#WrestleAmman

U20 World Championships entry list

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 7) -- A week after the U17 World Championships ended in Istanbul, Turkiye, top wrestlers in the U20 age category will assemble in Amman, Jordan for the World Championships in that age group.

The Jordan capital, which hosted the U15 and U20 Asian Championships in July, will see 672 wrestlers in three different styles with Freestyle kicking off the championships on August 14. It will be live on uww.org and the UWW App from August 14 to 20. Freestyle wrestling will be followed by Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

Iran will once again be the favorite to win the team title in Freestyle as it boasts of wrestlers including defending champion at 125kg Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI). The United States finished second last year and will look to upset Iran this time as it brings Luke LILLEDAHL (USA), Meyer SHAPIRO (USA), Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) and Bennett BERGE (USA).

India finished third in Sofia and it will hope to better its position on the podium as it brings returning medalists Mohit KUMAR (IND) and Sagar JAGLAN (IND).

Iran will be the favorite to defend its team title in Greco-Roman as it has named Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI), 2021 U20 world champ Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI), Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) and returning silver medalists Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI).

The next best team was Azerbaijan as returning champion Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) leads the team which has returning bronze Elmir ALIYEV (AZE), U20 European champ Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE) and Davud MAMMADOV (AZE).

No doubt the Individual Neutral Athletes will affect the podium finishes this year but Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine are also sending strong Greco-Roman squads to Amman.

In women's wrestling, Japan will be tested by the United States, India, China and Ukraine as all four countries are sending strong squads as they try to match the best in the world.

Japan had a star-studded line-up last year but only two defending champs feature in the squad for Amman. Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) and Ayona MORO (JPN) will look to defend their titles at 55kg and 76kg.

The United States will be led by senior world champion and defending champion Amir ELOR (USA) at 72kg and breakout star and 2021 U20 world champ Kennedy BLADES (USA) at 76kg. The team also has returning silver medalist Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) and two returning bronze medalists Katie GOMEZ (USA) and Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA).

India managed second place last year and will look to close the gap with Japan as it banks on defending champ ANTIM (IND), U20 Asia champ NITIKA (IND), U17 world champs SAVITA (IND) and Harshita MOR (IND), and returning silver medalist Priya MALIK (IND).

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) is the defending champion at 125kg. (Photo: UWW / Assem Shalgumbayeva)

Freestyle

57kg
Herbert AKAPIAN (AIN)
Lev PAVLOV (AIN)
Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE)
Congbao XIE (CHN)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
David KIEFER (GER)
SAGAR (IND)
Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN)
Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Bakytbek DUISHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Vasile MARCU (MDA)
Rafal SZEWC (POL)
Amir HAMAYUN (TKM)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Ruslan SOLOVEI (UKR)
Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)
Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB)

61kg
Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (AIN)
Yahor RUDAUSKI (AIN)
Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM)
Musa AGHAYEV (AZE)
Shehabeldin MOHAMED (EGY)
Marc ARIAS (ESP)
Tamazi SULAMANIDZE (GEO)
Dario DITTRICH (GER)
Milan MIZSEI (HUN)
Mohit KUMAR (IND)
Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)
Suhib ALMARAFI (JOR)
Rin SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ)
Akylbek URMATOV (KGZ)
Dmitri CARASTOIANOV (MDA)
Enkhbold ENKHBAT (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Benjamin BOEJTHE (ROU)
Robert MESZAROS (SVK)
Nuryagdy BAYRAMDURDYYEV (TKM)
Emre CETIN (TUR)
Mykola TASHOHLO (UKR)
Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA)
Azizbek NAIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN)
Ilya RAHOZAU (AIN)
Andranik AVETISYAN (ARM)
Jakob SAURWEIN (AUT)
Ramik HEYBATOV (AZE)
Sikadaier KUERMANBAYI (CHN)
Said ELGAHSH (EGY)
Felipe FERRUSOLA (ESP)
Akseli ERKKOLA (FIN)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Marcel WAGIN (GER)
Jaskaran SINGH (IND)
Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)
Zaid MESLAH (JOR)
Kaiji OGINO (JPN)
Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ)
Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ)
Ion BERGHI (MDA)
Dominik JAGUSZ (POL)
Eligh RIVERA (PUR)
Doru DINCA (ROU)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR)
Jesse MENDEZ (USA)
Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB)

