#WrestleTirana

U23 World Championships entries released

By Eric Olanowski

TIRANA, Albania (October 9) — The final World Championship of the season is set to kick off October 23-29 in Albania's capital city, Tirana, featuring 587 wrestlers from 58 countries.

The entry field is highlighted by ten wrestlers aiming to defend their 2022 U23 world crowns. Freestyle and Greco-Roman will both feature four reigning gold medalists, while women's wrestling will have a pair of 2022 title holders.

The four biggest freestyle stars in action are Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN), Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI).

At 79kg, Gamkrelidze is the unquestionable favorite to win gold. The young Georgian is fresh off a runner-up finish at the Belgrade World Championships, where he went 4-1, falling to Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) in the final.

The crown holder at 86kg, Shirai will be chased by 2022 U23 world bronze-medal winners Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA) and Aaron BROOKS (USA).

Azarpira, who represented Iran at 92kg in Belgrade, will move up to 97kg for the U23 World Championships. He went 1-1 after stepping in for the injured Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) on short notice. His biggest challenger in Tirana will be Azerbaijan's U23 world bronze medalist Islam ILYASOV (AZE).

For Iran to maintain its stronghold on the super freestyle heavyweight class, Valadi will have to get past Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) for a second consecutive year.

On the Greco-Roman side of the competition, the four headliners are Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI), Danial SOHRABI (IRI), Istvan TAKACS (HUN), and Alex SZOKE (HUN).

At 63kg, Mohammadi will share the bracket with the man he defeated to win the 2022 U23 world gold, Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO).

Sohrabi won bronze at the Asian Games at 67kg after bumping up to 72kg for the World Championships. In Belgrade, Sohrabi won his first bout against Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) before falling on criteria against returning world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB).

Sohrabi will be at 67kg in Tirana with his most notable opponents being Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) and Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), the silver and bronze medalists, respectively, at the 2022 U23 World Championships.

Hungarian hammers Takacs and Szoke will try to defend their 87kg and 97kg titles, respectively.

Takacs' biggest threat will be Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL), a bronze medalist at last year's U23 World Championships.

For Szoke to win a second straight U23 world title, he'll likely have to defeat U23 world bronze medalist NITESH (UWW).

In women's wrestling, Nesrin BAS (TUR) and Amit ELOR (USA) will be looking to add another U23 world title to their resumes.

Bas, who represented Turkiye at 72kg at the World Championships, will return to 68kg for the U23 World Championships. Bas was eliminated from the Belgrade competition after falling to '22 senior world champions Elor and Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN).

In Albania, Bas will have a shot at becoming the first Turkish woman to win a pair of U23 world titles. She'll have to get through Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR), a bronze medalist a year ago.

Elor, who just won her second senior world title, is on a quest to win her ninth overall world title since 2019. Thus far, she has two U17, three U20, two senior and a U23 world title.

Elor will share the 72kg bracket with Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL), the woman she defeated to win gold a year ago. 

Outside of the ten returning champions, here are the other 578 wrestlers who will be participating in the 2023 U23 World Championships:

GEOSenior world silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) will compete at 79kg, with hopes of repeating as U23 world champion. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (AIN)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Rahman IMANOV (AZE)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
Tatsuya TSUKAOKA (JPN)
Yerassyl MUKHTARULY (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Anton VLAS (MDA)
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Vasyl ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Jacob MORAN (PUR)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Khalil BARKOUTI (TUN)
Yusuf DEMIR (TUR)
Heorhii KAZANZHY (UKR)
Cooper FLYNN (USA)
SHUBHAM (UWW)

61kg
Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN)
Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN)
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE)
Kostadin GUTSEV (BUL)
Garette SAUNDERS (CAN)
Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO)
Shahdad KHOSRAVI (IRI)
Kaito MORITA (JPN)
Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Vasile MARCU (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Antonio MARGIOTTA (PHI)
Dylan SHAWVER (PUR)
Emre KURAL (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Julian CHLEBOVE (USA)
Akash DAHIYA (UWW)

