#WrestleAthens

U17 World Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

ATHENS, Greece (July 18) -- Eight years after it last hosted a World U17 Championships, Athens is gearing up for the next.

From July 28 to August 2, the Greek capital will be home to almost 700 wrestlers who try to win world title at the U17 weight class.

Greco-Roman will kick-off proceedings of the tournament which will be held in two-day format. Women's Wrestling will be next before Freestyle closes the competition.

For the detailed schedule, refer to U17 World Championships 2025, Athens Schedule.

Note: The entries are subject to change 72 hours before the draw of respective weight classes. For latest entries and brackets, refer to UWW Arena

Freestyle

45kg
Youcef BOUKHALFA (ALG)
Levik AVETISYAN (ARM)
Sadig ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Stanimir SLAVOV (BUL)
Yongqiang HUANG (CHN)
Saba MINDIASHVILI (GEO)
Alexandros SERETIDIS (GRE)
SHIVAM (IND)
Parsa TAHMASBI (IRI)
Tamir SHIRMAMEDOV (ISR)
Riku FURUSAWA (JPN)
Bakdaulet AGABEK (KAZ)
Arnur NURSAIDOV (KGZ)
Eyup CEYLAN (TUR)
Volodymyr YATEL (UKR)
Keegan BASSETT (USA)
Ibragim VELIULLOV (UWW)
Mirjalol MUKAMMILOV (UZB)

48kg
Anis BOUGUERRA (ALG)
Davit BALEYAN (ARM)
Ravan HASANZADE (AZE)
Grozdan PETKOV (BUL)
Yuzheng HE (CHN)
Giorgi NARIMANIDZE (GEO)
Angelos KAMAGIANNIS (GRE)
SHIVAM (IND)
Sina BOUSTANI (IRI)
Masamune USHIMADO (JPN)
Sabyrzhan RAKHATOV (KAZ)
Dovudbek BAKHADIROV (KGZ)
Daniel NEGRU (MDA)
Attila HEGEDUS (SVK)
Sadik ATESOGULLARI (TUR)
Nazar KAPLUN (UKR)
Ariah MILLS (USA)
Islam RABADANOV (UWW)
Makar MARKOVICH (UWW)
Jakhongir TULKUNOV (UZB)

51kg
Makaya KATENDI (ANG)
Mher HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Ramal MIRHUSEYNOV (AZE)
Georgi SPASOV (BUL)
Jonrex CASA (CAN)
Xiyi LIANG (CHN)
Samvel ABRAHAMYAN (ESP)
Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO)
Michail KOKOLOGIANNIS (GRE)
Dhanraj JAMNIK (IND)
Sina ORDOU (IRI)
Haruku SHIINA (JPN)
Danael ABDYKASSYM (KAZ)
Sadyr KAIYPBEKOV (KGZ)
Serghei CAMBUR (MDA)
Cruz LITTLE (PUR)
Laurentiu FLOREA (ROU)
Bugra KAVAK (TUR)
Robert ALOIEV (UKR)
Samuel SANCHEZ (USA)
Dzhamal BAKAEV (UWW)
Dzianis SHPARTAU (UWW)
Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB)

55kg
Abderrezak CHENINI (ALG)
Armen PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Ruslan ALIZADA (AZE)
Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL)
Aaharen PIRANAVAN (CAN)
Chengzhuang MA (CHN)
Jovanni TOVAR (COL)
Gabriel GAMARNIK (GEO)
Ioannis KESIDIS (GRE)
Jaiveer SINGH (IND)
Reza BARARI (IRI)
Jinnosuke OKONOGI (JPN)
Ibrahim YSKAKBEK (KAZ)
Zhakshylyk BOROBAEV (KGZ)
Dan BULGARU (MDA)
Pavlo ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Nathaniel LYTTLE (PUR)
David MILITARU (ROU)
Jyun JHONG (TPE)
Kamil GOKCE (TUR)
Ivan BEZUHLYI (UKR)
Greyton BURNETT (USA)
Chingis SARYGLAR (UWW)
Hleb PIATROU (UWW)
Abdumalik JALOLDINOV (UZB)

60kg
Hamlet ANTONYAN (ARM)
Hasan HASANOV (AZE)
Kaloyan STAEV (BUL)
Nathan NASH (CAN)
Ao LI (CHN)
Iakovos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Pavlos NTIANTIADIS (GRE)
SITENDER (IND)
Arian MEHRALIZADEH (IRI)
Denis KODZHAK (ISR)
Rihito HIURA (JPN)
Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Ulukman ZHEKSHENKULOV (KGZ)
Leonid STARSELSCHI (MDA)
Sufjan SINANI (MKD)
Witold PAWLIK (POL)
Frederick BACHMANN (PUR)
Stefan PUSCAS (ROU)
Juan GROENEWALD (RSA)
Emre BARAN (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)
Ashton BESMER (USA)
Yahor DAROSHKA (UWW)
Tundzhai VERDIEV (UWW)
Fakhriddin NASRIDDINOV (UZB)

