#WrestleBelgrade

#WrestleBelgrade U23 World Championship Entries

By Eric Olanowski

BELGRADE, Serbia (October 21) --- After a 760-day layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 620 wrestlers from 58 different nations will converge in Belgrade, Serbia, for the ’21 U23 World Championships.

Greco-Roman action kicks off the competition on Monday, November 1. The Russian Wrestling Federation’s ’21 senior world medalists Sergei KUTUZOV and Artur SARGSIAN headline the style’s 232 entries. Kutuzov went 4-1 in Oslo while outscoring his first four opponents 34-5 before falling to Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) in the 72kg finals. Sargsian finished with a 97kg bronze medal and suffered his lone defeat to eventual champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI). 

Women’s wrestling action starts on the third day of the competition, November 3. Tokyo Olympians Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) and Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) are the biggest stars entered in women’s wrestling’s 148 wrestler field. Medet Kyzy is fresh off a ’21 senior world bronze-medal finish. She’ll compete at 76kg. The other Tokyo Olympians, Nichita and Larroque, will compete at 59kg and 65kg, respectively.

Freestyle’s 239 wrestlers close out the competition beginning on Friday, November 5. As the entries sit, ’21 world medalists Ernazar AKMATALIEV, Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) and Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) are all expected to make the trip to Belgrade.

Akmataliev reached the finals in Oslo but dropped his final match against Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) and fell one match short of becoming the first Kyrgyz FS wrestler to win a world title. Harutyunyan and Akakarov each dropped one bout but fought back and finished with bronze medals.

The ’21 U23 World Championships begin on November 1 and can be followed live on www.uww.org. 

57kg
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (BLR)
Logan James SLOAN (CAN)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Saurabh Madhukar IGAVE (IND)
Ali Abolfazl GHOLI ZADEGAN KOLOUKHI (IRI)
Simone Vincenzo PIRODDU (ITA)
Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Meshal Adullah A ALJAYZANI (KSA)
Petru CRACIUN (MDA)
Ganbayar NAMSRAI (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Ramazan ABDURAKHIMOV (RWF)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Hafiz Can HASDEMIR (TUR)
Vladlen OPANASENKO (UKR)
Patrick Ryan GLORY (USA)
Arslan RAKHIMOV (UZB)

61kg
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Intigam VALIZADA (AZE)
Jason Guy LUNEAU (CAN)
Arman Norik ELOYAN (FRA)
Muhammad MOKAEV (GBR)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Suraj Rajkumar KOKATE (IND)
Majid Almas DASTAN (IRI)
Daniel PUCINO (ITA)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Faisal Khalid E ALDOSSARY (KSA)
Soufiane KABIL (MAR)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Narankhuu NARMANDAKH (MGL)
Artur Sergeevitch CHEBODAEV (RWF)
Mohamed GIBBATEH (SLE)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Christopher CANNON (USA)
Sardor RUZIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Hrachya MARGARYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Stilyan Yanchev ILIEV (BUL)
Jacob Tizoc ALEXANDER TORRES (CAN)
David KOPRIVA (CZE)
Marwane Ahmed YEZZA (FRA)
Ross Taylor CONNELLY (GBR)
Iveriko JULAKIDZE (GEO)
Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER)
Georgios PILIDIS (GRE)
Marcell BUDAI KOVACS (HUN)
Parvinder PARVINDER (IND)
Seyedhassan Seyedhossein EBADIMERMETI (IRI)
Colin John REALBUTO (ITA)
Adil OSPANOV (KAZ)
Gilbert Mbevoni KABOCHE (KEN)
Aibek TOKTOGUL UULU (KGZ)
Ahmed Fawzi M BARAHMAH (KSA)
Abdelwahad BADRI (MAR)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Tugsjargal ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Sebastian C RIVERA (PUR)
Stefan Ionut COMAN (ROU)
Ibragim ABDURAKHMANOV (RWF)
Sulaiman KARGBO (SLE)
Cavit ACAR (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
Domonick Petro DEMAS (USA)
Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB)