70kg
Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN)
Mikita DZEMCHANKA (AIN)
Abderrahmane BENAISSA (ALG)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Javidan AHMADOV (AZE)
Bozhidar DZHOROV (BUL)
Saba KOBAKHIDZE (GEO)
Burak SALVIZ (GER)
Georgios IOAKEIMIDIS (GRE)
Marcell NAGY (HUN)
NARENDER (IND)
Ali REZAEI (IRI)
Daniel KORKIN (ISR)
Yuma TOMIYAMA (JPN)
Mukametali KABIDOLDANOV (KAZ)
Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
Viljams LUTKEVICS (LTU)
Constantin CHIRILOV (MDA)
Zelimkhan MUTSUKHAEV (POL)
Julian GEORGE (PUR)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Rostyslav PRUS (UKR)
Meyer SHAPIRO (USA)
Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB)

74kg
Ihar SHALIMA (AIN)
Anton SUCHKOV (AIN)
Armen MUSIKYAN (ARM)
Mukhammad INSHAPIEV (AUT)
Namus ORUJOV (AZE)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Amaan GULACHA (CAN)
Feng LU (CHN)
Mohamed ABDELHADY (EGY)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Stas WOLF (GER)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Hossein AGHAEI (IRI)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Orts ISAKOV (JOR)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Zhakshylyk BAITASHOV (KGZ)
Arturs PURINS (LAT)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Batbayar BATSUKH (MGL)
Marcin STANEK (POL)
Tanner PEAKE (PUR)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Azymberdi SAPAROV (TKM)
Mevlut OZDEMIR (TUR)
Mykyta MORHUN (UKR)
Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA)
Asadbek KARIMOV (UZB)

79kg
Ibragim KADIEV (AIN)
Dzmitry LUKASHUK (AIN)
Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Christopher BAKER (AUS)
Lukas LINS (AUT)
Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Connor CHURCH (CAN)
Matteo MONTEIRO (CPV)
Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO)
Gregor EIGENBRODT (GER)
Nandor HAJDUCH (HUN)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Farzad SAFI (IRI)
Abdallah MAKOON (JOR)
Ryogo ASANO (JPN)
Magzhan ZHANYRBAY (KAZ)
Denizbek ULAN UULU (KGZ)
Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU)
Traian CAPATINA (MDA)
Demchigdorj TUMURBAATAR (MGL)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Kimi KAEPPELI (SUI)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR)
Alim MIESUVIETOV (UKR)
Matthew SINGLETON (USA)
Steven RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

86kg
Vadzim BANDARKOU (AIN)
Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Tabriz BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Slavi STAMENOV (BUL)
Maiding YUEMAI (CHN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
Kiril KILDAU (GER)
Peter ZSIVNOVSZKI (HUN)
Mukul DAHIYA (IND)
Amirhossein ALIZADEH (IRI)
Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA)
Fumiya IGARASHI (JPN)
Imangali KALDYBEK (KAZ)
Ulukbek SOOROMBEKOV (KGZ)
Davids PIROZNIKS (LAT)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Shakjir BISLIMI (MKD)
Filip BLASZCZYK (POL)
Noah SCHWALLER (SUI)
Orazmuhammet HOJALYYEV (TKM)
Harun KILIC (TUR)
Tien KUO (TPE)
Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR)
Bennett BERGE (USA)

92kg
Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN)
Aliaksei ZHORAU (AIN)
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Ravan MUSAYEV (AZE)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Samuel PEREIRA (CAN)
Giorgi ROMELASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel FISCHER (GER)
Grigorios SARIDIS (GRE)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
VINAY (IND)
Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI)
Issa KIKUCHI (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Nurbolot ADYL UULU (KGZ)
Wiktor HASA (POL)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)
Yaroslav LISNIAK (UKR)
Jack DARRAH (USA)

