#WrestleAmman

U17 World Championships 2024 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

AMMAN, Jordan (August 15) -- A week after the 2024 Paris Olympics, the focus shifts to the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The first World Championships of this season will be held from August 19 to 25 in the Jordanian capital.

The competition will see 576 wrestlers compete in 30 weight classes in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman. In a two-day format, the tournament will begin with Greco-Roman followed by Women's Wrestling and finish with Freestyle.

All the bouts will be live on uww.org and UWW+ App.

Freestyle

45kg
Kiryl NIKITSIK (AIN)
Dzhamal BAKAEV (AIN)
Mher HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Fagan FATIYEV (AZE)
Levan NOZADZE (GEO)
SHIVAM (IND)
Amirabbas RAMEZANI (IRI)
Omar  MUSLEH (JOR)
Taku SHIBA (JPN)
Bekzat AMANGELDY (KAZ)
Sadyr KAIYPBEKOV (KGZ)
Ochirkhuu BADARCH (MGL)
Leon MANOV (MKD)
Bugra KAVAK (TUR)
Mykhailo DIDOSHAK (UKR)
Samuel SANCHEZ (USA)
Jurabek RAKHMONOV (UZB)

48kg
Tsimur SELACHNIK (AIN)
Chingis SARYGLAR (AIN)
Abderrezak CHENINI (ALG)
Armen PAPIKYAN    (ARM)
Hajihuseyn AHMADZADA (AZE)
Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO)
HARSH (IND)
Amirabbas ALIZADEH (IRI)
Yuki MAEDA (JPN)
Damir KALI (KAZ)
Erbol BOLOTOV (KGZ)
Daniel NEGRU (MDA)
Amartuvshin TSETSEGEE (MGL)
Andre HUARCAYA (PER)
Eren YALCIN (TUR)
Vladyslav KAIDAKOV (UKR)
Henry ASLIKYAN (USA)
Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB)

51kg
Uladzislau LISITSA (AIN)
Akhmed ATANGERIEV (AIN)
MOUADH CHIBANI (ALG)
Makaya KATENDI (ANG)
Ashot GYULNAZARYAN (ARM)
Muhammad ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Jianhao LIU (CHN)
Zeyad HASSANEINN (EGY)
Guga MACHARASHVILI (GEO)
KARTIK (IND)
Sam ARSHAD (IRI)
Jinnosuke OKONOGI (JPN)
Ibrahim YSKAKBEK (KAZ)
Marlen ABDRAIMOV (KGZ)
Anar ODBAYAR (MGL)
Frederick BACHMANN (PUR)
Kevin BIRCHLER (SUI)
Daghan GUVANCHMYRADOV (TKM)
Tugrul DEMIRCI (TUR)
Daniil CHASOVSKYI (UKR)
Domenic MUNARETTO (USA)
Ozodbek ALIJONOV (UZB)

55kg
Artsiom PAULIUCHENKA (AIN)
Tundzhai VERDIEV (AIN)
Abdelghani AID (ALG)
Gagik GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Huseyn HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Shata Er YUSHAN (CHN)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Jaiveer SINGH (IND)
Arian MEHRALIZADEH (IRI)
Mohammad MUSLEH (JOR)
Yukiya KITADE (JPN)
Yeraly ASKERBEK (KAZ)
Kursantbek ISAKOV (KGZ)
Jon RAMADANI (KOS)
Catalin CURECHERI (MDA)
Ryenchinpeljee BAVUUDORJ (MGL)
Joseph BACHMANN (PUR)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Mokbel SAHLI (TUN)
Efe KARATAS (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)
Keanu DILLARD (USA)

