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)

#wrestlebishkek

Hong Ends Bronze Age, Helps China Usher in Possible Golden Era

By Ken Marantz

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 10) -- By ending her own personal Bronze Age, Kexin HONG (CHN) helped China possibly usher in the beginning of a new Golden Era.

Hong was one of four Chinese to strike gold on the final day of the women’s competition at the Asian Championships, winning the 57kg title on Friday to end a rash of recent third-place finishes.

“Each bronze medal made me a little bit stronger by the competition,” Hong said. “So this time, I feel really happy, especially when yesterday I finished the semifinal and made it to the final. Finally, a final.” 

The other Chinese who made the top of the podium in Bishkek’s Zhastkyk Arena were Jin ZHANG (CHN) at 53kg, LILI (CHN) at 65kg and Jia LONG (CHN) at 72kg, capping a performance in which all 10 of the country’s wrestlers took home medals.

The lone other medal at stake on Friday went to two-time former world champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), who had ousted a Chinese opponent in the quarterfinals the previous day before snatching the 62kg gold by avenging one of her few international losses -- which led to a nice surprise for her on the medal podium.

China pipped rival Japan for the team title when Lili and Long defeated Japanese opponents in their gold-medal matches. China, with five golds overall, finished on top with 205 points, followed by Japan with 191 and Mongolia in third with 126.

“It shows that every single member of our team has been working hard behind the scenes,” Long said. “And because we have a good coach who draws up excellent plans for us, we execute them with dedication, all for the sake of our shared dream.”

Kexin HONG (CHN)Kexin HONG (CHN) celebrates after winning the gold medal at 57kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Hong completed a spotless run to the gold with a victory by fall over former world silver medalist Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) in the 57kg final.

Hong is no stranger to ending tournaments with victories, and her resume includes medals from every major global event. Unfortunately, none of those wins had come in finals over the past three years.

According to a Chinese team official, her teammates tease Hong about having an affinity for bronze, nicknaming her "Tong Pai Da Man Guan," which loosely translates to "Bronze Medalist Grand Slam." It’s not hard to see why. In the past three years, she has taken home medals of that color at four major competitions -- the 2023 Asian Games, the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 2025 Asian Championships and the 2025 World Championships.

The closest she came to breaking the hex came in Paris, where she was leading 7-0 in her semifinal against Anastacia NICHITA (MDA) when disaster struck and she got caught and pinned.

“Nobody wants to lose, but that's part of competition,” Hong said. “I really felt sad for that moment, but it also meant there was some weakness in my wrestling.

“So, I accepted and recovered, and told myself that I can become better and better. Now I’m happy to see myself improve.”

There were no slipups in her demolition of Batkhuyag in Friday’s final. Hong opened with a takedown and lace lock for a quick 4-0 lead. After a second takedown and exposure, she got her arm between Batkhuyag’s knees, lifted up and planted the Mongolian on her back, securing the fall in 1:31.

“Before, I never thought about that I can finish so fast,” said Hong, who won all three of her matches by technical superiority or fall, without conceding a point.

“Just before the competition, I just thought to be ready for the six minutes, ready to fight to the last second and just try my best to show all my advantages.”

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) defeated Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) to win her third Asian gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 62kg, Japan’s Ozaki completed an equally flawless run to her third Asian gold and fifth medal overall by scoring two 4-point takedowns in a 10-0 victory over Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK).

“I was able to win by technical superiority, but before the match, I never thought I could have such a large gap in points like this, so I'm really happy,” said Ozaki, a Paris Olympic bronze medalist at 68kg.

The victory in 2:15 avenged a particularly frustrating loss to Mun in the final of the 2023 Asian Games. Ozaki had been leading when Mun used an arm throw to toss her onto her back, then held her in the near fall position for the final minute to win 6-6 on criteria.

“One of my main objectives coming here was to beat that DPR Korean wrestler,” Ozaki said. “There were also big hurdles to get over. As such, I want to view this result in a positive light and regard it as doing a good job.”

Ozaki’s reward for a job well done came on the medal podium, where she was surprised to see that the presenter was none other than longtime rival and local superstar Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), the three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist who is currently on a hiatus.

