#WrestleIstanbul

U17 World Championships entries

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Türkiye (July 24) — Young stars will assemble in Istanbul beginning next week for the U17 World Championships, the first of the five in different age-groups.

Monday will see Greco-Roman action and it will be on Iran to lose the team title which they won in Rome, Italy last year.

The US, team title winners in 2022, will look to continue its success in World Championships. It will be challenged by India, winners of 2021. Azerbaijan, which almost won the tittle last year, will be in focus as well along with Iran and AIN teams.

Japan is sending a strong women’s wrestling squad and like always will be the favorite to win the team gold.

It will be interesting to see if India, which has taking huge strides in women’s wrestling in recent times, will be able to challenge Japan or not like it does at the continental level.

The U17 World Championships will be live on uww.org and the UWW App with all the bouts, highlights, interviews, news and photos.

 

Freestyle

45kg
Agashirin AGASHERINOV (AIN)
Gor BUNIATYAN (ARM)
Jafar JAFAROV (AZE)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Dhanraj SHIRKE (IND)
Ahora Farhad KHATERI (IRI)
Atsuki MATSUURA (JPN)
Nurmukhamed TURDALY (KAZ)
Daniel NEGRU (MDA)
Buyanjargal BATMUNKH (MGL)
Frederick BACHMANN JR (PUR)
Azymberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Ebubekir GUR (TUR)
Ignacio VILLASENOR (USA)
Bobojon IBADULLAEV (UZB)

48kg
Ali SULTANOV (AIN)
Yahor MIKHAILAU (AIN)
Mihran SLOYAN (ARM)
Bashir VERDIYEV (AZE)
Gegi ONIANI (GEO)
RUPESH (IND)
Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI)
Lior SHMULKO (ISR)
Yamato FURUSAWA (JPN)
Yeraly ZHETPISSOV (KAZ)
Zakhidzhon MIRZAEV (KGZ)
Enkhkhuslen TUSHIGBAYAR (MGL)
Oliwier ORZECHOWSKI (POL)
Joseph BACHMANN (PUR)
Marian RUSU (ROU)
Dominick AOUN (RSA)
Efe KARATAS (TUR)
Paul KENNY (USA)
Abdumalik JALOLDINOV (UZB) 

51kg
Usman INDIRBAEV (AIN)
Sasha PETROSYAN (ARM)
Kristian CIKEL (AUT)
Sadraddin HASANOV (AZE)
Giorgi MAISURADZE (GEO)
ROHIT (IND)
Amirmohammad NAVAZI (IRI)
Yamato OGAWA (JPN)
Olzhas ZHAUYNBAYEV (KAZ)
Nurdoolot BEKBOLOTOV (KGZ)
Vladimir ICHIZLI (MDA)
Myanganbanzragch TUMENTOGTOKH (MGL)
Yandel MORALES (PUR)
Mokbel SAHLI (TUN)
Kahraman ESKI (TUR)
Christian CASTILLO (USA)
Abbos KUZIEV (UZB)

55kg
Akhmad MUSAKHADZHIEV (AIN)
Ilya KOSTSENICH (AIN)
Abdelghani AID (ALG)
Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Haji KARIMOV (AZE)
Oubayda ITAEV (FRA)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO)
Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)
ANKUSH (IND)
Amirreza TEYMORIZAD (IRI)
Ariya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Allan ORALBEK (KAZ)
Aktilek ZHOLDOSHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Inseong BAK (KOR)
Victor DRAGOMAN (MDA)
Naran BARKHAS (MGL)
Stefan STOJKOV (MKD)
Jaeden BROWN (NZL)
Jakub KESY (POL)
Derick MARTINEZ (PUR)
Roehan DU PLESSIS (RSA)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Haci ZADE (TUR)
Marcus BLAZE (USA)
Shohrukhbek SAPOEV (UZB)

