2026 U20 World Championships

U20 World Championships 2026 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (August 2) -- The U20 World Championships will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia from August 16 to 23 at the Sportova Hala Mladost.

The tournament will see around 700 wrestlers competing in Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling with 120 medals on line.

Watch the U20 World Wrestling Championships 2026 live on UWW+. Use code BUNDLE20 and get 20 percent off.

Freestyle

57kg
Sasha PETROSYAN (ARM)
Muhammad ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Matsvei SYTSEVICH (BLR)
Nik Ignatov DOYCHINOV (BUL)
Chengtao WANG (CHN)
Dunia SIBOMANA (COD)
Gaspard CHEYNOUX (FRA)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Giorgi MAISURADZE (GEO)
Isaac WONG (HKG)
Karoly BARATH (HUN)
RUPESH (IND)
Arman ELAHI (IRI)
Yamato OGAWA (JPN)
Nurassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Nurtilek ZAMIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Catalin CURECHERI (MDA)
Naran BARKHAS (MGL)
Raiden HOBSON (PLW)
Pavlo ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Nathaniel LYTTLE (PUR)
Magomed MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Patrik VETRAK (SVK)
Ebubekir GUR (TUR)
Abbas HUSEINOV (UKR)
Isaiah CORTEZ (USA)
Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB)

61kg
Gagik GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Kristian CIKEL (AUT)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Anchao LU (CHN)
Heritier MUAYA (COD)
Zeyad HASSANEINN (EGY)
Nikoloz KHVEDELIDZE (GEO)
Eliah LUCYGA (GER)
MAYANK (IND)
Ahora KHATERI (IRI)
Itsuki YONASHIRO (JPN)
Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Amir RIFOV (KGZ)
Marcel ANDRONACHE (MDA)
Moses MENDOZA (MEX)
Dulguun ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Frederick BACHMANN (PUR)
Zelimkhan CHANIEV (RUS)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Nurettin KAPAL (TUR)
Artem TISNOHUZ (UKR)
Aaron SEIDEL (USA)
Fakhriddin NASRIDDINOV (UZB)

65kg
Aren HAYRAPETYAN (ARM)
Bilal CETIN (AUS)
Bashir VERDIYEV (AZE)
Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL)
Karson BROWN (CAN)
Chenqi SONG (CHN)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Mate NADIRADZE (GEO)
Mozes LASZLO (HUN)
Rohit KUMAR (IND)
Aliasghar TATHASHTIKEH (IRI)
Takuto OSEDO (JPN)
Yeraly ASKERBEK (KAZ)
Isa ISAKOV (KGZ)
Kanghyun GO (KOR)
Abdullatif ALBAKRI (KSA)
Maxim DIMOV (MDA)
Fernando PEREZ (MEX)
Amanbyek MYERVYET (MGL)
Ivan OKSIUK (POL)
Yandel MORALES (PUR)
Tamaterai HERVE (PYF)
Zalimkhan UMAROV (RUS)
Haci ZADE (TUR)
Viktor BOROHAN (UKR)
Bowen BASSETT (USA)
Sanjarbek ANVARBEKOV (UZB)

70kg
Walid BEN ZAMIME (ALG)
Davit DAVTYAN (ARM)
Haji KARIMOV (AZE)
Vladislav SEIZOV (BUL)
Ryan DAHCHA (CAN)
Xin WANG (CHN)
Miscael NKUNGA (COD)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Bayssangour BITMURZAEV (FRA)
Zurab ABALAKI (GEO)
Ahmad ARSZUNKAEV (HUN)
Sumit BHARASKAR (IND)
Sina KHALILI (IRI)
Takuro MATSUBARA (JPN)
Sungkar SEIDAKHMET (KAZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Ionut TRIBOI (MDA)
Gabriel SANCHEZ (MEX)
Ankh ALTANGEREL (MGL)
Muhamed VESELI (MKD)
Victor SOTO (PUR)
Mairbek MEROV (RUS)
Dominik ZAVACKY (SVK)
Remzi TEMUR (TUR)
Emrakh HASHYMOV (UKR)
Landon ROBIDEAU (USA)

