Women's wrestling rankings released

Wednesday, March 22, 2023 - 11:23 By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 22) -- With the continental championships beginning next month, United World Wrestling released rankings that will determine the seeds of those tournaments and will offer more ranking points to the participating wrestlers.

Women's rankings in all 10 weight classes show that the top-ranked wrestlers at the start of the year are keen on keeping it as we head towards the World Championships in the second half of the year.

While the continental championships will have four seeds, the World Championships will have eight seeds. The tournament in Belgrade will also offer Paris Olympics qualifying spots.

Here's the breakdown of the rankings in 10 women's wrestling weight classes after the Ranking Series events in Zagreb and Alexandria which offered points.

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50kg
Yui SUSAKI (JPN) returned to the Ranking Series event for the first time in five years and won gold. At the start of the year, she had 45000 points but the gold took her total to 58000 points, 12800 points clear of the second-placed Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) who has 45200 points. Anna LUKASIAK (POL) has jumped one place to third with the 5050 points she received for finishing 10th in Zagreb.

Emilia VUC (ROU) has added 5800 points for her ninth-place finish in Alexandria which pushed her to the fifth spot. Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB) is sixth with 29320 points as she finished seventh in Zagreb and 11th in Alexandria. She collected a total of 12320 points.

She was 10th at the start of the year but Madison PARKS (CAN) has jumped to seventh with a 10th place finish in Zagreb and fifth in Alexandria. She collected 14480 points in the two tournaments and now has 28780 points.

The new entrant in the top 10 is Ziqi FENG (CHN) who has 27000 points. She finished third in Zagreb for 16000 points and won the gold in Alexandria for 11000 points more.

Miesinnei GENESIS (MGR), earlier sixth with 25000 points, has now slipped to 10th.

Dominique PARRISH (USA) remains number one in 53kg weight class. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

53kg
She may not have won any medals in Zagreb and Alexandria but world champion Dom PARRISH (USA) continues to lead the rankings with 50800 points. World silver medalist Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) remains second with 45520 points, 8520 points more than her 37000 points at the start of the year.

Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) and Jonna MALMGREN (SWE), the two wrestlers who finished fifth at World Championships, are now third and fourth respectively. Yepez won the gold medal in Alexandria for 13000 points and also has 5800 points for her 11th place finish in Zagreb. Malmgren now has 33200 points, thanks to the 8200 points she collected for her eighth-place finish in Alexandria.

Iulia LEORDA (MDA) and Li DENG (CHN) broke into the top 10 after the two ranking events. Leorda has 17680 points in the eighth spot while Deng has 16475 points at the 10th spot.

Mayu SHIDOCHI (JPN) and Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) remain 1-2 at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

55kg
The top three at 55kg remain unchanged with world champion Mayu SHIDOCHI (JPN) leading the way. But coming in at number four is Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), who was sixth at the start of the year. She has 33000 points as she won the gold medal in Alexandria. That has pushed Karla GODINEZ (CAN) to fifth and Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) to sixth.

Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ), who was 10th at the start of the year with 14300 points, has jumped to seventh with 19500 points. She got 5200 points for her bronze in Alexandria.

Sedneva's jump means that Andreea ANA (ROU), Sushma SHOKEEN (IND) and Roksana ZASINA (POL) have slipped one place each to complete the list.

Helen MAROULIS (USA), left, has replaced Tsugumu SAKURAI (JPN) at the top at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

57kg
Helen MAROULIS (USA) is back on top. The former world champion was 8000 points behind leader and world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) at the start of the year but went 200 points ahead of her with an eighth-place finish in Zagreb. Maroulis now has 45200 points for the top spot while Sakurai remains at 45000 points.

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) and Anhelina LYSAK (POL) remain third and fourth respectively but their total points have increased.

Yongxin FENG (CHN) jumped from ninth to fifth with 33420 points as she won a silver medal in Zagreb and finished seventh in Alexandria. In the sixth position is Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB) with 27875 points as she also participated in both Zagreb and Alexandria. Finish 13th in Zagreb was worth 5075 points while finishing ninth in Alexandria gave her 5800 points.

Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL) and Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), who were fifth and sixth respectively, are now seventh and eighth.

Giullia PENALBER (BRA) and Qi ZHANG (CHN) have broken into top-10 with 23400 points and 18400 points respectively.

Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) consolidated her position at the top at 59kg with two medals in two events. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

59kg
A gold medal at the Zagreb Open and silver in Alexandria took world champion Anastasia NICHITA's (MDA) total to 53400 points as she continues to remain number one at 59kg. There is no change in the rankings until the seventh position which is now occupied by Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ) with 17500 points.

Kayumova was ninth with 13500 points but she improved two places to seventh with a fifth-place finish in Alexandria. That means that MANSI (IND) is now eighth, Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) is ninth and Abigail NETTE (USA) is tenth.

Kayla MIRACLE (USA) is now the top ranked wrestler at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

62kg
World champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) has been hurt by not competing since winning the gold medal in Belgrade. She was the number one wrestler with 45000 points but Kayla MIRACLE (USA) now has 56200 points to jump to the top spot.

Not only that, world bronze medalist Xiaojuan LUO (CHN), who was fourth, is now second with 48200 points. She improved her rank with 11th-place finish in Zagreb and a silver medal in Alexandria.

Ozaki now sits third with 45000 points with Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) on her heels at fourth with 43075 points. Tynybekova finished 13th in Zagreb but bounced back to win gold in Alexandria which took her total from 25000 points to 43075 points.

World bronze medalist Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) is fifth with 36800 points while Ana GODINEZ (CAN) is sixth with 33200 points. Sara LINDBORG (SWE) finished fifth in Alexandria for 9000 points and managed to improve one rank to seventh with 26000 points. Lais NUNES (BRA) also jumped from 10th to eighth with 23300 points.

Two newcomers in the top-10 include Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) who has 22613 points and Grace BULLEN (NOR) with 19600 points.

World champion Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) remains number one at 65kg with 43000 points. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

65kg
World champion Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) continues to rule 65kg as she has 43000 points at the top.

World bronze medalist Mallory VELTE (USA) has jumped from fourth to second with 35400 points as both Jia LONG (CHN) and Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) have moved into Olympic weight classes.

There are no other changes in the remaining rankings.

Taymra MENSAH STOCK (USA) headlines the rankings at 68kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

68kg
No one has been able to touch world champion Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) as he remains top-ranked with 45000 points. Irina RINGACI (MDA) has moved to the second spot over Ami ISHII (JPN) as she now has 39200 points over Ishii's 37000 points. World bronze medalist Linda MORAIS (CAN) remains fourth with 31000 points.

Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL) has jumped from sixth to fourth with 28705 points from her earlier 18200 points. She finished 10th in Zagreb and 15th in Alexandria.

Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) has broken into the top-10 with 25800 points as she won silver in Zagreb. She also finished fifth in Alexandria to further improve her rank.

Former fifth NISHA (IND) and sixth Feng ZHOU (CHN) have now slipped to seventh and eighth. Two France wrestlers, Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA) and Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), are ninth and tenth with 22500 points and 22400 points.

Amit ELOR (USA) is ranked number one at 72kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

72kg
The biggest change at 72kg is Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB) who has jumped from sixth to third with 30760 points. She earlier had 23000 points. She claimed 4000 points for her fifth place in Zagreb and 3760 points for being sixth in Alexandria.

Amit ELOR (USA) continues to be number one with 43000 points followed by Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) with 35000 points.

No further changes were seen in this weight class until the eighth spot which is now occupied by REETIKA (IND) with 15960 points. She broke into the top 10 with a sixth-place finish in Zagreb and a bronze medal in Alexandria. This also means that Shauna KUEBECK (CAN) has moved to ninth with 15000 points.

Silver medal in Zagreb and gold in Alexandria have propelled Dalma CANEVA (ITA) to the 10th spot with 14400 points.

Samar HAMZA (EGY) replaced Yasemin ADAR (TUR) from the top at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

76kg
The weight class with the most uncertainty is topped by Samar HAMZA (EGY) as she has 50280 points, 5280 points more than world champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR). Hamza finished 10th in Zagreb and ninth in Alexandria.

Fifth placer at World Championships Genesis REASCO (ECU) is now third with 37000 points as she collected 12000 points over the two Ranking Series events.

Juan WANG (CHN) also improved her rank from seventh to fourth with 36600 points from 18200 points at the start of the year. She almost doubled her points with fifth place in Zagreb and a silver medal in Alexandria.

Justina DI STASIO (CAN) is now fifth with 35200 points followed by Epp MAE (EST) with 34800 points. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) is seventh with 31000 points.

Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ) holds on to her eighth spot with 20075 points but Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) breaks into top-10 at ninth with 19600 points as she won silver in Zagreb and bronze in Alexandria. She was ranked 11th with 11400 points after the Zagreb event.

Martina KUENZ (AUT) is 10th with 15500 points.

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Emami denies Yazdani spot on Iran team for World Championships

Saturday, May 31, 2025 - 13:40 By Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (May 31) -- Clashing in an all-Iranian final at 74kg at the Ulaanbaatar Open with the spot on the Iranian team for World Championships on the line, Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) and Yones EMAMI (IRI) made it to the final after some tough bouts.

Head coach Pejman DOROSTKAR did not sit in any corner and the second coaches did not shout instruction, the case in most bouts which involves qualification for a national team.

While Emami was the favorite, Yazdani was the challenger. Emami has been here before. Yazdani wanted to prove he belongs at 74kg.

And he had planned it perfectly -- don't let the score get out of hands and then go all-out in the final minute against Emami. It all worked well until the final minute.

Emami brought his top-notch defense to the mat to deny Yazdani an opening and then tactically did not engage with Yazdani in last 30 seconds to win the final, the spot on Iran team and deny Yazdani a bid to make the World Championships in Zagreb.

The final was not spectacular as it did not have big moves or crafty scrambles. It began with both wrestlers being called passive by the referee in the first minute.

But Yazdani was given the second warning before Emami in the first period and the latter took a 1-0 lead at the break. As the bout resumed, Yazdani scored a stepout early in the second period to take a 1-1 criteria lead. Emami answered with a stepout and took a clear 2-1 lead.

Yazdani was unfazed despite falling behind as it was still under control as he has planned. Then came the burst of attacks to score a takedown. He got a single-leg attack and almost put Emami down. But as he back peddled, Yazdani went out of bounds and then fell on his knees before he could get Emami out. Emami was awarded a point which made it 3-1 but Yazdani challenged the call.

The initial call of one point for Emami was upheld and Yazdani lost the challenge, adding another point to Emami's score which was now 4-1.

With 36 seconds remaining, Yazdani still went for the kill and as Emami was evading, Yazdani was giving two points on different occasions but that was all Yazdani got as he dropped the final and a chance to be in the Iran team for Zagreb.

While Emami did not celebrate the win, Yazdani failed to hold his tears back on the podium as he was awarded the silver medal.

"Amirmohammad is my friend and brother," Emami said. "We train together a lot, so we’re pretty familiar with each other’s wrestling style. That’s why this match was a bit tough."

One of the biggest differences in the bout Emami's defense which made Yazdani, who had recently switched from 70kg to 74kg, work harder for any points.

"I had thought about it [defense] during practice and even throughout the day trying to fix my weaknesses," he said. "I used to give away points too easily, but I had improved a bit here, and I hope I can keep getting better from this point on."

Emami now has a bigger challenge -- to win a medal for Iran at the World Championships at 74kg.

"The World Championships are definitely at a higher and tougher level," he said. "We take part in training camps and practice under the supervision of the coaching staff."

There was a third Iranian -- Noorali ABOUZARI (IRI) -- in the fray to make the team but he lost to JAIDEEP (IND), who won bronze medal at 74kg.

The other bronze medal at 74kg went to Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ), who almost defeated Yazdani in the semifinal. Toktomambetov led 6-4 with 10 seconds remaining when Yazdani got behind and scored a turn to finish the bout 6-6 and win on criteria.

Two other Freestyle weight classes were also in action on Saturday and Askhab SAADULAEV (UWW) at 92kg and Osman GOCEN (TUR) at 86kg won gold medals.

At 86kg, Osman GOCEN (TUR) won gold medal after he defeated Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL) 7-0 while Saadulaev won gold medal Asian silver medalist Deepak PUNIA (IND) injury defaulted in Round 5 back at 92kg.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Yones EMAMI (IRI) df. Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI), 4-3

BRONZE: Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), via inj. def.
BRONZE: JAIDEEP (IND) df. Tugsjargal ERDENEBAT (MGL), via fall

86kg
GOLD: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df. Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL), 7-0

BRONZE: Batbilguun NAADAMBAT (MGL) df. Dayanbileg GAN OCHIR (MGL), 10-0

92kg
GOLD: Askhab SAADULAEV (UWW)
SILVER: Deepak PUNIA (IND)
BRONZE: Bat-Erdene BYAMBASUREN

Women's wrestling rankings released

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Emami denies Yazdani spot on Iran team for World Championships