65kg
Avet BOYMUSHAKYAN (ARM)
Huseyn ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Seyko KALINOV (BUL)
Liam GORTON (CAN)
Changxin WU (CHN)
Nikos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Arshavir DARAKHSHANI (FIN)
Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO)
Dario FISCHIETTI (GER)
Konstantinos MICHAILIDIS (GRE)
Gourav PUNIA (IND)
Morteza HAJ (IRI)
Nikita KOZICH (ISR)
Kodai IWASAKI (JPN)
Yeraly ASKERBEK (KAZ)
Adisbek ALTYNBEKOV (KGZ)
Maxim DIMOV (MDA)
Erdenedalai LKHAGVA OCHIR (MGL)
Michal Antoni MICHNIEWICZ (POL)
Yandro SOTO (PUR)
Istvan NAGY (ROU)
Ismail MERTKOLLU (TUR)
Ivan ZALISKO (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Kiryl PAULIUCHENKA (UWW)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UWW)
Shokhiddin ALIEV (UZB)

71kg
Yeghishe MOSESYAN (ARM)
Rashad VEYSALOV (AZE)
Aleks GROZDANOV (BUL)
Junfeng QU (CHN)
Kayden HANLON (GBR)
Koba GOGUADZE (GEO)
Jason KEIL (GER)
Ektoras SIZO (GRE)
Zeteny TUGYI (HUN)
Kapil DAHIYA (IND)
Arsham VAHABIAN (IRI)
Satoya KOBAYASHI (JPN)
Nurtay NAROV (KAZ)
Aibek ERALIEV (KGZ)
Chirill PODSEVALNICOV (MDA)
Ismail ERZANUKAEV (POL)
Catalin MINEA (ROU)
Ayubjon BOZORZODA (TJK)
Ali ESENOV (TKM)
Omer GUL (TUR)
Ihor OLIINYK (UKR)
Jayden JAMES (USA)
Artsiom BOLSUN (UWW)
Zubair BAGILOV (UWW)
Farrukhbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB)

80kg
Vache ASLANYAN (ARM)
Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Valentin ILIEV (BUL)
Beau CHARTRAND (CAN)
Enqin ZENG (CHN)
Levan CHERTKOEV (FRA)
Marshall EVERETT (GBR)
Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO)
Abdurrahim SEKMEN (GER)
Konstantinos MOURTZILAKIS (GRE)
Noel SZECSENYI (HUN)
Saurabh YADAV (IND)
Parsa KARAMI (IRI)
Haruta SHIOTSUKA (JPN)
Dinmukhammed KASSYMBEK (KAZ)
Ruslan ASANOV (KGZ)
Ivan PASLARI (MDA)
Buyantogtokh BYAMBADORJ (MGL)
Mateusz ZAWADZKI (POL)
Arslan AZYMBERDIYEV (TKM)
Berat ERTURK (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)
Aaron STEWART (USA)
Issa ZANGIEV (UWW)
Yahor DASHKEVICH (UWW)
Bunyod RUFATOV (UZB)

92kg
Abderrahmane MEZITI (ALG)
Avet ENGOIAN (ARM)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Georgi GEORGIEV (BUL)
Harjot SHERGILL (CAN)
Jiyu WANG (CHN)
Jose PEREZ (COL)
Elguja LOMIDZE (GEO)
Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE)
Levente SZIKSZAI (HUN)
Arjun RUHIL (IND)
Amirali ALIZADEH (IRI)
Sota YAMANAKA (JPN)
Beibarys YERGALI (KAZ)
Arnas JOKIMCIUS (LTU)
Eugen DOHOTER (MDA)
Saruul Erdene ERDENETSOGT (MGL)
Franco LATORRE (PUR)
Magor LORINCZ (ROU)
Said RIZA (TUR)
Samir IBISHOV (UKR)
Tanner HODGINS (USA)
David DZEBISOV (UWW)

110kg
Laert MOVSESYAN (ARM)
Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE)
Stefan STEFANOV (BUL)
Udaypartap BILLEN (CAN)
Ruijie LI (CHN)
Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO)
Georgios MANAGKANTZE (GRE)
Gyoergy JUHASZ (HUN)
LACKY (IND)
Amirhossein NAGHDALIPOUR (IRI)
Hanto HAYASHI (JPN)
Riza IZAKHAR (KAZ)
Akzhol BARPYBEKOV (KGZ)
Carlos CABRALES (MEX)
Piotr GRELA (POL)
Yu CHUANG (TPE)
Zekeriya DOGAN (TUR)
Mykyta KRASNOKUTSKYI (UKR)
Alexander TAYLOR (USA)
Magomedrasul OMAROV (UWW)
Mikita TKACHYK (UWW)
Bakhrombek RASHIDOV (UZB)

KAJAL (IND)KAJAL (IND), a world champ at 69kg, will be at 73kg in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Polina TIMSINA (EST)
Finja STRAUCH (GER)
Preeti YADAV (IND)
An NAKANISHI (JPN)
Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ)
Valia HARSAN (ROU)
Zehra OZDEMIR (TUR)
Emma TALPA (UKR)
Maisie ELLIOTT (USA)
Daria MASLENNIKOVA (UWW)
Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB)