74kg
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RAHIMLI (AZE)
Artsiom BOLSUN (BLR)
Tao SHEN (CHN)
Kevin ALEMAN (ESA)
Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA)
Koba GOGUADZE (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Mate VARGA (HUN)
Adarsh PATIL (IND)
Mohammad MAMIVAND (IRI)
Alessio PERENTIN (ITA)
Ariya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Nurdaulet SEILBEKOV (KAZ)
Baiyt ABDYSAMATOV (KGZ)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Rafael GARCIA (PUR)
Islam KAZHAROV (RUS)
Umut USLU (TUR)
Ivan ZALISKO (UKR)
Jayden JAMES (USA)
Farrukhbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB)

79kg
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Eljan ISMAYILZADA (AZE)
Aliaksei KURYLA (BLR)
Loki BIGRAS (CAN)
Yesikeer NUERHEISHA (CHN)
Tristan ALEKSANDROV (EST)
Luka MARGVELIDZE (GEO)
Felix SCHMITT (GER)
Arnold TAKACS (HUN)
Saurabh YADAV (IND)
Sobhan ESMI (IRI)
Daniel SIMONIAN (ISR)
Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN)
Aibek KALYAKHMET (KAZ)
Khamza ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Adrian FLOCEA (MDA)
Trim ISMAILI (MKD)
Slade SHADOWSHOT (RSA)
Ismail KHANIEV (RUS)
Jaroslav ZAREMBA (SVK)
Yasin UZUN (TUR)
Bohdan OLEKSIIENKO (UKR)
Ryan Scott BURTON (USA)

86kg
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Mahammad ABASZADA (AZE)
Alan TIGIEV (BUL)
Tejvir DHINSA (CAN)
Bolati NA ERTAI (CHN)
Jordy NGATSE (COD)
Yahia ELIWA (EGY)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Dachi PAPINASHVILI (GEO)
ARUN (IND)
Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Tomer DROZHNIAK (ISR)
Natsura OKAZAWA (JPN)
Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ)
Samidullo ALIMZHANOV (KGZ)
Sergiu FLUIERARU (MDA)
Bilguundalai PUREVDAGVA (MGL)
Kane ROSARIO (PUR)
Magor LORINCZ (ROU)
Akhmad MUKUTOV (RUS)
Nick SCHERRER (SUI)
Nikolaj SZILAGYI (SVK)
Alp Arslan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Sefa CESUR (TUR)
Samir IBISHOV (UKR)
Aeoden SINCLAIR (USA)

92kg
Huseyn MAMMADTAGHIZADA (AZE)
Aliaksei KULAKOU (BLR)
Grigor CHERNAKOV (BUL)
Udaypartap BILLEN (CAN)
Bie ERLAN (CHN)
Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)
Abdurrahim SEKMEN (GER)
Youssef SOLIMAN (HUN)
NIKHIL (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Hisashi KONISHI (JPN)
Beibarys YERGALI (KAZ)
Osmonbek ZHYLKYBAEV (KGZ)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Darius SAS (ROU)
Artur TOGOEV (RUS)
Jacek FUDALEJ (SUI)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Eyyup CETIN (TUR)
Yehor HOROKH (UKR)
James MASTNY (USA)
Ulugbek ORTIKOV (UZB)

97kg
Farhad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Aliaksei KHADUNOU (BLR)
Valentin BORISOV (BUL)
Harjot SHERGILL (CAN)
Yuanchong YANG (CHN)
Joona JUNNILA (FIN)
Ashab DADAEV (FRA)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Robert ERDELYI (HUN)
LACKY (IND)
Toohid NOORY (IRI)
Noah LEIBOWITZ (JPN)
Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Al Baro AKHMETOV (KGZ)
Alexei USANOV (MDA)
Ilija ATANASOV (MKD)
Balazs LORINCZ (ROU)
Rodion SANAKOEV (RUS)
Adam KOSC (SVK)
Suleyman RIZA (TUR)
Vladyslav VERETILNYI (UKR)
Michael BOYLE (USA)