65kg
Islam GUSEINOV (AIN)
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN)
Klevisi PRECI (ALB)
Andranik AVETISYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Jason LUNEAU (CAN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI)
Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Samuel ALVAREZ (PUR)
Frederik NORTJE (RSA)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Artem KRYVENKO (UKR)
Brock HARDY (USA)
Mohit KUMAR (UWW)

70kg
Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN)
Daniil AMELYANCHYK (AIN)
Tigran GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Ibragim VELIEV (BEL)
Stone LEWIS (CAN)
Matias MUNOZ (CHI)
Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Mohammad BAKHSHISHIRKOLAEI (IRI)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Rodion ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Mateusz LUSZCZYNSKI (POL)
Noah CASTILLO (PUR)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Farouk JELASSI (TUN)
Burak SININ (TUR)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR)
Douglas ZAPF (USA)
Abhimanyou ABHIMANYOU (UWW)

74kg
Imam GANISHOV (AIN)
Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (AIN)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Nikolay DIMITROV (BUL)
Patrik LEDER (CAN)
Nasser SAYED (EGY)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Stas WOLF (GER)
Christos CHRISTOFORIDIS (GRE)
Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Hikaru TAKATA (JPN)
Yerbarys SATYBALDY (KAZ)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Diego SANDOVAL (MEX)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Mohamed Ali ZORGUI (TUN)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
Keegan OTOOLE (USA)
NAVEEN (UWW)
Harry DUNO (VEN)

79kg
Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN)
Dzmitry DZENISENIA (AIN)
Menua YARIBEKYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Connor CHURCH (CAN)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Joona VUOTI (FIN)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Lucas KAHNT (GER)
Shoban YARI (IRI)
Raffaele MATRULLO (ITA)
Masaki SATO (JPN)
Shamsat TAIR (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Daniels BENDIKS (LAT)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Jose SANCHEZ (PUR)
Somonjon IKROMOV (TJK)
Okan TAHTACI (TUR)
Vladyslav BODORIAK (UKR)
Dustin PLOTT (USA)
Sagar JAGLAN (UWW)

86kg
Arslan BAGAEV (AIN)
Ilya KHAMTSOU (AIN)
Altin GANCI (ALB)
Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Owen MARTIN (CAN)
Charalampos CHOIRAS (CYP)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Ali MANSOURI (IRI)
Erzo ISAKOV (JOR)
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN)
Nurdaulet KUANYSHBAY (KAZ)
Sofiane PADIOU BELMIR (MAR)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Adam MODOSJAN (MKD)
Igor SZUCKI (POL)
Edward LESSING (RSA)
Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR)
Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR)
Aaron BROOKS (USA)
DEEPAK (UWW)

92kg
Alan BAGAEV (AIN)
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (AIN)
Arjan DANAJ (ALB)
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Samuel PEREIRA (CAN)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI)
Abdul ABUIDAIJ (JOR)
Satoshi MIURA (JPN)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Kanybek ABDULKHAIROV (KGZ)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Jairo RIVERA VAZQUEZ (PUR)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Jacob CARDENAS (USA)
Pruthviraj PATIL (UWW)

97kg
Sergei KOZYREV (AIN)
Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN)
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Thomas BARNS (AUS)
Aiden STEVENSON (CAN)
Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Hibiki ITO (JPN)
Yunus GAFUROV (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Oktay CIFTCI (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Isaac TRUMBLE (USA)
SAHIL (UWW)

125kg
Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN)
Aliaksei PARKHOMENKA (AIN)
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi VELEV (BUL)
Karanveer MAHIL (CAN)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Kai SHUTTO (JPN)
Omarkhan NADIROV (KAZ)
Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA)
Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)
Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA)
Anirudh KUMAR (UWW)

