U23 European Championships entry list

Friday, March 10, 2023 - 16:22 By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (March 10) -- The 2023 U23 European Championships are set to take place in Bucharest, Romania from March 13 to 19 with eleven wrestlers trying to defend their titles.

The tournament will feature some of the top young wrestlers from across Europe, with a few who have tasted success at the senior level as well.

Leading the pack are Alex SZOKE (HUN), Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE), Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), Irina RINGACI (MDA), Andreea ANA (ROU) and Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) among others.

A few of these wrestlers will also enter the European Championships a month later and the U23 tournament will be the perfect warm-up for the wrestlers trying to win a medal in Zagreb in April.

In freestyle, Azerbaijan is bringing a strong team with Georgia and Turkey. In Greco-Roman, Georgia will look to defend its team title as three returning champions and two more world medalists are part of the team.

In women's wrestling, Ukraine will once again be the team to beat but as Turkiye showed last year, it cannot be taken lightly.

A rematch between Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) and Gerogios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) is expected at 79kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Freestyle

57kg
Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Ghennadi DIUVENJI (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Rafal SZEWC (POL)
Valentin BARBULESCU (ROU)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR)

61kg
Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE)
Stilyan ILIEV (BUL)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Andrei VITAN (MDA)
Arben SEJDI (MKD)
Daniel RITTER (ROU)
Emre KURAL (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)

65kg
Tigran GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Rashid BABAZADE (AZE)
Bozhidar DZHOROV (BUL)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Veniamin BORZIN (MDA)
Muhamed FERUKI (MKD)
Aminjon SADULLOEV (POL)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Dominik LARITZ (SUI)
Hamza ZOPALI (TUR)
Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR)

70kg
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Magomed KHANIEV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA)
Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Mateusz LUSZCZYNSKI (POL)
Eduard LENARD (ROU)
Shwe WIN (SWE)
Burak SININ (TUR)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR

74kg
Menua YARIBEKYAN (ARM)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Nikolay DIMITROV (BUL)
Magamed DELIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Balint BALAZS (HUN)
Raul ZARBALIEV (ISR)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Ismet CIFTCI (TUR)
Mykyta MORHUN (UKR)

79kg
Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Gabriel IGLESIAS RAMOS (ESP)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Max KASPEROVICH (ISR)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Okan TAHTACI (TUR)
Vladyslav BODORIAK (UKR)

86kg
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Farid JABBAROV (AZE)
Ilia HRISTOV (BUL)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (ITA)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Adam MODOSJAN (MKD)
Denis CHIRICA (ROU)
Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR)
Vladyslav PRUS (UKR)

92kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Alexandru BESLIU (ROU)
Farhad ANOSHEH (SWE)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)
Roman RYCHKO (UKR)

97kg
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Islam ILYASOV (AZE)
Kolyo DIMITROV (BUL)
Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Oktay CIFTCI (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

125kg
Martin SIMONYAN (ARM)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Nika BERULAVA (GEO)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA)
Uvejs FEJZULAHU (MKD)
Jakub CZERCZAK (POL)
Florin DREVE (ROU)
Efe Anil AL (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)

Exacue MUKUBU (NOR) is the U23 world champion at 82kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM)
Rahim HASANOV (AZE)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Amare FETENE (ISR)
Leonid MOROZ (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Sabolc LOSONC (SRB)
Muhammet CAKIR (TUR)
Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR)

60kg
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Aser EBRO RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Adrian ANTON (ROU)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)

63kg
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Miroslav EMILOV (BUL)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Ioannis PETKOS (GRE)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Petru ALEXE (ROU)
Ismail CULFA (TUR)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)

67kg
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Denis MERTL (CZE)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Alexandr GURALI (MDA)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
Iosif IONESCU (ROU)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)

72kg
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Hayk ASATRYAN (ARM)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Ilia MUSTAKOV (BUL)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Joni KOMPPA (FIN)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Igor BOTEZ (ROU)
Maurus ZOGG (SUI)
Oliver OLAH (SVK)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

77kg
Ashot KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Aistis LIAUGMINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Simon BORKENHAGEN (SWE)
Sahan ACAR (TUR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)

82kg
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL)
Ivo SVIGLER (CZE)
Marcel HEIN (DEN)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Saba MAMALADZE (GEO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Semion BREKKELI (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Kadir KAMAL (TUR)
Madamin MIRZOIEV (UKR)

87kg
Hovhannes HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Ivan MANOV (BUL)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Ondrej HAVELKA (CZE)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Mykyta ALIEKSIEIEV (UKR)

