U20 Worlds: Stage set for Greco-Roman stars to step up

Thursday, August 10, 2023 - 15:18 By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 11) -- Iran ran away with the U20 World Championships Greco-Roman team title last year but the story can be different this year in Amman. It won four golds, two silvers and two bronzes to top the table with Azerbaijan second and Ukraine finishing third.

However, with the inclusion of Individual Neutral Athletes and Georgia bringing a star-studded team, Iran may find it difficult to finish as it did in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Besides Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia seem to be the best in business with top age-group wrestlers coming to Amman. Armenia and Turkiye, along with Asian powerhouse Kazakhstan will hope to improve their rankings.

Greco-Roman action at the U20 World Championships begins August 18 and will be live on uww.org and the UWW App.

Denis MIHAI (ROU) will look to upgrade his silver to gold in Amman (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

55kg
Returning silver medalist Denis MIHAI (ROU) hopes to upgrade his medal. He has the experience of winning the U23 European Championships and a bronze medal at the senior European Championships since that silver. He will face challenges from Tamazi GLONTI (GEO) who lost to Mihai in the quarterfinals before dropping the bronze-medal bout against Nuristan SUIORKULOV (KGZ) who also returns hoping for another medal.

2021 U20 world bronze medalist Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) will also be a big contender for gold. Aliyev won the U23 Euros at 60kg but dropped down to 55kg for the U20 competition. The change in the weight class did not change the result as he won gold again.

Iran is sending 2022 U17 world champ Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) who finished with a bronze medal at the U20 Asian Championships after losing to Alisher GANIEV (UZB) who will return to Amman for the world gold now.

2022 senior European bronze medalist Emre MUTLU (TUR) missed out on a medal last year but he will give it another try this year. U20 European silver medalist Marko VOLOSHYN (UKR) will also try to win a world medal.

2021 U20 world champ Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI) is returning to the tournament. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

60kg
After an absence of two years 2021 U20 world champion Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI) will return to defend his title. The 2019 U17 world champ did not compete internationally in 2022 but did return to wrestle at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series at the start of the year but finished without a medal.

But he will find things a lot different than 2021 as he faces U20 European champion Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 2022 European champion Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM, returning bronze medalist Sumit DALAL (IND) and Koto GOMI (JPN) who finished fifth last year.

Senior and U20 Pan-Am silver medalist Jeremy PERALTA (ECU), U23 World Championships bronze medalist Melkamu FETENE (ISR) and U20 European bronze medalist Kemal SEVGILI (TUR) are also entered.

U20 Asian champion Khusniddin OLIMBOEV (UZB) will look to add a world medal to his resume. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

63kg
Three continental champions will try to win a world medal at 63kg. U20 European champion Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM) will have a lot on his shoulders with respect to the team race as well. Joining him are U20 Asian champ Khusniddin OLIMBOEV (UZB) and U20 European champ Adham ELSAYED (EGY).

Former U20 Asian champ Zhantoro MIRZALIEV (KGZ) will return to competition as well. Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE), who won a bronze medal at the U20 European Championships and is a 2022 U17 world silver medalist, will be key in Azerbaijan's bid to finish on the podium.

Iran is sending Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) as he tries to keep the 63kg gold, won by Imam MOHAMADI (IRI), at home.

The U20 European silver medalist Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) will count himself as someone to finish on the podium in Amman.

67kg
For Georgia to be close to winning the team title, Nika BROLADZE (GEO) will have to step up again. The returning silver medalist will back himself to repeat the run to the final, a bout he lost last year to Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE).

Brokadze has already avenged that loss and in style, as he pinned Abdullazade in the semifinals of the U20 European Championships. He later lost the final to Azat SARIYAR (TUR) and will be waiting to get his hands on the Turkish wrestler in Amman. Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM), the U20 European bronze medalist and 2022 U17 world champ, will also look to avenge his U20 Euro semifinal loss to Sariyar.

Add to the mix another U17 world champ Joel ADAMS (USA) who won the gold last year at 65kg without giving up a single point. He had defeated Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI) to win the gold last year and may face the Iranian again. Bouveriri Piani is the current U20 Asia champion, a title he won in Amman last month.