60kg
Andrei KUZNIATSOU (AIN)
Adlan SAITIEV (AIN)
Hayk AVANESYAN (ARM)
Huseyn ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Ryan DAHCHA (CAN)
Jiansheng LU (CHN)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Akaki MAZMISHVILI (GEO)
Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)
Sitender SITENDER (IND)
Ahora KHATERI (IRI)
Abdelrahman MARAFI (JOR)
Itsuki YONASHIRO (JPN)
Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ)
Inseong BAK (KOR)
Purevbaatar BAASANKHUU (MGL)
Jaden PEREZ (PUR)
Gabriel MIHALCEA (ROU)
Stefan GOUWS (RSA)
Bilal INCE (TUR)
Ivan ZALISKO (UKR)
Jordyn RANEY (USA)
Khudoberdi TURGUNOV (UZB)

65kg
Artsiom HOHINASHVILI (AIN)
Ramazan ABDULKADYROV (AIN)
Yeghishe MOSESYAN (ARM)
Mobin ZAREI (AUS)
Isa YUSIBOV (AZE)
Liam GORTON (CAN)
Keze LI (CHN)
Tristan FORSMAN (CRC)
Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO)
Ahmad ARSZUNKAEV (HUN)
SAGAR (IND)
Yasin TAYEBI (IRI)
Riccardo BONANNO (ITA)
Kira YOSHIDA (JPN)
Bakdaulet AKIMZHAN (KAZ)
Rustamzhan KAKHAROV (KGZ)
Cristi CEBAN (MDA)
Khangaibayar GANBOLD (MGL)
Yandro SOTO RIVERA (PUR)
David BOICEA (ROU)
Markus LE ROUX (RSA)
Umut USLU (TUR)
Roman PRONAK (UKR)
Nathaniel ASKEW (USA)
Doniyor IBRAGIMOV (UZB)

71kg
Artsiom BOLSUN (AIN)
Zavur GADZHIMURADOV (AIN)
Vahe SAGHYAN (ARM)
Gazanfar KAZIMLI (AZE)
Loki BIGRAS (CAN)
Yuchen LIU (CHN)
Yahia ELIWA (EGY)
Luka TATIASHVILI (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Mark LAPOSA (HUN)
Nishant RUHIL (IND)
Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Declan BLIGH (IRL)
Huthaifa ABUBAKER (JOR)
Kairi ITO (JPN)
Amir ORAZBAYEV (KAZ)
Nursadyk NURDINOV (KGZ)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Byambaragchaa TAMIR (MGL)
Kawayran VAZQUEZ JR (PUR)
Alirizo BAKHROMOV (TJK)
Fatih AYDIN (TUR)
Samir IBISHOV (UKR)
Melvin MILLER (USA)

80kg
Aliaksei KURYLA (AIN)
Aldat KESAEV (AIN)
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Mahammad ABASZADA (AZE)
Yesikeer NUERHEISHA (CHN)
Ondrej KOCMANEK (CZE)
Nikoloz MAISURADZE (GEO)
Felix SCHMITT (GER)
VEVIK (IND)
Reza AFSHAR (IRI)
Hamza JAFAR (JOR)
Takeharu NISHIHARA (JPN)
Beibarys YERGALI (KAZ)
Samidullo ALIMZHANOV (KGZ)
Ganbat TSERENPUNTSAG (MGL)
Omer MEMEDI (MKD)
Darius SAS (ROU)
Mohamed FERCHICHI (TUN)
Selahattin CAN (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)
Emmitt SHERLOCK (USA)
Bunyod RUFATOV (UZB)

92kg
Aliaksei KHADUNOU (AIN)
Rodion SANAKOEV (AIN)
Kamel HARIZI (ALG)
Hrachik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Farhad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Michealjeet GREWAL (CAN)
Zixu YUAN (CHN)
Mahmoud ELSAKKA (EGY)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Youssef SOLIMAN (HUN)
SUNNY (IND)
Amir Reza ALI POUR (IRI)
Noriyuki ASANO (JPN)
Raim MAULETOV (KAZ)
Farukh MOMUNZHANOV (KGZ)
David Adrian METEA (ROU)
Bilal ZORBA (TUR)
Dmytro POSTOVYI (UKR)
Elijah DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
Asadbek ERKINJONOV (UZB)