125kg
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Yaraslau KOKHAN (BLR)
Dian MANEV (BUL)
Jagroop DHINSA (CAN)
Chenghan YANG (CHN)
Youssef ABOUDAWABA (EGY)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Daniel SZILAGYI (HUN)
RONAK (IND)
Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI)
Hosei FUJITA (JPN)
Riza IZAKHAR (KAZ)
Baejoon JANG (KOR)
Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL)
Brian TECHEREAN (ROU)
Soslan GABUEV (RUS)
Rusen GULER (TUR)
Ruslan PROKOPOV (UKR)
Dreshaun ROSS (USA)

Wrestling Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) will be chasing his third U20 world title in Greco-Roman 97kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman 

55kg
Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM)
Emin JAVADLI (AZE)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Jiale LI (CHN)
Dunia SIBOMANA (COD)
Jakub SEDLAK (CZE)
Nolan PISSOCHER (FRA)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Lenny WOERNER (GER)
HARIOM (IND)
Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Hiro SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ)
Nurmukhammed EGEMBERDIEV (KGZ)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Ilia KANDALIN (RUS)
Denizhan OGUN (TUR)
Denys KIRYK (UKR)
Ezekiel WITT (USA)
Khojiakbar KUCHKAROV (UZB)

60kg
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)
Rasim IBRAHIMAU (BLR)
Pedro DE SOUZA (BRA)
Zhivko HINKOV (BUL)
Augusto VARGAS (CHI)
Ziming DING (CHN)
Heritier MUAYA (COD)
Karim ELEMARY (EGY)
Magomed VARAEV (FRA)
Kakhaber GOGINASHVILI (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Samarth MHAKAVE (IND)
Amirali HEYDARI (IRI)
Takuma NAKASHIMA (JPN)
Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)
Marlen ABDYSAMATOV (KGZ)
Alin CHITIC (MDA)
Zeus GONZALEZ (MEX)
Dragos DRAGA (ROU)
Ilia PANIUTIN (RUS)
Levin MEIER (SUI)
Nikolasz PALENYIK (SVK)
Furkan ODEN (TUR)
Nazarii BABINSKYI (UKR)
Manuel SALDATE (USA)
Dostonbek ORIPOV (UZB)

63kg
Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Zhaojian WANG (CHN)
Clisman CARRACEDO (ECU)
Youssef AHMED (EGY)
Matias ARPIAINEN (FIN)
Davit GABEDAVA (GEO)
Timur DEMIR (GER)
Marios KAPANTAIS (GRE)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
Aditya TATE (IND)
Ali GHARIBI (IRI)
Taiga HIBARINO (JPN)
Dias KERTAY (KAZ)
Sirozhidin NORMATOV (KGZ)
Vlad DUMINICA (MDA)
Daniel GUEVARA (MEX)
Martin AAK (NOR)
Filip IWASZKO (POL)
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
Salim KAZMAKHOV (RUS)
Andrej VELISAVLJEV (SRB)
Balint VARGA (SVK)
Omer ALTAS (TUR)
Maksut SULTANOV (UKR)
Nicholas SORROW (USA)
Kuvonchbek ISMOILOV (UZB)

67kg
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Murad ALIYEV (AZE)
Mikhail MARKOUSKI (BLR)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Sebastian BUSTAMANTE (CHI)
Qiqiang ZHANG (CHN)
Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Sebastian WAGNER (GER)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
ROVIND (IND)
Iliya ALIKHANI (IRI)
Shuya MIURA (JPN)
Kazybek KALMAGAMBETOV (KAZ)
Akim APILOV (KGZ)
Byeonggi SEO (KOR)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Ilias LAAOUINA (NED)
Tamaterai HERVE (PYF)
Iosif ZLOTAR (ROU)
Amir SOVMIZ (RUS)
Roland CSICSO (SVK)
Haci ALTAN (TUR)
Denys KOVSHUN (UKR)
Amryn NUTTER (USA)
Ogabek MUKIMOV (UZB)