97kg
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Archontis XOURAS (GRE)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Roman BALCHIVSCHII (MDA)
Jakub ANTOSZEWSKI (POL)
Ionut GOSA (ROU)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Maans KLOSTERMANN (SWE)
Fatih ONVERMEZ (TUR)
Oleksandr YEVDOKIMOV (UKR)

130kg
Albert VARDANYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Dominik KRAWCZYK (POL)
Gean ALI (ROU)
Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

Irina RINGACI (MDA) will look to defend her U23 European title in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
Emine OSMAN (BUL)
Taru VAINIONPAEAE (FIN)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Marija SPIRKOVSKA (MKD)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Ana PIRVU (ROU)
Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Snizhana ONUFRIIEVA (UKR)

53kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Mihaela MIHOVA (BUL)
Chadia AYACHI (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Maria FERONE (ITA)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)

55kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Laurie LESAFFRE (FRA)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Angelika MYTKOWSKA (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Nazife TAIR (BUL)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Celeste SION (FRA)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Wiktoria KARWOWSKA (POL)
Georgiana Carla LIRCA (ROU)
Nellie FLORENTIN (SWE)
Nazar KAYA (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)

59kg
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Asia CRAPAROTTA (ITA)
Gabriele DILYTE (LTU)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
JOVANA RADIVOJEVIC (SRB)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)

62kg
Viktoria IVANOVA (BUL)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Luisa SCHEEL (GER)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Alina ANTIPOVA (LAT)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Gabriela CUC (ROU)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)

65kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Gergana STOYANOVA (BUL)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Gerda BARTH (GER)
Drosoula TZIANAKOPOULOU (GRE)
Bianca CONTRAFATTO (ITA)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Olha MASLOVSKA (SVK)
Nora SVENSSON (SWE)
Busra EFE (TUR)
Oksana CHUDYK (UKR)

68kg
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Daniela BRASNAROVA (BUL)
Marta OJEDA NAVARRO (ESP)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Karolina KOZLOWSKA (POL)
Adina IRIMIA (ROU)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)

72kg
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Paula ROTARU (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Romana VOVCHAK (UKR)

76kg
Marta PAJULA (EST)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Marion BYE (NOR)
Elena MARGAS (ROU)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Ozaki, Morikawa Mark Golden Return to Olympic Weights

Saturday, February 7, 2026 - 00:43 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 7) -- Just four months ago, Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) came to Zagreb as a training partner with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at the World Championships.

While Morikawa won the gold medal, Ozaki cheered for her close friend, even writing messages for her on a small bandage that Morikawa put on her cheek.

Back then, Ozaki wished she could compete and become world champions together.

Not the World Championships, but Ozaki and Morikawa won gold medals at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event on Friday. Ozaki completed a dominant run to win the 62kg title while Morikawa had a bumpy ride to the 68kg gold medal, a weight class above 65kg in which she won the world gold.

"We managed to win gold with the star of Physical Asia," Morikawa wrote on social media referring to a Netflix show in which Ozaki participated.

The two do not train at the same university in Japan but the closeness of their weight classes has allowed them to practice together whenever they get a chance, including being on international tours together.

They were two of the four Japanese wrestlers who won gold medals in Women's Wrestling, joining Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) at 59kg and Nana IKEHATA (JPN) at 65kg.

Greco-Roman also kicked off at the Zagreb Open, the season-opening Ranking Series event, and the world champion at 63kg Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) showed that he has adjusted to the Olympic weight class 67kg, winning gold.

Iran won gold at 63kg after Erfan JARKANI (IRI) defeated CHETAN (IND) in the final.

Ozaki began her day by securing a fall over Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) after building a 12-2 lead, and then pinned Eniko ELEKES (HUN) in the second bout to book a spot in the semifinal.

It was in this bout that Ozaki faced her first struggles of the day against Macey KILTY (USA). Though she ultimately secured a 5-2 win, Ozaki gave up positions against the American wrestler. She would later admit that it was not easy to keep herself calm during the bout.

In the final against Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), a silver medalist from the European Championships, Ozaki scored four different takedowns and looked in complete control. With the 8-0 win, Ozaki won her first Ranking Series gold medal.

Ozaki won the world title at 65kg in 2023 but was a phenom at 62kg when she emerged on the international scene in 2022. But after a slump in form both in Japan and internationally, she missed out on making the Japan team for the 2023 World Championships at 62kg.

