U17 Worlds: Young stars set to battle for supremacy in Rome

Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 13:28 By Vinay Siwach

ROME, Italy (June 21) -- Last year at the U17 World Championships, the USA and India were involved in a fierce team title race in two styles. While India won the freestyle title, the USA clinched the women's trophy. In Greco-Roman, Georgia had a comfortable lead to win the first spot after the initial battle with Ukraine and Russia which finished second and third respectively.

But the three nations will be under pressure to repeat their performance in Rome where the U17 World Championships begin Monday at the Pala Pellicone.

The biggest change from the previous edition will be the return of Japan to the competition after giving it a skip last year due to COVID-19.

U17 Asia silver medalist Mona EZAKA (JPN) will lead the team Japan team along with former U15 Asian champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN). The two will be competing in 40kg and 53kg respectively.

Historically, Japan has done well in lifting the trophy in women's wrestling since 2012. It should be the case in Rome unless one of India or the USA comes with a similar performance as last year.

India will also take heart from the fact that it won six gold medals at the recent U17 Asian Championships. The team will be led by defending champion at 73kg Priya MALIK (IND) as she tries to join KOMAL (IND) and Sonam MALIK (IND) as the country's only multiple U17 world champions.

Since she won the title in Budapest, Malik has lost only one bout -- a 3-3 criteria decision to Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN) at the U20 Asian Championships in Bahrain last month.

In Rome, she will face quite a challenge as U17 European Championships gold medalist Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA) and silver Gabriela MAEVA (BUL) are both entered. Pan-Am champion Rupinder JOHAL (CAN) will also hope to medal on the global stage.

Apart from Malik, MUSKAN (IND), RITIKA (IND), SHRUTI (IND), REENA (IND) and SAVITA (IND) are also part of the team. All six won the U17 Asia title. HARSHITA (IND), who finished fifth last year, would like to be on the podium this year.

The USA will have '21 champion Erica PASTORIZA (USA) leading the charge. She won the title at 40kg in Budapest but will be competing at 43kg this year. Bronze medalist at 49kg Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) is returning to change the color of her medal in the same weight class.

A lot of interest will be in Shelby MOORE (USA) who has dominated the 57kg weight class at this level in the USA. Also in action will be the U17 Pan-Am silver medalist at 65kg Sydney PERRY (USA).

Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) won the European title at 51kg in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

A European challenge in the form of Ukraine will also be waiting for the three nations. Upcoming star and world champion at 49kg Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) along with teammates and fellow European champions Yevheniia DRUZENKO (UKR) at 40kg, Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR) at 43kg and Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR) at 69kg, are all entered for the Worlds.

Alexandra VOICULESCU (ROU) finished second to Pastoriza at 40kg last year but she is moving up to 46kg for the Rome event. A rematch of the U17 European Championships against Korneila LASZLO (HUN) is also on the cards. Laszlo won the final in Bucharest.

At 49kg, while Jiminez will be the favorite, she is up against a tough European field. Fabiana RINELLA (ITA), who won silver in Bucharest, will be in the field along with both bronze medalists Sevval CAYIR (TUR) and Anastasiia ZADVORNA (UKR). Laura FATH (HUN), Ana ROTARU (ROU), Anja EPP (SUI), Reka HEGEDUS (SVK) are also entered.

Turkey is also bringing a solid team to Rome with all seven European Championships medalists on the team including gold medalist Tuba DEMIR (TUR) at 57kg. Demir missed out on a medal last year finishing fifth at 53kg.

In a historic moment, Anya HATCH (TGA) will become the first woman from Tonga to represent her country at a World Championships.

Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) can be the breakout performer in Rome. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Freestyle

Defending champions India will be banking on a new group of wrestlers after the medalists from the previous edition failed to make the team.

U17 Asian champions Ningappa GENANNAVAR (IND) and Vaibhav PATIL (IND) will be carrying the team with Patil also having experience from the Budapest edition in which he finished fifth.

But Iran, Azerbaijan and the USA will be its biggest challenge to the team title defense. Azerbaijan can have a breakout Worlds as it did at the U17 European Championships, easily winning the team title.

At 48kg, Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) will be the favorite to win the title. Baghirov had three victories via fall in his four outs in Bucharest. He will be joined by silver medalist Rassoul GALBOURAEV (FRA) and Asian bronze medalist Ramil RASSIM (KAZ) at the same weight.

It may turn out to be a battle at 51kg as the silver medalist from Budapest Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) will go up against continental champions Elman AGHAYEV (AZE) and Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ). The silver medalists from both Asia and Europe -- Mohammad Reza ASADI (IRI) and Narek HAKOBYAN (ARM) -- are also in the field.

Patil, who lost to Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ) in the semifinal and later to Javid JADADOV (AZE) in the bronze bout last year, will look to make amends at 55kg. But he will have his task cut out as five other continental medalists are wrestling.

At the U17 Asians, he defeated Husanboy USMONOV (UZB) and Daryn ASKERBEK (KAZ) in the semifinal and final respectively and both wrestlers will be eyeing to avenge their losses to Patil in Rome.