72kg
Gor KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Kamran RAJABLI (AZE)
Nikola COLES (CAN)
Xin CHEN (CHN)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Bruno HANZEL (CZE)
Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY)
Andreas VAELJA (EST)
Nikolozi KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Artur GOTTFRIED (GER)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Barna TOPLAK (HUN)
VINIT (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHAMADIAN (IRI)
Timur NADORGIN (ISR)
Kento NOMURA (JPN)
Marlan BAKAYEV (KAZ)
Yrysbek KHAMDAMOV (KGZ)
Ignat MEICO (MDA)
Jorge GOMEZ (MEX)
Mingiian GORIAEV (RUS)
Djordje HIRCL (SRB)
Salih YAZICI (TUR)
Dmytro DEMIANOVSKYI (UKR)
Eligio ESGUERRA (USA)
Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB)

77kg
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Lars MATT (AUT)
Javidan NAHMATOV (AZE)
Yan ZIANKO (BLR)
Miguel XAVIER (BRA)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Zheying SONG (CHN)
Harryson NSIAMAZA (COD)
Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY)
Luka KAJANNE (FIN)
Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO)
Adamantios PAPADATOS (GRE)
Zalan TOPLAK (HUN)
Dheeraj MALIK (IND)
Amir SAEIDI NAVA (IRI)
Daichi TSUTSUMI (JPN)
Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ)
Elkhan CHOENBEKOV (KGZ)
Andrei CERNOUS (MDA)
Noe WOLSKI (POL)
Nazar BERKOVSKII (RUS)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Ruben STRAAKEVED (SWE)
Alkan AKAR (TUR)
Nestor BARAN (UKR)
Leister BOWLING (USA)
Ogabek ASKARALIEV (UZB)

82kg
Vahe HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Kiryl VALEUSKI (BLR)
Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL)
Jordy NGATSE (COD)
Miguel VEGA SALAZAR (COL)
Petr ZAK (CZE)
Mohamed SHAABAN (EGY)
Severi MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Luka PIPIA (GEO)
Vasileios SEMERTZIDIS (GRE)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
PRINCE (IND)
Alireza MOHAMMAD HOSSEINI (IRI)
Rondo KODAMA (JPN)
Nurdaulet RAKHMAN (KAZ)
Nurislam OSKONBAEV (KGZ)
Marius STIHARU (MDA)
Heder SALDANA (MEX)
Kane ROSARIO (PUR)
Ramazan NEKHAI (RUS)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Ismail BEREKET (TUR)
Kyrylo UHRIK (UKR)
Arvin KHOSRAVY (USA)
Bekmurod RUSTAMOV (UZB)

87kg
Iurik PETROSIAN (ARM)
Paul MAIER (AUT)
Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE)
Ivan BIALIAYEU (BLR)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Qiangle WANG (CHN)
Josef CERNY (CZE)
Youssef RAYA (EGY)
Marcus UHTJAERV (EST)
Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
Anton BUCHHOLZ (GER)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
Zalan VARGA (HUN)
AKHIL (IND)
Amirhossein NEMATZADEH (IRI)
Itzhak NEMSADZE (ISR)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Alikhan TAGAYEV (KAZ)
Mirsaid IUNUSOV (KGZ)
Tigran MANUKYAN (LTU)
Gabriel STAN (ROU)
Manvel ARUTIUNIAN (RUS)
Abdulvahab KALAFAT (TUR)
Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR)
Aidan SQUIER (USA)

97kg
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Rihad IBRAHIMLI (AZE)
Xinyu LIU (CHN)
Andrej RODIN (CRO)
Farag AHMED (EGY)
Pauli PERKIOE (FIN)
Arman MKRTCHYAN (GEO)
Dimitrios PAPPAS (GRE)
Vendel VITAI (HUN)
Akshay RANA (IND)
Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Ryosei KATAMATSU (JPN)
Maxim UKRAINTSEV (KAZ)
Asankadyr ZAIIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Jaehyuk LEE (KOR)
Dorian TREJO OLGUIN (MEX)
Yassine BEN LABED (POL)
Ilia KOMAROV (RUS)
Emir Omer BOZBAG (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)
Cittadino TUTTLE (USA)
Fakhrikamol KOMILJONOV (UZB)