43kg
Mariza NASU (CAN)
Xin HUANG (CHN)
Isabela GARNICA (COL)
Mareim ABDELAAL (EGY)
Aikaterini KATIFORI (GRE)
Reka TELEKI (HUN)
RACHANA (IND)
Sayuki HIBARINO (JPN)
Inzhu BAKKOZHA (KAZ)
Aiza TAALAIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Natalia TERZI (MDA)
Liva CELIK (TUR)
Martina MODNA (UKR)
Madison HEALEY (USA)
Nurana ASADLI (UWW)
Raniia RAKHMANOVA (UWW)
Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB)

46kg
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Dayana STOYCHEVA (BUL)
Yuting YUAN (CHN)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Janka SILLEI (HUN)
Kasish GURJAR (IND)
Hanano OYA (JPN)
Shynaiy MAKEN (KAZ)
Aiana NIIAZBEKOVA (KGZ)
Emilia STRACHOTA (POL)
Elanur BERBER (TUR)
Kamila KUCHMA (UKR)
Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA)
Anastasiya BIALUHA (UWW)
Irina TSYDEEVA (UWW)

49kg
Kamryn MASON (CAN)
Xiaoqing MO (CHN)
Sheila MONDRAGO (ESP)
Dimitra SKOUVAKI (GRE)
Komal VERMA (IND)
Yu KATAOKA (JPN)
Saniya SOLTANGALI (KAZ)
Azema KALIDINOVA (KGZ)
Elsa NIKOCI (KOS)
Ruslana CARAPETIANT (MDA)
Kinga JANUSZEK (POL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Yu Hsi CHENG (TPE)
Melike KOPARAN (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Morgan TURNER (USA)
Anhelina BURKINA (UWW)
Polina BOCHKAREVA (UWW)
Mashkhura ABDUMUSAEVA (UZB)

53kg
Dounia ZITOUNI (ALG)
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Vasilena ILIEVA (BUL)
Jiaqing JIANG (CHN)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Nadiia ZHOLTIKOVA (ESP)
Josefine WIDMANN (GER)
Maria VANDOULAKI VANDOULA (GRE)
Mariia ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
SAARIKA (IND)
Naomi LIUZZI (ITA)
Rion OGAWA (JPN)
Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ)
Baktygul ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Kanita SPAHIJA (KOS)
Julia GIBALSKA (POL)
Emma A PEAKE (PUR)
Miriam MISAKOVA (SVK)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Yuliia HOLHOVSKA (UKR)
Epenesa ELISON (USA)
Margarita IARYGINA (UWW)
Kseniya KRYSHTOFIK (UWW)

57kg
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Yasmim NEPER OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Stefani LAZAROVA (BUL)
Xiaohan XU (CHN)
Oona PEKKARINEN (FIN)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Zoi KAIDOPOULOU (GRE)
MONI (IND)
Sophie RITTER (ITA)
Sayuki TANADA (JPN)
Madkhiya USMANOVA (KAZ)
Albina SALYMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Marta MANKOWSKA (POL)
Aneishka SANTOS (PUR)
Oana DUMITRU (ROU)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Ling En LI (TPE)
Delal KADIR (TUR)
Ivanna LUKIANENKO (UKR)
Emma BACON (USA)
Alina BAROEVA (UWW)
Sofiya ZUYEVA (UWW)

61kg
Sophia MERANER (AUT)
Andrea NISEVA (BUL)
Natalie WOJCIECHOWSKI (CAN)
Zichen DONG (CHN)
Lana PEZIC (CRO)
Graciela ENINGO (ESP)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Ioanna XENIDOU (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
YASHITA (IND)
Waka AWANO (JPN)
Zhaidar MUKAT (KAZ)
Akylai CHYNYBAEVA (KGZ)
Sara ROBLES (MEX)
Nadia KOCIA (POL)
Paola RAMIREZ (PUR)
Sophia PAIUS (ROU)
Yu Ting LIU (TPE)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Oleksandra MALKOVA (UKR)
Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)
Varvara ALISEYENKA (UWW)
Zalina TOTROVA (UWW)

65kg
Selsabil ROUABAH (ALG)
Luoji WANG (CHN)
Feenja HERMANN (GER)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Emese CZEGLEDI (HUN)
Ashvini VISHNOI (IND)
Mitsuki OKAWA (JPN)
Nuraiym SAIAKHMET (KAZ)
Manzura ZHUSUEVA (KGZ)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Anujin ERKHEMBAATAR (MGL)
Zuzanna HORBIK (POL)
Sophia ANASTASE (ROU)
Kiymet TEZCAN (TUR)
Sofiia ALFOROVA (UKR)
Violette LASURE (USA)
Anastasiya KOMANAVA (UWW)
Lilia ERMOKHINA (UWW)
Mukhayyo RAKHIMJONOVA (UZB)