97kg
Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN)
Islam KILCHUKOV (AIN)
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Zafar ALIYEV (AZE)
Qikang XING (CHN)
Mohamed SALAHELDIN (EGY)
Nika PANTSULAIA (GEO)
Deepak CHAHAL (IND)
Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)
Toyoki HAMADA (JPN)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Grigori TOMAILI (MDA)
Taron SHAHINYAN (POL)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
You WU (TPE)
Dogan UZUN (TUR)
Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR)
Camden MC DANEL (USA)

125kg
Said AKHMATOV (AIN)
Aliaksandr HRADOUKIN (AIN)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Stefan SHAVKOV (BUL)
Karanveer MAHIL (CAN)
Zihao HUANG (CHN)
Roope KATAJA (FIN)
Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA)
Zurab ROMELASHVILI (GEO)
Rajat RUHAL (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Ryusei FUJITA (JPN)
Marlen KURLYSBEK (KAZ)
Younho HA (KOR)
Teodor GJORGIEV (MKD)
Ksawery KAMINSKI (POL)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)
Christian CARROLL (USA)

Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) will start as the favorite at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Women's wrestling

50kg
Sviatlana KATENKA (AIN)
Aleksandra KOPYLOVA (AIN)
Elvina KARIMZADA (AZE)
Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN)
Yu ZHANG (CHN)
Karolina MUELLEROVA (CZE)
Maria CAZALLA (ESP)
Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND)
Miruko SAKANE (JPN)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Julia MICHNIEWICZ (POL)
Georgiana ANTUCA (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Reka HEGEDUS (SVK)
Yi LIN (TPE)
Zerda DEMIR (TUR)
Viktoriia SLOBODENIUK (UKR)
Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)
Mariana ROJAS (VEN)

53kg
Marta HETMANAVA (AIN)
Polina LUKINA (AIN)
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Nikol KRUMOVA (BUL)
Liuxuan CHEN (CHN)
Shaimaa MOHAMED (EGY)
Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
ANTIM (IND)
Noura TAAIBIN (JOR)
Nagisa HARADA (JPN)
Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Khaliun BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Nikola WISNIEWSKA (POL)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK)
Emine CAKMAK (TUR)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)
Katie GOMEZ (USA)
Dilshoda MATNAZAROVA (UZB)

55kg
Diana ANTROPOVA (AIN)
Aryna MARTYNAVA (AIN)
Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE)
Sophia BECHARD (CAN)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
JYOTI (IND)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Lina NITA (MDA)
Felicitas DOMAJEVA (NOR)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)
Amani JONES (USA)
Aysanem KURBANBAEVA (UZB)

57kg
Volha HARDZEI (AIN)
Tatiana ILEVA (AIN)
Gabriela CROSS (CAN)
Jin ZHANG (CHN)
Petra MRACKOVA (CZE)
Louji YASSIN (EGY)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
REENA (IND)
Ichika ARAI (JPN)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Aitolkun MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Bertha ROJAS (MEX)
Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL)
Helena VAN AS (RSA)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Pei Ying LIAO (TPE)
Sevval CAYIR (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA)
Ulmeken ESENBAEVA (UZB)

59kg
Alesia HETMANAVA (AIN)
Elena KUROVA (AIN)
Nawel BAHLOUL (ALG)
Camila AMARILLA (ARG)
Caitlin CLATNEY (CAN)
Lana NOGIC (CRO)
Farah HUSSEIN (EGY)
Mia OLIVIER (FRA)
Luna ROTHENBERGER (GER)
NITIKA (IND)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Kanami YAMANOUCHI (JPN)
Madina AMAN (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Gantsetseg BATSUKH (MGL)
Aleksandra WITOS (POL)
JOVANA RADIVOJEVIC (SRB)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR)
Alexis JANIAK (USA)
Sarbinaz JIENBAEVA (UZB)

