#WrestlePontevedra

U20 World Championships 2024 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (August 26) -- The U20 World Championships begin September 2 in Pontevedra, Spain. Close to 700 wrestlers will be participating in 30 weight classes with Greco-Roman kicking off proceedings followed by Women's Wrestling and finishing with Freestyle.

The action will be live on uww.org and the UWW app from September 2.

Freestyle

57kg
Herbert AKAPIAN (AIN)
Lev PAVLOV (AIN)
Hayko GASPARYAN (AZE)
Vasif BAGHIROV (ARM)
Caio DUARTE ARON (BRA)
Alessandro IEMMA PLAZA (ESP)
Rassoul GALBOURAEV (FRA)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Leon FERNANDES ZINSER (GER)
ANKUSH (IND)
Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
Shotaro MATSUMURA (JPN)
Myktybek UKIMETULY (KAZ)
Baiaman KERIMBEKOV (KGZ)
Marcel ANDRONACHE (MDA)
Roberto MARTINEZ (MEX)
Kabe MATJANOV (TKM)
Bekir KESER (TUR)
Artem MARTIUSHEV (UKR)
Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

61kg
Andrei MIDLOVETS (AIN)
Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Benjamin SOUZA ZUCKERMAN (BRA)
Blayne HELOU (CAN)
DENGBURILE (CHN)
Abdelrahman MAHMOUD (EGY)
Marc ARIAS ALVAREZ (ESP)
Tornike ASABASHVILI (GEO)
BHUVANESH (IND)
Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)
Danny LUBRANO (ITA)
Masanosuke ONO (JPN)
Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ)
Azat SHARSHENALIEV (KGZ)
Dohyung KIM (KOR)
Vasili LAZAREV (MDA)
Enrique OLVERA RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Jacob BRUNNER (PUR)
Sandro HUNGERBUEHLER (SUI)
Robert MESZAROS (SVK)
Amir HAMAYUN (TKM)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Viktor BOROHAN (UKR)
Marcus BLAZE (USA)

65kg
Dzmitry SHVARTS (AIN)
Adam ARKHIEV (AIN)
Miguel ANTONIO (ANG)
Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM)
Luca HARTMANN (AUT)
Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE)
Xin WANG (CHN)
Felipe FERRUSOLA MILLA (ESP)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Nikoloz BESHIDZE (GEO)
Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN)
Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND)
Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)
Alessandro NINI (ITA)
Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN)
Shattyk ALAIDAR (KAZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Ion BERGHI (MDA)
Diego PERAZA AGUILAR (MEX)
Kaige BROWN (NZL)
Dominik JAGUSZ (POL)
Rafael GARCIA MORALES (PUR)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Valentyn HRYHORYSHYN (UKR)
Bowen BASSETT (USA)

70kg
Aliaksandr KAMBAYEU (AIN)
Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN)
Abderrahmane BENHAMADI (ALG)
Manaceu NGONDA (ANG)
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Alexander SEIWALD (AUT)
Ramik HEYBATOV (AZE)
Sehajpal SIDHU (CAN)
Youhua LIN (CHN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Rostislav LEICHT (GER)
Georgios IOAKEIMIDIS (GRE)
Alex GOMBOS (HUN)
Nilesh NADIPARWALE (IND)
Ali KARAMPOUR (IRI)
Daniel KORKIN (ISR)
Daniele GUBBIOTTI (ITA)
Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN)
Aikyn BOLATULY (KAZ)
Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ)
Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)
Gabriel SANCHEZ ZEPEDA (MEX)
Ankh Erdene ALTANGEREL (MGL)
Zelimkhan MUTSUKHAEV (POL)
Umut ERDOGAN (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)
Peter DUKE (USA)

74kg
Muslim MAKHMUDAU (AIN)
Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN)
Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Trent JAEGGI (AUS)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Paulo GONCALVES (BRA)
Nicholas HOOPER (CAN)
Ning WANG (CHN)
Khaled MOHAMED (EGY)
Fabricio REYES (ESP)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Giorgi RIGVAVA (GEO)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
GAURAV (IND)
Ali Abbas REZAEI (IRI)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Shingo ANDO (JPN)
Yegor ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
Baitemir TULEBERDIEV (KGZ)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Tolui MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Antoni MAJCHRZAK (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Kakamyrat ASHYROV (TKM)
Yi Jie LIN (TPE)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Rostyslav PRUS (UKR)
Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)