IRISeyed SOHRABI (IRI) will look to win a second straight 67kg U23 world title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Vladimir ZABEIVOROTA (AIN)
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Farid SADIKHLI (AZE)
Denis DEMIROV (BUL)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Mahdi AHADI (IRI)
Shoya ITO (JPN)
Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Leonid MOROZ (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Adem UZUN (TUR)
Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR)
Camden RUSSELL (USA)
Laishram MEITEI (UWW)

60kg
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Ergi UKU (ALB)
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Omid ARAMI (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Kosei TAKESHITA (JPN)
Aibek SABYRBEKOV (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Angel SEGURA (MEX)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Adrian ANTON (ROU)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)
Phillip MOOMEY (USA)
SUMIT (UWW)
Yonaiker MARTINEZ (VEN)

63kg
Rakhman TAVMURZAEV (AIN)
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Andi DYSHNIKU (ALB)
Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Chiezo MARUYAMA (JPN)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Jonas Urs MUELLER (SUI)
Ismail CULFA (TUR)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)
Jordan HAMDAN (USA)
PRAVESH (UWW)

67kg
Muslim IMADAEV (AIN)
Illia VALEUSKI (AIN)
Ardit ZENELI (ALB)
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Steve MOMILIA (ITA)
HARUTO YABE (JPN)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Ermek KANYBEK UULU (KGZ)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Alexandr GURALI (MDA)
Irving SALAZAR (MEX)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR)
Oleh KHALILOV (UKR)
Robert PEREZ (USA)
UMESH (UWW)

72kg
Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN)
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Joni KOMPPA (FIN)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Georgios SOTIRIADIS (GRE)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Amir Ali ABDI (IRI)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Tetsuto KANUKA (JPN)
Yeldos KAMELOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Mesfer ALSUBAIE (KSA)
Eimantas VILIMAS (LTU)
Alexis VARGAS (MEX)
Piotr STOLARCZYK (POL)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Miru Jerry OLSSON (SWE)
Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Justus SCOTT (USA)
ANIL (UWW)

77kg
Ismail BARAKHOEV (AIN)
Dzmitry NAVITSKI (AIN)
Ardit NDOJ (ALB)
Henrik GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Edvin KIN (EST)
Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI)
Shu YAMADA (JPN)
Omar SATAYEV (KAZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Hassan BARNAWI (KSA)
Aistis LIAUGMINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Jose SANCHEZ (PUR)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Simon BORKENHAGEN (SWE)
Omer DOGAN (TUR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)
Deepak PUNIA (UWW)

82kg
Aues GONIBOV (AIN)
Uladzislau SLABADZINSKI (AIN)
Kelsi NELAJ (ALB)
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Eljan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Otto KETONEN (FIN)
Saba MAMALADZE (GEO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Yasin YAZDI (IRI)
Daizo TANIZAKI (JPN)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Tyler EISCHENS (USA)
RAHUL (UWW)
Daniel BELLO (VEN)

87kg
Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN)
Vasili BUHLAK (AIN)
Julijan SHEHU (ALB)
Samvel SARGSYAN (ARM)
Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Ivan MANOV (BUL)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Alireza MOHAMMADIPIANI (IRI)
Kaito MIYAMOTO (JPN)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Christian ZEMP (SUI)
Hamza SERTCANLI (SWE)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Mykyta ALIEKSIEIEV (UKR)
Michael ALTOMER (USA)
Manoj KUMAR (UWW)

97kg
Artur ARZUMANIAN (AIN)
Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Vahid DADKHAH GHASEM (IRI)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Islam UMAYEV (KAZ)
Arkyt OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Roman BALCHIVSCHII (MDA)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Jakub ANTOSZEWSKI (POL)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Mustafa OLGUN (TUR)
Valentyn SHKLIARENKO (UKR)
Cade LAUTT (USA)
NITESH (UWW)
Juan DIAZ (VEN)

130kg
Mikhail LAPTEV (AIN)
Mikita KAVALSKI (AIN)
Razmik KURDYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Fekry EISSA (EGY)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Patrick NEUMAIER (GER)
Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ)
Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Kaleb REEVES (USA)
PARVESH (UWW)

