#WresleSkopje U23 European C'ship Entries

Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - 13:46 By Eric Olanowski

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (May 13) --- After a 592 day layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the first time since the '19 U23 World Championships, the U23 calendar resumes with the U23 European Championships (May 17-23).

The VIP Arena Boris Trajkovski in North Macedonia's capital city, Skpoje, will welcome nearly 425 rising stars from 36 different nations.

Freestyle action begins on Monday, women's wrestling takes center stage on Wednesday and Greco-Roman closes out the competition beginning on Friday.

Freestyle

57kg
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Karen ZURABYAN (ARM)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (BLR)
Mehmed Hasan MEHMED (BUL)
Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Richard Lajos RACZ (HUN)
Simone Vincenzo PIRODDU (ITA)
Ghennadi DIUVENJI (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Hafiz Can HASDEMIR (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)

61kg
Razmik PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Ilya RAHOZAU (BLR)
Ruhan Hyusnyu RASIM (BUL)
Arman Norik ELOYAN (FRA)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Arben ABAZI (MKD)
Muslim MEKHTIKHANOV (RUS)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Artem KRYVENKO (UKR)

65kg
Sure VRIONI (ALB)
Hrachya MARGARYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Uladzislau KOIKA (BLR)
Alish Gyoksel ALISH (BUL)
David KOPRIVA (CZE)
Marwane Ahmed YEZZA (FRA)
Ross Taylor CONNELLY (GBR)
Giorgi TCHOLADZE (GEO)
Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER)
Karoly KISS (HUN)
Altin BERISHA (KOS)
Sergiu LUPASCO (MDA)
Elmedin SEJFULAU (MKD)
Stefan Ionut COMAN (ROU)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (RUS)
Cavit ACAR (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)

70kg
Eriglent PRIZRENI (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Daniil AMELYANCHYK (BLR)
Dimitar Atanasov ANGELOV (BUL)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Roland BIRO (HUN)
Raul ZARBALIEV (ISR)
Albin SHEHU (KOS)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Norbert MOLNOS (ROU)
Inalbek SHERIEV (RUS)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR)
Denys BOROHAN (UKR)

74kg
Arjan DANAJ (ALB)
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Davud ALIZALAU (BLR)
Nikolay Iliev DIMITROV (BUL)
Charles André AFA (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Lucas Marco KAHNT (GER)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Naftali Hertz HOROWITZ (ISR)
Luca FINIZIO (ITA)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Serhan SHAKIROV (MKD)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Chermen VALIEV (RUS)
Isa DEMIR (TUR)
Andrii NUHUMANOV (UKR)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Yahor AKULICH (BLR)
Oktay Ruzhdi HASAN (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Goga MAMIAURI (GEO)
Beat Konstantin SCHAIBLE (GER)
Botond LUKACS (HUN)
Max KASPEROVICH (ISR)
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Lilian BALAN (MDA)
Astrit ISMAILI (MKD)
Jakub Patryk WLADCZYK (POL)
Khalid IAKHIEV (RUS)
Tanguy DARBELLAY (SUI)
Ramazan SARI (TUR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)

86kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Ilya KHAMTSOU (BLR)
Ivan Kostadinov STEFANOV (BUL)
Matous VONDAL (CZE)
Demur MEGENEISHVILI (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Patrik SZUROVSZKI (HUN)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Andrian GROSUL (MDA)
Omer SEJFULAI (MKD)
Cezary Marek SADOWSKI (POL)
Amanula RASULOV (RUS)
Emre CIFTCI (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Arkadzi PAHASIAN (BLR)
Ivaylo Stefanov NANCHEV (BUL)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Sebastian SCHMIDT (GER)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Shai Shabtai SHOTASHVILI (ISR)
Auron SYLA (KOS)
Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Azamat ZAKUEV (RUS)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
Daniil PIDLYPENETS (UKR)

