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)
Javier TONITA (CAN)
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)
Sina BOUSTANI (IRI)
Yamato OGAWA (JPN)
Nurassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Nurtilek ZAMIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Gheorghi GAIDARJI (MDA)
Naran BARKHAS (MGL)
Raiden HOBSON (PLW)
Pavlo ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Nathaniel LYTTLE (PUR)
Magomed MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Patrik VETRAK (SVK)
Ebubekir GUR (TUR)
Mykola BRATOV (UKR)
Isaiah CORTEZ (USA)
Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB)

61kg
Gagik GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Kristian CIKEL (AUT)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Cruz LEWIS (CAN)
Anchao LU (CHN)
Heritier MUAYA (COD)
Zeyad HASSANEINN (EGY)
Ruben TANGAMYAN (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)
Andrii SHOKALIUK (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)
Zorab ALOIEV (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)
Nurlan AGHAZADA (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)
Amirmohammad ZARRINKAM (IRI)
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)
Bohdan OLIINYK (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)
David ERHAN (MDA)
Trim ISMAILI (MKD)
Slade SHADOWSHOT (RSA)
Ismail KHANIEV (RUS)
Jaroslav ZAREMBA (SVK)
Alirizo BAKHROMOV (TJK)
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)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)
Aeoden SINCLAIR (USA)

92kg
Huseyn MAMMADTAGHIZADA (AZE)
Aliaksei KULAKOU (BLR)
Grigor CHERNAKOV (BUL)
Dominic WENDT (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)
Rostyslav KURYLIAK (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)
Ivan MYROSHNYCHENKO (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)
Yuri LANDIM (BRA)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Jiale LI (CHN)
Dunia SIBOMANA (COD)
Jakub SEDLAK (CZE)
Nolan PISSOCHER (FRA)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Lenny WOERNER (GER)
Vasileios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
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)
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)
Haitham BARAHMAH (KSA)
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)
Uladzimir NEHODA (BLR)
Miguel XAVIER (BRA)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Zheying SONG (CHN)
Harryson NSIAMAZA (COD)
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)
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)
Danil SKLIZKOU (BLR)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Qiangle WANG (CHN)
Josef CERNY (CZE)
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)
Marius STIHARU (MDA)
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)
Museyi HUSEYN (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)
Omer AMIROGLU (KSA)
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)
Victoria STEFANOV (CAN)
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)
Yelyzaveta KULAKIVSKA (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)
Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR)
Taylor WHITING (USA)
Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)
Alexa ALVAREZ (VEN)

55kg
Valeryia MIKITSICH (BLR)
Nataliya BOYADZHIEVA (BUL)
Elizabeth CHAPMAN (CAN)
Meilin ZHOU (CHN)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Sara RANTONEN (FIN)
Hansika LAMBA (IND)
Angela CRAPIO (ITA)
Nana KOZUKA (JPN)
Shodiyona DILMURATOVA (KAZ)
Elmira KARABALAEVA (KGZ)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Ashley DIAZ (PUR)
Olesia MALAKHOVA (RUS)
Milica PEROVIC (SRB)
Anja EPP (SUI)
Elif ATAKAN (TUR)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (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)
Kai Nessa PARE (CAN)
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)
Oleksandra MALKOVA (UKR)
Caley GRABER (USA)

62kg
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Evilly JESUS COSTA (BRA)
Andrea NISEVA (BUL)
Taylor ENGELEN (CAN)
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
Khushleen JHALLI (CAN)
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)
Iryna BORYSIUK (UKR)
Riley HANRAHAN (USA)
Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB)

68kg
Rayssa DE SOUZA (BRA)
Mackenzie CAYER (CAN)
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)
Daryna ZAISHLA (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)
Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR)
Piper FOWLER (USA)
Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Ishii Beats Morikawa Twice to Grab Ticket Back to World Championships

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (May 23) -- Making the most of her raw determination and an effective low single, Ami ISHII will get a chance at a third straight world title after all. And she earned a ticket to the Asian Games as a bonus.

Ishii notched consecutive victories over rival Miwa MORIKAWA on Saturday, first in the women's 68kg final at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships then again in a playoff for a place on the national team at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"What went well at the tournament was not so much how I handled my matches, but the process I went through in the six months since I lost [to Morikawa] in December," Ishii said. "To get where I am today, after my loss in December, I spent every day thinking about making the national team. The difficult times became my ally."

Ishii, the reigning world champion at 68kg, fell to world 65kg champion Morikawa last December in the final of the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships which, along with the Meiji Cup, are the domestic qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Wrestlers who win both tournaments automatically earn tickets to both big events. If the winners are different, a playoff is held between the two in an extra session following the medal ceremony.

