#WrestleAlmaty

#WrestleAlmaty Weight-to-Watch: Freestyle 97kg

By Eric Olanowski

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 1) -- Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) headlines the ten-man freestyle 97kg bracket at next week's Asian Olympic Qualifier (April 9-11) that'll feature a field that has a Rio Olympic bronze, a world bronze, and five Asian medals.

Wrestlers have to reach the finals in Almaty to book their nation's tickets to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Mohammadian will take the mat for the first time since his magical run to the ’20 Matteo Pellicone gold medal. During that run in Rome, the former Asian champion outscored his five opponents 41-0, while tallying victories over an Olympic champion, a U23 world champion, a world bronze medalist and a world fifth-place finisher.

Behind the headlining Iranian, other notable entries are Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB), Satywart KADIAN (IND), and Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL).

Ibragimov is a Rio Olympic bronze medalist and two-time Asian champion. He's looking to punch his ticket to a second consecutive Olympic Games. Ibragimov fell to Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the quarterfinals at the '19 World Championships and barely missed out on an Olympic berth with a seventh-place finish. Most recently, the 36-year-old struggled at the International Ukrainian Tournament, but before that, he was riding an 11-tournament streak where he finished top ten -- including six podium finishes.

Kadian, last year's Asian runner-up, is also entered at 97kg. The three-time Asian medalist is looking to become the fourth Indian freestyle wrestler to qualify for the Olympic Games. India has also qualified at 57kg, 65kg and 86kg. 

Ulziisaikhan rounds out the list of Olympic, world, or continental medalists who are entered at 97kg.

The last competition where Ulziisaikhan laced up his boots was the '19 World Championships. In Nur-Sultan, the '19 Asian runner-up won his opening match against Magomed MUSAEV (KGZ) but fell to eventual fifth-place finisher Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) in the quarterfinals and fell to a 15th-place finish.

Wrestling at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers kicks off on April 9-11 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, but freestyle action takes center stage on Sunday morning. You can follow all the action live on www.uww.org.

97kg Freestyle Entries 
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Naoya AKAGUMA (JPN)
Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Jongku LEE (KOR)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Muhammad INAM (PAK)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Magomed Idrisovitch IBRAGIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleAlmaty

Asian Championship (April 13-18) Entries

By Eric Olanowski

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 10) -- After the Asian OG Qualifiers wrap up, there will be a short two-day pause in action before wrestling resumes in Almaty for the '21 Asian Championships. The focus for the 315 wrestlers from 23 different nations switches from earning Tokyo Olympic berths to claiming continental gold.

The five-day competition starts with Greco-Roman action on April 13. Women's wrestling takes center stage on Thursday while freestyle action closes out the tournament beginning on Friday.

57kg 
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI)
Ahmed Jawad Kadhim AL ZAIDAWI (IRQ)
Yuto TAKESHITA (JPN)
Daulet TEMIRZHANOV (KAZ)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Hyeonsik SONG (KOR)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Muhammad BILAL (PAK)
Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK)
Rozgeldi SEYIDOV (TKM)
Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB)

61kg 
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Ravinder RAVINDER (IND)
Majid Almas DASTAN (IRI)
Shaheed Hussni Khalid ALKHALIFA (IRQ)
Shoya SHIMAE (JPN)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Nemekhbayar BATSAIKHAN (MGL)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB)

65kg
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
Morteza Hassanali GHIASI CHEKA (IRI)
Mohammed Al Jawad Zuhair K KAREEM (IRQ)|
Takuto OTOGURO (JPN)
Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Yongseok JEONG (KOR)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Bilguun SARMANDAKH (MGL)
Chamara Milinda Perera WEERASINGHEGE (SRI)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Kerim HOJAKOV (TKM)
Nodir RAKHIMOV (UZB)