U20 African champion Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY), returning fifth-placer Nestori MANNILA (FIN), U20 Asian bronze medalist Aziz GASSYMOV (KAZ) and U20 Asian silver medalist Ilyosjon ABDINAZAROV (UZB) will also look to finish on the podium.

72kg
One wrestler who would be itching to return to competition is Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO). The 2022 U17 world champ was stunned 9-0 by Rokas CEPAUSKAS (LTU) in the U20 European Championships this year. Cepauskas will be in Amman hoping to repeat the feat and win a world medal after the continental bronze.

The three other U20 European medalists will also be in Amman. A rematch between gold medalist Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE) and silver medalist Levente LEVAI (HUN) is on the cards while Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) will look to avenge his loss to Nurullayev. Mirzoiev won the bronze medal at last year's U20 World Championships but won the silver at the U23 Europeans this year.

Other medal threats include U23 Asian champion Yeldos KAMELOV (KAZ), U20 Asia gold medalist Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), U20 Asia silver medalist Seyedmohammadmahdi MIRI (IRI) and Yehia ABDELKADER (EGY), the U20 African champion.

U20 European champion Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA), blue, is aiming to becoming Moldova's first Greco-Roman U20 world champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

77kg
All eyes will be on Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) as the U20 European champion looks to win a U20 world gold medal after finishing with a silver medal last year at 72kg. The 2022 U17 world champion will become the first U20 world champion if he manages a gold medal in Amman.

Trying to stop him from achieving the historic feat will be Davud MAMMADOV (AZE) who lost to Solovei in the U20 European final and is also a silver medalist from the 2022 U17 Worlds. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) will be keen on wrestling Solovei as he lost to the Moldovian in the world final in 2021. Abdevali won a bronze medal at the U20 Asian Championships this year.

U20 Asian champion Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB) and U20 African champion Mahmoud AHMED (EGY) are the other continental champions entered at 77kg along with U20 Asian bronze medalist Maihaimu MIREADILI (CHN) and two U20 European bronze medalists -- Michal ZELENKA (CZE) and Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR).

Alperen BERBER (TUR) is going for his second age-group world title. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

82kg
The 82kg weight class will see two returning bronze medalists in Rohit DAHIYA (IND) and Alperen BERBER (TUR).

Berber, the 2022 U17 world champ, will look to continue his winning streak over Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE) who lost to him in the U17 world final and in the semifinals of the U20 European Championships. Berber finished with a silver medal at the continental event. Two bronze medalists from the same event -- Ilia CERNOVOL (MDA) and Ivan CHMYR (UKR) -- are also booked for Amman.

U20 Asian champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), who also has a silver medal at the U23 Asians, will also put forward his challenge in Amman along with Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY), the U20 African champion and U20 Asian bronze medalist Yasin YAZDI (IRI).

87kg
A rematch of last year's U20 World Championships final is on the cards as defending champion Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM) and silver medalist Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI) are both entered at 87kg. While Choubani has won the U20 continental gold since, Nazaryan has managed to win a silver medal at the U20 Europeans.

Nazaryan and Choubani's final was among the most controversial bouts of that tournament as the Iranian scored a stepout with one second left of the clock to take a 2-1 lead only to see it reversed on an Armenian challenge. The judges ruled that Choubani committed a foul -- hand below Nazaryan's waist -- while scoring.

Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO), returning silver medalist from 82kg, is making the jump to 87kg and will hope to win a medal in the new weight class. He can be counted among the favorites as he defeated Nazaryan 5-4 in the U20 European final.

Nurassyl AMANALY (KAZ) was second best to Choubani at the U20 Asians and will be back in Amman along with U23 Asian champ at 82kg Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) and U20 African gold medalist Kareem ELDESOUKY (EGY).

97kg
Georgia will count heavily on U20 European champion Gor AYVAZYAN (GEO) to add 25 points to the team race. The 2022 U17 world champ at 92kg will have the other three medalists from the U20 Europeans including silver medalist Rostislav COVALI (MDA) and two bronze medalists -- Darius KIEFER (GER) and Vladyslav LUB (UKR).