62kg
Alina BORISOVA (AIN)
Yana TRETSIAK (AIN)
Mayara RAMOS (BRA)
Shuang HAN (CHN)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Vanja GERSAK (GER)
Yasmine SOLIMAN (HUN)
SAVITA (IND)
Suzu SASAKI (JPN)
Tynys DUBEK (KAZ)
Zharkynai NURLAN KYZY (KGZ)
Ana CRETU (MDA)
Melanie JIMENEZ (MEX)
Khulan BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Olha PADOSHYK (POL)
Dunja LUKIC (SRB)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

65kg
Zlatoslava STEPANOVA (AIN)
Kseniya TSIARENIA (AIN)
Gerda BARTH (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
ANTIM (IND)
Momoko KITADE (JPN)
Korlan AMANOVA (KAZ)
Tancholpon KYBALBEKOVA (KGZ)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Pei Shan CHIEN (TPE)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Duygu GEN (TUR)
Iryna BORYSIUK (UKR)
Madeline KUBICKI (USA)

68kg
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)
Alina SHAUCHUK (AIN)
Jia YANG (CHN)
Menatalla BADRAN (EGY)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
ARJU (IND)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Ray HOSHINO (JPN)
Zhibekzhan SABYRZHANOVA (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Karolina JAWORSKA (POL)
Elif KURT (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Isabella MIR (USA)
Gilbery GARCIA (VEN)

72kg
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN)
Kseniia SAMUILOVA (AIN)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Paige MAHER (CAN)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Heba IBRAHIM (EGY)
Noemi OSVATH NAGY (HUN)
Harshita MOR (IND)
Yuka FUJIKURA (JPN)
Shamshiyabanu TASTANBEK (KAZ)
Kaiyrkul SHARSHEBAEVA (KGZ)
Emilia CRECIUN (MDA)
Tselmuun OTGONBAT (MGL)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Julia LOETSCHER (SUI)
Bukrenaz SERT (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)
Mardona KADAMOVA (UZB)

76kg
Aliaksandra KAZLOVA (AIN)
Mariia SILINA (AIN)
Myah PHILLIPS (CAN)
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Priya MALIK (IND)
Ayano MORO (JPN)
Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Lin JIANG (TPE)
Melisa SARITAC (TUR)
Mariia ZENKINA (UKR)
Kennedy BLADES (USA)

Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE)Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) will look to defend his 67kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Alibek AMIROV (AIN)
Dzianis VITAROI (AIN)
Armen GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Tamazi GLONTI (GEO)
Lukas BENZING (GER)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Edmond DOMOKOS (HUN)
Anil MOR (IND)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Ahmad Khaled AHMAD (JOR)
Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN)
Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)
Nuristan SUIORKULOV (KGZ)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Abduvali RAHIMBAYEV (TKM)
Emre MUTLU (TUR)
Marko VOLOSHYN (UKR)
Zachary SILVIS (USA)
Alisher GANIEV (UZB)

60kg
Bilal BERSANUKAEV (AIN)
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Ilkin GURBANOV (AZE)
Yuetao LIU (CHN)
Jeremy PERALTA (ECU)
Gorka GRACIA (ESP)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Daniel RAFAEL (HUN)
Sumit DALAL (IND)
Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Koto GOMI (JPN)
Saifulla KURMAN (KAZ)
Emirlan DUISHENALIEV (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Mathias MARTINETTI (SUI)
Husein HASANOV (TJK)
Kemal SEVGILI (TUR)
Vladyslav LEVCHUK (UKR)
Maxwell BLACK (USA)
Kuvonchbek YAKHSHIBOEV (UZB)

63kg
Daniial AGAEV (AIN)
Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM)
Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Hristiyan IVANOV (BUL)
Matej REBIC (CRO)
Matous JANKOVIC (CZE)
Adham ELSAYED (EGY)
Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
David MANYIK (HUN)
SANDEEP (IND)
Ahmadreza  MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI)
Suhib ALHASANAT (JOR)
Komei SAWADA (JPN)
Dinislam SAGITZHAN (KAZ)
Zhantoro MIRZALIEV (KGZ)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Bredi SLINKERS (NED)
Furkan ERKEN (TUR)
Vasyl MYSHANYCH (UKR)
Landon DRURY (USA)
Khusniddin OLIMBOEV (UZB)