69kg
Mayara NEPER OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Min ZHAO (CHN)
Ayla SAHIN (GER)
Elli SEITARIDOU (GRE)
Reka BERECZKI (HUN)
MANISHA (IND)
Mao TERAOKA (JPN)
Shakhizada DAULETZHAN (KAZ)
Aiana ASAMALIKOVA (KGZ)
Linda MARTINEZ (MEX)
Gereltuya AMARSAIKHAN (MGL)
Aurelia GODZINSKA (POL)
Zeynep SUCU (TUR)
Solomiia PETRIV (UKR)
Cassandra GONZALES (USA)
Ulyana LAPANIK (UWW)
Zukhra KAZULAEVA (UWW)
Dilrabo DULLIEVA (UZB)

73kg
Jolina HEALEY (CAN)
Wenjin QIU (CHN)
Anna GODELASHVILI (GEO)
Polyxeni CHRYSIKAKI (GRE)
Bianka BARANY (HUN)
KAJAL (IND)
Ichine TATESHITA (JPN)
Gulnur MAKSATKYZY (KAZ)
Meruert OKTIABREVA (KGZ)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Malak SABRY (MAR)
Deborah GARCIA (MEX)
Uranzaya TSERENNYAM (MGL)
Claudia MANTOG (ROU)
Eylem ENGIN (TUR)
Khrystyna DEMCHUK (UKR)
Ella Jo POALILLO (USA)
Amina MUSAEVA (UWW)
Sofiya AUCHAROVA (UWW)

Aslanbek KOSTOEV (UWW)Aslanbek KOSTOEV (UWW), world champion at 45kg, will be at 51kg in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM)
Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE)
Danimir YORDANOV (BUL)
Juntao LUO (CHN)
Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO)
Stefanos MEMTSAS (GRE)
Yash KAMANNA (IND)
Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI)
Yuta MIYAGAWA (JPN)
Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ)
Nurkerim KUMARBEKOV (KGZ)
Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA)
Mustafa GUVEN (TUR)
Tymur MAHARRAMOV (UKR)
Thales SILVA (USA)
Ismail BALBEK (UWW)
Javokhir SHARIFBOEV (UZB)

48kg
Martin MANJIKYAN (ARM)
Gurban MAJNUNOV (AZE)
Stanislav IVANOV (BUL)
Fuhua KANG (CHN)
Giorgi MUNTCHAVA (GEO)
Nikolaos ZINISA (GRE)
Aditya JADHAV (IND)
Amirmohammad HAJI (IRI)
Kaisei YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Nurdaulet KUMARULY (KAZ)
Zhanarbek SEIITOV (KGZ)
Baris SOYLU (TUR)
Artem KOLOS (UKR)
Michael RUNDELL (USA)
Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (UWW)
Turpal SAIDULAEV (UWW)
Bunyod HASANOV (UZB)

51kg
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Hikmat HAGVERDIYEV (AZE)
Kaloyan BORISOV (BUL)
Zihao ZHANG (CHN)
Mohamed ELTAYEB (EGY)
Giorgi AZNAURISHVILI (GEO)
Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE)
Keve KOVACS (HUN)
Yuvraj KAMANNA (IND)
Amir HAJIVAND (IRI)
Nikko ADACHI (JPN)
Daniyar BAZARBEK (KAZ)
Islam KURBANOV (KGZ)
Abu SAGA (NOR)
Andrei PELEAN (ROU)
Polat KARADENIZ (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)
Carter SHIN (USA)
Aslanbek KOSTOEV (UWW)
Otabek TURSUNOV (UZB)

55kg
Kheireddine GHAOUAR (ALG)
Meruzhan MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Nihat BAHMANOV (AZE)
Lavozier WADIK (BRA)
Antoan TSVETANOV (BUL)
Zongyao WU (CHN)
Mohamed SHAABAN (EGY)
Magomed VARAEV (FRA)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Grigorios EFTHYMIADIS (GRE)
Balint KAZINCZY (HUN)
Aditya GUPTA (IND)
Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI)
Emanuel ISRAILOV (ISR)
Naru SEMBA (JPN)
Nurali ASKAR (KAZ)
Alkham ABDIRASULOV (KGZ)
Patrick MOCAN CROITORU (ROU)
Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK)
Osman OZDEMIR (TUR)
Rakhman GAMIDOV (UKR)
Alexander PIERCE (USA)
Danil LOZHKIN (UWW)
Ivan KALENKA (UWW)
Sadriddin TULKINBOEV (UZB)

60kg
Wail BEN AISSA (ALG)
Zaven MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Ali NAZAROV (AZE)
Zhivko HINKOV (BUL)
Aoyu HAO (CHN)
Roko CURIC (CRO)
Raimond PROUS (EST)
Lazare GOGOTISHVILI (GEO)
Mika LABES (GER)
Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE)
Imre JUHASZ (HUN)
RITESH (IND)
Abolfazl ZARE (IRI)
Riccardo DELLE CAVE (ITA)
Kodai HIHARA (JPN)
Damir AKAN (KAZ)
Amangeldi YSAKBAEV (KGZ)
Emilis NEVERAUSKAS (LTU)
Vlad DUMINICA (MDA)
Zeus GONZALEZ (MEX)
Raffaele HIGHT (NED)
Przemyslaw ANDRYCHOWSKI (POL)
Alexandru LUNGU (ROU)
Joel GAECHTER (SUI)
Amirjon OBIDOV (TJK)
Abdul ARSLANTAS (TUR)
Denys SEREDIN (UKR)
William DETAR (USA)
Ivan KOZLOV (UWW)
Kiryl VASKO (UWW)
Humoyun ERKINOV (UZB)