However, with Ami ISHII (JPN) qualifying Japan for the 2024 Paris Games without winning a medal opened a door for Ozaki to be at the Olympics.

Ozaki set out on a daunting task of moving to 68kg and not only did she defeat Ishii while being underweight, she managed to win a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Soon after, she decided to move back to 62kg but suffered two back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and failed to make the 2025 world team.

It turned around at the Emperor's Cup in December 2025 as Ozaki avenged her loss to Motoki and earned the right to participate in the Zagreb Open and Asian Championships in April.

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) scores a takedown on Nesrin BAS (TUR) during the 68kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Morikawa, who also moved to 68kg after winning gold at 65kg at the World Championships in 2025, had a hiccup in the final, but managed to get the gold medal against Nesrin BAS (TUR).

The two-time world champion captured her third Ranking Series gold medal and first since 2018 but not before having a tough time on the mat. She began with an 11-0 win over Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) and then a 10-0 technical superiority over Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW).

While the fall over Aleah NICKEL (CAN) in the semifinals was dominant, Morikawa did show some signs of discomfort. That showed up in the final against Bas as Morikawa fell behind 2-0 in the first period. She managed to score a point before the break and cut the lead to 2-1.

Morikawa found a way to score two takedowns in the second period to take a 5-2 lead to capture the gold medal at 68kg.

Bas, who was at the Paris Olympics at 62kg but won world silver medal in 2025 at 72kg, was another wrestler trying to adjust to a new weight class. Her biggest test came in the semifinal against Olympic silver medalist Kennedy BLADES (USA).

Blades led 1-0 at the end of the first period but Bas seemed unfazed. The American was put on the shot clock in the second period and after 30-second activity time exchanged, Bas took a 1-1 criteria lead. Bas also got a point for stepout to make it 2-1.

She then defended the lead until the end of the time to claim a victory over Blades and a spot in the final against Morikawa. Bas is likely to continue at the weight and the silver medal in Zagreb will be a huge boost for her going forward.

Khalmakhanov adjusts to 67kg

Another star wrestler shifting to an Olympic weight class was 63kg world champion Khalmakhanov and he performed strongly at 67kg. His first battle came in the semifinal when he faced Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN).

But an arm-throw and turn gave him a 6-0 lead against Sogabe who got a few stepouts in the bout. Khalmakhanov scored two correct throws to add four more points in the bout and got one point for a lost challenge to win 11-5.

From the other side of the bracket, Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) made it to the final after beating Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 11-3, in the semifinals.

For the gold medal, Khalmakhanov and Chkhikvadze were matched evenly. While the scoreline points to a low-scoring bout, both wrestlers left it all on the mat.

Chkhikvadze was the first to get par terre but he failed to score any more points from the position and led 1-0 at the break. Khalmakhanov also got a point for the par terre position in the second period but Chkhikvadze held criteria.

The Georgian managed to score a stepout to extend his lead to a clear 2-1 score. But as the bout grew in intensity, it was Chkhikvadze who suffered, giving up a stepout with less than 30 seconds left.

With the score at 2-2, Khalmakhanov held criteria for the last point scored. He managed to hold his lead and won the gold medal in Zagreb, thus making a smooth transition to the Olympic weight class, three months after winning bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games at 67kg.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

59kg
GOLD: Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) df. Alexis JANIAK (USA), 10-0

BRONZE: Elena BRUGGER (GER) df. Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), via fall (7-0)
BRONZE: Abigail NETTE (USA) df. Iris SLATKA (CRO), via fall (10-0)

62kg
GOLD: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 8-0

BRONZE: Macey KILTY (USA) df. Eniko ELEKES (HUN), via fall
BRONZE: ANJLI (IND) df. Bhagyashree FAND (IND), 5-4

65kg
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA (JPN)
SILVER: PULKIT (IND)
BRONZE: Kriszta INCZE (ROU)

68kg
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Nesrin BAS (TUR), 5-2

BRONZE: NISHA (IND) df. Kennedy BLADES (USA), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) df. Aleah NICKEL (CAN), 9-0

Greco-Roman

63kg
GOLD: Erfan JARKANI (IRI) df. CHETAN (IND), 8-4

BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Khusniddin OLIMBOEV (UZB), 6-1
BRONZE: Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) df. Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ), 8-0

67kg
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 2-2

BRONZE: Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) df. Valentin PETIC (MDA), 5-0
BRONZE: Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) df. Mahmoud KAMALI (IRI), 3-2

U23 European Championships entry list

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Zagreb Open: Ozaki, Morikawa Mark Golden Return to Olympic Weights