67kg
Ilias IANDAROV (AIN)
Illia VALEUSKI (AIN)
Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM)
Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Ji LENG (CHN)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Zsolt TAKACS (HUN)
UMESH (IND)
Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI)
Gaith ODTALLA (JOR)
Kojiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Aziz GASSYMOV (KAZ)
Mukhamed KOSHBAEV (KGZ)
Gyeongtae KIM (KOR)
Saud ALSUBAIE (KSA)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Saya BRUNNER (SUI)
Kakabay KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Azat SARIYAR (TUR)
Izet BEKIROV (UKR)
Joel ADAMS (USA)
Ilyosjon ABDINAZAROV (UZB)

72kg
Imran ALIEV (AIN)
Zakhar YANEVICH (AIN)
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Yehia ABDELKADER (EGY)
Kristo MERILAIN (EST)
Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Ankit GULIA (IND)
Seyedmohammadmahdi MIRI (IRI)
Ariell SOSUNOV (ISR)
Omar AL DARAGHMEH (JOR)
Hajime KIKUTA (JPN)
Yeldos KAMELOV (KAZ)
Imur TEMIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Gunhee LEE (KOR)
Kipras GVOZDAS (LTU)
Vasile ZABICA (MDA)
Michal PUCHALSKI (POL)
Ognjen JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Nasimjon TURDIBEKOV (TJK)
Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Braden STAUFFENBERG (USA)
Abdullo ALIEV (UZB)

77kg
ABDULMASIH (AIN)
Ramazan ARAPKHANOV (AIN)
Henrik GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Martin DIMITROV (BUL)
Maihaimu MIREADILI (CHN)
Mihael LUKAC (CRO)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Mahmoud AHMED (EGY)
Ekke LEITHAM (EST)
Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Dominik BOTOS (HUN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)
Isami HORIKITA (JPN)
Olzhas YERGALI (KAZ)
Erlan MARS UULU (KGZ)
Kasparas JUODELIS (LTU)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Mateusz BORYSEWICZ (POL)
Antal VAMOS (SRB)
Ilhan ALDI (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Derek MATTHEWS (USA)
Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB)

82kg
Imam ALIEV (AIN)
Uladzislau SLABADZINSKI (AIN)
Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL)
Antonio LUKAC (CRO)
Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY)
Jesper HAERKAENEN (FIN)
Yvan GUIADEM (FRA)
Data CHKHAIDZE (GEO)
Miklos KIRALYHAZI (HUN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Yasin YAZDI (IRI)
Reon KAKEGAWA (JPN)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Artykbek ALYMBEK UULU (KGZ)
Ilia CERNOVOL (MDA)
Christian MEDINA (MEX)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Nicolaos IGNATESCU (ROU)
Branko DUKIC (SRB)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ivan CHMYR (UKR)
Michael ALTOMER (USA)
Dilshod MAMADAMINOV (UZB)

87kg
David ANDREASIAN (AIN)
Maksim MASIUKEVICH (AIN)
Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Ali GULIYEV (AZE)
Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL)
Zichen YANG (CHN)
Tomislav BRKAN (CRO)
Kareem ELDESOUKY (EGY)
Robin USPENSKI (EST)
Elias LYYSKI (FIN)
Tourpal MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Csaba  SZINAY (HUN)
Mohit KHOKHAR (IND)
Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI)
Daisei ISOE (JPN)
Nurassyl AMANALY (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Yongdae CHA (KOR)
Mahmoud HAWSAWI (KSA)
Damian MATVEIKO (LTU)
Patryk ROBASZEK (POL)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Yhlas ABDURAZAKOV (TKM)
Erdem KETHUDA (TUR)
Ramazan PASHAIEV (UKR)
Wyatt VOELKER (USA)
Abdullokh ABDUMUTALIBOV (UZB)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Magomed MUKHTAROV (AIN)
Arshak GEGHAMYAN (ARM)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Tao WEI (CHN)
Kevin USPENSKI (EST)
Gor AYVAZYAN (GEO)
Darius KIEFER (GER)
SAHIL (IND)
Amirreza AKBARI (IRI)
Kyo KITAWAKI (JPN)
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)
Samagan ORMONOV (KGZ)
Donghyun YUN (KOR)
Igor KABADEICEV (LTU)
Rostislav COVALI (MDA)
Sebastian WARCHOL (POL)
Gean ALI (ROU)
Yusup BELLIYEV (TKM)
Muhittin HELVACI (TUR)
Vladyslav LUB (UKR)
Sawyer BARTELT (USA)
Damirkhon RAKHMATOV (UZB)
Juan DIAZ (VEN)