65kg
Janes NAZARYAN (ARM)
Huseyn ISGANDAROV (AZE)
Kristiyan PETKOV (BUL)
GAMAWANGDUI (CHN)
Luka SEVEREC (CRO)
Kyliane EDDOUH (FRA)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Iason MARGARITIDIS (GRE)
ANUJ (IND)
Abolfazl Ali SHIRI (IRI)
Yehonatan NEMSADZE (ISR)
Alessio ARANCIO (ITA)
Yutaro OMORI (JPN)
Dosbol SHAMIL (KAZ)
Adilet OMURBEKOV (KGZ)
Kernius KURMILEVICIUS (LTU)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Mate VAN OS (NED)
Andreas FJELDSTAD (NOR)
Julian IWASZKO (POL)
Luka ZELIC (SRB)
Tim SCHREIBER (SUI)
Shohijahon BOBOEV (TJK)
Mesut SOGUT (TUR)
Yehor TARASENKO (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Marat MARGIEV (UWW)
Xusan GIEZIDINOV (UZB)

71kg
Firas HAMATA (ALG)
Roman USOYAN (ARM)
David SCHOBER (AUT)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Fernando BENCKE BRANDAO (BRA)
Radoslav PERYANSKI (BUL)
Yingjie JIAN (CHN)
Miscael NKUNGA (COD)
Bozidar GRBINICEK (CRO)
Vaclav SATRAPA (CZE)
Mardo AERMUS (EST)
Matias ONNENLEHTO (FIN)
Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO)
Dimitrios SOULIS (GRE)
Imre KOLOMPAR (HUN)
VINIT (IND)
Hossein KAZEMI (IRI)
Edgar DAVIDOV (ISR)
Edoardo VITALE (ITA)
Shu SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Marlen MEIRBEKULY (KAZ)
Aktilek SADIROV (KGZ)
Ignat MEICO (MDA)
Heder SALDANA (MEX)
Kacper GOLONKA (POL)
Adrian SEICA (ROU)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Alisher RUZIMADOV (TJK)
Emirhan CAKIR (TUR)
Serhii YARCHENKO (UKR)
Dominic WILSON (USA)
Kaimaraz ARBAKHANOV (UWW)
Zakhar TSERASHKOU (UWW)
Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB)

80kg
Hayk MEKHRIYAN (ARM)
Christopher SZENTKIRALYI (AUT)
Nijat YEYLAGALIYEV (AZE)
Miguel XAVIER (BRA)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Yuxiang TENG (CHN)
David VILK (CRO)
Stepan DANHEL (CZE)
Robert KOVALKOV (EST)
Luka MARTIASHVILI (GEO)
Stefanos VASDEKIS (GRE)
John SAENZ (GUA)
Dominik KERTESZ (HUN)
Samarth GOVEKAR (IND)
Taha Javid NOURI (IRI)
Koan VALENTINI (ITA)
Sora TAHARA (JPN)
Mardanbek MAKHKAMBAYEV (KAZ)
Nurislam OSKONBAEV (KGZ)
Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU)
Szymon TREDER (POL)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK)
Ismail BEREKET (TUR)
Nestor BARAN (UKR)
Isai FERNANDEZ (USA)
Hleb DRAZHNIK (UWW)
Senik VARDANIAN (UWW)
Abdulaziz KHOLMIRZAEV (UZB)

92kg
Petros BAGHRAMYAN (ARM)
Niklas OEHLERER (AUT)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Raphael RODRIGUES (BRA)
Yanko DELCHEV (BUL)
Yang JIN (CHN)
Jose PEREZ (COL)
Andrija MIKULIC (CRO)
Vitezslav ZAK (CZE)
Youssef RAYA (EGY)
Mamuka BIDZINASHVILI (GEO)
Ioannis MOUTOUSIDIS (GRE)
Zsombor KORODI (HUN)
NITIN (IND)
Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Haruto KITO (JPN)
Adilet TOISHY (KAZ)
Nurbek ABDAMITOV (KGZ)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA)
Jose ESPARZA (MEX)
Tomasz MITAL (POL)
Ionut Erick PATRU (ROU)
Todor AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Zong Han WU (TPE)
Ahmet UZUN (TUR)
Tymur LARIN (UKR)
David CALKINS (USA)
Kanstantsin KASYAN (UWW)
Vadim DRAGUSHAN (UWW)
Fakhrikamol KOMILJONOV (UZB)