79kg
Dzmitry LUKASHUK (AIN)
Said SAIDULOV (AIN)
Houssem OUCIF (ALG)
Aren ISRAYELYAN (ARM)
Mukhammad INSHAPIEV (AUT)
Emin GOJAYEV (AZE)
Bogdan DJANDIGOV (BEL)
Leandro ARAUJO (BRA)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Jinju LI (CHN)
Moises BELLO ALVAREZ (ESP)
Adam KAKHRIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Gregor EIGENBRODT (GER)
AMIT (IND)
Mahdi YOUSEFIHA (IRI)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Youmin JANG (KOR)
Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Kevin OLAVARRIA (PUR)
Alp BEGENJOV (TKM)
Bekir OVEC (TUR)
Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR)
Zackary RYDER (USA)

86kg
Aliaksei KULAKOU (AIN)
Ibragim KADIEV (AIN)
Sadig MUSTAFAZADE (AZE)
Rohit BAL (CAN)
Pengcheng WANG (CHN)
Matteo MONTEIRO (CPV)
Azael GARCIA (ESP)
Vladislav RJABTSEV (EST)
Mohammad UMKHADJIEV (FRA)
Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
Peter ZSIVNOVSZKI (HUN)
SACHIN (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA)
Ryogo ASANO (JPN)
Navruz AKHMEDKHANOV (KAZ)
Akhmat ZHAPPUEV (KGZ)
Ho Yeon HWANG (KOR)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Batbilguun NAADAMBAT (MGL)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR)
Illia PLAKHTYR (UKR)
Joshua BARR (USA)

92kg
Vadzim BANDARKOU (AIN)
Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN)
Hamza KACEDI (ALG)
Anar JAFARLI (AZE)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Kai QIU (CHN)
Mykola TOLMACHOV (ESP)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Grigorios SARIDIS (GRE)
Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN)
Amit SINGH (IND)
Amirreza DALIRI (IRI)
Nikita GOUBARETS (ISR)
Sorato KANAZAWA (JPN)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Iakov CHAPLIN (KGZ)
Grigori TOMAILI (MDA)
Delgerdalai DEMBEREL (MGL)
David JAKSIK (SVK)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR)
Oleh KUZMENKO (UKR)
Connor MIRASOLA (USA)

97kg
Shakhman NUKHAEV (AIN)
Miles DALY (AUS)
Ravan MUSAYEV (AZE)
Tejvir DHINSA (CAN)
Tuxige TUXIGE (CHN)
Enrique JIMENEZ (ESP)
Ramini GULITASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Bence VERESS (HUN)
Sahil JAGLAN (IND)
Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)
Genki HOKI (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Aitenir MAKSATOV (KGZ)
Constantin BUZA (MDA)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Rifat GIDAK (TUR)
Kostiantyn ZADOIANCHUK (UKR)
Justin RADEMACHER (USA)

125kg
Stsiapan MANDRYK (AIN)
Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (AIN)
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Omogbai ASEKOMHE (CAN)
Yiwei ZHUANG (CHN)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Jaspooran SINGH (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Hosei FUJITA (JPN)
Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ)
Baejoon JANG (KOR)
Ralfs LUKINS (LAT)
Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA)
Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL)
Ethan VERGARA (PUR)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Ivan MYROSHNYCHENKO (UKR)
Benjamin KUETER (USA)

Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN) will make her U20 debut in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Sviatlana KATENKA (AIN)
Violetta BIRIUKOVA (AIN)
Aysel MAMMADZADA (AZE)
Shahreen GULACHA (CAN)
Yu ZHANG (CHN)
Maria CAZALLA (ESP)
MUSKAN (IND)
Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Yorlenis MORAN (PAN)
Joanna SAMSONOWICZ (POL)
Nipuni WASANA (SRI)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Fatma KIZMAZ (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Anaya FALCON (USA)

53kg
Valeryia MIKITSICH (AIN)
Olga OVCHINNIKOVA (AIN)
Fatima BOUCHIBI (ALG)
Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE)
Nikol KRUMOVA (BUL)
Jin ZHANG (CHN)
Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
JYOTI (IND)
Saki YUMIYA (JPN)
Yengilik KABYLBEK (KAZ)
Yusneiry AGRAZAL (PAN)
Ilona VALCHUK (POL)
Shammilka MIRANDA (PUR)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Reka HEGEDUS (SVK)
Ya Hsin CHEN (TPE)
Hava KONCA (TUR)
Sofiia MARCHENKO (UKR)
Brianna GONZALEZ (USA)