130kg
Daniil KAZLOU (AIN)
Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN)
Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Leonhard JUNGER (AUT)
Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE)
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
Fekry EISSA (EGY)
Eerik PANK (EST)
Rati TALIKISHVILI (GEO)
Achilleas CHRYSIDIS (GRE)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
PARVESH (IND)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Ayumu IWASAWA (JPN)
Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ)
Talip CIFTCI (TUR)
Artur BOICHUK (UKR)
Aden ATTAO (USA)

#WrestleZagreb

Uguev ends six-year world title drought with 61kg gold

By Ken Marantz

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 13) -- With a spectacular display of his old form over two days, Zavur UGUEV (UWW) went from an afterthought back to one of the sport's most dominant wrestlers.

Uguev finessed his way to a third world title and first in six years when he captured the freestyle 61kg gold at the World Championships in Zagreb on Sunday, on the first night of finals in four Freestyle weight classes.

Uguev, the Tokyo Olympic champion at 57kg, rolled to the gold with a comprehensive 11-2 victory in the final over Asian bronze medalist Ahmad JAVAN (IRI), adding to the world titles he won in 2018 and 2019, also at 57kg.

"This is a very joyful event in my life -- I am once again on the top of the podium," Uguev said. "I am very happy and grateful to my team, my coach, my sparring partners, our national team -- thanks to everyone who played a part in my victory."

In other finals, Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) also became a three-time world champion with his third victory in five years at 125kg, while the two other golds at stake went to first-time winners who had previously made the podium, Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) at 70kg and Zahid VALENCIA (USA) at 86kg.

Uguev had been the dominant lightweight for the span from his first world title in 2018 to his Olympic triumph in 2021. But then he hit a slump with a fifth-place finish in 2023, a result he repeated in 2024, even after moving up to the non-Olympic weight class of 61kg.

This year, he gave an indication of what might lie ahead when he won his first-ever European title, having previously won a bronze in 2017 and a silver in 2018.

"I didn’t change much," Uguev said. "I just worked on our mistakes, that’s all. We didn’t invent anything new. There were mistakes, we thought them through, corrected them, and this time made only minimal ones."

Zavur UGUEV (UWW)Zavur UGUEV (UWW) tries to score against Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in the 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Uguev said he welcomes new challengers coming along to try to knock him off the throne again.

"The more new names that appear, the better," he said. "They don’t let us relax. The young wrestlers are improving a lot, and it also makes me want to work harder — to compete with the younger generation."

Regarding a possible return to 57kg, Uguev replied, "I think it’s already clear that I’ve settled into this weight and built up my physique well. I feel comfortable here now, in this weight.

"There’s still time before the [2028] Olympic Games -- we’re not thinking about that yet. For now, there’s a goal for next year. I will work, move only forward. And later we’ll see how things go."

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) wrestles Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) in the 125kg final at the World Championships. (Photo: United World Championships / Kostadin Andonov)

At 125kg, Zare reconfirmed himself as the preeminent heavyweight with a 5-0 victory in the final over European champion and Olympic bronze medalist Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE), with all of the points coming in the first period.

"I’m thankful that this [winning the title] has happened for the third time now," Zare said. "My hope is that as long as I wrestle, I can keep winning gold medals. This third one feels just as good as the others, and I dedicate it to the people of Iran."

The victory helps alleviate some of the sting of a defeat in the final at the Paris Olympics, where he was dealt a heartbreaking 10-9 loss by Geno PETRASHVILI (GEO).