60kg
Iasin BERSANUKAEV (AIN)
Uladzislau VARABYOU (AIN)
Aren HAYRAPETYAN (ARM)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Daniel GURBOVIC (CZE)
Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA)
Tengiz BARBAKADZE (GEO)
Nick ECKENBERGER (GER)
TUSHAR (IND)
Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI)
Akito MAEHARA (JPN)
Yeraly ZHENISSOV (KAZ)
Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ)
Cristi CEBAN (MDA)
Gabriel SANCHEZ (MEX)
Zandanbat BATSAIKHAN (MGL)
Adrian SIKORA (POL)
Yandro SOTO RIVERA (PUR)
Bernardo SZILAGYI (ROU)
Petrus VAN DER WALT (RSA)
Bekjan RUSLANOV (TKM)
Vahid YILMAZ (TUR)
Benjamin DAVINO (USA)
Shamsiddin JUMABOEV (UZB)

65kg
Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (AIN)
Aliaksandr KAMBAYEU (AIN)
Miguel ANTONIO (ANG)
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Mirzaagha AKHUNDOV (AZE)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Lukas BRANDL (CZE)
Fares ELSAWY (EGY)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Zurab ABALAKI (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Vasileios KESIDIS (GRE)
SOURABH (IND)
Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI)
Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN)
Almas SABYR (KAZ)
Nursadyk NURDINOV (KGZ)
Juyoung KIM (KOR)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Ankh Erdene ALTANGEREL (MGL)
Antoni MAJCHRZAK (POL)
Elvis SOLIS (PUR)
Justin RAFFIN (SUI)
Samuel SEDLAK (SVK)
Arslan MAMISHOV (TKM)
Remzi TEMUR (TUR)
Brock MANTANONA (USA)
Zafarbek KAMOLOV (UZB)

71kg
Islam KAZHAROV (AIN)
Mohamed CHIBIKH (ALG)
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RAHIMLI (AZE)
Stiliyan DZHOROV (BUL)
Ondrej KOCMANEK (CZE)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Nodar TEVZADZE (GEO)
Felix SCHMITT (GER)
Avraam MOUSTOPOULOS (GRE)
NARENDER (IND)
Seyedabolfazl HOSSEINI (IRI)
Reuven RABINSKY (ISR)
Tatsuki KAMIYA (JPN)
Nurdaulet SEILBEKOV (KAZ)
Raatbek RAKHAT UULU (KGZ)
Piotr CARADJOV (MDA)
Bilguundalai PUREVDAGVA (MGL)
Gracjan MATYJASEK (POL)
Victor SOTO RIVERA (PUR)
Alp BEGENJOV (TKM)
Ferhat YIGIT (TUR)
Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)
Asadbek FAYZULLAEV (UZB)

80kg
Magomed IDRISOV (AIN)
Maksim RYHOSIK (AIN)
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Ismayil ASADLI (AZE)
Grigor CHERNAKOV (BUL)
Vladislav RJABTSEV (EST)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Theofilos KESIDIS (GRE)
Adam MIZSEI (HUN)
Saurabh YADAV (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Daniel SIMONIAN (ISR)
Natsura OKAZAWA (JPN)
Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Byambadorj ENKHBAT (MGL)
Omer MEMEDI (MKD)
Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Nick SCHERRER (SUI)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Huseyin KABAKTAS (TUR)
Zackary D RYDER (USA)
Mukhammadali RAKHIMOV (UZB)

92kg
Alimirza ABDULKADIROV (AIN)
Aliaksei KULAKOU (AIN)
Varuzhan HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)
Erwin PLUSCHNIK (GER)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Bence VERESS (HUN)
VINAY (IND)
Toohid NOORY (IRI)
Genki HOKI (JPN)
Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Demuul ARIUNTUYA (MGL)
Ilija ATANASOV (MKD)
Pieter Lafras UYS (NAM)
Balazs LORINCZ (ROU)
Suleyman MUSAGULYYEV (TKM)
Eyyup CETIN (TUR)
Aeoden SINCLAIR (USA)
Isomjon ISLAMOV (UZB)