97kg
Islam ILYASOV (AZE)
Aliaksei PARKHOMENKA (BLR)
Tsvetan Danielov EVTIMOV (BUL)
Luka KHUTCHUA (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
David LABKOVSKY (ISR)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Ramadan MUSTAFOVSKI (MKD)
Michal Jan BIELAWSKI (POL)
Aslanbek SOTIEV (RUS)
Viliam OROSS (SVK)
Sven Janovitj ENGSTROEM (SWE)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Danylo STASIUK (UKR)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Hovhannes MAGHAKYAN (ARM)
Timon Johann HASLWANTER (AUT)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Yaraslau SLAVIKOUSKI (BLR)
Georgi Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL)
Aleksi ZHORZHOLIANI (GEO)
Lior ALTSHULER (ISR)
Semion PLUGARU (MDA)
Uvejs FEJZULAHU (MKD)
Atsamaz TEBLOEV (RUS)
Anil Berkan KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR)

Four-time age group world champion Aleksandr Andreevitch KOMAROV (RUS) will compete at 87kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman
55kg
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Ashot MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Zaur Eyvaz ALIYEV (AZE)
Maksim STUPAKEVICH (BLR)
Denis Krasimirov DEMIROV (BUL)
Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis Florin MIHAI (ROU)
Mavlud RIZMANOV (RUS)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR (SRB)
Adem Burak UZUN (TUR)
Mykola HAVRYCHKIN (UKR)

60kg
Tigran MINASYAN (ARM)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Uladzislau PRYBYLSKI (BLR)
Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL)
Andy JUAN SUCH (ESP)
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Zaur NURIYEV (AZE)
Aliaksandr PECHURENKA (BLR)
Ilia Dimitrov MUSTAKOV (BUL)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Andrej GINC (GER)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Alexandru TRANDAFIR (ROU)
Rakhman TAVMURZAEV (RUS)
Dejan PETROVIC (SRB)
Niklas Jan Olov Pontus OEHLEN (SWE)
Abdulkadir SAYDAM (TUR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)

67kg
Gurgen ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Aker AL OBAIDI (AUT)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Maksim NEHODA (BLR)
Ivo Krasimirov ILIEV (BUL)
Denis MERTL (CZE)
Marcos SANCHEZ SILVA MEJIAS (ESP)
Elmer Joakim MATTILA (FIN)
Gagik Mishai SNJOYAN (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Mateusz Radoslaw SZEWCZUK (POL)
Vasile Alexandru DOSOFTEI (ROU)
Turpal Ali ISAEV (RUS)
Kadir KAMAL (TUR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)

72kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Akseli Elias YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Oliver KAJTAN (HUN)
Mihai PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Sergei KUTUZOV (RUS)
Aron PINTER (SRB)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Oliver OLAH (SVK)
Hasan ORAKCI (TUR)
Andrii KULYK (UKR)

77kg
Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Mikita KAZAKOU (BLR)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Waltteri Harri Kristian LATVALA (FIN)
Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Erik LOESER (GER)
Moric KISMONI (HUN)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Patryk Adam BEDNARZ (POL)
Nicolae POPA (ROU)
Sergei STEPANOV (RUS)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Gergely BUERSOELY (SVK)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Erkan ERGEN (TUR)
Ihor BYCHKOV (UKR)

82kg
Gagik HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Yauheni YUROU (BLR)
Tihomir Todorov DIMOV (BUL)
Sebastian PETRAC (CRO)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Otto Eemeli KETONEN (FIN)
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO)
Dimitrios TSOMPANOUDIS (GRE)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Arminas LYGNUGARIS (LTU)
Vladislav GUTU (MDA)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Magnus GROENVIK (NOR)
Vasile Daniel COJOC (ROU)
Shamil Letkaevitch OZHAEV (RUS)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Ramon Rainer BETSCHART (SUI)
Mats Ola Lukas AHLGREN (SWE)
Dogan KAYA (TUR)
Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR)

