#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships entry list

By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 6) -- The final World Championships of the season is here. The U23 World Championships will be staged in Spain's eastern coastal city of Pontevedra from October 17 to 23.

The field consists of 15 senior world medalists and includes eight senior world champions.

As is always the case, Japan is sending a strong women's contingent headed by Olympic and world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) along with fellow 2022 world champs, Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) and Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN).

Amit ELOR (USA), the recently crowned world champion in Belgrade, will be aiming to win her third world title of the year having already won the U20 and senior titles.

The Greco-Roman field also has former world champion as Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) leads his nation into the tournament. He won a bronze medal in Belgrade.

Iran will be led by the 2021 world champion at 130kg Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI). The team also has Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) and Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) among others.

The team will be keen on reinstating some of the pride for Iran which had a disastrous senior World Championships with no gold medals.

The freestyle competition will see strong teams entered by the USA, Iran, India, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) will look to defend his 61kg title. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Freestyle

57kg
Tadeu De DEUS (ANG)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Tofig ALIYEV (AZE)
Logan SLOAN (CAN)
Diego ZULUAGA CUEVAS (COL)
Adrian LOPEZ GOMEZ (ESP)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Aman SEHRAWAT (IND)
Ahmad MOHAMMADNEZHADJAVAN (IRI)
Toshiya ABE (JPN)
Daulet TEMIRZHANOV (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Demian LIUTCANOV (MDA)
Munkh BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Rodrigo GANEGODAGE (SRI)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Vitali ARUJAU (USA)

61kg
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Intigam VALIZADA (AZE)
Stilyan ILIEV (BUL)
Jason LUNEAU (CAN)
Elkin ESPANA SANTA (COL)
Yousef EISSA (EGY)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Akash DAHIYA (IND)
Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI)
Kodai OGAWA (JPN)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Matheesha SAMARADIVAKARA (SRI)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Aaron NAGAO (USA)

65kg
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Ivan BADAVROV (BUL)
Daniel COLES (CAN)
Felipe FERRUSOLA MILLA (ESP)
Said HOSSEINI (FIN)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Ross CONNELLY (GBR)
Gia UGRELIDZE (GEO)
Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Anuj KUMAR (IND)
Kian MAHMOUD (IRI)
Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Ganbayar NAMSRAI (MGL)
Samuel ALVAREZ (PUR)
Gunawardana KANKANAMLAGE (SRI)
Dominik LARITZ (SUI)
Gurbanmuhammet CHARYYEV (TKM)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
Cole MATTHEWS (USA)
Aseel AL MAKTARI (YEM)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN)
Jorge GATICA HINRICKSEN (CHI)
Ramon GERSAK PEREZ (ESP)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Parvinder NAIN (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Aliakbar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI)
Gianluca COLETTI (ITA)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Tugsjargal ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Waththa WADUGE (SRI)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Hojamuhammed IBRAGIMOV (TKM)
Omer CAYIR (TUR)
Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR)
Yahya THOMAS (USA)
Saddam ALHADA (YEM)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Dimitar ANGELOV (BUL)
Patrik LEDER (CAN)
Jhoan SERNA RODRIGUEZ (COL)
Mohamed EL KARCHOUCH (ESP)
Temuri BERUASHVILI (GEO)
Richard SCHROEDER (GER)
Christos CHRISTOFORIDIS (GRE)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Raul ZARBALIEV (ISR)
Luca FINIZIO (ITA)
Yuto FUKADA (JPN)
Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Alinur TAKIROV (KGZ)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Diego SANDOVAL (MEX)
Temuujin MENDBILEG (MGL)
Jean STE MARIE (MRI)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Palamure PALAMURE ARACHCHILAGE (SRI)
Atamyrat CHARLYYEV (TKM)
Ismet CIFTCI (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
David CARR (USA)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Oktay HASAN (BUL)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Zsombor NAGY (HUN)
CHANDERMOHAN (IND)
Sobhan YARI (IRI)
Ilan BONDAR (ISR)
Kosuke YAMAKURA (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Stanislav NOVAC (MDA)
Miguel ORNELAS (MEX)
Ernest DOROSZ (POL)
Tony NEGRON (PUR)
Divan ILANDARI PEDIGE (SRI)
Tanguy DARBELLAY (SUI)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Abdulvasi BALTA (TUR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Carter STAROCCI (USA)

