#25Under25

UWW's 25-Under-25: No. 16-No. 20

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 - 07:35 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 15) -- United World Wrestling looked at 25 wrestlers who will undoubtedly keep wrestling fans at the edge of their seats throughout '22 and beyond.

With three short years left until the Paris Games, we're redirecting our attention to the sport's brightest young stars who are entering the prime of their careers. It's time to whisk in the next generation of talent that'll shoulder the weight of the sport into the '24 Olympics and beyond.

The question you asked, and we answered: "Who are the Top 25 Under 25?"

Here's UWW's second segment -- No. 16 through No. 20 -- of the Top 25 Under 25 to keep an eye on.

UWW 25-Under-25: No. 21-No. 25
No. 25 - Alina AKOBIYA (UKR), 23-years-old
No. 24 - Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 24-years-old
No. 23 - Artur SARGSYAN (RWF), 24-years-old
No. 22 - TUMUR OCHIR Tulga (MGL), 24-year-old
No. 21 - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 22-years-old

No. 20 Anshu MALIK (IND), 20-years-old (August 5, 2001) 

Instagram: anshumalik57___

After a remarkable '21 season, Malik inserted herself into the discussion as one of India's women's wrestling greats. She earned her seat at the table with fellow trailblazers like Sakshi MALIK (IND), Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) and Pooja DHANDA (IND), among many others, after she strung together a '21 campaign that ended in a history-making world finals berth.

Last year, Malik entered five competitions and finished with at least a silver medal on three of those occasions. However, she started the season on a slow note, finishing in fifth place at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event. After that, she pushed the pressure aside and qualified India for the Olympic Games with a second-place finish at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Almaty before finishing top-ten at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

But the highlight of her year came in Oslo at the World Championships, where she became the first Indian woman ever to reach the world finals. In Norway, she outscored her first three opponents 31-6 – including 11-0 semifinals win over '20 European finalist Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) – before dropping her gold-medal match against three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Helen MAROULIS (USA).

No. 19 Irinia RINGACI (MDA), 21-years-old (August 23, 2001)

Instagram: i.r.i.n.e.l.l.001

Heading into '21, Ringaci set the seemingly unrealistic goal of winning world titles at the junior, U23 and senior levels.

The only thing that stopped her from winning the trifecta was how the calendar fell with the U23 World Championships coming after the Senior World Championships.

In August, Ringaci ran through the competition at the Junior World Championships, proving how far ahead of the competition she really is. She dominated each of her five opponents by a combined score of 49-10 but saved her most impressive performance in Ufa, Russia for the 65kg finals, where she stomped India's BHATERI, 12-2, en route to the gold medal.

Two months later, she shocked the world by becoming Moldova's first-ever women's wrestling world champion. She did so in a stacked 65kg bracket that featured the likes of two-time U23 world champ Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), world finalist Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) and world bronze-medal finishers Malin MATTSSON (SWE), Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) and Forrest MOLINARI (USA).

Although she would have loved to win a trio of world titles in the same year, after winning gold in Ufa and in Oslo, Ringaci and the Moldovan coaching staff felt that she had proved everything she set out to prove in '21 and elected to forgo the U23 World Championships.

No. 18 Zagir SHAKHIEV (RUS), 23-years-old (April 15, 1999)

Instagram: shakhiev65

There's no secret that the top guy for the Russian Federation at 65kg is world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS). But, after winning world and European gold in '21, rising star Shakhiev added his name to the shortlist of guys Coach Tedeev trusts with giving the starting nod.

Shakhiev debuted in the Russian Wrestling Federation's lineup at the European Championships in Poland in mid-'21 and quickly showed why he's trusted to hold such a coveted spot in the lineup.

In Warsaw, Shakiev opened up the competition with back-to-back technical superiority wins before earning his finals berth with an 8-5 decision over '18 U23 world runner-up Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE). Then, in the finals, the Russian Federation wrestler cruised past Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL), 13-2, earning his first senior-level continental medal.

Fast forward six months and Shakhiev was in a familiar situation as he ended the World Championships atop the podium.

In Oslo, Shakhiev kicked off his senior world debut with a close 5-4 win over Rohit ROHIT (IND) but followed that up with three massive wins to establish himself as the world's best wrestler at 65kg.

He thrashed two-time European medalist Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR), 10-0, and edged Olympian Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), 4-4, which set up a showdown with fan-favorite Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI).

Shakhiev made quick work of Yazdanicherati in the finals of Oslo. The match was scoreless in the first period, but the 23-year-old put up 14 points in less than a minute to grab gold with the 14-4 technical superiority win.

No. 17 Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 23 years old (March 30, 1999)

Instagram: aiperi_medet_kyzy

Over the last 24 months, wrestling fans have witnessed the emergence of a women's wrestling powerhouse in Kyrgyzstan with Medet Kyzy being one of the core members of the Central Asian nation's "Big Three."

When you think about Kyrgyzstan's meteoric rise in the women's wrestling standings over the last two years, you think of Medet Kyzy standing arm-to-arm alongside Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ).

The former junior world champion took her licks in one of wrestling's most challenging weight classes, 76kg, before building the confidence and courage to compete with the best-of-the-best. The turning point for the 23-year-old -- validation, if you will -- came at the beginning of '21 when she pinned Olympic champion Erica WIEBE (CAN) to reach the finals of the International Ukrainian Tournament.

From that point on, Medet Kyzy's confidence and popularity skyrocketed. She punched Kyrgyzstan's ticket to the Olympic Games by winning the Asian Olympic Qualifiers, then followed that up with a silver medal at the Asian Championships.