87kg
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Lachin VALIYEV (AZE)
Ihar YARASHEVICH (BLR)
Svetoslav Nikolaev NIKOLOV (BUL)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Juho Matias PAHIKAINEN (FIN)
Temuri TCHKUASELIDZE (GEO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Nicu Samuel OJOG (ROU)
Aleksandr Andreevitch KOMAROV (RUS)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR)
Dmytro KIIASHOK (UKR)

97kg
Kevi BALLABANI (ALB)
Albert YEGHIKYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR)
Mariyan Iliyanov MARINOV (BUL)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Patrick NEUMAIER (GER)
Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Robert ERSEK (HUN)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Arnoldas BARANOVAS (LTU)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Piotr CHUDZIK (POL)
Artur SARGSIAN (RUS)
Aleksandar SIMOVIC (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Valentyn SHKLIARENKO (UKR)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Ilya YUDCHYTS (BLR)
Mate GOKADZE (GEO)
Franz RICHTER (GER)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN)
Nikola MILATOVIC (NOR)
Gerard Cyprian KURNICZAK (POL)
Lenard Istvan BEREI (ROU)
Mikhail LAPTEV (RUS)
Vladan ZIVKOVIC (SRB)
Delian Hossein ALISHAHI (SUI)
Fatih BOZKURT (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

Cadet, junior, U23 and senior European champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) headlines the women's wrestling entries. She'll compete at 59kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
Anastasiya YANOTAVA (BLR)
Ana Maria TORRES RUBIO (ESP)
Taru Marketta VAINIONPAEAE (FIN)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Jekaterina JERMALONOKA (LAT)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Maria Alexandra CIOCLEA (ROU)
Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (RUS)
Anna POLLAKOVA (SVK)
Aynur ERGE (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)

53kg
Viktoryia VOLK (BLR)
Emma Solange Irène LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Szimonetta Timea SZEKER (HUN)
Elvira KRASNIQI (KOS)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Alicja CZYZOWICZ (POL)
Elena Simona IONESCU (ROU)
Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS)
Esra PUL (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

55kg
Florine Maria SCHEDLER (AUT)
Anastasiya RAMANIONAK (BLR)
Aleksandrina Nikolaeva KASHINOVA (BUL)
Laura GOMEZ VIZCAINO (ESP)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Dominika Ewa KULWICKA (POL)
Beatrice Ionela FERENT (ROU)
Aleksandra SKIRENKO (RUS)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Khrystyna Zoryana DEMKO (UKR)

57kg
Hanna VAHER (BLR)
Sezen Behchetova BELBEROVA (BUL)
Josefine Maria PURSCHKE (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Othelie Annette HOEIE (NOR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Denisa Iuliana FODOR (ROU)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)
Kristina CINTALANOVA (SVK)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)

59kg
Celina Michelle DENZ (AUT)
Krystsina SAZYKINA( BLR)
Maria Victoria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Anne Beatrice NUERNBERGER (GER)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Magdalena Urszula GLODEK (POL)
Aleksandra NITSENKO (RUS)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)

62kg
Tatsiana PAULAVA (BLR)
Raya Zhanetova KYOSEVA (BUL)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Debora LAWNITZAK (GER)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Mariia LACHUGINA (RUS)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

65kg
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Viktoryia Alesia DZEHTSIARENKA (BLR)
Nerea PAMPIN BLANCO (ESP)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Kamila Czeslawa KULWICKA (POL)
Amina Roxana CAPEZAN (ROU)
Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RUS)
Linnea Antonia SVENSSON (SWE)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)

68kg
Natallia BELSKAYA (BLR)
Siyka Todorova IVANOVA (BUL)
Kendra Augustine Jocelyne DACHER (FRA)
Ewelina Weronika CIUNEK (POL)
Adina Ionela IRIMIA (ROU)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (RUS)
Tindra Linnea SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Oksana CHUDYK (UKR)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
Kornelija ZAICEVAITE (LTU)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Maria larisa NITU (ROU)
Marina SUROVTSEVA (RUS)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Merve PUL (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

76kg
Hanna MASLAKOVA (BLR)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Ewelina KACZYNSKA (POL)
Diana Elena VLASCEANU (ROU)
Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS)
Andela PRIJOVIC (SRB)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Romana VOVCHAK (UKR)

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ranking Series: Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 Preview

Monday, May 26, 2025 - 06:43 By Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (May 23) -- While most Paris Olympic medalist have returned to action in either the first two Ranking Series or the recent continental championships, there are still who will be wrestling for the first time since Games in August 2024.