86kg
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Hunter LEE (CAN)
Jaime GARCIA (ESP)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Cesar UBICO ESTRADA (GUA)
Jointy KUMAR (IND)
Sajjad GHOLAMI (IRI)
Chengiz SOLTANOV SOLTANLI (ISR)
Mattia NASELLO (ITA)
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN)
Maksat SATYBALDY (KAZ)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Cezary SADOWSKI (POL)
Jairo RIVERA (PUR)
Edward LESSING (RSA)
Emre CIFTCI (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Trent HIDLAY (USA)
Steven RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

92kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Ilia HRISTOV (BUL)
Tejvir BOAL (CAN)
Aimar ALZON (ESP)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Johannes MAYER (GER)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
Parveen KUMAR (IND)
Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Hikaru ABE (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Baisal KUBATOV (KGZ)
Osmans DZASEZEVS (LAT)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Machiel GROBLER (RSA)
Palliya GURUNNANSELAGE DON (SRI)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Jacob CARDENAS (USA)

97kg
Hovhannes MAGHAKYAN (ARM)
Thomas BARNS (AUS)
Islam ILYASOV (AZE)
Callum KNOX (CAN)
Riveri MTSITURI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Sahil AHLAWAT (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Hibiki ITO (JPN)
Yunus GAFUROV (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Mucahit CELIK (TUR)
Vasyl SOVA (UKR)
Tanner SLOAN (USA)

125kg
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Jackson SERNA (CAN)
Carlos ACEBRON (ESP)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Milan KORCSOG (HUN)
Anirudh KUMAR (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Lior ALTSHULER (ISR)
Kai SHUTTO (JPN)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR)
Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA)

Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI), a 2021 world champion, will lead the Iran Greco-Roman team. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
James CASTANO (ESP)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
LALIT (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Ken MATSUI (JPN)
Nurzat KABDYRAKHIMOV (KAZ)
Taalaibek BEISHENBEK UULU (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Abduvali RAHIMBAYEV (TKM)
Ahmet TASKINOGLU (TUR)
Mykola HAVRYCHKIN (UKR)
Camden RUSSELL (USA)

60kg
Tigran MINASYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Borislav KIRILOV (BUL)
Ronaldo SANCHEZ (COL)
Aser EBRO (ESP)
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Sumit DALAL (IND)
Omid ARAMI (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Kaito INABA (JPN)
Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Arslanbek ZAKIRBAYEV (TKM)
Jui HUANG (TPE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)
Phillip MOOMEY (USA)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Ilia MUSTAKOV (BUL)
Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Andy JUAN (ESP)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
VINAY (IND)
Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Ryuto IKEDA (JPN)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Ermek KANYBEK UULU (KGZ)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)
Mason CARZINO HARTSHORN (USA)
Yonaiker MARTINEZ (VEN)

67kg
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Julian HORTA (COL)
Elmer MATTILA (FIN)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
ASHU (IND)
Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)
Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ)
Amanat SAMAT UULU (KGZ)
Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)
Alexei HAHLOVSCHI (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Begmyrat NOBATOV (TKM)
Ramazan AKTAS (TUR)
Dmytro MIROSHNYK (UKR)
Peyton OMANIA (USA)

72kg
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Randel UIBO (EST)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Jose VARELA (GUA)
VIKAS (IND)
Amir ABDI (IRI)
Daigo KOBAYASHI (JPN)
Yerassyl NURBOSSYNOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Eimantas VILIMAS (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Edsson OLMOS (MEX)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Miru OLSSON (SWE)
Muhammetnazar JUMAYEV (TKM)
Furkan ZIRIN (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)

77kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Edvin KIN (EST)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Davit SOLOGASHVILI (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Sajan BHANWALA (IND)
Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI)
David ZHYTOMYRSKY (ISR)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Rassul ZHUNIS (KAZ)
Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ)
Aistis LIAUGMINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Abdurrahman KALKAN (TUR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Britton HOLMES (USA)
Daniel BELLO (VEN)

82kg
Jones MABUNGU (ANG)
Gagik HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Jose ESTEVEZ (ESP)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Beka GURULI (GEO)
Erik LOESER (GER)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Tesshin HIGUCHI (JPN)
Temirkhan BAIGANIN (KAZ)
Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ)
Semion BREKKELI (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Mats AHLGREN (SWE)
Toyly ORAZOV (TKM)
Ali HUNC (TUR)
Madamin MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Tyler CUNNINGHAM (USA)

87kg
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Lachin VALIYEV (AZE)
Zahari ZASHEV (BUL)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Beka MELELASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI)
Satoki MUKAI (JPN)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Daniel VELIZ (MEX)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Christian ZEMP (SUI)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Vitalii ANDRIIOVYCH (UKR)
Michial FOY (USA)

97kg
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Igor ALVES (BRA)
Sami SAMRA (EGY)
Jose FERRANDIZ (ESP)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Anton VIEWEG (GER)
Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
NITESH (IND)
Ali ABEDIDARZI (IRI)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Islam UMAYEV (KAZ)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Ionut GOSA (ROU)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM)
Mustafa OLGUN (TUR)
Valentyn SHKLIARENKO (UKR)
Nicholas BOYKIN (USA)

130kg
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Geronimo CAMARA (ESP)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
PARVESH (IND)
Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)
Marin NISHIMURA (JPN)
Damir ZUPAROV (KAZ)
Paul MORALES (MEX)
Tomasz WAWRZYNCZYK (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Fatih BOZKURT (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will be wrestling at her first U23 World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Women’s Wrestling 

50kg
Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
Samantha ROMANO (CAN)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Maria CAZALLA (ESP)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Ankush PANGHAL (IND)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Maral TANGIRBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Jekaterina JERMALONOKA (LAT)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Munkhgerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Stefania PRICEPUTU (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Yung LIN (TPE)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Nyla VALENCIA (USA)

53kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Taylor MCPHERSON (CAN)
Javiera ORTEGA (CHI)
Lucia YEPEZ (ECU)
Carla JAUME (ESP)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Aikaterini VEKRI (GRE)
Antim PANGHAL (IND)
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA (KAZ)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Keshani MADURAVALAGE (SRI)
Meng HSIEH (TPE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Felicity TAYLOR (USA)
Mariana ROJAS (VEN)

55kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Virginie KAZE GASCON (CAN)
Tatiana HURTADO (COL)
Laura GOMEZ (ESP)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
AARTI (IND)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Otgontuya BAYANMUNKH (MGL)
Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Fernando PORUTHOTAGE (SRI)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Alisha HOWK (USA)

57kg
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL)
Kirti SAXENA (CAN)
Maria BAEZ (ESP)
Celeste SION (FRA)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
SITO (IND)
Sae NANJO (JPN)
Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ)
Susana LOZANO (MEX)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)
Alexandra HEDRICK (USA)

59kg
Welvina VEMBA (ANG)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Katherine RENTERIA (COL)
Maria RAMOS (ESP)
Gaelle RUIZ (FRA)
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Mansi AHLAWAT (IND)
Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Ramina MAMEDOVA (LAT)
Ameyalli JESSEL (MEX)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Karoline ORTIZ (PUR)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Lexie BASHAM (USA)

62kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
SHAFALI (IND)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Hsin PAI (TPE)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Alexandria LILES (USA)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

65kg
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Nerea PAMPIN (ESP)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
BHATERI (IND)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Dariga ABEN (KAZ)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)

68kg
Meiriele CHARAMBA SANTOS HORA (BRA)
Katie MULKAY (CAN)
Marta OJEDA (ESP)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
ARJU (IND)
Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ)
Zuzanna WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Sienna RAMIREZ (USA)