TURNesrin BAS (TUR) is one of two returning champions in women's wrestling. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (AIN)
Anastasiya YANOTAVA (AIN)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Kelyn YOUNG (CAN)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Ana TORRES (ESP)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Umi ITO (JPN)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Ana PIRVU (ROU)
Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)
NEELAM (UWW)

53kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Viktoryia VOLK (AIN)
Esmeralda NELA (ALB)
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (FRA)
Mako OONO (JPN)
Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Katie GOMEZ (USA)
ISHIKA (UWW)

55kg
Venera NAFIKOVA (AIN)
Aryna MARTYNAVA (AIN)
Nazife TAIR (BUL)
Virginie KAZE GASCON (CAN)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Umi IMAI (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Nova BERGMAN (SWE)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Alisha HOWK (USA)
Neha SHARMA (UWW)

57kg
Mariia BUZAROVA (AIN)
Alesia HETMANAVA (AIN)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Mia FRIESEN (CAN)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Sara NATAMI (JPN)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ)
Angelika MYTKOWSKA (POL)
Karoline ORTIZ (PUR)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Xochitl MOTA PETTIS (USA)
REENA (UWW)

59kg
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN)
Nadzeya BULANAYA (AIN)
Michaela RANKIN (CAN)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN)
Guldana BEKESH (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Ramina MAMEDOVA (LAT)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Wiktoria KARWOWSKA (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Nichole MOORE (USA)
NITIKA (UWW)

62kg
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Yana TRETSIAK (AIN)
Kleona SHABANI (ALB)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Aleah Noelle NICKEL (CAN)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Morena VITA (ITA)
Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Ameyali JESSEL (MEX)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
Bhagyashree FAND (UWW)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

65kg
Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Kseniya TSIARENIA (AIN)
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Samantha ADAMS (CAN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Marta OJEDA NAVARRO (ESP)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Rin TERAMOTO (JPN)
Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Busra EFE (TUR)
Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR)
Macey KILTY (USA)
MONIKA (UWW)
Gilbery GARCIA (VEN)

68kg
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Alina SHAUCHUK (AIN)
Vanessa KEEFE (CAN)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Beibit SEIDUALY (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nour JELJELI (TUN)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Katerina LANGE (USA)
VARSHA (UWW)

72kg
Marina SUROVTSEVA (AIN)
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN)
Marziya SADIGOVA (AZE)
Nyla Raeleen BURGESS (CAN)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Misaki WACHI (JPN)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ)
Emilia CRECIUN (MDA)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Bukrenaz SERT (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)
Jyoti BERWAL (UWW)

76kg
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Vianne ROULEAU (CAN)
Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Inkara ZHANATAYEVA (KAZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Patrycja SLOMSKA (POL)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Anna BRAUN (SWE)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Kennedy BLADES (USA)
REETIKA (UWW)

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025: Bumpy ride to gold for Kiyooka in 53kg debut

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (March 1) -- When Olympic 53kg champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) moved up to 57kg last year, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) emerged as the top wrestler in Japan at 53kg by winning the Emperor's Cup.

On Saturday, Kiyooka made her 53kg debut internationally at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in Tirana. Though she captured the gold medal, her road to gold was not a smooth sailing.

Kiyooka defeated European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) 6-0 in the final to given Japan its sixth gold medal in Women's Wrestling. The world 55kg champion opened her tournament with two technical superiority wins but come the semifinals, Kiyooka was given a reality check.

Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) opened the scoring in the semifinals and led 6-0 after she used a bow and arrow to turn Kiyooka. A little stunned with start, Miyooka remained calmed and did not allow Malanchuk more openings. She clawed her way back to make it 8-8 but Malanchuk was leading on criteria. It was only after Kiyooka blasted a double-leg and later added more takedowns to 15-8.