"That tough experience at the Olympics was really painful, and I’ll never forget it," said Zare, who previously won world titles in 2021 and 2023. "I made mistakes myself. For the last 13 months, I’ve only been focused on training -- so that my next medal would be gold and to make up for those mistakes. I’ll keep grinding, keep pushing, until I get better and finally win that Olympic gold."

Zare also has bronze medals from the 2021 Olympics and 2022 World Championships, as well as a gold from his debut at the Asian Championships last year.

At 70kg, Aoyagi wasn't as dominating as he had been in storming into the final, but he took advantage of the opportunities presented and forged a 5-1 victory over Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL).

"The opponent completely had a strategy to counter my movement, so it made it tough," Aoyagi said. "But I also had a plan for the opponent, so I never thought I would lose."

Aoyagi's victory made up for losing in last year's final, a defeat that caused him to make changes in his approach to training and competition.

"After I lost, I dedicated myself to practice and to expanding my horizons in terms of going different places to train, and going overseas," Aoyagi said.

His overseas ventures resulted in victories at the Ranking Series events in Tirana and Budapest, along with a bronze medal at the Asian Championships, where he lost a close semifinal match to Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) -- a loss he avenged in spades in his opening match in Zagreb en route to outscoring four opponents 34-1.

Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) celebrates after winning the 70kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Aoyagi also suffered a setback domestically in June, when he was beaten in the semifinals of the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, the second of two qualifiers for the World Championships. But he came back to earn his ticket to Zagreb by winning a playoff with the eventual champion.

"A little while ago, I lost at a Japan tournament, so right now I'm No. 3 in Japan," he said. "But I never give up in trying to win. I always fight only believing that I can win."

In Sunday's final, Aoyagi gave up an activity point -- the first and only point he surrendered all tournament -- but stuffed a half-hearted arm throw attempt by Tumur Ochir for a 2-point exposure.

In the second period, he was on the verge of giving up a stepout when he suddenly rose up, reversed their positions and gained the stepout himself, which was upheld on challenge to increase his lead to 4-1.

"I knew I had my knee down and it would be no point," said Aoyagi, who would add another stepout in the final seconds. "I was aware of going out, and the opponent pushed me up a bit.

"I didn't want to let the chance get away and I reversed our positions and scored a point. Even if it had been no points, it wouldn't have changed the flow of the match."

Zahid VALENCIA (USA)Zahid VALENCIA (USA) scores a takedown against Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) in the 86kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 86kg, Valencia denied Japan a second gold on the night when he overwhelmed 2023 Asian bronze medalist Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) 12-0 to cap a successful drop from 92kg.

"I felt like I was always the best in the world," Valencia said. "I was confident in myself."

The 28-year-old Valencia, a 2023 world bronze medalist at 92kg, changed his own fortunes when, about a year ago, he decided to train with the Oklahoma State University group under the leadership of former star David TAYLOR (USA) -- a one-time nemesis of his.

"Being able to learn from someone like him, it's been amazing," Valencia said. "That's ultimately why I made the move. He's beat me so many times. I wanted to learn from him and get into his mindset of what it takes to become a world champion. I was able to do it and replicate it and bring home another one for our Team USA."

Zahid VALENCIA (USA)Zahid VALENCIA (USA), right, with coach David TAYLOR, after winning the 86kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Just to make Team USA was a challenge in itself. Valencia had to beat four-time world champion Kyle DAKE (USA) twice at the U.S. trials to earn his ticket to Zagreb. That in itself can be quite a confidence booster.

"If you make the team in the U.S., you're prepared to go be a world champ," he said. "So just go out there and let go of your fears and be courageous and let fly, go up there and score points and enjoy every moment and have fun with it."

Robert BARAN (POL)Robert BARAN (POL) celebrates after winning his bronze-medal bout at 125kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Poland's Baran earns elusive world medal

Making his seventh trip to the World Championships, Robert BARAN (POL) finally made it onto the medal podium at age 34. And he says he wants to get come back for more.

Baran won a bronze at 125kg with a solid 5-0 victory over Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN), ending a run of futility that started in 2017.