110kg
Rakhman MALAKHMEDOV (AIN)
Yaraslau KOKHAN (AIN)
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Marwan MOHAMED (EGY)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Balint FABIAN (HUN)
Singh JASPOORAN (IND)
Abolfazl NEZHAD (IRI)
Hosei FUJITA (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL)
Balazs CSIPKES (ROU)
Rusen GULER (TUR)
Sampson STILLWELL (USA)
Eldorbek KHASANOV (UZB) 

Women’s Wrestling

40kg
Raniia RAKHMANOVA (AIN)
Nurana ASADLI (AIN)
Klara WINKLER (GER)
RACHANA (IND)
Koharu AKUTSU (JPN)
Anel BURKUTBAYEVA (KAZ)
Ainaz ABDYKADYROVA (KGZ)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA)
Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB)

43kg
Aleksandra BEREZOVSKAIA (AIN)
Alina MAZHAROUSKAYA (AIN)
Saadat GULIYEVA (AZE)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
PARVEEN (IND)
Mona EZAKA (JPN)
Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ)
Kinga JARONIEK (POL)
Diana VOICULESCU (ROU)
Yagmur KARABACAK (TUR)
Morgan TURNER (USA)
Nilufar NURMUKHAMMADOVA (UZB)

46kg
Diana RYBCHENKO (AIN)
Valeryia TSITOVA (AIN)
Dounia ZITOUNI (ALG)
Vicky LEON (ECU)
Josephine WRENSCH (GER)
MUSKAN (IND)
Natsumi MASUDA (JPN)
Meiramgul AKHMETZHAN (KAZ)
Aidana ABDYKERIM KYZY (KGZ)
Lonisa REKA (KOS)
Daniella HOSSEIN BEKY (NOR)
Dominika KONKEL (POL)
Wan Yi HUANG (TPE)
Hava KONCA (TUR)
Rianne MURPHY (USA)

49kg
Tana TIULIUSH (AIN)
Sviatlana KATENKA (AIN)
Eleni ZAGLIVERI (GER)
Anna KOEBLO (HUN)
DRISHTI (IND)
Rinka OGAWA (JPN)
Arina ABDULLINA (KAZ)
Diana AMANTUROVA (KGZ)
Eunhye OH (KOR)
Chuluun Erdene BATTOGTOKH (MGL)
Lucja KORCZ (POL)
Chloe BREWIS (RSA)
Wei Ting CHEN (TPE)
Nil AKTAS (TUR)
Heather CRULL (USA)

53kg
Olga OVCHINNIKOVA (AIN)
Valeryia MIKITSICH (AIN)
Fatima BOUCHIBI (ALG)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
RAJNITA (IND)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Elmira SAPARBEKOVA (KAZ)
Aziza SHUMKAROVA (KGZ)
Bayasgalan MONGOLKHUU (MGL)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Anja EPP (SUI)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Yi Hsuan TSENG (TPE)
Ozlem GURSOY (TUR)
Karlee BROOKS (USA)
Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)

57kg
Mariia BELIASOVA (AIN)
Alina KOZHYNA (AIN)
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Viktoria BOYNOVA (BUL)
Sabah KHAMIS (EGY)
Rosa MOLINA RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
NEHA (IND)
Denise PIRODDU (ITA)
Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)
Zhasmin ISKANDAROVA (KAZ)
Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Yeo Jin MIN (KOR)
Enkhdangina DEJINBEE (MGL)
Mirijam HANSEN (NOR)
Nikola PIECHOCKA (POL)
Eliana WHITE (PUR)
Kai Yi LI (TPE)
Eylem ENGIN (TUR)
Everest LEYDECKER (USA)
Durdona SAIDOVA (UZB)

61kg
Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (AIN)
Aliautsina SHKURATAVA (AIN)
Gloria NIYONKURU (BDI)
Maram ALY (EGY)
Ainara PORTILLO (ESP)
Nella HONKANIEMI (FIN)
Leana SIERRA (FRA)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Loukia KARAGIANNI (GRE)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
SAVITA (IND)
Konami ONO (JPN)
Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ)
Akylai CHYNYBAEVA (KGZ)
Paulina PAVILIONYTE (LTU)
Munkhchimeg URJIN (MGL)
Leah SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Emilia SWIERCZEWSKA (POL)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Haylie JAFFEE (USA)