55kg
Aliaksandra BULAVA (AIN)
Ekaterina CHIKANOVA (AIN)
Nargiz SAMADOVA (AZE)
Madisyn GROF (CAN)
Liuxuan CHEN (CHN)
Pau GIMENO FRANCO (ESP)
Dhanshri FAND (IND)
Karina HONDA (JPN)
Aliana MAKHAMBETOVA (KAZ)
Josefina RAMIREZ (MEX)
Khaliun BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Yu Syun CHEN (TPE)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Diana KOTVYTSKA (UKR)
Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA)

57kg
Marta HETMANAVA (AIN)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (AIN)
Annika FINES (CAN)
Xinyue LU (CHN)
Ainara PORTILLO GARCIA (ESP)
Romaissa EL KHARROUBI (FRA)
Marie TRAYER (GER)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
NEHA (IND)
Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Yubeen LEE (KOR)
Bertha ROJAS (MEX)
Nomin Erdene MYAGMARSUREN (MGL)
Nikola WISNIEWSKA (POL)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Pei Ying LIAO (TPE)
Gulsum BINGOL (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Carissa QURESHI (USA)

59kg
Uladzislava KUDZIN (AIN)
Elena KUROVA (AIN)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Yifan ZHU (CHN)
Rosa MOLINA RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Luna ROTHENBERGER (GER)
Viktoria BORSOS (HUN)
KOMAL (IND)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Angelina PERVUKHINA (KAZ)
Aitolkun MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Anna TIELIEGINA (LTU)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Nicola WASILEWSKA (POL)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Anna KARBOVSKA (UKR)
Alexis JANIAK (USA)

62kg
Marharyta KOUSH (AIN)
Olga IATSENKO (AIN)
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Bronwyn MACGREGOR (CAN)
Shuang HAN (CHN)
Tereza MRACKOVA (CZE)
Farah HUSSEIN (EGY)
Candela CASTRO GREDIAGA (ESP)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Anna FOTIADOU (GRE)
NITIKA (IND)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Nagisa ITO (JPN)
Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ)
Tancholpon KYBALBEKOVA (KGZ)
Seoyeon BAE (KOR)
Melanie JIMENEZ (MEX)
Khulan BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Nicola WASILEWSKA (POL)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE)
Yen Yi LI (TPE)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Cadence DIDUCH (USA)

65kg
Aliaksandra ZHUK (AIN)
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (AIN)
Sofia VEMBA (ANG)
Zaixue RUI (CHN)
Mouda HAMDOUN (EGY)
Elvira MARTINEZ-BARQUERO (ESP)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
SARIKA (IND)
Nana IKEHATA (JPN)
Korlan AMANOVA (KAZ)
Michelle OLEA RUIZ (MEX)
Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR)
Reese LARRAMENDY (USA)

68kg
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN)
Alina SHEVCHENKO (AIN)
Vanessa KEEFE (CAN)
Maria CIVANTOS VILCHEZ (ESP)
SRISHTI (IND)
Seia MOCHINAGA (JPN)
Beibit SEIDUALY (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Karolina DOMASZUK (POL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Yan Ju JIANG (TPE)
Ayse ERKAN (TUR)
Anna POSHTAR (UKR)
Caitlyn DAVIS (USA)

72kg
Krystsina KURKINA (AIN)
Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (AIN)
Tehani BLAIS (CAN)
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Gia KASTELAN (CRO)
Yasmin ALONSO EZ ZAHIR (ESP)
Noemi OSVATH NAGY (HUN)
MANJU (IND)
Ai SAKAI (JPN)
Zhibekzhan SABYRZHANOVA (KAZ)
Kaiyrkul SHARSHEBAEVA (KGZ)
Edna JIMENEZ (MEX)
Tselmuun OTGONBAT (MGL)
Karolina JAWORSKA (POL)
Elvira ERSSON (SWE)
Haticenur SARI (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Jasmine ROBINSON (USA)

76kg
Diana TITOVA (AIN)
Meile ZHANG (CHN)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Jyoti BERWAL (IND)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ)
Tuvshinjargal TARAV (MGL)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR)
Naomi SIMON (USA)

Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) will look to defend his 87kg gold in Greco-Roman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Alibek AMIROV (AIN)
Adel FEGAS (ALG)
Armen GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Rahim HASANOV (AZE)
Huoying SHI (CHN)
Filip BARTOSIK (CZE)
James CASTANO ARTEAGA (ESP)
Giorgi KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
Panteleimon PISSAKIS (GRE)
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
Anil MOR (IND)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Daisuke MORISHITA (JPN)
Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ)
Barsbek ASANKOZHOEV (KGZ)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Servan CINAR (TUR)
Ivan STEFANSKYI (UKR)
Isaiah CORTEZ (USA)

60kg
Papik DZHAVADIAN (AIN)
Armen SUKIASYAN (ARM)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Yunlong HU (CHN)
Ahmed SHABAN (EGY)
David DIAZ SANCHEZ (ESP)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Tamazi GLONTI (GEO)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Edmond DOMOKOS (HUN)
Mohit NARWAL (IND)
Mohammadmehdi GHOLAMPOUR (IRI)
Kohaku KANAZAWA (JPN)
Ongdassyn KHAMITOV (KAZ)
Said TURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Alin MURARU (MDA)
Daniel GUEVARA PIMENTEL (MEX)
Dominik PARTYKA (POL)
Eli KIRK (PUR)
Adam SILVERIN (SWE)
Servet ANGI (TUR)
Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR)
Cory LAND (USA)

63kg
Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN)
Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM)
Mahammad SHUKURZADE (AZE)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Zhiyu WANG (CHN)
Matej REBIC (CRO)
Matous JANKOVIC (CZE)
Adham ELSAYED (EGY)
Mario TRUJILLO CORDERO (ESP)
Ilian AINAOUI (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
NISHANT (IND)
Erfan JARKANI (IRI)
Shina YASUMI (JPN)
Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ)
Emirlan DUISHENALIEV (KGZ)
Byeonggi SEO (KOR)
Pavel DENISENCO (MDA)
Zachary MARRERO (PUR)
Dejan BERKEC (SRB)
Mathias MARTINETTI (SUI)
William EKEROT (SWE)
Enes ULKU (TUR)
Maksym CHUHUIEV (UKR)
Otto BLACK (USA)

67kg
Grair OGANESIAN (AIN)
Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM)
Isa BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Tavakgul HAZIYEV (AZE)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Kang ZHEN (CHN)
Daniel CAMPOS PEREZ (ESP)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
Sachin SACHIN (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI)
Kojiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Yussuf ASHRAPOV (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Kipras PUIKIS (LTU)
Vladimir PASCARI (MDA)
Piotr SKALIK (POL)
Iosif IONESCU (ROU)
Fritz REBER (SUI)
Tim EKLUND BERGFALK (SWE)
Sunat ABDULLOEV (TJK)
Ramazan Can AKTAS (TUR)
Imed KHUDZHADZE (UKR)
Joel ADAMS (USA)

72kg
Illia VALEUSKI (AIN)
Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN)
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Wenhao HU (CHN)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Dalgat MAGOMEDOV (CZE)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Gonzalo CAPARROS DIEGUEZ (ESP)
Max HRISTJUK (EST)
Luka KAJANNE (FIN)
Nika GLONTI (GEO)
Magomed KARTOJEV (GER)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Aakash PUNIA (IND)
Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI)
Hajime KIKUTA (JPN)
Alikhan DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Abdulaziz ASKARBEKOV (KGZ)
Gunhee LEE (KOR)
Rokas CEPAUSKAS (LTU)
Vasile ZABICA (MDA)
Hubert SIDORUK (POL)
Leonard IURASCU (ROU)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Denny CHJAN (SWE)
Muhammed Ali GOCMEN (TUR)
Petro SHAFRANSKYI (UKR)
Patrick Thomas BRACKETT (USA)

77kg
Magomed IARBILOV (AIN)
Mohamed MAMMERI (ALG)
Henrik GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Spartak VALENTINOV (BUL)
Jixin YU (CHN)
Mihael LUKAC (CRO)
Jose TESO SOBA (ESP)
Vikke TARKKIO (FIN)
Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Nishant PHOGAT (IND)
Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)
Yujin TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ)
Nurel DUISHONBEKOV (KGZ)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Ognjen JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Karl BAFF (SWE)
Erkan TUGCU (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Aydin MCELHINNEY (USA)