110kg
Yaraslau KOKHAN (AIN)
Ali BAIRAMUKOV (AIN)
Andranik JAGHETYAN (ARM)
Mukhamad GANTEMIROV (AZE)
Jagroop Singh DHINSA (CAN)
Rui GAO (CHN)
Gigia LUKUNIDZE (GEO)
Gyoergy JUHASZ (HUN)
Jaspooran SINGH (IND)
Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI)
Kareem SHEIKH YASIN (JOR)
Yuki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Jaehyuk LEE (KOR)
Ugur IRTEGUN (TUR)
Kyrylo TERNOVYI (UKR)
Michael MOCCO (USA)

Piper FOWLER (USA)Defending champion Piper FOWLER (USA), blue, and Lotta ENGLICH (GER), red, are entered at 73kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Aleksandra FEDOROVA (AIN)
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Iraabir SOOCH (CAN)
Polina TIMSINA (EST)
Vivien SZENTPAL (HUN)
Raj BALA (IND)
Monaka UMEKAWA (JPN)
Zhasmina BAKOYEVA (KAZ)
Indra JIMENEZ (MEX)
Liva CELIK (TUR)
Kamila KUCHMA (UKR)
Francesca GUSFA (USA)

43kg
Nurana ASADLI (AIN)
Aleksandra BEREZOVSKAIA (AIN)
Xin HUANG (CHN)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Mareim ABDELAAL (EGY)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Aditi KUMARI (IND)
Kokoha OBARA (JPN)
Anel BURKUTBAYEVA (KAZ)
Gabriela PALACIOS (MEX)
Yagmur KARABACAK (TUR)
Karolina SHPERYK (UKR)
Hailey DELGADO (USA)

46kg
Elvira BAHIRAVA (AIN)
Diana RYBCHENKO (AIN)
Jessica TUOMINEN (FIN)
Halilja AZIMOV (GER)
Shrutika PATIL (IND)
Yuu KATSUME (JPN)
Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ)
Akak MAMBETSADYKOVA (KGZ)
Daniella HOSSEIN BEKY (NOR)
Viktoria IGRENYI (SVK)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Yevheniia DRUZENKO (UKR)
Morgan TURNER (USA)

49kg
Kseniya KOSTSENICH (AIN)
Polina BOCHKAREVA (AIN)
Dounia ZITOUNI (ALG)
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Na HU (CHN)
Fiona GASSER (GER)
Szonja NEMETH (HUN)
Utaha YUI (JPN)
Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ)
Feruza AKMATBEKOVA (KGZ)
Lonisa REKA (KOS)
Amar AMGALANTUGS (MGL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Islem HEMLI (TUN)
Nil AKTAS (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Epenesa ELISON (USA)

53kg
Maryia KHRUSHCHOVA (AIN)
Olesia MALAKHOVA (AIN)
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Kaura COLES (CAN)
Jinzi EMU (CHN)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Manar ELMASRY (EGY)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Lisa SHAVADZE (GEO)
Josefine WIDMANN (GER)
Anna KOEBLO (HUN)
MUSKAN (IND)
Layal Ayman Rebhi SUKKAR (JOR)
Nana KOZUKA (JPN)
Madkhiya USMANOVA (KAZ)
Diana AMANTUROVA (KGZ)
Angelica PLASCENCIA ACEVES (MEX)
Myagmarbayar UURTUYA (MGL)
Csilla VAN OS (NED)
Chloe BREWIS (RSA)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Yi Hsuan TSENG (TPE)
Hava KONCA (TUR)
Ivanna LUKIANENKO (UKR)
Isabella GONZALES (USA)

57kg
Palina BRAHINETS (AIN)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (AIN)
Fidan BABAYEVA (AZE)
Meng LIN (CHN)
Ainara PORTILLO GARCIA (ESP)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Feenja HERMANN (GER)
Mairi MANI (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
NEHA (IND)
Maya QUTASHAT (JOR)
So TSUTSUI (JPN)
Anna STRATAN (KAZ)
Kamila KUMUSHBEKOVA (KGZ)
Arvinbayar GALBADRAKH (MGL)
Kai Yi LI (TPE)
Ozlem GURSOY (TUR)
Anastasiia NYKYFOROVA (UKR)
Everest LEYDECKER (USA)