110kg
Khachik KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Rihad IBRAHIMLI (AZE)
Denis LAZAROV (BUL)
Hu Anshi NUERLEBIEKE (CHN)
Petr GRUBER (CZE)
Essam HUSSEIN (EGY)
Temuri SIMSIVE (GEO)
Maximilian LEO (GER)
Vasileios BOUNTOULIS (GRE)
HARDEEP (IND)
Yazdan Reza DELROUZ (IRI)
Taichi SATO (JPN)
Baktur SOVETKHAN (KAZ)
Umar ORMANOV (KGZ)
Angel GARCIA (MEX)
Mateusz TOMELKA (POL)
Vlad PETREAN (ROU)
Andrej SIMIC (SRB)
Aslan AGADADAYEV (TKM)
Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR)
Anatolii NOVACHENKO (UKR)
Alexander TAYLOR (USA)
Daniil MASLAKOU (UWW)
Dmitrii KOCHUROV (UWW)
Sayidamir NEMATOV (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Matsuyuki spoils Kagami's mat return; Morikawa downs Ishii

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 19) -- The buzzing that had barely died down from the epic clash of reigning world champions in the previous match turned to gasps when Paris Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI was dealt a shocking loss to spoil her return to competition.

Yasuha MATSUYUKI notched one of the biggest wins of her career, scoring a buzzer-beating takedown to defeat Kagami 4-2 in the women's 76kg final on the second day of the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Friday.

"I was continually finishing second, so I'm happy to finally win the championship," said Matsuyuki, a longtime fixture on the podium but whose lone previous title came in 2019.

Matsuyuki's victory overshadowed one of the most anticipated matches of the four-day tournament, in which world 65kg champion Miwa MORIKAWA moved up to 68kg and notched a well-earned 5-3 win over Ami ISHII, the reigning world champion in the weight class.

The national championship at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym carries with it additional perks, as it is also serving as the qualifier for the Asian Championships in April, and as one of two qualifiers for the Asian Games and World Championships in the fall.

Yasuha MATSUYUKIYasuha MATSUYUKI, left, fends off Paris Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI in the women's 76kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

The 26-year-old Matsuyuki has an added incentive to get to the Asian Games, as the event will be held in her native Aichi Prefecture. But getting there will likely mean having to repeat her victory over Kagami at the second domestic qualifier, the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in the late spring.

Whatever her fate, the three-time world age-group bronze medalist can always look back on pride at having defeated an Olympic champion, even if it was in the latter's first competition in 16 months.

"I focused doing what I wanted to do, and keeping the opponent from doing what they wanted to do. In the final in particular, my thought was to keep the points I give up to a minimum," said Matsuyuki, one-half of a set of twin sisters who have a long list of podium finishes at national competitions.

In the final, Kagami took a 2-0 lead into the second period after scoring a stepout while Matsuyuki was on the activity clock.

"When she got her second point, I thought that if I give up any more, that would really put me in a bind," Matsuyuki said. "Anyway, I didn't want to give up any more points. At the very end, I thought only of how to go ahead."

After cutting the gap with an activity point, Matsuyuki was trying to work for an opening as the clocked ticked down and Kagami put up a stiff resistance. Matsuyuki managed to secure a body lock from the side, which Kagami countered with a hard whizzer, leaving the two battling side-by-side on their knees.

Yasuha MATSUYUKIYasuha MATSUYUKI, top, completes the winning takedown in the final seconds of the women's 76kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

With time running out, Matsuyuki, using her decided height advantage, went over the top and slipped a grapevine in from the opposite side. From there, it was a matter of getting her arm out of the whizzer -- which she did with :01 on the clock to the shock of the crowd. The takedown was upheld on challenge, making the final score 4-2.

Asked what was going through her mind during the challenge, Matsuyuki replied, "When I got behind and got my arm out, the clock was still going, so I thought I would be alright."

Kagami, who had been aiming for her fourth career title and first since 2021, has gained quite a national following after her triumph in Paris, affably appearing on a wide range of TV variety shows.

"I'm sorry to everyone who came to support me," Kagami said. "I was thinking about defending the lead."

Miwa MORIKAWAReigning world champions Miwa MORIKAWA, left, and Ami ISHII battle in the women's 68kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

The clash between Morikawa and Ishii lived up to its billing, and portends a fierce competition all the way up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after both came up short of Paris.

"It's been awhile since I've competed at 68kg, but I decided to move up after the World Championships," Morikawa said. "I think this is a good first step toward Los Angeles."

Morikawa struck first, withstanding Ishii's underhook attack to score a stepout, gain an activity point, then counter a single-leg attempt to get behind for a takedown. Ishii gained a stepout herself to make it 4-1 at the break.

In the second period, Morikawa picked up another stepout, then survived a dicey predicament that could have been far worse. Ishii got in on a low single, which Morikawa countered by reaching to the side and grabbing a leg.

But Ishii managed to step over and pressured her leg into Morikawa's chest, which gained an exposure and put her dangerously close to a fall. Morikawa opted to keep hold of the leg and managed to squirm out of the situation, thus limiting Ishii to just two points.

"If I had let go of the leg, she might have been able to turn me a few times," Morikawa said. "I just tried to avoid the fall, and that kept it to two points."