82kg
Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (AIN)
Dhiyaeddine REMMACHE (ALG)
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Shichang ZHENG (CHN)
Antonio LUKAC (CRO)
Jan DUSEK (CZE)
Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY)
Jesper HAERKAENEN (FIN)
Anri DAVITADZE (GEO)
Anton BUCHHOLZ (GER)
Odysseas ROUNGERIS (GRE)
Dominik CZUCZOR (HUN)
PRINCE (IND)
Mohammad ARJMAND (IRI)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Erlan MARS UULU (KGZ)
Sukmin YOON (KOR)
Mahmoud HAWSAWI (KSA)
Stanislaw FUSSY (POL)
Razvan PAVALASC (ROU)
Milos PEROVIC (SRB)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ramazan PASHAIEV (UKR)
Arian KHOSRAVY (USA)

87kg
Mansur SAITOV (AIN)
Roberto NSANGUA (ANG)
Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Joju SAMADOV (AZE)
Kauan FERREIRA GOMES (BRA)
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL)
Jie WANG (CHN)
Elias LYYSKI (FIN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
ROHIT (IND)
Mohammad Hadi SEYDI (IRI)
Reon KAKEGAWA (JPN)
Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Ruben VAN WYK (RSA)
Andrija MIHAJLOVIC (SRB)
Hamza SERTCANLI (SWE)
Emre BACAKSIZ (TUR)
Pavlo TORIANYK (UKR)
Ryder ROGOTZKE (USA)
Brian RUIZ MARIN (VEN)

97kg
Anatolii AVERIN (AIN)
Arshak GEGHAMYAN (ARM)
Mikayil ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Qianyi SUN (CHN)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Rasmus LIISMA (EST)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Darius KIEFER (GER)
Christos CHATSATOUROV (GRE)
NAMAN (IND)
Hamidreza KESHTKAR (IRI)
Issa KIKUCHI (JPN)
Rakhat BERZHANOV (KAZ)
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130kg
Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN)
Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Leonhard JUNGER (AUT)
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Alan DZABIEV (BUL)
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Marko SUPIC (SRB)
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#JapanWrestling

Kiyooka, Kusaka secure chance to add first world titles to Paris golds

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (June 22) -- Kotaro KIYOOKA and Nao KUSAKA both lived up to their lofty status as Olympic champions. Now each will get a chance to add a first world title to their Paris gold.

Kiyooka and Kusaka, competing in their first major competition since triumphing at Paris 2024, both won titles on the final day of the Meiji Cup All-Japan Championships, then returned to mat to beat the same opponent in a playoff for this year's World Championships.

In one of the most anticipated duels of the tournament, Kiyooka, the Paris champion at freestyle 65kg, pulled off a double victory over former Nippon Sports Science University teammate and Asian champion Kaisei TANABE, whose chances were hampered by a knee injury in the playoff.

"It's my first time to be involved in a playoff and to face the same opponent twice on the same day," Kiyooka said. "It was a learning experience and a good opportunity."

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Kusaka, who has a 2023 world bronze to go along with his Paris gold at Greco 77kg, showed little effects of a recent back injury that curtailed his preparation in defeating Kodai SAKURABA to earn a ticket to the World Championships to be held Sept. 13-22 in Zagreb.

The four-day Meiji Cup at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym was serving as the second of two domestic qualifiers for the team to Zagreb, along with the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships in December. A victory at both tournaments earned an automatic spot, while a playoff was held at the end of each day to decide between separate winners.

Both Kiyooka and Kusaka had participated in the German Bundesliga in the autumn after the Paris Olympics, but otherwise had joined the vast majority of Japan's medalists who reaped the rewards of their new-found fame, attending special events and appearing on variety TV shows.

They, along with Sakura MOTOKI at women's 62kg, were the only ones among Japan's eight gold medalists who decided to return to the mat in earnest at the Meiji Cup.

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA scores four with a unique throw in the freestyle 65kg playoff with Kaisei TANABE. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

For the 24-year-old Kiyooka, making it to his first World Championships gives him a chance to prove that his victory in Paris was no fluke and that he is no one-hit wonder.

