#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)

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Yevloyev rises to top; Iran wins fifth straight GR title

By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 4) -- Last year, Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) watched Alperen BERBER (TUR) win the U20 world title from the stands. Yevloyev believed that it could have been him.

While that title in Amman was not to be, Yevloyev fulfilled his dream of becoming a U20 world champion after beating Berber in the 82kg final at the U20 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain on Wednesday.

Berber stood no chance against Yevloyev, who took to an attacking approach from the first whistle. Yevloyev's gold along with Kazakhstan's success in other weight classes earned it second place in the team standings dominated by Iran.

With 147 points, Iran won the team title for the fifth time in a row. Kazakhstan followed with 100 points while Türkiye was third with 98 points.

Yevloyev won the U20 Asians last year with a win over Yasin YAZDI (IRI) but lost to him at the U20 Worlds. He then lost his repechage bout as well to finish without a medal.

"Last year at the World Championships, I didn’t have enough time to train well because of the health issues," Yevloyev said. "I had an injury and I could not train. But this year, I’ve done a great job together with the coaches. We had enough time to prepare and show a good result."

The final was a show of how Yevloyev has improved. He got the first par terre position and he tried to turn Berber who stopped the turn and got two points. However, Yevloyev had Berber in danger position and also got two points, leading 3-2 at the break.

Berber got the par terre and a 3-3 lead in the second period but Yevloyev was happy to defend from par terre position. Berber, despite his lead, tried a double-hand-lock throw and fell on his back to give two points to Yevloyev who suplexed Berber for two more.

Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) scores two points against Alperen BERBER (TUR) in the 82kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"There are always mistakes that I have to improve on, but as long as I’ve reached the top of the podium today, I am satisfied with myself," he said. "I’ll keep wishing hard on the future, trying to keep winning gold medals.:

Yevloyev hails from a small village about Kokshetau and moved to a sports school in Petropavlovsk when he was in sixth grade. He is the cousin of the popular UFC fighter Mosvar EVLOEV.

"Movsar Evloev is my second cousin," he said. 

Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI)Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) gestures after winning the U20 world gold in the 67kg weight class. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) was able to repeat as U20 world champion as he won the gold medal at 67kg. Ahmadreza is the younger brother of multiple-time Asian medalist Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), who finished fifth at the Paris Olympics. The youngest brother, Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI) won bronze at 80kg at the recent U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan.

Wrestling Yussuf ASHRAPOV (KAZ) in the final, Mohsen Nezhad stuck to the basics and controlled the center for the entire bout after scoring a takedown in the first minute of the final.

"A gold medal is much more valuable than other medals, and winning it feels amazing," Mohsen Nezhad said. "The Kazakh wrestler was very skilled, and we both fought hard. I thank God that my hand was raised as the winner."

His switch from 63kg to 67kg from the last U20 World Championships could well be the reason for a contrasting final. He won the gold medal with a 9-0 victory last year.

Talking about Mehdi, Ahmadreza said that he believes that much of his success is because of his older brother.

"My older brother is our role model, and thanks to him, we were able to come here and win medals," he said.

Mohammadmehdi GHOLAMPOUR (IRI)Servet ANGI (TUR) commits a defensive foul using his hand against Mohammadmehdi GHOLAMPOUR (IRI) in the 60kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In contrast, the 60kg final was action-packed with Mohammadmehdi GHOLAMPOUR (IRI) winning it in just a minute and 52 seconds over Servet ANGI (TUR). Gholampour was giving the par terre position in the first period and he added a correct throw with a life. After Angi defended the second attempted lift, Gholampour went for a reverse left and got two points to lead 5-0.

Gholampour, however, asked his coaches to challenge him despite the resistance from the corner for it. It proved to be a match-ending challenge. The reverse left was scored for four points on review as it was from standing. Angi was docked for a defensive foul as well, giving two more points to Gholampour.

A surprised Gholampour celebrated even as Angi tried to make sense of the quick end of the final. This was Angi's second silver at a World Championships as he finished second at the 2021 U17 Worlds as well.

Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM) expresses his displeasure during the 72kg final against Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

A challenge proved critical in the 72kg final as well. Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM) was leading 5-3 against Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN) in the second period after scoring a four-pointer and stepout. However, he committed a singlet pull in the fifth minute of the bout for which he was penalized two points. Despite the two points, Khachatryan led 5-5 on criteria for his four-pointer.

Not realizing the criteria lead, Armenia corner challenged and by the time the coaches realized, it was already under review. A 6-5 lead gave Beslekoev a new-found energy and he defended his lead till the end of time. 