The Ulaanbaatar Open, the third stop of the Ranking Series, will see two such wrestlers -- AMAN (IND) and Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ).

Aman, the bronze medalist at 57kg in Paris, will mark his return to competition after dropping out from first two Ranking Series tournaments. Dzhuzupekov, who won bronze at Greco-Roman 97kg in Paris, will also be returning for the first time.

Barring those, a few world medalists are also wrestling in Ulaanbaatar. The tournament, which will see more than 200 wrestlers, throws up some top match-ups despite a several nations preparing for their domestic trials or national championships.

The tournament will run through May 29 to June 1 and will be live on UWW+ on uww.org and UWW App.

Freestyle

In a hugely viral clip of United World Wrestling, Zagir SHAKHIEV (UWW) is getting pinned by Shamil MAMMEDOV (UWW) who has Shakhiev in a cradle. That was January 2022 at the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series.

More than three years after his last international bout, Shakhiev is making a comeback. The 2021 world 65kg champion will take the mat at 70kg at the Ulaanbaatar Open as he tries to find a way back to the top in international wrestling.

However, it's won't be an easy journey. The 70kg in Ulaanbaatar will se Shakhiev clash with Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI), Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) and Viktor RASSADIN (TJK).

Tumur Ochir will be looking avenge his 4-4 loss to Shakhiev from that 2021 World Championships, a match which had all the drama in the final minute. How Shakhiev comes out now is yet to be seen.

Asian silver medalist Viktor RASSADIN (TJK) can trouble Shakhiev and so can Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI) and Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) with their gas-tanks.

For Tumur Ochir, it will be a perfect opportunity to perform in front of his home crowd and regain some form before the World Championships in September.

Mongolia will be keen on its wrestlers finishing on podium at the home tournament. Their biggest hope, apart from Tumur Ochir, will be Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) at 125kg.

The Asian silver medalist will have DINESH (IND),Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) and Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) as some of his opponents but is expected to finish better than them.

At 57kg, Aman may be the only Olympic medalist entered but the field seems challenging for anyone. European U23 champion Lev PAVLOV (UWW) brings a lot of craft with him and Aman will like face him if he wants to win another Ranking Series gold medal. Then there is Pan-Am champion Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) who too is coming off a good run in Monterrey.

Kyrgyzstan is sending two wrestlers -- Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ) and Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) -- and both can trouble their opponents. The hosts Mongolia is banking on Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL).

Asian silver medalist UDIT (IND) will be another top name in Freestyle but his weight class also has quite a few challengers. Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) and Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) will be there from Kyrgyzstan along with Artem GOBAEV (UWW), who won the European U23 Championships gold last year.

Another Asian silver medalist Deepak PUNIA (IND) will continue to be at 92kg and not 86kg, his previous weight class. Punia made his return from surgery at the Asian Championships and won silver medal at 92kg, only dropping the final to Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI).

He will be put to further test in Ulaanbaatar and Askhab SAADULAEV (UWW) may emerge as his biggest competitor.

At 74kg, Iran is sending three wrestlers in the hope of finding the best for the World Championships. Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI), who recently moved up from 70kg and won the Takhti Cup, will be challenged by Yones EMAMI (IRI) and Hossein ABOUZARI (IRI).

To win gold, Yazdani will also face competition from JAIDEEP (IND), Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) and former world medalist Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), who Yazdani defeated in a club competition in Iran recently.

European bronze medalist Osman GOECN (TUR) will be Türkiye chance to win gold medal at the Ranking Series. Gocen will largely be unchallenged at 86kg given his experience and style.

