)

14. Andrei PERPELITA (MDA) – Europe No.3 (13)

15. Vladimir DUBOV (BUL) – Dan Kolov No.3 (15)

16. James KENNEDY (USA) – Yasar Dogu No.1 (16)

17. Bazar BAZARGURUEV (KGZ) – Mongolian Open No.2 (17)

18. Vasyl FEDORISHIN (UKR) – Takhti Cup No.2 (18)

19. Noriyuki TAKATSUKA (JPN) – Takhti Cup No.3 (19)

20. Sayatpek OKASOV (KAZ) – Medved Prizes No.1 (20)

65kg – London 2012 bronze medalist Yogeshwar DUTT (IND) returned to the mats in Sassari and promptly struck gold after a 7-3 win over world champion David SAFARYAN (ARM) in the semifinals.

Safaryan, meanwhile, showed flashes of his old form at the German Grand Prix and, despite a loss to European champion Haji ALIEV (AZE), had Armenian team members saying he will be ready for the trip to Tashkent.

1. Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (1)

2. Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) – CAC Games No.1 (2)

3. Servet COSKUN (TUR) – Europe No.2 (3)

4. Borislav NOVACHKOV (BUL) – Europe No.3 (4)

5. Konstantin KHABALASHVILI (GEO) – Europe No.3 (5)

6. Sayed Ahmad MOHAMMADI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (6)

7. Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (7)

8. Yogeshwar DUTT (IND) – Sassari Tourney No.1 (nr)

9. David SAFARYAN (ARM) – German GP No.2 (nr)

10. Mustafa KAYA (TUR) – Yasar Dogu No.3 (8)

11. KANG Jin-Hyeok (PRK) – Asia No.2 (9)

12. GANZORIG Mandakhnaran (MGL) – Mongolian Open No.1 (10)

13. Daichi TAKATANI (JPN) – Takhti Cup No.5 (11)

14. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) – Ali Aliev No.3 (12)

15. Azamat NURIKOV (BLR) – Medved Prizes No.1 (17)

16. Andrey KVIATKOVSKI (UKR) – Ali Aliev No.2 (15)

17. BATMAGNAI Batchuluun (MGL) – Asia No.3 (13)

18. Furkat FARMANOV (UZB) – Asia No.3 (14)

19. George BUCUR (ROU) – German GP No.3 (nr)

20. Dauren ZHUMAGAZIEV (KAZ) – Takhti Cup No.3 (18)

70kg – European champion Ruslan DIBIRGADZHIYEV (AZE) cobbled together three wins at the German Grand Prix, including a 5-1 mastery of Adrian Ionut MOISE (ROU) in the final, for his third straight win of the year at 70kg. 

Semyon RADULOV (UKR), a bronze medal winner at last year’s World University Games, joins the rankings at No.13 after winning his first medal of 2014 -- a silver medal at the Sassari Tourney behind European runner-up Grigor GRIGORYAN (ARM).