72kg
Brianna FRASER (CAN)
Maria CEBALLOS (COL)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Reetika HOODA (IND)
Sumire NIIKURA (JPN)
Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Maria NITU (ROU)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)

76kg
Amelia FRISBEE (CAN)
Tatiana RENTERIA (COL)
Carla LERA (ESP)
PRIYANKA (IND)
Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Inkara ZHANATAYEVA (KAZ)
Luz HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Sarnai BAYARBAATAR (MGL)
Marion BYE (NOR)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Hui CHANG (TPE)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)

#WrestleTirana

Rising star Bondar strikes third U23 European gold

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (March 12) -- In five of the last six tournaments she’d competed before landing in Tirana, Iryna BONDAR (UKR) was unstoppable. She returned with a gold medal each time, and with every passing tournament, a halo blazed around her.

On Thursday, that nearly came down crashing. In an extraordinary final in the 62kg category at the U23 European Championships, Amina TANDELOVA (UWW) gave Bondar a mighty scare. The Ukrainian ultimately asserted her class but not before she endured anxious moments.

It all looked under control until Tandelova, who was down 1-0 for passivity, scored a arm-throw for a four-point takedown to go 4-1 up and stun the arena. Bondar fired back with a reversal and gut-wrench to make it 4-4 but heading into the break, Tandelova was in the lead because of her bigger throw.

The breather gave Bondar a chance to regroup and return stronger. She didn’t put a foot wrong defensively in the second period. Her hands close, like a boxer taking her guard, she planted her left leg almost a foot behind the right, making it tough for Tandelova to go for the single-leg takedown.

Tanelova, however, looked content only defending, but it was a strategy fraught with risk. And Bondar, who didn’t lose patience, was rewarded for her perseverance. With only 45 seconds remaining, Bondar went around the outside for a single-leg takedown to which her opponent had no answer. In the nick of time, Bondar snuck ahead and then did well to defend her lead to win a thrilling bout 6-4.

Not too long ago, another Ukrainian was in the fray for the gold medal but it wasn’t to be.

Twice in her 57kg final, former U20 world champion Aryna MARTYNAVA (UWW) was in deep adversity despite an early 4-2 lead. First, when she was put on activity clock with a little more than a minute left in the 57kg gold medal bout. With seconds running out, Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) grew confident that she’d reduce the 4-2 deficit by 1.

Filipovych, the senior European Championship silver medalist at 59kg, went for a single-leg attack but Martynava was on high alert and escaped to score a go-behind takedown during the activity clock for a 6-2 lead.

Then, with 22 seconds remaining, Filipovych went for a double-leg takedown. However, Martynava blocked it by double-underhook and counter-attacked to pocket two more points and win 8-2.

Since winning the U20 European Championship gold three years ago, Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE) has come agonisingly close to a top-of-the-podium finish thrice: bronze medals at the U23 European and World Championships in 2023, and a silver last year at the continental U23 competition.

As she stepped on to the mat for one last time in this age-group, Mammadova looked determined to change the color of her medal. Six minutes later, she did. The 23-year-old from Azerbaijan defeated Ekaterina KARPUSHKINA (UWW) 3-0 to be crowned champion in the 53 kg category.

Mammadova earned a passivity point around the minute-mark and then executed an almost-perfect headlock throw to go 3-0 up at the break. In the second period, Karpushkina threw the kitchen sink at her opponent and tried combinations of leg holds. But a wily Mammadova kept evading her grasp and successfully defended her lead to win the gold medal.

In the 65kg final, Kseniya TSIARENIA (UWW) needed only 1 minute and 22 seconds to beat Eniko ELEKES (HUN) by fall and win the gold medal. 

The former U20 world and European champion from Hungary Elekes took the lead inside the first minute with a two-point takedown but her joy did not last long as Tsiarenia returned with a vengeance as she stopped a head-outside leg-attack from Elekes with a whizzer and kept the Hungarian's back on the mat to secure the fall.

Tsiarenia, thus, claimed her first-ever international gold medal and also avenged her 11-0 loss to Elekes from the 2023 World Championships in which Elekes won gold and Tsiarenia claimed bronze.