61kg
Varvara ALISEYENKA (AIN)
Zalina TOTROVA (AIN)
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
RAJNITA (IND)
Maya ISHAKAT (JOR)
Sae NOGUCHI (JPN)
Zhaidar MUKAT (KAZ)
Orsolja HABI (SRB)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Anhelina BONDARENKO (UKR)
Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)

65kg
Anastasiya KOMANAVA (AIN)
Daria FROLOVA (AIN)
Ling CAI (CHN)
Maram ALY (EGY)
Selma PIHLAJA (FIN)
Ayla SAHIN (GER)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
PULKIT (IND)
Juliana CATANZARO (ITA)
Tala ABUKHEIT (JOR)
Ayano KUSUNOKI (JPN)
Uldana TILEUKHAN (KAZ)
Anujin ERKHEMBAATAR (MGL)
Kang Yu CHIANG (TPE)
Isslem NASRI (TUN)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Konstantsiia SARBAIEVA (UKR)
Bella WILLIAMS (USA)

69kg
Ulyana LAPANIK (AIN)
Zukhra KAZULAEVA (AIN)
Joseth MAVUNGU (ANG)
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Khushleen JHALLI (CAN)
Chenyingzi SUN (CHN)
Rahma BEDIWY (EGY)
Tamara CSEH (HUN)
KAJAL (IND)
Maryam ABUHAMADA (JOR)
Ako UCHIYAMA (JPN)
Kyzzhibek ZHARKYNBAYEVA (KAZ)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Ana MARIOARA (ROU)
Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK)
Asma AMMOURI (TUN)
Ilayda CIN (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)
Kaili MANUEL (USA)

73kg
Hanna PIRSKAYA (AIN)
Diana TITOVA (AIN)
Melissa BELAID (ALG)
Julia DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA)
Saihan AO (CHN)
Lotta ENGLICH (GER)
Mansi LATHER (IND)
Makia KIMURA (JPN)
Akbota KADIR (KAZ)
Aisanat KALMAMATOVA (KGZ)
Viktorija IRKLE (LAT)
Malak SABRY (MAR)
Zeynep SUCU (TUR)
Khrystyna DEMCHUK (UKR)
Piper FOWLER (USA)

Ilia KANDALIN (AIN)Ilia KANDALIN (AIN), champion at 51kg, moving to 55kg which has 2023 champion Jayden RANEY (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN)
Badr MAHDAOUI (ALG)
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Shahid NABIYEV (AZE)
Mohamed ELTAYEB (EGY)
Gigi PAKSADZE (GEO)
Kedar KAMBLE (IND)
Ahmad BADRADDINI (IRI)
Sanad NAGHOUJ (JOR)
Toi NISHIMURA (JPN)
Damir ABILDA (KAZ)
Bekzhan BEISHEMBAEV (KGZ)
Marian FIRANTA (ROU)  
Yusuf KAYA (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)  
Isaiah WEBBER (USA)
Umidjon KAROMOV (UZB)

48kg
Nikolai KRISTOV (AIN)
Martin MANJIKYAN (ARM)
Amrah AMRAHOV (AZE)
Yuri LANDIM RIBEIRO (BRA)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN)
Bikash KACHHAP (IND)
Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Amro ABU RMILAH (JOR)
Kai KOGASAKO (JPN)
Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ)
Barsbek OZUBEKOV (KGZ)
Patrick MOCAN CROITORU (ROU)
Yavuz AKGUN (TUR)
Bohdan MAKAROVETS (UKR)
Hayden SCHWAB (USA)
Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB)

51kg
Zuber ABDOKOV (AIN)
Makaya KATENDI (ANG)
Sargis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)
Radovan SNAJDR (CZE)
Iuri CHAPIDZE (GEO)
Sotirios NTONTOS (GRE)
Sainath PARDHI (IND)
Abolfazl KARAMIEGAEI (IRI)
Adam ABU FARE (JOR)
Kiichi OI (JPN)
Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ)
Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ)
Luis VLAD (ROU)
Levin MEIER (SUI)
Mehmet SARP (TUR)
Maksut SULTANOV (UKR)
Domenic MUNARETTO (USA)
Khojiakbar KUCHKAROV (UZB)