Kiefer will be an interesting match-up for Ayvazyan. Though the Georgian has beaten Kiefer in their last two meetings, Kiefer has closed the gap significantly. In the 2022 U17 world final, he suffered a 9-0 loss but in the U20 European semifinals, Kiefer lost 3-2.

Returning silver medalist Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) will look to upgrade his medal this year but faces a tough challenge from his opponents including U20 Asian champion Amirreza AKBARI (IRI), silver medalist Damirkhon RAKHMATOV (UZB) and bronze medalist Tao WEI (CHN).

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI), blue, is a returning silver medalist at 130kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

130kg
Two-time U20 Asian champion Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) was absolutely furious after losing the final last year but will have a chance to win the gold as he returns to the U20 World Championships. He will face strong opposition from U20 European champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) who is also a silver medalist from the 2022 U17 World Championships.

U20 European silver medalist Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE) is also entered along with U23 Asian champion Wenhao JIANG (CHN) who also won the silver at the U20 continental event.

Aden ATTAO (USA) is the returning bronze medalist and will fancy his chances of making it to the final this year. He is joined by U20 African champion Fekry EISSA (EGY), a wrestler Attao defeated to win the bronze last year, U23 Asia silver medalist Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ) and U20 European bronze medalist Talip CIFTCI (TUR).

#JapanWrestling

Rising star Onishi closes in on ticket to first World Championships

Thursday, June 19, 2025 - 13:28 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (June 19) -- A year after coming up just short of knocking off one of Japan's greatest stars that left her out of the senior World Championships, Sakura ONISHI is determined there will be no slip-ups this year. And certainly not another playoff.

Onishi, the reigning world U20 champion and one of Japan's top rising female wrestlers, moved one win away from securing a ticket to her first senior worlds when she advanced to the final at women's 59kg at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships on Thursday in Tokyo.

The 19-year-old Onishi chalked up a pair of 10-0 victories to make Friday's final, where she will face 2023 world U23 silver medalist Sena NAGAMOTO in a rematch of her gold-medal match victory at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships in December.

Others of note making their respective finals were unrelated namesakes and Asian champions Arash YOSHIDA at Freestyle 97kg and Taizo YOSHIDA at Greco 82kg, while four-time world medalist Miwa MORIKAWA went undefeated through four rounds of the round-robin at women's 65kg.

The two All-Japan tournaments are serving as qualifiers for the senior World Championships to be held September 13-21 in Zagreb. Victories at both tournaments automatically clinches a place on the team to Croatia; if the winners are different, a playoff will be held at the end of that day's session.

Only three of Japan's eight gold medalists at the Paris Olympics -- Sakura MOTOKI at women's 62kg, Nao KUSAKA at Greco 77kg and Kotaro KIYOOKA at Freestyle 65kg -- are entered in the four-day tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym and thus eligible for the world team. Motoki could face a showdown with Nonoka OZAKI, a Paris 68kg bronze medalist, on the final day.

Although entries are limited, the tournament is organized to replicate the World Championships with each weight class run through the semifinals on the first day, and repechage and medal matches on the following day.

Sakura ONISHI (JPN) Sakura ONISHI attempts to get behind against high schooler Sae NOGUCHI during their women's 59kg semifinal match. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

Onishi, who will defend her world U20 crown in August and has victories this year at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series tournament and Asian Championships, was a virtual unknown and just out of high school last year when she stunned two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO in the semifinals before going on to win the title.

But in the world team playoff, Kinjo fought back from a 5-0 deficit and scored a dramatic exposure in the last 10 seconds, then barely held off a near stepout in the last second to beat Onishi 6-6 on criteria. Kinjo then won her fourth world gold at the non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana.

This time, Onishi wants to avoid a playoff at all costs.

"Last year, I lost in the playoff to Kinjo, and that was really disappointing," Onishi said. "I really respect Risako. But it was hard to take that she went on to become the world champion. This time, I'm determined that I will win the title and get the ticket to the World Championships, without there being a playoff. This has been constantly on my mind for the past year."

For Onishi, it is a new challenge to go from newcomer to the one with the target on her back.