130kg
Seyran KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Mikayil ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Mihail KRALEV (BUL)
Chengmao CUI (CHN)
Karel CECH (CZE)
Essam HUSSEIN (EGY)
Tomas RUSI (FIN)
Yonis LAADILI (FRA)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Piyush KUMAR (IND)
Amirhossein ABDEVALI (IRI)
Kosei MIYAKE (JPN)
Bakhtiyar KAZIYEV (KAZ)
Alisher OSKONBAEV (KGZ)
Ali ILIASOV (RUS)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)
Trayvn BOGER (USA)
Javokhir SHODIYAROV (UZB)

Wrestling Sakura ONISHI (JPN)Sakura ONISHI (JPN) is a two-time U20 world champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Serineh CRANE (ARM)
Sviatlana KATENKA (BLR)
Dayana STOYCHEVA (BUL)
Yuting YUAN (CHN)
Rita RANTONEN (FIN)
Josephine WRENSCH (GER)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
PARVEEN (IND)
Yuu KATSUME (JPN)
Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ)
Akak MAMBETSADYKOVA (KGZ)
Yerin CHOI (KOR)
Olivia VAN KLEUNEN (NED)
Karolina ZIEN (POL)
Leticia OLIVEIRA (POR)
Heklanys RIVERA (PUR)
Diana VOICULESCU (ROU)
Margarita IARYGINA (RUS)
Sabina PIPOVA (SVK)
Wan Yi HUANG (TPE)
Nil AKTAS (TUR)
Kamilla PIHOR (UKR)
Morgan TURNER (USA)
Nilufar NURMUKHAMMADOVA (UZB)

53kg
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Aliaksandra VISTSIAK (BLR)
Evily BERNARDINO (BRA)
Kaura COLES (CAN)
Yuxuan LI (CHN)
Fiona GASSER (GER)
Szonja NEMETH (HUN)
MUSKAN (IND)
Mei KOIWA (JPN)
Dinara DAUYLKYZY (KAZ)
Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Ilona VALCHUK (POL)
Aneishka SANTOS (PUR)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Ekaterina CHIKANOVA (RUS)
Remziye KARADAG (TUR)
Alevtyna LIASHENKO (UKR)
Taylor WHITING (USA)
Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)
Alexa ALVAREZ (VEN)

55kg
Valeryia MIKITSICH (BLR)
Nataliya BOYADZHIEVA (BUL)
Meilin ZHOU (CHN)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Sara RANTONEN (FIN)
Hansika LAMBA (IND)
Angela CRAPIO (ITA)
Nana KOZUKA (JPN)
Shodiyona DILMURATOVA (KAZ)
Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Ashley DIAZ (PUR)
Olesia MALAKHOVA (RUS)
Milica PEROVIC (SRB)
Anja EPP (SUI)
Elif ATAKAN (TUR)
Karolina POPLAVSKA (UKR)
Everest LEYDECKER (USA)
Munisa MINGYASHAROVA (UZB)

57kg
Olga POPOVA (BUL)
Agnia KRAKOVSKA (CAN)
Xinyu WANG (CHN)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Ioanna XENIDOU (GRE)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
Tanvi MAGDUM (IND)
Konami ONO (JPN)
Anna STRATAN (KAZ)
Csilla VAN OS (NED)
Julia GIBALSKA (POL)
Tilly KAKUK (PUR)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (RUS)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Yu Hsuan CHENG (TPE)
Chahd JELJELI (TUN)
Su SOYALP (TUR)
Diana KOTVYTSKA (UKR)
Karlee BROOKS (USA)
Ulbiyke KARLYBAEVA (UZB)

59kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Varvara ALISEYENKA (BLR)
Jiayi HUANG (CHN)
Rosa MOLINA (ESP)
Lisa SHAVADZE (GEO)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
KOMAL (IND)
Sae NOGUCHI (JPN)
Aizhan MURATBAY (KAZ)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Gundegmaa ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Helena STELMASZCZYK (POL)
Jania DUNIGAN (PUR)
Alina BAROEVA (RUS)
Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE)
Chaima DAHI (TUN)
Elif Sude ELMALI (TUR)
Kamila KUCHMA (UKR)
Caley GRABER (USA)