"I didn't expect my opponent to score six points in the first place," Kiyooka said. "I was really nervous, and I was also thinking about how I was going to get it from here. There was still time to calm down so I thought that if I continued with my wrestling, I would be able to win. So I just kept in mind that I needed to stay calm without getting anxious."

In the final, Kiyooka wrestled European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) who kept the Japanese world champion quiet for the first period, with only 1-0 lead. But Kiyooka blasted double-legs in the second period, earning a stepout and takedown. A takedown finished things off for Kiyooka.

Kiyooka explained that she may have been victim of overthinking, about her opponents and their styles before the tournament began.

"I was wondering what level the foreign wrestlers in the 53kg class and how well I would be able to compete there," she said. "I researched information about each opponent, match by match, but I thought it was important to win with my own wrestling, so I looked at my opponent."

Kiyooka and other winners of Emperor's Cup will head to Amman for the Asian Championships. The tournament will be without the +2kg allowance which makes it even more difficult for Kiyooka.

"I was able to compete at 55kg this time, which was 2kg over, but I also lost weight," she said. "I'm planning to switch it up as soon as I get back and prepare for the Asian Championship. When it comes to the mat, I have felt that level of competition so high in  previous tournaments. I'm going to reconsider how I can win in wrestling, and I'm going to go back and practice."

Kiyooka's gold was sixth for Japan, which had seven female wrestlers at the Muhamet Malo. Only Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN) failed to win a medal at 76kg, a weight class won by Dymond GUILFORD (USA) who defeated Asian Games champion Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 2-1, in the final.

Medet Kyzy was not impressed with a few referee calls in the final which only saw activity clock points. Guilford was leading 1-1 on criteria when Medet Kyzy was put on the 30-second clock with a minute left in the match.

Guilford's lead became 2-1 and despite Medet Kyzy's efforts, Guilford did not give up on defense. With 15 seconds on the clock, Guilford was about to be warned for fleeing and at the same time Medet Kyzy hit a leg-attack. But the referee whistle to warn Guilford at the exact moment.

Kyrgyzstan challenged the call and on review Medet Kyzy was seen grabbing Guilford's hair and the American was warned for fleeing. But there was no chance in the score with Guilford leading 2-1 with 10 seconds left.

Guilford would claim the gold with that score, ending Medet Kyzy's great run till the final with a silver medal.

At 57kg, two weeks after winning the 55kg silver medal at the Zagreb Open, Samantha STEWART (CAN) upgraded to gold at 57kg at Muhamet Malo, securing a fall over former U23 European champion Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR) with 50 seconds remaining on the clock.

The 34-year-old former world bronze medalist was in stunning form in Tirana, securing a fall over Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) and beating Tokyo Olympian Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) in the semifinals.

"Age is just a number and I don't want to cut weight anymore so I will be staying at 57kg," Stewart said.

With only four wrestlers, the 72kg weight class was a round-robin bracket and three-time world medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOV (KAZ) emerging as the gold medalist. Three wrestlers ended with two wins each and it wasn't the Round 3 bout between Alla BELINSKA (UKR) and Alexandria GLAUDE (USA) that the medalists were decided.

Bakbergenova pinned Linda MACHUCA (ARG) in her Round 3 bout and finished with 9 classification points from three bouts. Belinska defeated Glaude 4-3 and had 9 classification points as well. However, Bakbergenova had 10 technical points scored while Belinksa had nine. Glaude, who had defeated Bakbergenova in Round 2, finished with a bronze medal.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)    df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 6-0

BRONZE: Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 7-0
BRONZE: Yuxuan LI (CHN) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR), via fall

BRONZE: Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) df. Evelina HULTHEN (SWE), 4-3
BRONZE: Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) df. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN), 5-2

72kg
GOLD: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
BRONZE: Alexendria GLAUDE (USA)

76kg
GOLD: Dymond GUILFORD (USA) df. Medet KYZY AIPERI (KGZ), 2-1

BRONZE: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Meile ZHANG (CHN), 2-1
BRONZE: Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) df. YANGLA (CHN), via fall