There were four playoffs in total among the nine weight classes that had finals on Saturday, with Paris Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI also making the grade by completing a double victory over Yasuha MATSUYUKI at women's 76kg.

Ami ISHII (JPN)Ami ISHII (JPN) wrestles off Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the 68kg playoff. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Ishii, who lost 5-3 to Morikawa at the Emperor's Cup, never gave her opponent an opening to go the offensive, and both of their bouts revolved around actions initiated by Ishii low singles, which Morikawa would counter by reaching over the top.

"From the new year to today, I have worked on various things, but the major issue was how to finish off [the takedown]," Ishii said. "I'm really happy that that became the key to victory."

In the Meiji Cup final, Ishii notched a 2-1 win, with a first-period stepout accounting for the difference when both received activity points in the second period. On the scoring move, Ishii got in deep on a single, then got the point when a scramble took them over the edge.

Returning to the mat several hours later for the playoff, Morikawa was able to score off a counter, but it wasn't enough as Ishii held on to win 4-2.

After receiving an activity point, Ishii scored a stepout to take a 2-0 lead into the break. In the second period, she got in exceptionally deep on a single, giving her the leverage to dump Morikawa onto her back for 2. Morikawa squirmed to her knees and reached back to fling Ishii for a 2-point exposure of her own, but that would be the end of the scoring.

Ishii will get a chance to win a third straight world gold, having also taken the 72kg title in 2024. She also has a silver from 2022, but her fifth-place finish in 2023 led to her eventually missing out on the Paris Olympics.

Ishii's medal collection also includes an Asian gold from 2022, but as with other Japanese wrestlers, this year's Asian Games holds special appeal for her, as Japan will be hosting the quadrennial event for the first time in 30 years.

"As for the Asian Games, it has the same frequency as the Olympics being once every four years, making it an important competition," Ishii said. "I will work hard to win and make it one of my memories."

Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) won the 76kg Meiji Cup final and the playoff against Yasuha MATSUYUKI. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Like Japan's other Olympic medalists, Kagami took her time returning to competition after Paris, enjoying the limelight and adoration that comes with the sport's most important gold medal.

She acknowledged that she might have taken her preparation for granted, which resulted in a stunning last-second 4-2 loss to Matsuyuki at the Emperor's Cup.

Kagami wasn't going to let that happen again and, in winning the final and playoff 6-2 and 3-2, respectively, she quickly responded after making an aggressive mistake in each match.

"After I lost, I trained harder than anyone," Kagami said. "Even with my busy schedule, I never cut down on my time in practice. Maybe noone could see it, or I didn't let it be seen. I continued progressing and getting more confident, and the result here shown a light on it."

In the final, Kagami received an activity point in the first period, then started the second period by scoring a 2-point exposure to off her opponent's single-leg attempt. But when she got behind and attempted a gut wrench, Matsuyuki stopped her cold to cut the gap to 3-2.

Kagami fired right back with a driving double-leg takedown, which, with an unsuccessful challenge point tacked on, made it 6-2.

In the playoff, Kagami again led 1-0 in the first period, this time from a stepout. She added an activity point in the second period to make it 2-0, only to fall behind on criteria when Matsuyuki countered a takedown attempt for 2.

Again, Kagami went right back to business, shooting in on a single, lifting it up and marching Matsuyuki over the edge for the go-ahead stepout point. She never let Matsuyuki get close to scoring the rest of the way.

"I had absolutely no anxiety," Kagami said of falling behind in the playoff. "What I gave up came from a counter to my tackle. I knew I could get in on my tackle and after she countered, I went right back to taking another shot. There was still about a minute and 20 seconds and there was nothing for me to fear."

Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) defeated Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN), 11-1, in the 53kg final. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

In another high-profile final, former world champion Moe KIYOOKA took advantage of the first opening that reigning world champion Haruna MURAYAMA gave her and ran with it to capture the women's 53kg title with an 11-1 win.

Kiyooka, who won the Emperor's Cup in Murayama's absence, was trailing 1-0 in the second period when she noticed a lapse and pounced at the three-time world champion's open foot.

Kiyooka swept it up by the heel for a takedown, then transitioned to a position favored by her brother, Paris Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA, in which she gets her head between the opponents legs from behind. From there, she executed four quick rolls and the match was over in 4:11.

Kiyooka will now get a chance add to the world title she won at 55kg in 2022 when she makes the trip to Astana, where it is likely she will be accompanied by her brother. He made the final at Freestyle 65kg, to be contested on Sunday.

In other action, the rivalry between Nippon Sport Science University alumni and practice partners Kyotaro SOGABE and Katsuaki ENDO at Greco 67kg added another chapter to its long-running saga, with Sogabe coming out on top this time.