70kg
Hasibagena HASIBAGENA(CHN)
Karan KARAN(IND)
Amirhossein Ali HOSSEINI(IRI)
Karam Shakir Mhmood MAHMOOD(IRQ)
Jintaro MOTOYAMA(JPN)
Syrbaz TALGAT(KAZ)
Islambek OROZBEKOV(KGZ)
Seungbong LEE(KOR)
Mohammed J M Th A ABDULKAREEM(KUW)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA(MGL)
Saidasan ASHRAFKHONOV(TJK)
Perman HOMMADOV(TKM)
Sirojiddin KHASANOV(UZB)

74kg
Menghejigan MENGHEJIGAN (CHN)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Mostafa Mohabbali HOSSEINKHANI (IRI)
Dawood Salman Jasim AL DULAIMI (IRQ)
Keisuke OTOGURO (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)|
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Seungchul LEE (KOR)
Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Abdullrahman Ibrahim A IBRAHIM (QAT)
Hong Yeow LOU (SGP)
Madushanka Lakmal Wijesooriya WIJESOORIYA MUDIYANSELAGE (SRI)
Gulomdzhon SHARIPOV (TJK)
Alymuhammet OVEZMYRADOV (TKM)
Atamyrat CHARLYYEV (TKM)
Ikhtiyor NAVRUZOV (UZB)

79kg
Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND)
Ali Bakhtiar SAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Ahmed Mohsin Kadhim AL GBURI (IRQ)
Ryuki YOSHIDA (JPN)
Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ)
Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Batzul DAMJIN (MGL)
Gurbanmyrat OVEZBERDIYEV (TKM)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

86kg
Vuthy HENG (CAM)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Hassan Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI)
Mustafa Abdulbasit Abd U AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN)
Yeskali DAULETKAZY (KAZ)
Mirlan CHYNYBEKOV (KGZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Abdullah F A SALEEM (KUW)
Domenic Michael ABOU NADER (LBN)
Unurbat PUREVJAV (MGL)
Bakhodur KODIROV (TJK)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Isa SHAPIEV (UZB)

92kg
Sanjeet SANJEET (IND)
Kamran Ghorban GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Anmar Hamid Hilal ALQAISI (IRQ)
Ryoichi YAMANAKA (JPN)
Elkhan ASSADOV (KAZ)
Chyngyz KERIMKULOV (KGZ)
Hyeokbeom GWON (KOR)
Tsogtgerel MUNKHBAATAR (MGL)
Azat GAJYYEV (TKM)
Rustam SHODIEV (UZB)

97kg
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Ali Khalil SHABANIBENGAR (IRI)|
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Jongku LEE (KOR)
Khalid A S ALSHAMMARI (KUW)
Altangerel CHINBAT (MGL)
Muhammad INAM (PAK)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB)

125kg
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)|
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Donghwan KIM (KOR)
Khuderbulga DORJKHAND (MGL)
Haroon ABID (PAK)
Omar Ihab SAREM (SYR)
Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Amirjon NUTFULLAEV (UZB)

Defending continental champion Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) will compete at 63kg. He's looking to win a sixth Asian title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

50kg
Sandeep SANDEEP (IND)
Poya Soulat DAD MARZ (IRI)
Sajjad Ali Muksr ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)
Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ)
Zhanserik SARSENBIYEV (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Jinhyeok KIM (KOR)
Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL)
Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK)
Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB)

60kg
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Mehdi Seifollah MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Karrar Abbas Mukasr ALBEEDHAN (IRQ)
Ayata SUZUKI (JPN)
Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)|
Kuttubek ABDYKERIM UULU (KGZ)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Mhdasad Aldein ALOSTA (SYR)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Merdan ALLAYAROV (TKM)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)

63kg
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Neeraj NEERAJ (IND)
Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI)
Mohammed Abbas Shyaa AL SAEDI (IRQ)
Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Urmatbek AMATOV(KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Mohammad F Kh M J ALAJMI (KUW)
Muhamad FWAZ (SYR)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)