"Before the Olympics, the word out there was that I wouldn't win, but I managed to turn that idea on its head," Kiyooka said. "Still, I'm a champion who came out of the blue, so I'm really not the established king. I want to take the world title so that people both at home and abroad recognize that Kotaro Kiyooka is the true champion."

He and Tanabe, who won his first career Emperor's Cup title in December, have often sparred together in practice, but had never faced each other in an official match.

In an entertaining final that featured a constant tangle of legs and arms amid wild scrambles, Tanabe struck first with a takedown, but Kiyooka responded with a takedown-gut wrench combination to go into the second period ahead 4-2.

Tanabe, the son of NSSU coach and 2004 Sydney Olympic bronze medalist Chikara TANABE, put the pressure on, but could only manage a late stepout as Kiyooka held on for a 4-3 victory.

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA works for a takedown against Kaisei TANABE during the freestyle 65kg playoff. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

In the playoff, Kiyooka opened with a stepout off a scramble, then received an activity point. But when he scored a stepout late in the period, Tanabe was slow to get up and indicated he had suffered a knee injury.

Tanabe bravely forged on and scored 2 off a counter lift off a Kiyooka takedown attempt, but Kiyooka kept his leg hold and made it 7-2 with an intriguing 4-point move.

With Tanabe on his back, Kiyooka stood straight up, then moved to the edge, where he launched an aerial cartwheel that caused Tanabe to land flat on his back.

"I wanted to lift him up and get a big point," Kiyooka said. "But Tanabe is a competitor with a high level of talent and athleticism, and if I didn't do it right, he could be the one to get the points. I was glad that I gave it a try.

"To get a big score provides an advantage later on. From now, I'm going to need a move like that, because without it, I'll have to settle for one or two points, which makes it easier for the opponent to catch up. I'm going to add it to my regular practice."

Tanabe stayed down and took an injury timeout, and it was soon after that Kiyooka put the match away with a counter lift and two exposures to win 13-2 in 5:45.

"My opponent's condition wasn't very good in the final, and then his knee became painful in the playoff," Kiyooka said. "So he wasn't at his best, but I couldn't let that sway me and I had to fight to the end.

"At this tournament, the main thing was to win, as it was where I was making my return. I'm also also making a new start with a new company affiliation and wanted it to go right, so I'm glad I could win the title and make the team to the World Championships."

Kiyooka, whose younger sister Moe lost a playoff at women's 53kg on Saturday, said the extended layoff caused him some concern.

"There was some anxiety, but as long as I did what I needed to do, I thought it would lead to a result like this," Kiyooka said. "There are only so many days until the Los Angeles Olympics, and this have given me an idea of what I will need to work on to put it all together."

Nao KUSAKA (JPN)Nao KUSAKA bulls his way to a takedown in the Greco 77kg playoff with Kodai SAKURABA. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Kusaka never seemed in danger in either of his matches against Emperor's Cup champion Sakuraba, nor did he show the dominance that led to Olympic gold.

In the Meiji Cup final, Kusaka came away with a 5-1 win in which he scored no technical points. In the first period, he received a passivity point, then when Sakuraba tried to escape from the bottom of par terre, he was hit with a 2-point penalty for a leg foul, and an unsuccessful challenge made it 4-0. Kusaka then received a second passivity point in the second period and that was it.

Kusaka was more productive in the playoff, bulling his way to a takedown in the first period and a stepout in the second in chalking up a 4-1 victory.

"I became more fatigued that I expected," Kusaka said. "It's been awhile since I went all out. No matter how much you build up in practice, you don't get the tension that you get in a match."

Kusaka revealed that his preparations were curtailed when he suffered a serious back strain while weight training in late May. He said the injury was so serious, it was first time he ever had to be transported on a stretcher.

"I had good luck when it came to the Olympics, but this time I had to go through that," he said. "For two weeks, I couldn't wrestle at all and I spent a week in bed."

Like Kiyooka, Kusaka wants to enhance his relatively slim resume with a world title.

"I've been wrestling 21, 22 years, and it's something I've always aspired to," Kusaka said. "I'm getting attention as an Olympic champion, but I want to be active around the world. The 2024 season went extremely well and I received the MVP award, which was great. But I don't want to be a one-hit wonder. I have to keep getting results."

Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)Kyotaro SOGABE squares off with longtime rival Katsuaki ENDO in the Greco 67kg playoff. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Another playoff of note occurred at Greco 67kg, where Paris Olympian Kyotaro SOGABE secured his latest triumph over longtime rival and fellow NSSU alum Katsuaki ENDO.

Endo won the Emperor's Cup in Sogabe's absence, but the latter set up the playoff with a 4-0 victory in the Meiji Cup final in which he twice received passivity points, scoring a gut wrench after his second chance at par terre. In the playoff, Sogabe never gave Endo an opening and rolled to a 9-0 victory.

Rin SAKAMOTO (JPN)Teenager Rin SAKAMOTO gestures after securing his ticket to the senior worlds at freestyle 57kg. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Among the two men's weight classes that did not need to go to a playoff, teenager Rin SAKAMOTO secured his ticket to Zagreb at freestyle 57kg by crushing Kento YUMIYA 10-0 to complete the Emperor's Cup-Meiji Cup double.

The 19-year-old Sakamoto is a maverick among Japanese wrestlers, in that he decided to pursue a collegiate career in the United States, where he now competes for powerhouse Oklahoma State University.

He admittedly had trouble at the Emperor's Cup adjusting back to freestyle after practicing in the American folkstyle. But this time, with the U.S. collegiate season over, he was able to focus exclusively on the international style.

Sakamoto had a disappointing showing at the Asian Championships, where he lost in the bronze-medal match, but returned to Japan in April and won the qualifying tournament for the World U20 Championships.

Regarding making his first senior worlds, Sakamoto said, "I'm excited," citing the fact that he can match Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO, who was also 19 when he won the world title in 2018. Unfortunately, should Sakamoto triumph in Zagreb, he will fall one month short of Otoguro's record for Japan's youngest-ever male world champion.

At Greco 60kg, Emperor's Cup champion and two-time Asian medalist Kaito INABA defeated Yu SHIOTANI 5-2 in the final to earn his first trip to the World Championships.

Asian and world U23 champion Kodai TAKAHASHI will get another shot at the senior worlds after he defeated Emperor's Cup champion Hikaru TAKATA 3-0 in the freestyle 74kg playoff.

Takahashi, who missed the Emperor's Cup due to an injury suffered while competing at 79kg at last year's non-Olympic worlds, secured a place in the playoff by beating Takata in Saturday's semifinals. then topping Masaki SATO 3-1 in the Meiji Cup final.

Day 4 Results

Freestyle

57kg (11 entries)
GOLD: Rin SAKAMOTO df. Kento YUMIYA by TF, 10-0, 2:22

BRONZE: Rikuto NAGAI df. Kodai NAKAISHI by TF, 10-0, 5:59
BRONZE: . Rikuto ARAI df. Fuga SASAKI, 4-1

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Kotaro KIYOOKA df. Kaisei TANABE, 4-3

BRONZE: Shinnosuke SUWAMA df. Ryuto SAKAKI, 8-5
BRONZE: Yuto NISHIUCHI df. Takuma AKIYAMA by TF, 10-0, 5:45

World Team Playoff: Kiyooka df. Tanabe by TF, 10-0, 5:45

74kg (12 entries)
GOLD: Kota TAKAHASHI df. Masaki SATO, 3-1

BRONZE: Kanata YAMAGUCHI df. Hikaru TAKATA by Def.
BRONZE: Toki OGAWA df. Tenju HOSAKA, 2-1

World Team Playoff: Takahashi df. Takata, 3-0

Greco-Roman

60kg (8 entries)
GOLD: Kaito INABA df. Yu SHIOTANI, 5-2

BRONZE: Seima TOKUHARA df. Eiru TAKAYAMA, 5-2
BRONZE: Koto GOMI df. Maito KAWANA, 7-7

67kg (12 entries)
GOLD: Kyotaro SOGABE df. Katsuaki ENDO, 4-0

BRONZE: Kensuke SHIMIZU df. Chiezo MARUYAMA, 3-2
BRONZE: Haruto YABE df. Kojiro HASEGAWA, 8-5

World Team Playoff: Sogabe df. Endo by TF, 9-0, 5:50

77kg (10 entries)
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA df. Kodai SAKURABA, 5-1

BRONZE: Fuga MISAIZU df. Shu YAMADA by Def.
BRONZE: Isami HORIKITA df. Naoki KADODE, 5-3

World Team Playoff: Kusaka df. Sakuraba, 4-1