Like her, Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW), too, won her first-ever title by overturning a two-point deficit to beat Daniela TKACHUK (POL) 4-3 at 72kg.

Tkachuk led 2-0 and had Bratchikova in a double-leg hold but failed to finish. Bratchikova forced Tkachuk to let go of her legs and as the Polish wrestler spun to score a takedown, two points were awarded to Bratchikova for exposure.

Bratchikova made it 4-2 when she defended a double-arm lock from Tkachuk and stepped over to score two points. Tkachuk managed to escape the fall while Bratchikova was penalized for a foul. As the bout resumed in par terre with 29 seconds left, Tkachuk tried to roll but Bratchikova held her ground to emerge victorious.

Baidusov eyes gold on return

Former world U20 champion Evgenii BAIDUSOV (UWW) will be favorite to win his first U23 European Championship title when he takes on Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER) in the 77kg final Thursday, the penultimate day of the competition.

Baidusov, returning to international competition for the first time since winning the U20 world gold in 2021, dropped just one point in his three bouts. In the semifinals, he shocked Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) with a stunning underhook throw. He added a roll and in another sequence, he scored via front chestwrap for two to beat Gutu 9-0.

Another world U20 champion Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM) did not have the same luck as he fell in the quarterfinals against Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA) who made it to the 87kg final and will take on Alperen BERBER (TUR), senior European champion, who finally has a U23 European medal after two previous failed attempts.

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RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE) df. Ekaterina KARPUSHKINA (UWW), 3-0

BRONZE: Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP) df. Maria FERONE (ITA), 5-4
BRONZE: Viktoryia VOLK (UWW) df. Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR), via fall (5-1)

57kg
GOLD: Aryna MARTYNAVA (UWW) df. Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR), 8-2

BRONZE: Gerda TEREK (HUN) df. Inna ALIMOVA (LTU), 10-0
BRONZE: Georgiana LIRCA (ROU) df. Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE), 9-2

62kg
GOLD: Iryna BONDAR (UKR) df. Amina TANDELOVA (UWW), 8-4

BRONZE: Alicja NOWOSAD (POL) df. Alesia HETMANAVA (UWW), 7-6
BRONZE: Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR) df. Iris THIEBAUX (FRA), 5-3

65kg
GOLD: Kseniya TSIARENIA (UWW) df. Eniko ELEKES (HUN), via fall (4-2)

BRONZE: Luisa SCHEEL (GER) df. Viorica ADAM (ROU), 4-0
BRONZE: Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR) df. Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE), 8-2

72kg
GOLD: Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW) df. Daniela TKACHUK (POL), 4-3

BRONZE: Haticenur SARI (TUR) df. Noemi OSVATH NAGY (HUN), 6-6
BRONZE: Veronika VILK (CRO) df. Paula ROTARU (ROU), 13-2

Greco-Roman Semifinals

55kg
GOLD: Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO) vs. Alibek AMIROV (UWW)

SF 1: Alibek AMIROV (UWW) df. Elmir ALIYEV (AZE), 2-2
SF 2: Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO) df. Mehmet SARP (TUR), 9-0

63kg
GOLD: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) vs. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)

SF 1: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Romeo BERIDZE (GEO), 6-3
SF 2: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) df. Miroslav EMILOV (BUL), 8-0

77kg
GOLD: Evgenii BAIDUSOV (UWW) vs. Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)

SF 1: Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER) df. Michal ZELENKA (CZE), 5-5
SF 2: Evgenii BAIDUSOV (UWW) df. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), 9-0

87kg
GOLD: Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA) vs. Alperen BERBER (TUR)

SF 1: Alperen BERBER (TUR) df. Ivan CHMYR (UKR), 4-1
SF 2: Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA) df. Hamza SERTCANLI (SWE), via injury (3-1)

97kg
GOLD: Magomed ALICHUEV (UWW) vs. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO), via injury (1-1)
SF 2: Magomed ALICHUEV (UWW) df. Yusuf BAKIR (TUR), 3-1