65kg
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (AIN)
Maryia MAKARCHANKA (AIN)
Mouda HAMDOUN (EGY)
Lise LANDOUZY (FRA)
Anna GODELASHVILI (GEO)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
SHIKSHA (IND)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Meiramgul MAKSOT (KAZ)
Aiana ASAMALIKOVA (KGZ)
Marina AKHAI (MGL)
Maja NOWAKOWSKA (POL)
Sabina PETRACHE (ROU)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Duygu GEN (TUR)
May PRADO (USA)
Mukhayyo RAKHIMJONOVA (UZB)

69kg
Liliana KAZMINA (AIN)
Karyna FISHCHUK (AIN)
Joseth MAVUNGU (ANG)
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Alexandra KOLLAR (HUN)
SRISHTI (IND)
Ai SAKAI (JPN)
Ingkar YERGALI (KAZ)
Nur SHARIPOVA (KGZ)
Viktorija IRKLE (LAT)
Azzaya ERDENEBILEG (MGL)
Paulina KUCHARCZYK (POL)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Hua Fang KO (TPE)
Elif KURT (TUR)
Jasmine ROBINSON (USA)
Nigina RAJABOVA (UZB)

73kg
Diana TITOVA (AIN)
Aliaksandra KAZLOVA (AIN)
Melissa BELAID (ALG)
Anabela RADOS (CRO)
Laia HORTA GALLARDO (ESP)
Ambre BOUZILLARD (FRA)
Lotta ENGLICH (GER)
Petra MUELLER (HUN)
KAJAL (IND)
Ako UCHIYAMA (JPN)
Meruyert NAZARBAYEVA (KAZ)
Akylai ABDRAKHMANOVA (KGZ)
Sarah RANDRIANANDRASANA (MAD)
Ionela COJOCARU (ROU)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Piper FOWLER (USA)
Asaloy AMANGELDIEVA (UZB) 

Greco-Roman

45kg
RUSTEM ABATSIEV (AIN)
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Nika TSETSKHLADZE (GEO)
Athanasios TSINIAS (GRE)
Pranjl KANGRA (IND)
Alireza AMIRIGHASRODDASHTI (IRI)
Kaisei YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Zharas SOVETOV (KAZ)
Kadyrbek ALMANBETOV (KGZ)
Igor CAZAC (MDA)
Zoltan BOTH (SVK)
Mehmet SARP (TUR)
Henry ASLIKYAN (USA)
Khojiakbar KUCHKAROV (UZB)

48kg
Murat KHATIT (AIN)
Maksim BRADZIAK (AIN)
Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM)
Elnar ZIYADOV (AZE)
Pedro DE SOUZA (BRA)
Karim ELEMARY (EGY)
Iuri CHAPIDZE (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Siddhanath PATIL (IND)
Payam AHMADI BALOOTAKI (IRI)
Haruku SHIINA (JPN)
Beknur MUKAN (KAZ)
Elmar ISHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
Maksat SEYTIYEV (TKM)
Abdulsamet UCAR (TUR)
Ezekiel  WITT (USA)
Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB)

51kg
Ilia KANDALIN (AIN)
Rasim IBRAHIMAU (AIN)
Artur BROYAN (ARM)
Ali SEYIDALILI (AZE)
Moises PERALTA (ECU)
Omar IBRAHIM (EGY)
Nolan PISSOCHER (FRA)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
Manu YADAV (IND)
Mohammad MOHMADI (IRI)
Haruya FUKASAWA (JPN)
Zhanbolat SAPARBEK (KAZ)
Cholponbek TOROBEKOV (KGZ)
Dragos DRAGA (ROU)
Husniddin ULUGBEKOV (TKM)
Omer ALTAS (TUR)
Hudson LOGES (USA)
Dostonbek ORIPOV (UZB)

