#ChinaOpen2018

World Champion Mukaida Headlines Day One China Open Finals

Friday, June 22, 2018 - 07:02 By Eric Olanowski

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TAIYUAN, China (June 22) – China, Japan, and Russia each qualified three wrestlers for the opening day finals at the China Open, United World Wrestling's third Ranking Series event of the year. Romania’s world finalist Alina VUC (ROU) claimed the tenth and final spot in the day one finals at the Shanxi Sports Center in Taiyuan, China. 

The top match-up of Friday night’s finals comes at 55kg where Japan’s 2016 world champion Mayu MUKAIDA will take on China’s 2018 Ivan Yarygin champion, ZHANG Qi.

Zhang finished the morning session with two wins, including a knockoff win over Korea’s fifth-ranked OH Hyemin who was the silver medalist at this year's Asian Championships. 

Another gold-medal match-up to keep an eye on is the 57kg championship bout between second ranked RONG Ningning (CHN) and Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS).

Rong, who is making her third finals appearance of the year will look to remain unblemished after capturing gold medals at the Ivan Yarygin and Asian Championships. Rong also went undefeated at the 2018 World Cup. 

The Chinese wrestler will have her hands full with Russia's Mongolia Open third-place finisher Olga Khoroshavtseva. In her opening round match-up, Khoroshavtseva picked up a 9-7 come-from-behind win after trailing Romania's Katerina ZHYDACHEVSKA 7-0 in the first period. She followed up that first round win with a 10-0 routing of Korea's UM JiEun. 

The finals are expected to begin shortly after the opening ceremony which begins at 6:00 PM local time. 

#ChinaOpen2018 Medal Match-ups 
50kg 
GOLD – Alina VUC (ROU) vs. ZHU Jiang (CHN) 

BRONZE - Aktenge KEUNIMYAEVA (UZB) vs. Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB) 

53kg 
GOLD – Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS) vs. YUI MIYAHARA (JPN) 

BRONZE – PANG Qianyu (CHN) vs. LOU Lannuan (CHN) 
BRONZE – Mercedesz DENES (HUN) vs. LIU Yujiao (CHN) 

55kg 
GOLD – ZHANG Qi (CHN) vs. Mayu MAKAIDA (JPN) 

BRONZE – OH Hyemin (KOR) vs. Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN) 
BRONZE – Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR) vs. OUYANG Junling (CHN) 

57kg
GOLD – RONG Ningning (CHN) vs. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) 

BRONZE – Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU) vs. UM Jieun (KOR)  

59kg
GOLD – Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS) vs. Yuzuru KUMANO (JPN) 

BRONZE – Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) vs. WANG Yuan (CHN) 
BRONZE – SUN Xinyuan (CHN) vs. ZHANG Yue (CHN) 

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Julfalakyan re-elected as UWW Athletes' Commission President

Wednesday, October 1, 2025 - 14:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (October 1) -- Arsen JULFALAKYAN has been re-elected President of the United World Wrestling Athletes’ Commission, securing a second term from 2025 to 2029.

The London Olympic silver medalist, who first took office in 2021, was the sole candidate for the position following the Athletes’ Commission elections held during the World Championships in Zagreb.

As President of the Commission, Julfalakyan will serve as the voice of wrestlers and represent their interests at the UWW Bureau and Congress. He will also represent athletes at the IOC Athletes’ Forum, WADA, and other international organizations.

"I am grateful to the entire wrestling community for trusting me with the privilege of representing them in the UWW Bureau and on the world stage," Julfalakyan said. "I’ll do my best to carry out this mission with dignity and ensure your voice is heard worldwide.

“Special thanks to UWW President Nenad Lalovic, Bureau members, and all national federations for their support. I would also like to take this opportunity to strongly encourage wrestlers to stay actively engaged with the UWW Athletes’ Commission.”

The elections for the Athletes' Commission were held during the World Championships in Zagreb from September 12 to 20 in which nine members, including four women, were elected. These nine members are:

Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Jessica LAVERS-McBAIN (AUS)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)

Following the election, UWW called for candidates for the presidency. As the sole applicant, Julfalakyan was elected unopposed and will continue as President of the Athletes’ Commission. UWW congratulates Julfalakyan on his re-election.

For any queries regarding the election or the functioning of the Athletes Commission, please contact UWW Secretariat.