1. Moustafa HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (1)

2. Ruslan DIBIRGADZHIYEV (AZE) – Europe No.1 (2)

3. Grigor GRIGORYAN (ARM) – Europe No.2 (5)

4. Yakup GOR (TUR) – Europe No.3 (3)

5. Khetag TSABOLOV (RUS) – Yarygin GP No.3 (7)

6. Miroslav KIROV (BUL) – Europe No.3 (8)

7. Peyman YARAHMADI (IRI) – Takhti Cup No.2 (4)

8. Adrian Ionut MOISE (ROU) – Europe No.5 (17)

9. Zhombor GULYAS (HUN) – Sassari Tourney No.3 (16)

10. Dshamaluddin KURBANALIEV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (10)

11. Ramazan SHAMSHUTDINOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.3 (11)

12. Somirshoh VOKHIDOV (TJK) – Asia No.2 (9)

13. Semyon RADULOV (UKR) – Sassari Tourney No.2 (nr)

14. Ken HOSAKA (JPN) – Asia No.3 (12)

15. Ibrahim NURIDDINOV (UZB) – Asia No.3 (13)

16. LING Haiwei (CHN) – Asia No.5 (14)

17. Amit Dhankar KUMAR (IND) – Asia No.5 (15)

18. Geandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB) – Granma Cup No.1 (18)

19. BUYANJAV Batzorig (MGL) – Buryatia Cup No.1 (19)

20. Zaur EFENDIEV (SRB) – Paris GGP No.1 (20)

74kg – Luca LAMPIS (FRA) won in Sassari for a second straight year and then took home a bronze medal from the German Grand Prix, stumbling 6-1 to European runner-up Yabrail HASANOV (AZE) in the 74kg semifinals.

London 2012 silver medalist at 66kg Sushil KUMAR (IND), in his first competition since the Olympic Games, took a silver medal behind Lampis in Sassari and debuts in the rankings at No.11.

1. Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) – World No.1 (1)

2. Reza AFZALI PAEMAMI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (3)

3. Yabrail HASANOV (AZE) – Europe No.2 (4)

4. Aniuar GEDUEV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (2)

5. Ali SHABANOV (BLR) – Medved Prizes No.1 (5)

6. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) – Europe No.3 (6)

7. Krystian BRZOZOWSKI (POL) – Europe No.3 (7)

8. Kamal MALIKOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (9)

9. Magomed ZUBAIROV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.2 (10)

10. Luca LAMPIS (FRA) – Sassari Tourney No.1 (nr)

11. Sushil KUMAR (IND) – Sassari Tourney No.2 (nr)

12. PUREVJAV Unurbat (MGL) – Asia No.2 (11)

13. Innokenti INNOKENTYEV (KGZ) – Asia No.3 (12)

14. Hamid Reza REZAEI (IRI) – Ali Aliev No.3 (13)

15. Leonid BAZAN (BUL) – Dan Kolov No.1 (14)

16. Ryoichi YAMANAKA (JPN) – Asia No.3 (15)

17. Essadollah AKBARI (IRI) – Takhti Cup No.3 (16)

18. Kiril TERZIEV (BUL) – Europe No.7 (17)

19. Yakob MAKARASHVILI (GEO) – Europe No.9 (18)

20. Parveen RANA (IND) – Schultz Memorial No.1 (19)

86kg – Gamzat OSMANOV (AZE) rebounded from a seventh place at the European championships in April with four wins in Dortmund and his third tournament triumph since last November’s Golden Grand Prix Final in Baku.

Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), who fell to Osmanov in the German Grand Prix final, 6-2, earned his first medal in international competition since winning a bronze medal at the 2011 European junior championships.

1. Abdul Rashid SADULAEV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (1)

2. Murad GAIDAROV (BLR) – Europe No.2 (2)

3. Meisam MOSTAFA JOUKAR (IRI) – Asia No.1 (3)

4. Rashid KURBANOV (UZB) – Asia No.3 (4)

5. Azlan KAKHIDZE (KAZ) – Asia No.2 (5)

6. Albert SARITOV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (6)

7. Gamzat OSMANOV (AZE) – German GP No.1 (12)

8. Anzor URISHEV (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.3 (7)

9. Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB) – Granma Cup No.1 (9)

10. Ibragim ALDATOV (UKR) – World No.1 (8)

11. Ehsan LASHGARI (IRI) – World No.3 (10)

12. Istvan VEREB (HUN) – Europe No.3 (11)

13. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) – German GP No.2 (nr)

14. Gabriel SEREGELYI (GER) – German GP No.3 (nr)

15. Shamil KUDIYAMAGOMEDOV (RUS) – Yarygin GP No.2 (13)

16. Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO) – Europe No.5 (14)

17. Musa MURTAZALIEV (ARM) – Europe No.3 (15)

18. Clayton FOSTER (USA) – Yasar Dogu No.5 (16)

19. ORGODOL Uitumen (MGL) – Asia No.3 (17)

20. Pedro CEBALLAS FUENTES (VEN) – CAC Games No.1 (19) 

97kg – Ali Aliev bronze medalist Radoslaw BARAN (POL) snared his first-ever gold medal in eight years of competing internationally with a winning performance in Dortmund. Baran advanced nine places to No.9 at 97kg while the rest of the rankings were largely unchanged.