55kg
Dzmitry DUDUK (AIN)
Ilia KANDALIN (AIN)
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Ali NAZAROV (AZE)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Maoxian LIAO (CHN)
Nikolas DOUPOVEC (CZE)
Amr ELSHAER (EGY)
Davit GABEDAVA (GEO)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Samarth MHAKAVE (IND)
Amirali HEYDARI (IRI)
Ibraheem NAGOJ (JOR)
Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN)
Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)
Emir EMILOV (KGZ)
Alexandru LUNGU (ROU)
Abdulsamet UCAR (TUR)
Denys SEREDIN (UKR)
Jayden RANEY (USA)
Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB)

60kg
Mikita TSITOU (AIN)
Marat MARGIEV (AIN)
Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM)
Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)
Ziming DING (CHN)
Tin TURKOVIC (CRO)
Mohamed MOHAMED (EGY)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Bende OLASZ (HUN)
GAURAV (IND)
Abolfazl Ali SHIRI (IRI)
Ali ABUNASEER (JOR)
Yuto ITO (JPN)
Dosbol SHAMIL (KAZ)
Nurbek DZHUMABAEV (KGZ)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Ilias LAAOUINA (NED)
Ioan IORDACHITA (ROU)
Enes KAMAL (TUR)
Vadym MATROS (UKR)
Jordyn RANEY (USA)
Farrukh YULDOSHEV (UZB)

65kg
Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN)
Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM)
Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE)
Zhengye HAN (CHN)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Zdenek KUBALA (CZE)
Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Kevin KARL (GER)
Rego TORDA (HUN)
ANUJ (IND)
Amir SAEIDI NAVA (IRI)
Zaid NAGHOUJ (JOR)
Riku TANAKA (JPN)
Daniyar KANAGATBEK (KAZ)
Nursultan ADYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Arsenie CAISIN (MDA)
Borgil TUVSHINBAATAR (MGL)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Omer SEZER (TUR)
Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)
Colton WEILER (USA)
Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB)

71kg
Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)
Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN)
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Sergey STOEV (BUL)
Jinhao WU (CHN)
Bruno HANZEL (CZE)
Giorgi ALADASHVILI (GEO)
Sotirios BOUZAS (GRE)
Imre KOLOMPAR (HUN)
Sachin KUMAR (IND)
Mohammad KAZEMI (IRI)
Ahmad HAMAIDEH (JOR)
Tsubasa EGUCHI (JPN)
Marlan BAKAYEV (KAZ)
Ilgis KANYBEKOV (KGZ)
Isodzhon NURAKHMADOV (TJK)
Kuzey ILDEM (TUR)
Kyrylo UHRIK (UKR)
Joseph JETER (USA)
Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB)

80kg
Uladzislau KURDZIUK (AIN)  
Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)  
Mohamed ABADI (ALG)  
Arame ARAKELYAN (ARM)  
Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE)  
Guilherme LANDIM SALLES (BRA)  
Dinko NEYKOV (BUL)  
Zheying SONG (CHN)  
Petr ZAK (CZE)
Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO)  
Daniel JAKAB (HUN)
Nishant PHOGAT (IND)
Emad MOHSENNEJAD (IRI)
Daichi AKIHO (JPN)
Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ)
Zhoomart ASHIMOV (KGZ)
Marius ZAJAUSKAS (LTU)
Nichita APOSTOL (MDA)
Dusan STOKIC (SRB)
Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK)  
Yigit SARI (TUR)  
Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR)  
Emmitt SHERLOCK (USA)
Shokhjakhon SHOVKATOV (UZB)