In Tokyo, Medet Kyzy fell one match short of an Olympic medal. She dropped her bronze-medal match in Tokyo to former world champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) and finished in fifth place.

Medet Kyzy closed out the year with two remarkable world-level competition performances. First, in Oslo at the Senior World Championships, she fell to rival Epp MAEE (EST) before bolting past Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR), 12-1, to win her first world medal on the senior circuit.

Then, Medet Kyzy closed out the year by winning 76kg gold at the U23 World Championships. However, her most impressive competition win came in the semifinals, where she shut out America's '21 junior world champion Kylie WELKER (USA), 8-0.

No. 16 Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 23 years old (January 19, 1999)

Instagram: leriabuladze14

Abuladze is the lone Georgian holding a spot on the Top 25 Under 25 list.

Despite only having nine senior-level competitions under his belt, Abuladze has proved to be one of the best 63kg wrestlers on the world and continental level. On the continental stage, his lone loss last season came against Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RWF) in the European championship semifinals. He bounced back for bronze after a win over former European champion Mihai MIHUT (ROU).

In Oslo, Abuladze took out Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ), Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN) and Erik TORBA (HUN) before running into the Iranian buzzsaw Meysam DALKHANI in the gold-medal match.

#WrestleTirana

Kayaalp's 13: New Golden Standard Set in Europe

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 15:27 By United World Wrestling Press

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TIRANA, Albania (April 20) -- On Tuesday evening in Tirana, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) did something that for years existed and was expected to continue to exist only as a hypothetical.

He won his 13th European title in Tirana on Tuesday, beating Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, in the 130kg European Championships. 2026 joined 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) turns Darius VITEK (HUN) in the 130kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

As the referee raised his powerfully sculpted right arm in triumph, Kayaalp raised the ceiling in Greco-Roman. He moved past the legendary Aleksandr KARELIN’s 12 European gold medals, the last of which he had won in 2000. Generations of wrestlers had competed, won and lost, knowing all the while that that number would outlast them. Until Kayaalp finally eclipsed it.

The moment itself wasn’t dramatic in the way history is often expected to be. Just a raised hand, a nod and a lap of honor around the mat with the Turkish flag around his shoulders. That’s been the story of Kayaalp’s career.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) speaks to the media after winning the gold medal at the European Championships. (United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Born in Yozgat, in central Turkey, Kayaalp would have inherently understood the role of wrestling in Turkish sporting heritage and the place champions of the sport have historically held in the nation. He would have grown up in the shadow of two-time Olympic and eight-time European champion Hamza YERLIKAYA, who defined Turkish wrestling in the 1990s and like everyone else in the sport, under the global shadow of Karelin.

Slowly and methodically Kayaalp would try to match them. His career has been relentless and consistent rather than spectacular. Since his first European gold in 2010, won as a twenty-year old, Kayaalp has claimed titles across two decades. He’s adapted through rule changes, generations of opponents, and brutal physical wear and tear of time itself.

Apart from his European titles, he has five World Championships gold medals, and three Olympic medals -- a bronze in London 2012, silver in Rio 2016, bronze again in Tokyo 2020. Every time a major medal was to be decided over the past decade and a half, Kayaalp would with almost absurd reliability be counted in the mix.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) with Taha AKGUL (TUR) at the medal ceremony in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For all of Kayaalp’s longevity, his career has always carried the one obvious gap compared to Karelin or Yerlikaya -- no Olympic gold. That absence will still be there. That gap is unlikely to close any time soon. As such the European mark became a milestone within his grasp. Or in the last few years, a milestone just out of grasp.

Indeed, for Kayaalp the title will provide a sense of closure. He had equalled Karelin’s record at the 2023 European championships in Zagreb. Prior to that tournament, he had in an interview with Anadalou Agency spoken of equalling Karelin’s record, breaking it at the 2024 European Championships and finally finishing his career on a high note with a gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But things would not go as planned. At the 2024 European Championships, Kayaalp was pinned in the final by Sergey SEMENOV (UWW) -- only the second final he had ever lost in Europe. A few months later despite qualifying for the Olympics he was unable to compete due to a medication issue linked to treatment for persistent tinnitus. His appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was upheld, clearing the way for his return. He would describe the period as the toughest of his career.

But the ordeal had left him with a new purpose and a desire to exit the stage on his own terms.

“For an athlete with so many titles, this was the worst thing that could happen,” he said. “Because of a simple issue, we faced a huge problem. But I always believed I would overcome it, return to my job and leave the sport on my own terms,” he had told Anadalou Agency at the start of 2026 when he made his return to international competition at the Zagreb Ranking series earlier this year.

“There was fatigue before. In this 18-month period, my desire to work came back stronger. I was already motivated to be champion. Now it is even greater. I feel renewed,” he had said.

While Kayaalp has said he would compete until the 2028 Olympics, he had also spoken of the unfinished business he had had in Europe. “I was so close,” he said. “Fourteen finals, 12 European titles, one more for the record, and then something unwanted happens. But everything is resolved. To bring that record to my country would mean a lot,” he had said then.

He had come close once and fallen short. That could have been the ending -- a near miss against an immortal number. Instead, with his 13th European title, Kayaalp gets to tell his story. He stands alone as the most decorated European wrestler of all time.

Records though exist to be broken. At some point, inevitably, another wrestler will look at Kayaalp's number and decide to chase it. But at least for some time, records exist to define limits. For over a quarter of a century that limit was Karelin’s 12. Now it’s Kayaalp’s 13.