1. Reza YAZDANI (IRI) – World No.1 (1)

2. Abdusalam GADISOV (RUS) – Europe No.1 (2)

3. Khetag GAZUMOV (AZE) – Europe No.2 (3)

4. Ivan YANKOUSKI (BLR) – Europe No.3 (4)

5. Yuri BELONOVSKI (RUS) – Ali Aliev No.1 (5)

6. Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) – Ali Aliev No.2 (6)

7. Pavlo OLEYNIK (UKR) – Europe No.5 (7)

8. Nicolae CEBAN (MDA) – Europe No.3 (8)

9. Radoslaw BARAN (POL) – German GP No.1 (18)

10. William HARTH (GER) – Europe No.5 (9)

11. Lyuben ILIEV (BUL) – Dan Kolov No.3 (10)

12. Riza YILDIRIM (TUR) – Medved Prizes No.1 (11)

13. DORJKHAND Khuderbulga (MGL) – Asia No.1 (12)

14. Magomed MUSAEV (KGZ) – Asia No.2 (13)

15. Satyavart KADIAN (IND) – Asia No.3 (14)

16. Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK) – Asia No.3 (15)

17. Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR) – Dan Kolov No.3 (16)

18. Dato KERASHVILI (GEO) – Takhti Cup No.3 (17)

19. Attila SZMIK (HUN) – Sassari Tourney No.1 (nr)

20. Edgar YENOKYAN (ARM) – Sassari Tourney No.3 (nr)

125kg – 2011 world champion Aleksey SHEMAROV (BLR) returned to competition for the first time since the London Olympic Games and rolled up a pair of technical falls on his way to the German Grand Prix crown and No.11 in the rankings.

Junior world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), also a bronze medal winner at the 2013 senior world meet, lorded over the field in Katowice with a fall and three technical falls for his second European junior championships crown and No.12 in the rankings.

1. Taha AKGUL (TUR) – Europe No.1 (1)

2. Komeil GHASEMI (IRI) – Asia No.1 (2)

3. Aleksander KHOTSIANIVSKI (UKR) – Europe No.3 (5)

4. Ali ISAEV (AZE) – Ali Aliev No.1 (6)

5. Jamalladin MAGOMEDOV (AZE) – Dan Kolov No.1 (7)

6. Alen ZASEEV (UKR) – Ali Aliev No.3 (8)

7. Alan KHUGAEV (RUS) – Europe No.2 (3)

8. Khadshimourad GATSALOV (RUS) – World No.1 (4)

9. Parviz HADI (IRI) – Takhti Cup No.1 (9)

10. Daulet SHABANBAY (KAZ) – Asia No.3 (10)

11. Aleksey SHEMAROV (BLR) – German GP No.1 (nr)

12. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) – European Jrs No.1 (nr)

13. Abdollah GHOMI AVITI (IRI) – Ali Aliev No.2 (11)

14. Daniel LIGETI (HUN) – Europe No.3 (12)

15. NATSAGSUREN Zolboo (MGL) – Asia No.2 (13)

16. Andranik GALSTYAN (ARM) – Dan Kolov No.3 (14)

17. Tervel DLAGNEV (USA) – World No.5 (16)

18. Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) – Asia No.5 (17)

19. David MODZMANASHVILI (GEO) – Europe No.5 (18)

20. Slim TRABELSI (TUN) – Mediterranean C’ships No.1 (nr)