92kg
Kanstantsin KASYAN (AIN)
Ramzan SADULAEV (AIN)
Lotfi MECHOUCHE (ALG)  
Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM)  
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)  
Raphael RODRIGUES (BRA)  
Radostin VASILEV (BUL)  
Mengyang ZHANG (CHN)  
Patrik BUDOR (CRO)  
Zeyad MOHAMED (EGY)  
Vladimer MINADZE (GEO)  
Ole STERNING (GER)  
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)  
Andras BUDAI (HUN)  
LUCKY (IND)
Danial IZADI (IRI)
Koki MATSUMOTO (JPN)
Adilet TOISHY (KAZ)
Asek ZAIIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Seunguk BAK (KOR)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Daniel HUTANU (ROU)
Migael PIENAAR (RSA)
Serkan BAKIR (TUR)
Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR)
Evan MCGUIRE (USA)
Fakhrikamol KOMILJONOV (UZB)

110kg
Daniil MASLAKOU (AIN)
Artur MANVELIAN (AIN)
Aymen AOUIDAT (ALG)
Seyran KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Abdullah HASANOV (AZE)
Mihail KRALEV (BUL)
Haorui WANG (CHN)
Dominik KOCMAN (CZE)
Luka SHAVADZE (GEO)
Zoltan CZAKO (HUN)
RONAK (IND)
Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI)
Tenga ABE (JPN)
Ulankandas OTEGENOV (KAZ)
Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR)
Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)
Trayvn BOGER (USA)
Sayidamir NEMATOV (UZB)

#WrestleZagreb

Onishi encounters rough waters before sailing to 59kg gold

By Ken Marantz

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- Looking over at her coach was enough to inspire rising teenage star Sakura ONISHI (JPN) after she suffered a rare lapse early in the match. Having a four-time Olympic champion in your corner will have that effect.

Onishi bounced back from an early deficit to pile on points before notching a late victory by fall over Maria VYNNYK (URK) in the 59kg final at the World Championships in Zagreb on Tuesday, when the first two golds were awarded in women's wrestling.

"I'm really happy," said Onishi, who fell behind 6-1 before building up a 17-8 lead and ending the match with :09 left, giving her the gold in her senior world debut a month after winning a second straight world U20 title.

In a battle between continental champions for the other gold up for grabs, Asian titlist Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) needed less than a period to rout European winner Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) 10-0 and become the second women's world champion in her country's history.

Also Read: Amouzad avenges Paris loss to Kiyooka

The 19-year-old Onishi currently attends powerhouse Nippon Sport Science University, where among her teammates is Paris Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN). And one of her coaches is four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN), who is also among the Japanese team staff in Zagreb and was in Onishi's corner on Tuesday.

When Vynnyk, a three-time European U23 bronze medalist, scored an arm-drag takedown and added two gut wrenches to take a 6-1 lead, Onishi looked for the best source of inspiration she could find.

"I panicked a little, 'What should I do?'" Onishi said. "But I was determined to get the points back. Even if I give up a lot of points, it was still within what I had imagined might happen. There was still time and I thought it was alright.

"I looked at Kaori's face and thought, 'OK, just do it.'"

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN), left, congratulates Sakura ONISHI (JPN) after the 59kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

From that point, Onishi went on a rampage, scoring a double-leg takedown and gut wrench combination, an ankle-pick takedown, then a snapdown takedown to finish the first period with a 9-6 lead.

She opened the second period with another takedown, but then gave up points -- awarded on challenge -- when Vynnyk hit a counter lift. That made her wary and more precise with her attacks after that.

"I thought that that was what she was aiming for," Onishi said. "I had practiced stopping it. I knew if I used my hand fighting and feints well, I could definitely get the points. Up to the end, as I was dealing with that, I thought to keep penetrating."

After adding another takedown, Onishi thwarted a reverse counter lift to score 4 points and land Vynnyk on her back, where the Japanese met little resistance in securing the fall.

While Onishi relished reaching the pinnacle on the senior level, she has set her sites even higher -- the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"It was really a fun tournament," Onishi said. "I had always been longed to be here. But this has not been my dream, it is the Olympics. Aiming for that, I have been told this is just a stage along the way. I am glad I could clear this stage.