62kg
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Evilly JESUS COSTA (BRA)
Yifan ZHU (CHN)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
SAVITA (IND)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Zhaidar MUKAT (KAZ)
Aizhamal TALANTBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Gabriela RUDOI (MDA)
Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (RUS)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Yen Yi LI (TPE)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Albina KLIEFAS (UKR)
Bella WILLIAMS (USA)
Feruza KAIRATDINOVA (UZB)

65kg
Zhengwei MA (CHN)
Anna MAZGAJOVA (CZE)
Chandni BANKS (GBR)
Annalena POHL (GER)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
YASHITA (IND)
Miyu OGASHI (JPN)
Zhangyl BEKEN (KAZ)
Asel ZHAPAROVA (KGZ)
Mirijam HANSEN (NOR)
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (RUS)
Saga SVENSSON (SWE)
Beyza Nur AKKUS (TUR)
Konstantsiia SARBAIEVA (UKR)
Riley HANRAHAN (USA)
Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB)

68kg
Rayssa DE SOUZA (BRA)
Chenling SONG (CHN)
Mansi LATHER (IND)
Shirin TAKEMOTO (JPN)
Uldana TILEUKHAN (KAZ)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Leah SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Evangeliia BEREZHNOVA (RUS)
Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK)
Elif Sevval KURT (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)
Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)
Mukhayyo RAKHIMJONOVA (UZB)

72kg
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Wenjin QIU (CHN)
Petra MUELLER (HUN)
Tanu SHARMA (IND)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Meiramgul MAKSOT (KAZ)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Liliana KAZMINA (RUS)
Ilayda CIN (TUR)
Khrystyna DEMCHUK (UKR)
Gretchen DONALLY (USA)

76kg
Sophia PEREZ (BRA)
Jingru SUN (CHN)
KAJAL (IND)
Miyu TAKAYAMA (JPN)
Zeinep ELAMAS (KAZ)
Dominika POCHOWSKA (POL)
Paola RODRIGUEZ (PUR)
Diana TITOVA (RUS)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Mariia ZENKINA (UKR)
Piper FOWLER (USA)
Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB)

#WrestleTirana

European Championships 2026 Freestyle Preview

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (April 17) -- After six years away from the continental stage, Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) is set to walk back into the European Championships in Tirana, Albania. Barring an upset of the highest order, he’s likely to reclaim the title he won for the fifth time in Rome back in 2020.

Sadulaev’s absence from the continental championships for the better part of a decade wasn’t a typical one – due to injury or lack of form. As a two-time Olympic champion and a six-time world champion, Sadulaev had built up a resume that made European gold almost routine.

WATCH SADULAEV LIVE | Download European Championships 2026 Preview

His was a schedule built on world conquest and he simply didn’t need the European Championships. He skipped the tournament year after year even as he dominated globally.

Sadulaev’s return to the European Championships doesn’t seem to be linked to any sentimentality, legacy or any need to prove himself. In an interview he had given to UWW at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series 2026, where he beat Takhir KHANIEV (UWW) to secure his spot for the European Championships, Sadulaev’s explanation was very practical. “For me, this gold means qualifying for the European Championships… It was very important for me to qualify there,” he said.

The 29-year-old hasn’t treated the European Championships as essential for years. At the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series, Sadulaev gave further insights into where his focus lies by saying he was already looking ahead to a stacked World Championships field later in the year and mentioned the possibility of multiple Olympic champions in one bracket.

Sadulaev is unlikely to face anything close to that challenge in Tirana. If anyone expected rust -- the 2026 Muhamet Malo Ranking Series was his first international competition since he won gold at the 2024 World Championships at this same venue --  he ended that idea comprehensively. He beat a strong field at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series, including Khaniev, who beat Kyle SNYDER (USA) earlier in the competition.

A fully fit and focused Sadulaev should find the field in Tirana -- where, incidentally, he will be competing for the third straight international tournament -- a straightforward one despite the presence of defending champion Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) and world medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), who is moving up from 92kg to 97kg.