55kg
Airat SALIKHOV (AIN)
Danila CHARAPENKA (AIN)
Yuri KARAPETYAN (ARM)
Daniel STRUZINJSKI (AUT)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Ahmed SHABAN (EGY)
Richard PAJUVIIDIK (EST)
Atte SUHONEN (FIN)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
SURAJ (IND)
Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI)
Mustafa AL SAEEDI (IRQ)
David ZILMAN SHEVCHENKO (ISR)
Shu TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)
Kuttubek RYSMATOV (KGZ)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Mario MARIUT (NOR)
Dawid SZTAJKOWSKI (POL)
Nodirjon SANGOV (TJK)
Bayramgeldi YAGMYROV (TKM)
Shu Wei CHUNG (TPE)
Halil CINAR (TUR)
Jordyn RANEY (USA)
AYTJAN KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)

60kg
Mingiian GORIAEV (AIN)
Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Roman KARIMOV (AZE)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Clisman CARRACEDO VELIZ (ECU)
Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY)
Nikita MURADOV (EST)
Saba SURMANIDZE (GEO)
Sokratis KONSTANTINIDIS (GRE)
VARUN (IND)
Ali Amir DEZFOOLINEZHAD (IRI)
Aviv VOLOCH (ISR)
Daichi SAKASHITA (JPN)
Yerdaulet LASSIM (KAZ)
Bekzhan ESENBEK (KGZ)
Eimantas ANDRIUSKA (LTU)
Alin MURARU (MDA)
Kajetan JAKUBOWSKI (POL)
Kemal KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Kemal SAHBAZ (TUR)
Samuel HERRING (USA)
Ogabek MUKIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN)
Ihar ANOSHKA (AIN)
Petros ASHKARYAN (ARM)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Antonio HRISTOV (BUL)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY)
Daniel JEREMEJEV (EST)
Giorgi TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Athanasios EFTHYMIADIS (GRE)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
Sachin KUMAR (IND)
Amir SAEIDI NAVA (IRI)
Ali AL TAIE (IRQ)
Amir RADZIBOB (ISR)
Tsubasa EGUCHI (JPN)
Alibek TURLYGAZY (KAZ)
Erjan AKYLBEK UULU (KGZ)
Taeyong KWON (KOR)
Octavian CERNETCHI (MDA)
Nelson CHANTACA (MEX)
Hubert WYSOCZANSKI (POL)
Constantin LUNGU (ROU)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Shatlyk YUNUSOV (TKM)
Ibrahim AYDEMIR (TUR)
William GREENWOOD (USA)
Islombek KARIMJONOV (UZB)

71kg
Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (AIN)
Ivan BIALIAYEU (AIN)
Gor KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Lars MATT (AUT)
Javad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Sergey STOEV (BUL)
Marko KLARIC (CRO)
Youssef BADAWY (EGY)
Nikita MEZOV (EST)
Severi MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Luka LOMADZE (GEO)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Dominik CZUCZOR (HUN)
Sohamraj MORE (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHAMADIAN (IRI)
Idrees JAF (IRQ)
Timur NADORGIN (ISR)
Shuya MIURA (JPN)
Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ)
Elkhan CHOENBEKOV (KGZ)
Seongmin JANG (KOR)
Minijus LEONAVICIUS (LTU)
Cristian RISCA (MDA)
Antoni TRETTER (POL)
Ognjen TODOSIJEVIC (SRB)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Isodzhon NURAKHMADOV (TJK)
Alkan AKAR (TUR)
Arvin KHOSRAVY (USA)
Temirbek ABDULLAEV (UZB)

80kg
Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)
Uladzislau DUBROUSKI (AIN)
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Paul MAIER (AUT)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Miguel VEGA SALAZAR (COL)
Marin ZOVKO (CRO)
Seef ABDALAZIZ (EGY)
Marcus UHTJAERV (EST)
Haik SARGSYAN (FRA)
Saba GAPRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
AMAN (IND)
Alireza ABBASI (IRI)
Itzhak NEMSADZE (ISR)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Beibarys SHYMYRBEK (KAZ)
Bakyt DZHAKUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Alexandr PLESCAN (MDA)
Mohammed K T ELNAGAR (PLE)
Stanislaw FUSSY (POL)
Dusan STOKIC (SRB)
Emir DAYAL (TUR)
Adam WATERS (USA)
Bekmurod RUSTAMOV (UZB)