67kg
Qiye TIAN (CHN)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Hossein Nasrollah ASSADI KOLMATI (IRI)
Waael Jasim Abed ALAAJAMI (IRQ)
Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN)
Nurbek KYZYROV (KAZ)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Dohyeong KIM (KOR)
Abdwlkarim Mohammad ALHASAN (SYR)
Sheroz OCHILOV (TJK)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

72kg
Kuldeep MALIK (IND)
Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Taha Yaseen Dhahir AL SALIHI (IRQ)
Taishi HORIE (JPN)
Azat SADYKOV (KAZ)
Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Muslihiddin UROQOV (TJK)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)


77kg
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Pejman Soltanmorad POSHTAM (IRI)|
Hussein Ali Muksr ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Askhat DILMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ)
Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Kairatbek TUGOLBAEV (KGZ)
Yeonghun NOH (KOR)
Rabie K. A. KHALIL (PLE)
Bakhit Sharif K BADR (QAT)
Daler REZA ZADE (TJK)
Muhammetberdi MAMEDOV (TKM)
Bilan NALGIEV (UZB)

82kg
Singh HARPREET (IND)
Mahdi Asgar EBRAHIMI (IRI)
Satoki MUKAI (JPN)|
Miras BARSHYLYKOV (KAZ)
Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ)
Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Mohammad A H ALSAYEGH (KUW)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

87kg
Fei PENG (CHN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Naser Ghasem ALIZADEH (IRI)
Abbas Shaalan Abdulkadhim AL TAMEEMI (IRQ)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)|
Seunghwan LEE (KOR)
Tokhirdzhon OKHONOV (TJK)
Shageldi ANNAYEV (TKM)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

97kg
Ravi RAVI (IND)
Mehdi Mohammad BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Ali Majeed Hameed AL KAABI (IRQ)
Masayuki AMANO (JPN)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Yerulan ISKAKOV (KAZ)
Beksultan Makhamadzhanovich MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Seyeol LEE (KOR)
Amirjon JURAEV (TJK)
Ergali AYKHIMBAEV (UZB)

130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI)
Ahmed Shaalan Abdulkadhim AL TAMEEMI (IRQ)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Nurmakhan TINALIYEV (KAZ)
Murat RAMONOV (KGZ)
Minjoon KIM (KOR)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Sukhrob FATTOEV (UZB)

Vinesh VINESH (IND), a '19 world bronze medalist and Tokyo Olympian, will compete at 53kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
Samnang DIT (CAM)
Seema SEEMA (IND)
Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ)
Ayazhan MARKASHEVA (KAZ)
YeoJin KIM (KOR)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Anudari NANDINTSETSEG (MGL)
Yung Hsun LIN (TPE)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)

53kg
Vinesh VINESH (IND)
Assylzat SAGYMBAY (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Shakhnozakhon MAKHMUDOVA (UZB)

55kg
Pinki PINKI (IND)
Aisha UALISHAN (KAZ)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Hyungjoo KIM (KOR)
Dulguun MUNKHBOLD BOLORMAA (MGL)
Madina USMONJONOVA (UZB)

57kg
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Shinhye LEE (KOR)
Battsetseg ALTANTSETSEG (MGL)
Danielle Sue Ching LIM (SGP)
Sevara ESHMURATOVA (UZB)

59kg
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Jieun UM (KOR)
Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)
Dilfuza AIMBETOVA (UZB)

62kg
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Deepika WEERABAHU (SRI)
Rushana ABDIRASULOVA (UZB)

65kg
Jia LONG (CHN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB)

68kg
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Eun Sun JEONG (KOR)
Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Azoda ESBERGENOVA (UZB)

72kg
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
Valeriya GONCHAROVA (KAZ)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Sujin PARK (KOR)
Tsevegmed ENKHBAYAR (MGL)

76kg
Pooja POOJA (IND)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL)
Ozoda ZARIPBOEVA (UZB)