They shared a hug after the medal was placed around a beaming Ozaki’s neck.

“Aisuluu-san is a hero,” Ozaki said. “I have so much respect for her. Of course, I respected her while she was competing. She's really a special person. To be at a competition and receive the medal this way is really an honor and I am proud of it.”

To get to Bishkek, Ozaki had to defeat reigning world and Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) at the All-Japan Championships in December. Now, to achieve her goal of getting to this year’s World Championships and Asian Games, she will have to beat Motoki again, either at next month’s Meiji Cup or a subsequent playoff.

Jin ZHANG (CHN)Jin ZHANG (CHN) works on a takedown against MEENAKSHI (IND) during the 53kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 53kg, Zhang picked up her first gold in her second trip to the Asian Championships with a lightning-quick 10-0 victory over MEENAKSHI (IND). A single-leg takedown, a lace lock and four quick spins gave Zhang the victory in 53 seconds.

Zhang, the 2024 world silver medalist at 55kg, got over her biggest hurdle in the semifinals, when she pancaked former world champion Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) for a stunning victory by fall.

“I never think about when what kind of action I can win from,” Zhang said. “I just follow the coach’s instructions, to be tough and do your attack.”

Zhang said she will not succumb to the pressure that comes with being a newly crowned Asian champion.

“After I stepped off this podium, everything will go to zero and it's a new start,” she said. “I will never think about I'm Asian champion now. I will surely fight for the higher step of the podium.”

Going into the last two finals, Japan could have won the team title with victories in both. Instead, the Chinese swept the two, with one match coming down to a challenge decision and the other a more forthright victory.

LILI (CHN)LILI (CHN) tries to score a takedown against Nana IKEHATA (JPN) during the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 65kg, China’s Lili had the winning takedown confirmed by challenge for a 3-2 victory after it appeared that Nana IKEHATA (JPN) had held on for the title.

Ikehata, the winner at the Zagreb Ranking Series this year and the 2024 world U20 champion, was leading 2-1 with all of the points coming on the activity clock when Lili made a low lunge for Ikehata’s leg with :30 to go.

Lili caught Ikehata’s heel and the Japanese tumbled onto her backside, but immediately got up and fought desperately to keep Lili from completing the takedown as time ran out.

But on challenge, it was decided that Ikehata’s initial drop to the mat constituted a takedown for Lili, who was awarded the 2 and the victory, giving her an Asian gold to go with her 2023 world bronze, and leaving Ikehata stunned.

Jia LONG (CHN)Jia LONG (CHN) turns Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN) using a high gut wrench. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In the final bout of the night, Long completed the Chinese gold rush with a 10-2 victory in the 72kg final over Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN) -- a repeat of the 65kg final in 2023.

After a stepout and activity clock gave Long a 2-0 lead at the break, she finally got Yoshitake to the mat with a single-leg takedown. From there she used her deadly high gut wrench for three consecutive rolls.

That should have ended the proceedings right there, but on the final one, Yoshitake managed to fluidly step over for a 2-point exposure that kept the action going with 1:20 left. But Yoshitake never threatened and Long came away with her second Asian gold.

Long has been gradually moving up in weight, having won the 2022 world silver and 2024 world gold at 65kg and a bronze at last year’s World Championships at 68kg.

“Perhaps there were some challenges with strength,” Long said of competing at 72kg. “But in terms of speed, it might have been a bit better than at 68kg.”

Sara NATAMI (JPN)Sara NATAMI (JPN) defeated MANISHA (IND) to win the 57kg bronze medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Kiyooka, Natami bounce back

Kiyooka and Sara NATAMI (JPN), who were both handed stunning losses by fall in the semifinals, bounced back to take home bronze medals with one-sided victories.

Kiyooka, the silver medalist a year ago, completed the collection of Asian medals with a 10-0 rout of Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ) in 1:24 at 53kg. Kiyooka also has 55kg gold from 2024, the year she also won a world title at that weight.

Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB) took home the other bronze at 53kg, using a fireman’s carry to take Seoyoung PARK (KOR) directly to her back and secure a fall in 2:00.