92kg
Saipula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (AIN)
Pavel SAVITSKI (AIN)
Grisha VOSKANYAN (ARM)
Mikayil ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Radostin VASILEV (BUL)
Andrej RODIN (CRO)
Abdelfattah ABDELZAHER (EGY)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Ole STERNING (GER)
Dimitrios PAPPAS (GRE)
Vendel Roland VITAI (HUN)
RAMANDEEP (IND)
Aliakbar ASGHARIVALADI (IRI)
Rondo KODAMA (JPN)
Maxim UKRAINTSEV (KAZ)
Nurbolot SYRGABAI UULU (KGZ)
Dorian TREJO (MEX)
Pieter UYS (NAM)
Gabriel STAN (ROU)
Stevan KOJIC (SRB)
Alihan BEREKET (TUR)
Aiden COOLEY (USA)
Sardorbek RUSTAMOV (UZB)

110kg
Eldar EMIROV (AIN)
Tsimafei LAZAR (AIN)
Mahir GURBANLI (AZE)
Iliyan DIMITROV (BUL)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Renar JOONAS (EST)
Tomas RUSI (FIN)
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel SZILAGYI (HUN)
RONAK (IND)
Amirhossein ABDEVALI (IRI)
Ryosei KATAMATSU (JPN)
Bekzhan ISMAGULOV (KAZ)
Talasbek BOOBEKOV (KGZ)
Danila ZUBCOV (MDA)
Pawel JANZEN (POL)
Andreas KERN (SVK)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Nicholas SAHAKIAN (USA)
Jaloliddin SAYFIDDINOV (UZB)

#WrestleSamokov

U20 Worlds: After two heartbreaks, Kassimbek is world champ

By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 18) -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) had lost two World U17 Championships finals, denying him the world champion tag.

He got his third chance to be a world champion on Monday at the World U20 Championships in Samokov and third time proved to be lucky for the Kazakhstan wrestler.

Wrestling a familiar opponent in Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) in the final, Kassimbek seemed in  no trouble during the six minute bout and captured the gold medal and his first world title with a 4-1 victory.

Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) turns Abofazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) for match-winning two points in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wresting / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The 18-year-old had previously wrestled Mohammad Nezhad three times in his career and won all three. Kassimbek defeated the Iranian at the 2023 Asian U17 Championships, 8-1, in their first meeting. In 2024, he defeated him twice, in the semifinals at the World U17 and Asian U17 Championships, 4-3 and 2-2, respectively.

"I am very happy," Kassimbek said. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time, and I am glad [to win]. In the future, I will become an Olympic champion. I am already slowly preparing for this goal."

Mohammad Nezhad thought he may have a chance to change that record when he went up 1-0 in the final after Kassimbek failed to score after being put on the activity clock. But the second period was all about Kassimbek as he got a takedown and then turned the Iranian, wrapping Mohammad Nezhad's legs around his head, for two points.

The 4-1 lead and some defensive wrestling was enough for Kassimbek to win the final and claim his gold medal, making him the first wrestler to win the heaviest weight class at any World Championships.

Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)World U20 champion at 125kg -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"Even though I have defeated the Iranian wrestler more than once, I take every opponent seriously," he said. "But when I stepped on the mat, I was confident in my victory."

While Kassimbek will have more age-group tournaments, he has ambitions to be at the senior level in quick time with some added strength and weight.

"I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I am still not strong enough," he said. "I need to work harder. I am eighteen years old, but I already want to compete at senior level, I just need to gain a little bit more weight."

PJ DUKE (USA)PJ DUKE (USA) celebrates after winning the 70kg gold medal in Samokov. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

U.S. wins 2 golds

Two returning bronze medalists from the U.S. -- PJ DUKE (USA) and Justin RADEMACHER (USA) -- upgraded their medals to gold.

Duke, a recent high school graduate, was the first world champion on Monday as he won a slugfest against Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5. Duke's gold comes a month he wrestles at the senior World Championships in Zagreb.