Morikawa had lost to Ishii in two of three bouts between the two over a six-month span from late 2022 to mid-2023 in the qualifying process for Paris (in which Ishii eventually lost out to Nonoka OZAKI). She knows that she has not seen the last of her rival.

"I know she is a strong opponent," Morikawa said. "She is the world champion, and I had disappointed losses to her before and missed out on Paris.

"I kept believing that if I can give everything I have, the results will come. I do everything that needs to be done, just as my coach [four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO] tells me. Today the result was a victory, which is great, but with my win, it means my opponent is going to be training even harder. I have to do the same."

Taishi NARIKUNITaishi NARIKUNI, right, knocks Ryoma HOJO temporarily off balance during the Greco 72kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Narikuni emulates Tanabe, achieves Greco half of two-style double

In the tournament, Olympic weight classes are being competed over two days, while non-Olympic divisions are completed in a single day.

In a case of the latter, Taishi NARIKUNI joined Kaisei TANABE as a winner of a Greco title as part of their attempts to complete the first Greco-freestyle double in over 50 years.

Narikuni gained a second-period takedown that gave him a 3-1 victory over Ryoma HOJO in the 72kg final for his first Greco title at the Emperor's Cup.

"My mind is on tomorrow," Narikuni said when asked how he felt about his victory.

Having previously won the freestyle 70kg title in 2021, he joined a select group of wrestlers who have won titles in both styles over their careers.

But the 2022 world freestyle 70kg champion is looking to complete the double in the same tournament, when he competes in that weight class on Saturday. That hasn't been done since 1973.

In doing so, Narikuni would beat Tanabe to the punch. Tanabe won the Greco 63kg title on Thursday, but to complete the double, he needs a victory in the final at freestyle 65kg -- which won't be until Sunday.

Narikuni's ultimate goal is to win world titles in both styles -- his way of exceeding his mother, who was a two-time world champion. That has caused him to put immense pressure on himself.

"My value will only be recognized if I get it tomorrow," Narikuni said. "If I don't make it, entering this tournament will be meaningless."

Taizo YOSHIDATaizo YOSHIDA, right, gets a grip on Daisei ISOE, but is unable to complete the lift. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

In other finals, teen phenom Taizo YOSHIDA, a senior world bronze medalist at Greco 82kg, made a successful move up to 87kg, defeating Nippon Sports Science University teammate Daisei ISOE 6-1.

The weight difference might have been seen in Yoshida's inability to complete a lift, but he was never in danger of losing after combining three stepouts and a go-behind takedown for his second senior national title.

At freestyle 61kg, former world bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA won his first Emepror's Cup title in four years with a 14-4 victory over world U23 bronze medalist Akito MUKAIDA.

In a rematch of the final from the Meiji Cup last June won by Hasegawa, he gave up a pair of takedowns in the first period to trail 4-0 going into the second. But fate dealt Mukaida a heavy blow, as Hasegawa caught him with an ankle-low single, then went right to the lace lock. Mukaida appeared to suffer a knee injury as Hasegawa easily rolled him six times.

Teenager Yamato OGAWA, a 2023 world U17 champion, became the sixth different champion in six years at freestyle 57kg, overcoming a five-point deficit in the second period to defeat Fuga SASAKI 6-5.

Ogawa's comeback featured a 4-point arm throw as he won in a weight class that was missing, among others, the U.S.-based pair of defending champion Rin SAKAMOTO and former world 61kg champion Masanosuke ONO.

Arash YOSHIDAArash YOSHIDA completes a takedown to the back against Toyoki HAMADA in their freestyle 97kg semifinal. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Yoshida powers into final

In Olympic weight classes that were run up to the semifinals, rising star Arash YOSHIDA set himself up for a three-peat at freestyle 97kg by advancing to Saturday's final.

With entries limited in the division he now dominates, the 21-year-old Yoshida received a forfeit that put him directly into the semifinals, where he demolished Toyoki HAMADA by fall after building an 11-1 lead.

In the final, Yoshida will face high schooler Noah LEIBOWITZ in a rematch of the gold-medal match at the Meiji Cup that Yoshida won by fall. The match will be sort of a proxy fight between Iran and the United States, given that their fathers are natives of those wrestling powerhouses, respectively.

A victory would cap a breakout year for Yoshida, highlighted by his bronze medal at the senior World Championships in Zagreb. He also won the senior Asian and world U23 titles.

Meanwhile, the irrepressible Sohsuke TAKATANI, who won 12 consecutive titles over four freestyle weight classes from 74kg to 92kg starting in 2011, earned a shot at his first in three years by making the final at 86kg.

Takatani, now 36 and the head coach at Takushoku University, edged Tatsuya SHIRAI 2-1 in the semifinals, with all of the points scored on the activity clock. In the final, he will take on Kodai TAKAHASHI, an 8-2 winner over Natsura OKAZAWA.

Ironically, both Takatani and Takahashi have seen their younger brothers outshine them of late. Daichi TAKATANI won the 74kg silver medal in Paris, while Kota TAKAHASHI struck gold at the Zagreb worlds in the same weight class.