Sogabe nullified his loss to Endo at the Emperor's Cup by winning the Meiji Cup final 4-0, then took the playoff with a 3-1 victory.

In both matches, Sogabe was able to score with a gut wrench from par terre, while keeping from being rolled himself while on the bottom.

"Recently in practice, I often gave up points from the ground," Sogabe said. "Up to this tournament, I worked on that, and the fact that I didn't give up points from the ground, I think was the reason behind my victory."

It proved to be a banner day for the Sogabe family. Following Sogabe's victory, his younger brother Rintaro SOGABE won his first-ever senior national title with a wild 12-12 win in the Greco 72kg final over Hajime KIKUTA.

"I came here coming off the disappointment of losing at the All-Japan," Kyotaro Sogabe said. "Today, I was able to win the title along with my brother. He was able to see it through to victory, and I could win out in the playoff, so I'm really happy."

Rintaro also earned the ticket to the World Championships, as Emperor's Cup champion Taishi NARIKUNI was unable to take part in the playoff after suffering a broken facial bone his quarterfinal match on Friday. According to a family member, Narikuni will undergo surgery on Tuesday.

Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN)Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) won the 79kg gold to earn his spot for the World Championships. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Also heading to his first senior World Championships will be rising star Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI, who repeated his victory at the Emperor's Cup over Kanata YAMAGUCHI with a 4-0 win the the Freestyle 79kg final.

Waseda University's Gharehdaghi scored all of his points in the first period with a takedown, stepout and activity point, then spent the second period holding off Yamaguchi.

"I'm happy, but in the second period, I wasn't able to do my wrestling, and that's something I want to fix," Gharehdaghi said.

Gharehdaghi, whose father is Iranian, was coming off a gold-medal run at last month's Asian Championships in Bishkek.

"It really gave me a boost of confidence," he said. "Being Asian champion makes me look anew at what I should be doing. The matches at the World Championships will be even harder, so I must continue practicing as I have been, without letting up at all."

Day 3 Results

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI, 4-0

BRONZE: Shunsuke GOTO df. Kohei KITAMURA, 6-3
BRONZE: Ariya YOSHIDA df. Kojiro SHIGA by Fall, 4:57 (7-5)

86kg
GOLD: Hayato ISHIGURO df. Natsura OKAZAWA by TS, 12-1, 2:25

BRONZE: Ryunosuke KAMIYA df. Tatsuya SHIRAI by Def.
BRONZE: Yudai TAKAHASHI df. Rintaro INOUE by TS, 11-1, 3:57

125kg
GOLD: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Hosei FUJITA by TS, 10-0, :29

BRONZE: Akinari ORIYAMA df. Yamato HASEGAWA, 5-2
BRONZE: Keivan YOSHIDA df. Kazushi IWASAKI by TS, 10-0, 5:12

Greco-Roman

67kg
GOLD: Kyotaro SOGABE df. Katsuaki ENDO, 4-0

BRONZE: Kojiro HASEGAWA df. Chiezo MARUYAMA, 6-2
BRONZE: Komei SAWADA df. Kensuke SHIMIZU, 3-1

World team playoff: Sogabe df. Endo, 3-1

72kg
GOLD: Rintaro SOGABE df. Hajime KIKUTA, 12-12

BRONZE: Zenji ANADA df. Taishi NARIKUNI by Inj. Def.
BRONZE: Daigo KOBAYASHI df. Takeru KOZUKA, 5-2

97kg
GOLD: Yuri NAKAZATO df. Takahiro TSURUTA, 5-3

BRONZE: Sorato KANAZAWA df. Issa KIKUCHI, 7-1
BRONZE: Koki MATSUMOTO df. Riku NAKAHARA by Fall, 2:50 (5-5)

World team playoff: Nakazato df. Tsuruta, 1-1

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA df. Haruna MURAYAMA by TS, 11-1, 4:11

BRONZE: Umi IMAI df. Mai OGAWA, 5-2
BRONZE: Mayu SHIDOCHI df. Saki YUMIYA, 2-0

68kg
GOLD: Ami ISHII df. Miwa MORIKAWA, 2-1

BRONZE: Rey HOSHINO df. Masako FURUICHI, 6-0

World team playoff: Ishii df. Morikawa, 4-2

76kg
GOLD: Yuka KAGAMI df. Yasuha MATSUYUKI, 6-2

BRONZE: Mahiru FUJITA df. Mizuki NAGASHIMA, 5-0
BRONZE: Ayano MORO df. Sakura NAKANO by Fall, 1:08 (2-0)

World team playoff: Kagami df. Matsuyuki, 3-2