"I feel very good, it is my long-awaited first [world] medal," Baran said. "I'm very happy, very pleased, and I hope that it is not the last medal."

Baran's previous best finish was a seventh place in Belgrade in 2023. He came close at last year's Paris Olympics, but lost in the bronze-medal match to Meshvildishvili.

On Sunday, he received an activity point in each period before scoring a stepout in the second to go ahead 3-0. He capped his win with a last-second 2-point exposure.

"During the match, I was feeling great," Baran said. "We worked on a plan with the coaches and I made it work 100 percent."

The other bronze at 125kg went to Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN), who caught Jonovan SMITH (PUR) with a 4-point counter that sent him to his back, then secured a fall in 4:08.

Meanwhile, Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ), a world medalist on the U23 and U20 levels, picked up his first one as a senior, but it didn't come easy nor without a bit of drama.

Yessengeldi emerged from a wild encounter with high school phenom Jax FORREST (USA) with a 10-8 victory in a bronze-medal match at 61kg that, for an agonizing moment, he had thought he had lost.

Yessengeli came back from a 8-3 deficit to go ahead 9-8 following a scramble that earned him four points. But with the seconds ticking away, he was suddenly flagged for grabbing the singlet, giving Forrest a point -- and the lead on criteria -- with :03 left. But on challenge, his despondence turned to joy when the penalty was overturned.

The other 61kg bronze went to Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE), who put on a master class of counter wrestling to defeat Kum Hyok KIM (PRK) by fall with the last of three scoring moves.

After chalking up a pair of 2-point exposures off Kim's attacks, Novruzov countered him right to his back to secure the fall in 2:19 and gain the bronze medal that evaded him last year.

Akmataliev and Nurkosha KAIPANOV (KAZ) both added to burgeoning world medal collections by taking home the 70kg bronze medals.

Akmataliev went on a six-point run in the second period to finish up an 8-2 victory over Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) and add to his world silver from 2021 and bronze from 2022.

Kaipanov, who came into Zagreb as the defending champion, also went on a second-period blitz, with his culminating in a 13-2 victory over Vasile DIACON (MDA) in 4:48. Kaipanov also has a silver from 2019.

At 86kg, Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), a two-time world champion at 92kg, bounced back from a disappointing loss to Valencia in the semifinals by manhandling Mukul DAHIYA (IND) with a 10-0 technical fall in 3:33.

Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) gave Azerbaijan its second bronze of the night by handily defeating Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) 7-0 in the other 86kg match.

READ THE DAY 2 SEMIFINALS REPORT HERE

RESULTS

Freestyle

57kg (31 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Chongsong HAN (PRK) df. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) by Fall, 3:47 (4-1)
SEMIFINAL: Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) df. Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), 8-0

61kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Zavur UGUEV (UWW) df. Ahmad JAVAN (IRI), 11-2

BRONZE: Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) df. Jax FORREST (USA), 10-8
BRONZE: Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Kum Hyok KIM (PRK) by Fall, 2:18 (6-0)

70kg (29 entries)
GOLD: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), 5-1

BRONZE: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) df. Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM), 8-2
BRONZE: Nurkosha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. Vasile DIACON (MDA) by TF, 13-2, 4:47

74kg (35 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Chermen VALIEV (ALB) df. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW), 6-4
SEMIFINAL: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), 6-4

79kg (27 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI), 8-3
SEMIFINAL: Levi HAINES (USA) df. Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL), 4-1

86kg (29 entries)
GOLD: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) by TF, 12-0, 4:22

BRONZE: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) df. Mukul DAHIYA (IND) by TF, 10-0, 3:32
BRONZE: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), 7-0

92kg (26 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Trent HIDLAY (USA) df. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) by TF, 15-4, 6:00
SEMIFINAL: Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW) df. Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI), 11-6

125kg (27 entries)
GOLD: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) df. Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE), 5-0

BRONZE: Robert BARAN (POL) df. Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN), 5-0
BRONZE: Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Jonovan SMITH (PUR) by Fall, 4:07 (5-0)