However what Sadulaev does though, his return changes the nature of the tournament. If he wins, it sets him up for a crack at a remarkable seventh world title later this year. If the unthinkable should occur in Tirana though, anyone who does get the better of Sadulaev in Europe will immediately become relevant worldwide.

While Sadulaev headlines the event, two other former European champions will be wrestling in Tirana. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) and Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) are also lining up for their fifth European title in Tirana.

Uguev vs Harutyunyan
In contrast to an open 57kg division, the 61kg category has a strong favorite in defending champion Zavur UGUEV (UWW) who is in excellent form having won the Muhamat Malo Ranking series earlier this year. Expect last year’s silver medalist Harutyunyan and bronze medalist Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) to also contend for the podium at this edition.

Shamil MAMEDOV (BUL)Shamil MAMEDOV (BUL) will make his European Championships debut in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

New king at 65kg
A new champion will be crowned in the 65kg category, always one of the most competitive weight categories, since last year's victor Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW) isn’t returning.

Shamil MAMEDOV (BUL), who is competing in his first international competition since he won bronze at the 2023 World Championships, has to be the favorite as he dawns into a new era in his career.

Former champions Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) and Islam DUDAEV (ALB) will be key contenders but both haven’t been in the best of form last year. Two-time U23 world champion Bashir MAGOMEDOV (UWW) will likely be another main threat.

Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) is a four-time European champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Salkazanav Eyes Fifth Title
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) saw his bid to win a fifth straight European title end following an early loss to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) last time around. But with neither Sidakov, who won silver, nor defending European champion Chermen VALIEV (ALB) competing in Tirana, Salkazanov is well placed to return to the top of the podium. 

Also looking to add to his European gold medal tally is Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW). The 33-year-old has been bouncing across weight categories over the past couple of years. He wrestled at 74kg at the Paris Olympics, then won silver at last year's European Championships in the 86kg category but is now cutting down to 79kg, the category in which he won his first continental title back in 2020.

Standing between him and a second European title are Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) who is trying to improve on the silver he won last time and Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) who himself briefly wrestled in the 86kg class without much success at this year's edition of the Muhamet Malo Ranking series.

Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB), returning silver medalist, will look to change his medal color to gold this year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Shootout at 57kg
Unlike the 97kg category, the 57kg weight class is wide open with no Sadulaev-like figure to shut the door on everyone else. Defending champion Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) isn’t returning this year. In his absence, the closest thing to a favorite might be Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB), but, he too, also hasn’t had the best run since taking silver last year, placing 21st at last year's World Championships and failing to medal at the Zagreb Open earlier this year.

Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW), who will be competing in his first continental championships, doesn’t have any real hardware from international competition but is more than capable of being a contender having picked up a win against last year’s European bronze medalist Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) at the 2025 World Championships.

Arsenii DZHOIEV (AZE)Arsenii DZHOIEV (AZE) and Ibragim KADIEV (UWW) are two favorites at 86kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Shake Up at 86kg and 92kg
The 86kg category is also looking at a shake up. Osman GOCEN (TUR) is the only returning medal winner in this year’s bracket. Expected to lead the charge for the podium this time around is Ibragim KADIEV(UWW), who had a strong outing at the Muhamet Malo Ranking series where he won gold beating world champion Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) in the final.

However, Kadiev was pushed hard by world bronze medalist Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) who would be itching to repay the favor once again in Tirana. 

The 92kg division will also see just one medal winner from 2025 -- Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) returning to Tirana. That leaves the field open for 2025 world silver medalist Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW), reigning U23 European champion Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) and Ahmed BATAEV (BUL) for a chance to win their first European title.

Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) is the defending European champion at 125kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Meshvildishvili Firm
Although he hasn’t been in the best of form recently, failing to medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking series, last year's champion and 2025 worlds silver medalist Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) is still the man to beat at the 125kg category especially since last year’s runner up Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) has had an up an down season.

While Meshvildishvili is the favorite, former U23 world silver medalists Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) and Shamil MUSAEV (UWW) may yet spring a surprise.

David BAEV (UWW) dropped just one point en route to the European title last year including a 10-0 blowout against former world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), and is the favorite in the 70kg category this year as well.