"Last year, this tournament is where I made my All-Japan debut," Onishi said. "So nobody was keeping an eye on me. Then I won the title, so from the Emperor's Cup to here, I know that I'm being targeted. Listening to those in the corners of the opponents, I get the feeling that they've been studying me.

"For my own part, I've only been watching videos of my own matches. I hardly watched any of the opponents. More than scouting my opponents, I want to exceed that with my own techniques and continue to progress. That I did that [today] to be honest is a relief."

There's also a chance Onishi might have familiar company in Zagreb. Her older brother, 2022 world U20 bronze medalist Taiga ONISHI, made the final at Greco 55kg, where he will face Sanshiro TAKAHASHI. Takahashi defeated Emperor's Cup and Asian champion Kohei YAMAGIWA in the semifinals, assuring there will be a playoff in the weight class.

Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) Arash YOSHIDA has Takuma TATEOKA in trouble during their freestyle 97kg semifinal. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

In freestyle, Arash Yoshida continued his dominance as Japan's biggest hope in the men's upper weights in decades, storming into the 97kg final with an 11-0 victory over Takuma TATEOKA that he finished at the first-period buzzer. It was his third win by fall or technical fall on the day.

"I was able to wrestle as usual and came out with wins," the Emperor's Cup and two-time Asian champion said. "It was good that there was nothing particularly bad about how I won."

Noah LEIBOWITZ (JPN) High schooler Noah LEIBOWITZ earned a place in the 97kg final with a win by technical fall over collegian Yuta SASAKI. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

In the final, Yoshida will face powerful high schooler Noah LEIBOWITZ, who advanced to the gold-medal match with three technical falls.

Leibowitz is also the product of a mixed marriage, having been born to an American father and Japanese mother in the southern U.S. city of Atlanta. The family moved to Japan when he was 4.

"Just like today, I want to steadily score points, not take too much risk and notch a win without problems," Yoshida said.

Yoshida has been on a tear of sorts since finishing fifth at 92kg at the 2023 World Championships before moving up to 97kg and missing out on qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

The 21-year-old Nihon University student, whose Iranian father runs the kids club where he got his start in the sport, started the year with a victory at the Petko Sirakov-Ivan Iliev U23
tournament in Bulgaria, and followed that by taking the gold at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series.

He then won the Japan qualifier for the world U23 team, before striking gold at the Asian Championships in Amman in March, adding to his Asian gold from 2023.

"My objective is to compete internationally, so what I want to do here is put out on the mat what I have been working on in practice," Yoshida said. "My goal is to become the world champion."

Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) Taizo YOSHIDA scores a takedown in his Greco 82kg semifinal win over Tesshin HIGUCHI. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

The other prominent Yoshida, Taizo, has been electrifying crowds since he won the senior Asian title as a high schooler in 2024, just a year removed from winning the world U17 crown. A fifth-place finish at last year's senior worlds further boosted his stock, although he was dealt a setback in Amman when he failed to medal in his Asian title defense.

On Thursday, Yoshida made the 82kg final with a pair of 8-0 victories in a combined time of 2:38, and will face Reon KAKEGAWA with a chance to clinch his ticket to Zagreb outright.

"In today's matches, I went on the offensive and was able to score technical falls, which I feel shows that I'm at a good level," Yoshida said. "When the situation got a little messy, I was able to get the points in the end. More specifically, my body movement was good."

Yoshida, a freshman at Nippon Sports Science University, has never had to look far for a positive role model. He has been following in the footsteps of fellow Kagawa Prefecture native Kusaka since he first put on wrestling shoes.

"I have followed the same path as Nao-sempai from kids club to junior high school, high school and now college," Yoshida said, using the honorific for a respected predecessor. "He is entered for the first time since the Olympics, and I hope we can become fellow champions."

At women's 65kg, which has just five entries, Morikawa will aim to take the title in a de facto final on Friday against Nana IKEHATA. Both wrestlers won all three of their round-robin matches by 10-0 technical falls.

The 25-year-old Morikawa is aiming to regain the world title she won at 65kg in 2022. She also has a silver from 2021 and a bronze from last year, as well as a 72kg bronze from 2023 after she missed out on making Japan's Olympic team at 68kg. She won a second career Asian gold in March.

Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) Hayato ISHIGURO, left, fends off Yudai TAKAHASHI for a dramatic 5-4 victory at freestyle 86kg. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

Another sparse but highly competitive weight class is freestyle 86kg, where Paris Olympian and two-time world team member Hayato ISHIGURO went 3-0 in the five-man round robin.

Ishiguro notched a nail-biting 5-4 win over 2024 world U23 bronze medalist Yudai TAKAHASHI, who had previously defeated 2022 world U23 champion Tatsuya SHIRAI 5-0.

Ishiguro and Shirai face each other in the final round of a matches, and a win for Shirai, who is the Emperor's Cup champion, could leave the three of them with 3-1 records and the title decided by criteria.

A playoff is also on the cards at Greco 72kg, where Taishi NARIKUNI, still looking to add an elusive Greco world gold to the one he won at freestyle 70kg in 2022, knocked off Emperor's Cup champion Issei HONNA 6-0.

Narikuni will face Ryoma HOJO in the final, with the winner taking on Honna for the ticket to Zagreb.

At women's 72kg, 2022 world U20 champion Ayano MORO defeated Emperor's Cup and former world champion Masako FURUICHI by fall in their preliminary group match, and the two will go at it again after both advanced to the final.

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Day 1 Results

Freestyle

86kg (5 entries)
Standings through 4 rounds: 1. Hayato ISHIGURO, 3-0; 2. Yudai TAKAHASHI, 2-1; Tatsuya SHIRAI, 2-1; Hiroto NINOMIYA, 1-2; Satoshi MIURA, 0-4.

92kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Shuichiro SATO by TF, 13-0, 3:40
SF 2: Takato UCHIDA df. Rintaro MOTOHASHI, 3-1

97kg (7 entries)
SF 1: Arash YOSHIDA df. Takuma TATEOKA by TF, 11-0, 3:00
SF 2: Noah LEIBOWITZ df. Yuta SASAKI by TF, 11-0, 4:22

125kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Hosei FUJITA, 4-4
SF 2: Hibiki ITO df. Ryusei FUJITA, 4-1

Greco-Roman

55kg (11 entries)
SF 1: Sanshiro TAKAHASHI df. Kohei YAMAGIWA, 5-3
SF 2: Taiga ONISHI df. Taketo NINOMIYA, 3-3

63kg (11 entries)
SF 1: Ayata SUZUKI df. Yuto NAGASAWA by TF, 10-1, 4:04
SF 2: Manato NAKAMURA df. Shoya ITO by TF, 9-0, 1:48

72kg (11 entries)
SF 1: Taishi NARIKUNI df. Issei HONNA, 6-0
SF 2: Ryoma HOJO df. Daigo KOBAYASHI, 4-3

82kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Taizo YOSHIDA df. Tesshin HIGUCHI by TF, 8-0, 1:58
SF 2: Reon KAKEGAWA df. Yudai KOBORI by Fall, :49 (5-0)

Women’s Wrestling

55kg (7 entries)
SF 1: Sowaka UCHIDA df. Narumi NAKAMURA by TF, 11-0, 4:28
SF 2: Umi IMAI df. Karina HONDA by TF, 11-0, 4:11

59kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Sakura ONISHI df. Sae NOGUCHI by TF, 10-0, 4:46
SF 2: Sena NAGAMOTO df. Miuna KIMURA by Fall, 5:21 (7-0)

65kg (5 entries)
Standings through 4 rounds: 1. Miwa MORIKAWA, 3-0, and Nana IKEHATA, 3-0; 3. Akari ASAI, 1-2; 4. Ayana HISHINUMA, 1-3; 5. Nana MOROHOSHI, 0-3.

72kg (7 entries)
SF 1: Ayano MORO df. Chisato YOSHIDA by TF, 16-4, 5:12
SF 2: Masako FURUICHI df. Mahiro YOSHITAKE, 5-2

U20 Worlds: Stage set for Greco-Roman stars to step up

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Rising star Onishi closes in on ticket to first World Championships