70kg
Elmaz KRYEZIU (ALB)
Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Daniil AMELYANCHYK (BLR)
Trystan Hideki KATO (CAN)
Sergio Peter GODOY VITE (ECU)
Bacar NDUM (GBS)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Christos CHRISTOFORIDIS (GRE)
Botond GULYAS (HUN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Aliakbar Aliasghar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI)
Raul ZARBALIEV (ISR)
Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Temuujin MENDBILEG (MGL)
Norbert MOLNOS (ROU)
Rezuan KAZHAROV (RWF)
Viktor Stiven VOINOVIC (SRB)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR)
Denys BOROHAN (UKR)
Jacori Tyrese TEEMER (USA)
Begijon KULDASHEV (UZB)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Davud ALIZALAU (BLR)
Nikolay Iliev DIMITROV (BUL)
Devan Jarred LARKIN (CAN)
Caetano ANTONIO SA (GBS)
Temuri BERUASHVILI (GEO)
Tino RETTINGER (GER)
Parveen MALIK (IND)
Mohmmadsadegh Biglar FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI)
Naftali Hertz HOROWITZ (ISR)
Jacopo MASOTTI (ITA)
Akezhan ABDIKHAMIT (KAZ)
Mathayo Matonya MAHABILA (KEN)
Rabii REGANI (MAR)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Serhan SHAKIROV (MKD)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Jonathan PARRILLA RAMOS (PUR)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Chermen VALIEV (RWF)
Sheku KASSEGBAMA (SLE)
ANDRIJA IVANOVIC (SRB)
Isa DEMIR (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
Peyton Gaylord ROBB (USA)
Asomiddin HASANOV (UZB)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Yahor AKULICH (BLR)
Oktay Ruzhdi HASAN (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Goga MAMIAURI (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Botond LUKACS (HUN)
Vicky VICKY (IND)
Ali Bakhtiar SAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Bibarys NURYLLAULY (KAZ)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Batzul DAMJIN (MGL)
Hammam J H ABUSNAINA (PLE)
Magomed MAGOMAEV (RWF)
Foday KARGBO (SLE)
Tanguy DARBELLAY (SUI)
Ramazan SARI (TUR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Michael Anthony LABRIOLA (USA)
Otabek SALOMOV (UZB)

86kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Mher MARKOSYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Ilya KHAMTSOU (BLR)
Dzhemal Rushen ALI (BUL)
Hunter Jeffery LEE (CAN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Demur MEGENEISHVILI (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Sajjad Saberali GHOLAMI (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Islyambek ILYASSOV (KAZ)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Kornelijus STULGINSKAS (LTU)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Layth A H ABUSHRAIM (PLE)
Cezary Marek SADOWSKI (POL)
Amanula RASULOV (RWF)
Emre CIFTCI (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Myles Porter WILSON (USA)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Arkadzi PAHASIAN (BLR)
Kolyo Dimitrov DIMITROV (BUL)
Julien CHOQUETTE (CAN)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Johannes MAYER (GER)
Singh GURADESHWAR (IND)
Amirhossein Biglar FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI)
Davide COSSU (ITA)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA)
Orgilokh DAGVADORJ (MGL)
Stole EFTIMOV (MKD)
Azamat ZAKUEV (RWF)
Viliam OROSS (SVK)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Santino Michael BONACCORSI (USA)
Rustam SHODIEV (UZB)

97kg 
Islam ILYASOV (AZE)
Vasil PAULIUCHENKA (BLR)
Tsvetan Danielov EVTIMOV (BUL)
Richard Phillip Junior DESCHATELETS (CAN)
Zuriko URTASHVILI (GEO)
Milan Andras KORCSOG (HUN)
Sahil SAHIL (IND)
Ali Reza Abbasali ABDOLLAHI (IRI)
Yunus GAFUROV (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Altangerel CHINBAT (MGL)
Michal Jan BIELAWSKI (POL)
Shamil Imam GADZHIALIEV (RWF)
Sven Janovitj ENGSTROEM (SWE)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Danylo STASIUK (UKR)
Jonathan Leonard AIELLO (USA)