The two had a heated exchange at the end of the bout as Khachatryan expressed his displeasure. This was his second loss to Beslekoev in two months, as Beslekoev won at the U20 European Championships with an identical scoreline. In Novi Sad, Khachatryan led 4-4 when Beslekoev was penalized a point for singlet foul and trailed 5-4. Despite leading, Khachatryan attempted an arm-spin but failed to make any contact. Beslekoev got the two points for a takedown to lead 6-5.

Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) used an arm spin to get four points against Darius KIEFER (GER) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 97kg, Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) became only the second U20 world champion from Ukraine in seven years after beating Darius KIEFER (GER), 6-4, in the final.

The two had met in the U20 European Championships final as well with Yakushenko winning the gold medal in Novi Sad, 1-1, getting the criteria for second par terre advantage.

But the final in Pontevedra was different with Kiefer scoring a stepout from par terre and then a takedown to lead 4-0 in the final period. However, Yakushenko used an arm spin to get a big four-point throw and a correct throw later to lead 6-4.

No wrestler was giving the par terre advantage in the second period and Yakushenko defended his 6-4 lead to win the final.

"I have only positive emotions," Yakushenko said. "Not everyone gets the chance to experience this moment. I am holding this belt and very thankful to God."

The final in Novi Sad was still fresh in Yakushenko's memory, and he was surprised by Kiefer's change in wrestling style on Wednesday.

"At the European final, the opponent didn’t know me well," he said. "He was better prepared here. He scored two points from par terre. Thankfully, they didn’t score it as a four-pointer. I immediately scored back all those points."

Ukraine won two medals in Greco-Roman at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) winning the silver medal at 67kg and Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) winning bronze at 87kg. Yakushenko said he was motivated to win in Pontevedra after watching the Olympics.

"I would like to congratulate our athletes," he said. "They motivated me a lot. Congratulations to Nasibov and Belebiuk for winning their Olympic medals.

df

 

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Mohammadmehdi GHOLAMPOUR (IRI) df. Servet ANGI (TUR), 9-0

BRONZE: Papik DZHAVADIAN (AIN) df. Tural AHMADOV (AZE), 2-0
BRONZE: Ongdassyn KHAMITOV (KAZ) df. Kohaku KANAZAWA (JPN), 9-0

67kg
GOLD: Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) df. Yussuf ASHRAPOV (KAZ), 2-0 

BRONZE: Grair OGANESIAN (AIN) df. Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 9-0
BRONZE: Kojiro HASEGAWA (JPN) df. Ramazan AKTAS (TUR), 8-7

72kg
GOLD: Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN) df. Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 6-5

BRONZE: Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE) df. Wenhao HU (CHN), 6-5
BRONZE: Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR) df. Illia VALEUSKI (AIN), 4-3

82kg
GOLD: Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) df. Alperen BERBER (TUR), 7-3 

BRONZE: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Anri DAVITADZE (GEO), 6-1
BRONZE: Shichang ZHENG (CHN) df. Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (AIN), via inj. def.

97kg
GOLD: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) df. Darius KIEFER (GER), 6-4

BRONZE: Anatolii AVERIN (AIN) df. Branko DUKIC (SRB), 7-3
BRONZE: Ahmet EREMEKTER (TUR) df. Rakhat BERZHANOV (KAZ), 5-1

Women's Wrestling Semifinals 

50kg
GOLD: Yu ZHANG (CHN) vs. Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN)

SF 1: Yu ZHANG (CHN) df. Aida KERYMOVA (UKR), 13-2
SF 2: Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ), via fall

55kg
GOLD: Khaliun BYAMBASUREN (MGL) vs. Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA)

SF 1: Khaliun BYAMBASUREN (MGL) df. Karina HONDA (JPN), 1-1 
SF 2: Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA) df. Tuba DEMIR (TUR), via fall

59kg
GOLD: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) vs. Alexis JANIAK (USA)

SF 1: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE), 10-0
SF 2: Alexis JANIAK (USA) df. Uladzislava KUDZIN (AIN), 10-2
 
68kg
GOLD: Alina SHEVCHENKO (AIN) vs. Ayse ERKAN (TUR)

SF 1: Alina SHEVCHENKO (AIN) df. Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN), 5-2
SF 2: Ayse ERKAN (TUR) df. Karolina DOMASZUK (POL), 14-2

76kg
GOLD: Jyoti BERWAL (IND) vs. Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR)

SF 1: Jyoti BERWAL (IND) df. Elmira YASIN (TUR), 7-0
SF 2: Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR) df. Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN), 5-0