European champion Jamal ABBASOV (AZE) and silver to him Illia SHKETYK (UKR) are also entered the field. Abbasov put on a show at the Euros, winning three bouts via superiority and two, semifinal and final, via falls.

Azerbaijan will have favorites at 60kg in Agha GASIMOV (AZE), Ilyas ISAYEV (AZE) at 65kg and Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) at 110kg. However, 60kg will have Asian finalists Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ) and Javokhir CHULIBOYEV (UZB) as well as Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), who won the gold over Gasimov in Bucharest.

Zan FUGGIT (USA) will also hope to make an impression after winning the Pan-Am title with ease.

Iran, which dominates the heavyweights, will be a big challenge for Dursunov, a bronze medalist at 92kg from last year, as he will be facing Mohammadreza LOTFI (IRI) who won the Asian title without giving up a single point.

At 92kg, the bronze medalist from Budapest and now U17 Asian champion Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), a cousin of world medalist Dauren KURUGLIEV (RWF), will hope to win the title this year. His biggest threat will be European champion Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR) and silver medalist Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN) along with bronze medalists Nika PANTSULAIA (GEO) and Yaroslav LISNIAK (UKR).

In his run to Asian gold, he defeated Sahil JAGLAN (IND) in the semifinals and Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI) in the final. Both Jaglan and Alizadeh are wrestling in Rome.

Mohammad JAHANGIRI (IRI) is one of the favorites to win the 110kg GR title. (Photo: UWW / Assem Shalgumbayeva)

Greco-Roman

Georgia emerged as the world champions last year and a repeat cannot be ruled out with a strong squad present in Budapest.

European champions Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO), 48kg, and Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 51kg, lead the unit with silver and bronze medalists from Bucharest.

Khozrevanidze will be keen on winning the world title after he finished with a bronze medal at the last edition at 45kg. He is jumping up to 51kg for this year.

At 48kg, world champion Nikita DEMENTIEV (UKR), who won the title at 45kg, will like to repeat despite his loss to Lolua at the Europeans.

Dementiev is leading a solid Ukraine team as it hopes to build on the second-place finish from Budapest. Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR) at 45kg became the European champion and will start as the favorite.

Ukraine finished third at the U17 Europeans with 109 points, equal as Georgia. The title was won by Azerbaijan convincingly with 175 points and it will be gunning to win the title in Rome as well.

Azerbaijan has two European champions in Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE), also a bronze medalist from Budapest, at 55kg and Mahammad GASIMZADE (AZE) at 60kg along with four silver medalists from Bucharest wrestling in Rome.

Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan may spoil the party for Azerbaijan and Georgia. Kyrgyzstan won the Asian title after winning four of the 10 golds on offer. The other three nations won two each in the same competition.

One of the most intriguing battles may be seen at 110kg as Asian Mohammad JAHANGIRI (IRI) and European champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) are expected to clash in Budapest. Both had dominant runs to gold in their respective competition and will now like to win the gold at Worlds.

With close to 600 wrestlers entered, it may turn out to be an eye-opening World Championships, the first of the season. The action will be live on uww.org from Monday.

#JapanWrestling

Ono entered at 57kg, Susaki at 50kg for All-Japan Championships

Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 15:34 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 4) -- After winning both the U20 and senior world titles at freestyle 61kg within a two-month span in the autumn of 2024, Masanosuke ONO all but disappeared from the Japanese wrestling scene.

That culminated with his announcement in March this year that, having left Yamanashi Gakuin University, he had committed to wrestle at U.S. collegiate powerhouse Penn State. He has not been seen on the mats of Japan since.

Ono will compete once again in his home country, dropping down from 61kg to 57kg for the upcoming Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym, according to the entry list announced Thursday by the Japan Wrestling Federation.

The tournament, to be held December 18-21, will also serve as the domestic qualifier for next year's Asian Championships, and the first of two qualifiers for the Asian Games and World Championships in 2026.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will compete at 50kg at the Emperor's Cup. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Among other notable recent absentees appearing on the entry list is Yui SUSAKI, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion at 50kg who had to settle for a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She will compete at 50kg, putting to bed speculation that she might move up to the 53kg division.

"This will be a tournament to start me anew on the road to the Los Angeles Olympics," Susaki said in an online press conference with the Japanese media, as reported by Wrestling-Spirits.jp.

"In order to reclaim the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, as a challenger starting from scratch, I want to win in a Yui Susaki-esque way of wrestling."

The 21-year-old Ono had been a question mark with the tournament falling in the middle of the Penn State season. But the decision to redshirt Ono -- the system of allowing him to train with the team while withholding him from competition to maintain an extra year of eligibility -- opened the door for him to make the trip back to Japan.

Assuming he does not have trouble making weight, he should be the class of the 57kg field, with his toughest competition most likely coming from two-time Asian bronze medalist Rikuto ARAI.