"I will keep on working to get to Los Angeles. There will be various things that come up, but I will stay focused so that I can stand on the highest step of the podium in Los Angeles."

Kyong Ryong OH (PRK)Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) added a world title to her Asian title. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Unlike Onishi, Oh encountered little difficulty in blowing away Verbina and adding the world gold to the Asian one she won in March in Amman.

"When I won the Asian and World Championships, I felt that all the tough training and hard work had finally paid off," Oh said.

Oh, also the Asian silver medalist in 2024, opened with a single-leg takedown, then reeled off three trap-arm rolls for a quick 8-0 lead. Another takedown attempt resulted in both wrestlers in a switch position, and Oh eventually gained control to end the match at 2:50.

"I wanted to show all the skills I’ve been training for in the best way possible," she said. "I thought that if I became a champion, I could make my father proud and bring a smile to his face. He was overjoyed and celebrated our victory in the international competitions, which made us recognized everywhere."

Oh joined Yong-Mi PAK (PRK), who won the 53kg gold in Nur-Sultan in 2019, as the lone women to win golds for DPR Korea. Her victory came a day after Chongsong HAN (PRK) won the freestyle 65kg gold, the country's first in that style since 2014.

Andreea ANA (ROU)The two bronze medalists at 55kg -- Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), left, and Andreea ANA (ROU). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Ana claims elusive bronze at 55kg

Andreea ANA (ROU), a three-time European champion making her seventh trip to a World Championships or Olympics, finally made it onto the medal podium.

The 24-year-old Ana secured an elusive bronze medal at 55kg, clinching a 6-3 victory over Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB) in a late scramble that had to be sorted out after the final buzzer.

Leading 2-1, with all of the points scored on the activity clock, Ana and Sanz Verdecia both gained 2-point exposures in a flurry that ended with the Cuban on top. But Ana reached back and flung Sanz Verdecia to the mat just as time expired for a final 2 that was confirmed on challenge.

Japan picked up the other 55kg bronze when Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), winner of the world U20 title at 57kg last year, finished up a 10-0 victory over Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) with 33 seconds left.

Uchida opened the scoring with a 4-point counter to a throw attempt in the first period, then methodically scored three takedowns to secure the bronze in her senior world debut.

At 59kg, Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL) rallied to an 8-4 victory over Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW), while Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) won the other bronze with a second-period fall of Othelie HOEIE (NOR).

Togtokh, second at the Mongolia Ranking Series event in May, had given up a go-ahead takedown with :43 left when she quickly reversed, then gut wrenched Sidelnikova over for a 6-4 lead. She added a takedown just before the buzzer.

Beauregard was trailing 2-0 in the second period when she scored a takedown, then turned Hoeie over and secured the fall in 4:30.

Day 4 Results

Women's Wrestling

50kg
SEMIFINAL: Myonggyong WON (PRK) df. Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN), 3-2
SEMIFINAL: Yu ZHANG (CHN) df. Munkhnar BYAMBASUREN (MGL) by Fall, 4:22 (9-0)

55kg (18 entries)
GOLD: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) df. Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) by TF, 10-0, 2:50

BRONZE: Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN) df. Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) by TF, 10-0, 5:26
BRONZE: Andreea ANA (ROU) df. Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB), 6-3

57kg
SEMIFINAL: Helen MAROULIS (USA) df. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) by Fall, 3:11 (5-0)
SEMIFINAL: Il Sim SON (PRK) df. Kexin HONG (CHN) by TF, 12-2, 3:55

59kg (22 entries)
GOLD: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. Maria VYNNYK (URK) by Fall, 5:51 (17-5)

BRONZE: Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL) df. Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW), 8-4
BRONZE: Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) df. Othelie HOEIE (NOR) by Fall, 4:30 (4-2)

65kg
SEMIFINAL: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Irina RINGACI (MDA) by TF, 10-0, 4:27
SEMIFINAL: Alina KASABIEVA (UWW) df. Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL) by TF, 13-3, 3:32

76kg
SEMIFINAL: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), 10-5
SEMIFINAL: Genesis REASCO (ECU) df. Milaimy MARIN (CUB), 5-3