At 65kg, Kyrgyzstan is trying to find its best bet for a medal at the World Championships as both Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ) are entered.

Greco-Roman

Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye are bringing strong teams for the Ranking Series. Kyrgyzstan will be led by Olympic bronze medalist Dzhuzupbekov while Turkiye has European champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and former world champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR). Barring those, only India is sending a full team for the tournament.

Iran has two wrestlers namely Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) and Danial SOHRABI (IRI) at 63kg and 72kg respectively.

Kamal, who has found a lifeline since switching to 63kg from 60kg, won the European Championships gold medal in spectacular fashion and is now out to win his second Ranking Series gold of the year.

He has Keshtkar in his weight class along with Doolotbek CHOIBEKOV (KGZ), Asian medalist Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) and Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT). However, Kamal remains the favorite. Akbudak should have an easy path to gold at 82kg.

European silver medalist Hamza BAKIR (TUR) at 130kg is also unlikely to face much challenge in the competition at the highest weight class.

The Kyrgyzstan vs Turkiye may emerge as the theme of the tournament in Greco-Roman for the rest of the weight classes.

Paris Olympian Enes BASAR (TUR) may have to navigate a stronger field at 60kg with former world U17 champion SURAJ (IND) and two of Kyrgyzstan's rising stars Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ) and Kurmanbek ZHAPAROV (KGZ).

Kyrgyzstan's Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ), who won gold at Muhamet Malo and silver at Asian Championships, will be the favorite at 67kg despite the presence of Murat FIRAT (TUR).

Same goes for Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ) who won gold at 77kg in Albania and later a bronze medal at the Asian Championships. His battle with European bronze medalist Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) will be one to watch out for.

At 87kg, two former age-group world champions will be fighting it out. Former world U20 champion Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) had a rather disappointing Asian Championships as he finished seventh and will be looking to win gold in Ulaanbaatar to regain confidence.

Alperen BERBER (TUR), who has all age-group world titles, has not wrestled this year in any Ranking Series or Championships and will be test at 87kg.

Sohrabi, who won the Asian title at 72kg in Amman, will start as the favorite but has to be careful with Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ) who can upset the Iranian.

Women's Wrestling

India, Turkiye and Mongolia are in a three-way battle in Women's Wrestling. A few UWW wrestlers are also in the fray in the tournament but not in all weight classes. The Indian and Turkish teams have some of their continental medalists and will make for an exciting clash in the respective weight classes.

No weight class in Women's Wrestling is expected to have eight wrestlers and will be competed in Nelson or round-robin format. That throws big match ups in most weight classes.

At 62kg, Asian champion MANISHA (IND) will be clashing with Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL), Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL), Saruul ERDENEBILEG (MGL) and Alina KASABIEVA (UWW).

Sukhee, a former world champion, is known for her big moves and can easily reach the top of the podium in Ulaabaatar. But Purevdorj, who surprisingly missed the Asian Championships, will be keen on displaying her skills and reclaim the top spot in the weight class.

Kasabieva, world silver medalist at 65kg, has to face the Asian challenge and style and a good performance in Ulaabaatar can work wonders for her future tournaments.

Asian bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) will be the favorite at 53kg but has to step up against the likes of Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) andNatalia MALYSHEVA (UWW).

Similarly, NEELAM (IND) may find it tough against European silver medalist Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) and European U23 champion Natalia PUDOVA (UWW). A direct India-Turkiye battle is expected at 57kg as European silver medalist Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) will be tested by world U20 bronze NEHA (IND).

In most other weight classes, Mongolia is likely to have podium finishes as it has three wrestlers in each weights.

Former world silver medalist Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) is at 55kg along with Dulguun MUNKHBOLD BOLORMAA (MGL) and 2023 world silver medalist Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) is the favorite at 68kg despite her bronze-medal finish at the Asian Championships.

At 72kg, European U23 champion Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW) will test herself against the Asian style of wrestling. Former U17 world champion HARSHITA (IND) will be her biggest test.

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