One opponent he won't have to contend with is Paris Olympic champion Rei HIGUCHI, who decided to continue delaying his return to action. Also missing is defending champion Rin SAKAMOTO, who was injured at the World Championships. With Sakamoto also across the Pacific at Oklahoma State University, it prevents a rare clash of U.S.-based wrestlers.

Susaki only returned to action in September, and both of her forays were at 53kg. That, and the well-publicized move up to 57kg by Akari FUJINAMI, the 53kg champion in Paris, fueled conjecture that Susaki might also move up.

Susaki started at the National Sports Festival, where she competed at 53kg if for no other reason that it was one of only two women's weight classes in the competition. She lost a defensive-oriented 2-1 decision to 2024 world 55kg champion Moe KIYOOKA in the quarterfinals, marking her first loss to a Japanese opponent in six years.

"Losing at the National Sports Festival gave me the chance to look inside myself," Susaki said. "The result was really disappointing, but I'm glad I took part and was grateful for the opportunity."

Now 26, the four-time world champion is firmly determined to regain the Olympic gold that eluded her in Paris with a heart-breaking last-second loss to Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) in the opening round.

"I truly was shown just how difficult and challenging it was to win at the Paris Olympics. It also gave me a chance to reflect on the preparation process leading up to the competition and what was needed mentally for the Olympics. I will work hard to use that experience to make sure I win the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics."

Susaki's top challengers at the Emperor's Cup appear to be world U23 bronze medalist Umi ITO and Haruna MORIKAWA, the world U23 champion at 53kg.

Meanwhile the presence of Fujinami, who added the world U23 title in October to her burgeoning resume, has been immediately felt at 57kg. Despite being an Olympic weight class, the division drew just nine others who will look to end the 21-year-old superstar's 147-match winning streak.

Her most potentially dangerous opponent could be Asian champion Sara NATAMI. At the National Sports Festival, she was losing 8-1 at 62kg to world 59kg champion Sakura ONISHI when she countered a takedown attempt by slamming her to her back for a fall.

Paris Olympic and 2025 world champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Golden trio at women's 62kg; returns of Paris champs Fumita, Kagami

As with any Japan competition that has world or Olympic berths at stake, a number of weight classes could see clashes between multiple wrestlers with global successes as they jockey for position in the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

And in one case, there are three at once, while two other weight classes could have direct clashes of champions from this year's worlds in Zagreb, Croatia.

At women's 62kg, Paris and 2025 world gold medalist Sakura MOTOKI will renew her rivalry with two-time former world champion Nonoka OZAKI, while Onishi moves up from 59kg to join the mix and can't be overlooked.

At women’s 68kg, reigning world champion Ami ISHII could lock horns with Miwa MORIKAWA, the gold medalist at 65kg, while at freestyle 74kg, we could see a battle between Zagreb winner Kota TAKAHASHI and 70kg titlist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI.

Like Susaki, all of Japan's large group of Paris medalists took some time off to bask in the spotlight before gradually returning to the mat over the past two years.

Two of the remaining gold medalist holdouts -- Kenichiro FUMITA and Yuka KAGAMI -- will both take the mat for the first time since their Paris victories at the Emperor's Cup.

Fumita, who won an elusive gold medal in Paris at Greco 60kg after taking the silver at Tokyo 2021, is entered at 63kg, where he will aim for a fifth national title and first since 2022. Kagami is entered at her gold medal-winning weight of women's 76kg. Their own rustiness may be more of a factor then the opponents.

While away from competition, Fumita spent the ensuing time experimenting with different methods as he looks to expand his reportoire.

"I have some anxiety, but I'm also looking forward to it," Fumita told Wrestling-Spirits.jp. "I achieved my goal in Paris, and on top of that, I've been taking a good look at wrestling. it. It was a year and four months full of new experiences. This will be a battlefield to reveal my new wrestling. I want to show wrestling that is free and unrestrained."

Fumita said he observed the nerves shown by fellow Paris gold medalists Nao KUSAKA (Greco 77kg) and Kotaro KIYOOKA (freestyle 65kg) when they returned to mat ahead of him at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships last spring.

"Before their matches, both of them looked pale," Fumita said. "I want to focus on fighting without putting too much pressure on myself. For better or worse, I want to fight thinking of myself as a different person than I was in Paris."

Other intriguing weight classes include freestyle 65kg, where Kiyooka may have to contend with Asian champion Kaisei TANABE, Asian 61kg champion Takara SUDA and two-time world U20 champion Yuto NISHIUCHI.

Two gold medalists from Tokyo who took time off for marriage and childbirth are back, with Mayu SHIDOCHI (nee MUKAIDA) challenging Moe Kiyooka at women's 55kg and Yukako INAMURA (nee KAWAI) entered at 59kg.

In Greco, rising star Taizo YOSHIDA, a bronze medalist at both the U20 and senior worlds this year at 82kg, has moved up to 87kg, where he will challenge two-time defending champion So SAKABE.

U17 Worlds: Young stars set to battle for supremacy in Rome

Comments

Ono entered at 57kg, Susaki at 50kg for All-Japan Championships