At women's 53kg, defending champion Moe KIYOOKA dealt Tokyo Olympic champion Mayu SHIDOCHI another setback in her return from a hiatus for marriage and childbirth, scoring takedowns in both periods in a 5-2 victory in the semifinals.

In the final, she will face 2023 world U23 55kg champion Umi IMAI, a 5-0 winner over Saki YUMIYA. Kiyooka will be aiming for a fourth straigt national crown, having won back-to-back at 55kg in 2022 and 2023.

World champion Haruna MURAYAMA OKUNO is skipping the tournament.

An enticing final was set up at Greco 60kg, in which Yu SHIOTANI, a former world bronze medalist and the 2021 Emperor's Cup champion at 55kg, will face current world U23 champion Koto GOMI.

Shiotani, a two-time Asian champion who won the Tirana Ranking Series event in February, advanced with a 5-2 victory over Takuma NAKASHIMA. Gomi knocked off 2023 Asian Games silver medalist and three-time former champion Ayata SUZUKI 9-4.

Day 2 Results

Freestyle

57kg (18 entries)
GOLD: Yamato OGAWA df. Fuga SASAKI, 6-5

BRONZE: Kento YUMIYA df. Kentaro KAWANO by TF, 11-0, 1:48
BRONZE: Rikuto NAGAI df. Yamato FURUSAWA, 8-4

61kg (20 entries)
GOLD: Toshihiro HASEGAWA df. Akito MUKAIDA by TF, 14-4, 4:51
BRONZE: Shosuke TAKASUGI df. Atsushi KATO, 2-1
BRONZE: Meiryu AKAMINE df. Kodai OGAWA, 4-0

SF 1: Toshihiro HASEGAWA df. Atsushi KATO by Fall, 2:59 (7-0)
SF 2: Akito MUKAIDA df. Kodai OGAWA, 9-4

86kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Kodai TAKAHASHI df. Natsura OKAZAWA, 8-2
SF 2: Sohsuke TAKATANI df. Tatsuya SHIRAI, 2-1

97kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Arash YOSHIDA df. Toyoki HAMADA by Fall, 2:07 (11-1)
SF 2: Noah LEIBOWITZ df. Keita KOBAYASHI by TF, 10-0, :32

125kg (10 entries)
GOLD: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Taira SONODA, 3-0

BRONZE: Hosei FUJITA df. Akinari ORIYAMA, 4-0
BRONZE: Hibiki ITO df. Yuta MITSUHASHI by TF, 10-0, 1:22

Greco-Roman

60kg (16 entries)
SF 1: Yu SHIOTANI df. Takuma NAKASHIMA, 5-2
SF 2: Koto GOMI df. Ayata SUZUKI, 9-4

72kg (18 entries)
GOLD: Taishi NARIKUNI df. Ryoma HOJO, 3-1
BRONZE: Rintaro SOGABE df. Takara FUKUSAWA, 6-0
BRONZE: Takeru KOZUKA df. Rei NAGAMATSU, 10-6

SF 1: Taishi NARIKUNI df. Takara FUKUSAWA by Fall, 1:51 (4-0)
SF 2: Ryoma HOJO df. Takeru KOZUKA by TF, 9-0, 2:01

87kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Taizo YOSHIDA df. Daisei ISOE, 6-1

BRONZE: Genki YAHAGI df. Takahiro MURAYAMA, 4-3
BRONZE: Chihiro MOTOHASHI df. Takahiro INAMOTO by Fall, 2:02 (6-1)

97kg (16 entries)
GOLD: Takahiro TSURUTA df. Yuri NAKAZATO, 1-1

BRONZE: Atsuki CHIDA df. Koki MATSUMOTO, 3-2
BRONZE: Kanta SHIOKAWA df. Sorato NAKAZAWA, 7-5

130kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Yuta NARA df. Ayumu IWASAWA by TF, 9-0, 2:07
SF 2: Shion OBATA df. Sota OKUMURA, 3-3

Women's Wrestling

53kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Moe KIYOOKA df. Mayu SHIDOCHI, 5-2
SF 2: Umi IMAI df. Saki YUMIYA, 5-0

59kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Sena NAGAMOTO df. Sae NANJO, 3-2
BRONZE: Konami ONO df. Sae NOGUCHI by Inj. Def.
BRONZE: Yuri KOSHIBA df. Hiyori MOTOKI, 6-4

SF 1: Sena NAGAMOTO df. Sae NOGUCHI by TF, 10-0, 3:10
SF 2: Sae NANJO df. Hiyori MOTOKI by TF, 10-0, 1:06

68kg (8 entries)
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA df. Ami ISHII, 5-3

BRONZE: Momoko KITADE df. Kaede MATSUYAMA, 5-3
BRONZE: Ray HOSHINO df. Rua YOKOYAMA by Fall, 1:51 (8-0)

76kg (8 entries)
GOLD: Yasuha MATSUYUKI df. Yuka KAGAMI, 4-2

BRONZE: Nodoka YAMAMOTO df. Sakura NAKANO by Fall, 2:08 (10-0)
BRONZE: Mahiru FUJITA df. Makoto KOMADA by TF, 10-0, 3:50