Natami, whose defense of the 57kg title was ended in the semifinals by Batkhuyag, needed slightly more time than Kiyooka to finish up her 10-0 win over MANISHA (IND). The winning points were decided on a Japanese challenge when the referee undercounted the number of spins Natami accomplished with her lace lock.

Natami, who came to Bishkek as a substitute for injured Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), now also has the full collection of Asian medals. In addition to last year’s gold, she won a silver in 2018 and another gold in 2022.

In the other match at 57kg, Youngjin KWON (KOR) gave Korea its lone medal in Women’s Wrestling by scoring three 2-point exposures off a takedown counter in the second period to top Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE) 7-2.

Qi ZHANG (CHN), the lone Chinese not wrestling in a final on the night, assured she would not leave Bishkek empty-handed when she converted her second takedown of Nigina SABIROVA (UZB) into a fall in 1:31 at 62kg.

The victory gave Zhang a second straight bronze and fourth of her career in a fourth different weight class. She also has a gold at 59kg from 2024, as well as the 2023 world gold at that weight.

A first-period fall also decided the other 62kg bronze, with Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) building up a 7-0 lead over Tynys DUBEK (KAZ) before using an arm bar to end the match at 1:48.

Both the home team and India bagged bronzes in the two heavier weights.

At 65kg, Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ) gave up an early takedown to Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB), but came back with a 4-point takedown to the back that she topped off with a fall in 2:02 to add to the Asian bronze she won at 68kg in 2024.

Two-time world U23 bronze medalist MONIKA (IND) also had a 4-point takedown in a 9-0 victory over Hanbit LEE (KOR) for the other 65kg bronze.

Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ), a world bronze medalist at 72kg, scored a first-period takedown while on the activity clock and that was enough to edge Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL) 2-0 for her first Asian bronze.

In the other 72kg bout, HARSHITA (IND) added to her 2024 silver medal with a victory by fall over Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB) in 3:25 after building up a 5-0 lead.

 

Photo

Day 5 Results

Women’s Wrestling

53kg (11 entries)
GOLD: Jin ZHANG (CHN) df. MEENAKSHI (IND) by TS, 10-0, :53

BRONZE: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ) by TS, 11-0, 1:24
BRONZE: Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB) df. Seoyoung PARK (KOR) by Fall, 2:00 (2-0)

57kg (11 entries)
GOLD: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) by Fall, 1:31 (10-0)

BRONZE: Youngjin KWON (KOR) df. Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE), 7-2
BRONZE: Sara NATAMI (JPN) df. MANISHA (IND) by TS, 10-0, 1:50

62kg (11 entries)
GOLD: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) by TS, 10-0, 2:15

BRONZE: Qi ZHANG (CHN) df. Nigina SABIROVA (UZB) by Fall, 1:31 (4-0)
BRONZE: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Tynys DUBEK (KAZ) by Fall, 1:48 (7-0)

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD: LILI (CHN) df. Nana IKEHATA (JPN), 3-2

BRONZE: Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB) by Fall, 2:02 (4-2)
BRONZE: MONIKA (IND) df. Hanbit LEE (KOR), 9-0

72kg (8 entries)
GOLD: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN), 10-2

BRONZE: Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) df. Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL), 2-0
BRONZE: HARSHITA (IND) df. Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB) by Fall, 3:25 (5-0)

Freestyle

57kg (11 entries)
SF 1: Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) df. Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ), 4-1
SF 2: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Fuga SASAKI (JPN) by TS, 11-0, 3:23

65kg (12 entries)
SF 1: SUJEET (IND) df. Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK), 7-2
SF 2: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df. Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN), 5-3

70kg (10 entries)
SF 1: ABHIMANYOU (IND) df. Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), 6-3
SF 2: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Sina KHALILI (IRI), 5-1

79kg (12 entries)
SF 1: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) df. Razambek JAMALOV (UZB), 4-3
SF 2: Sandeep Singh MANN (IND) df. Somonjon IKROMOV (TJK) by TS, 10-0, 3:13

97kg (13 entries)
SF 1: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. VICKY (IND), 2-0
SF 2: Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), 15-6