He scored the first five points against Gaidarli's one but the Moldovan a takedown and turn from Gaidarli made it 5-5 with him leading on criteria and 1:20 left on the clock.

Duke, however, remained composed and managed to get on a leg-attack and convert it into a takedown for a 7-5 match-deciding lead. Gaidarli's attempts to score at the end where easily negated  by Duke.

With the win, Duke denied Gaidarli a historic title which would have made him the first Freestyle world U20 champion since 1999 for Moldova.

PJ DUKE (USA)PJ DUKE (USA) scores a takedown over Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) in the 70kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

"One thing I never really thought about, like obviously I've dreamed about winning a world title, but that feeling you get when you're on the podium when they're playing the national anthem. It's something I've never felt before and it's just so cool," Duke said.

Duke will have one month to rebound and wrestle in Zagreb, a competition much tougher than the U20 level.

"I got to definitely have a few things I need to tweak, easy fixes and minor technical changes," he said. "My body's is in good shape, I feel fine. I'm not too beat up on this."

Duke had to beat Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) in a best-of-three series to win the spot on the U.S. senior. While he celebrated his victory there, Duke had a subdued celebrations when he won in Samokov.

"The Final X was just a little different for me," he said. "I was definitely a bigger underdog there. It's just being on that senior team is my main goal. Coming from last year after losing the U20s. I just had to get that done. I tried not to show too much emotion but sometimes it's big deal, like final X, it comes out."

Justin RADEMACHER (USA)Justin RADEMACHER (USA) attempts a leg attack against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Rademacher had a rather straightforward final against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) at 97kg. The match was majorly a one-move finish as Rademacher got on a leg attack and forced Magomedov towards the zone before throwing him in danger for four points.

From there on, Rademacher was happy to play the clock while Magomedov, struggling with his conditioning, never really got a chance to score until a late stepout to get on the board.

European U23 champion Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) got his world title to his name after he won the 74kg final against Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ). Khaniev blanked Akylbekov, 11-0, with a series of takedowns.

In the first period, Khaniev had two takedowns, a turn and a stepout to lead 7-0. He finished the bout quickly in the second period with takedown and an exposure to win.

"This was my goal for the year," Khaniev said. "I needed to accomplish it, and I did. I rate my performance at this tournament 4 out of 5 because there is always room to grow, I still made some mistakes."

Khaniev had a tough bracket to go through, wrestling returning silver medalist Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) and European U20 champion Manuel WAGIN (GER), a wrestler he recently lost to at the European U20 Championships.

"Against Lockett, I was focused and really wanted to beat him, just like the German wrestler to whom I lost at the Europeans," he said. "I was very well prepared for the match [against Lockett], and I managed to win with full confidence."

Ismail KHANIEV (UWW)Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) won his first world title on Monday. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Khaniev had lost to Wagin in Italy, 5-4, in a close semifinal but their rematch in Samokov followed a different storyline as Khaniev won via technical superiority.

"At the U20 European Championships I wasn’t fully prepared, I had injuries, although that is not an excuse," he said. "Here I really wanted to take revenge, I prepared very hard, did everything possible on my side, and it worked out."

Khaniev called the 74kg weight class as the "royal" one and wants to continue his career in it for the time being.

"I believe that if I continue to work hard, then even in such a competitive weight class I will be able to withstand the competition," he said. "This is considered the 'royal' weight. It will be very interesting for me to keep competing in this weight, unless my weight increases and I have to move up to a higher category."

RESULTS

70kg
GOLD: PJ DUKE (USA) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5

BRONZE: Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 4-0
BRONZE: Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) df. Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) df. Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ), 11-0

BRONZE: Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ) df. Raul CASO (ITA), 6-3
BRONZE: Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW), 4-1

BRONZE: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR), 8-3
BRONZE: Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ) df. VISHAL (IND), via fall

125kg
GOLD: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) df. Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI), 4-1

BRONZE: Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) df. Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA), 3-1
BRONZE: Cole MIRASOLA (USA) df. Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL), 12-2