125kg 
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Martin SIMONYAN (ARM)
Yaraslau SLAVIKOUSKI (BLR)
Georgi Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL)
Aly Medhat Abde BARGHOUT (CAN)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Mohit MOHIT (IND)
Ali Mohammadebrahim AKBARPOURKHORDOUNI (IRI)
Lior ALTSHULER (ISR)
Aaron Anthony JOHNSON (JAM)
Bakdaulet OSSERBAY (KAZ)
Samhan JABRAILOV (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Blas Alejandro ORTIZ ALAYON (PUR)
Alen KHUBULOV (RWF)
Anil Berkan KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR)
Anthony Lawrence CASSIOPPI (USA)
Namoz ABDURASHIDOV (UZB)

Artur SARGSIAN (RWF), fresh off his senior world bronze-medal finish, will compete at 97kg in Belgrade. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Greco-Roman 

55kg 
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Ashot MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
Denis Krasimirov DEMIROV (BUL)
Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO)
Steven ECKER (GER)
Arshad ARSHAD (IND)
Poya Soulat DAD MARZ (IRI)
Alpamys DASTANBEK (KAZ)
Akyikat KULZHIGIT UULU (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Snorre Harsem LUND (NOR)
Grzegorz Krzysztof HILDEBRAND (POL)
Denis Florin MIHAI (ROU)
Mavlud RIZMANOV (RWF)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR (SRB)
Adem Burak UZUN (TUR)
Taras KRUPSKYI (UKR)
Taylor Craig LA MONT (USA)
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB)
 

60kg
Tigran MINASYAN (ARM)
Hleb MAKARANKA (BLR)
Miroslav Mariov EMILOV (BUL)
Jeremy Renzo PERALTA GONZALEZ (ECU)
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)
Vikas VIKAS (IND)
Mehdi Seifollah MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Tommaso BOSI (ITA)
Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Meshal Adullah A ALJAYZANI (KSA)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Olivier Tomasz SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RWF)
David NOVIC (SRB)
Dimitar Ivaylov SANDOV (SUI)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)
Dylan Steven GREGERSON (USA)
Mukhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE)
Antonio Jordan RUIZ MORA (ECU)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Andrej GINC (GER)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Neeraj NEERAJ (IND)
Ali Reza Ayat Ollah NEJATI (IRI)
Assaukhat MUKHAMADIYEV (KAZ)
Faisal Khalid E ALDOSSARY (KSA)
Corneliu RUSU (MDA)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Georgii TIBILOV (RWF)
Zolt ZONAI (SRB)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
David Arthur STEPANIAN (USA)
Kamol KUZIEV (UZB)

67kg
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR)
Ivo Krasimirov ILIEV (BUL)
Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL)
Elmer Joakim MATTILA (FIN)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Nils BUSCHNER (GER)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Mohammad Javad Saadat REZAEI (IRI)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ)
Marlen ASIKEEV (KGZ)
Ahmed Fawzi M BARAHMAH (KSA)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX)
Jacob TANGEN (NOR)
Vasile Alexandru DOSOFTEI (ROU)
Miakhdi Abubakarovitch IAKHIAEV (RWF)
Ugljesa GAJIC (SRB)
Kadir KAMAL (TUR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Alston Jon NUTTER (USA)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)

72kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Denis MERTL (CZE)
Marcos SANCHEZ SILVA MEJIAS (ESP)
Joni Pekka KOMPPA (FIN)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Idris Hanpasaevic IBAEV (GER)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Vikas VIKAS (IND)
Amir Ali ABDI (IRI)
Azat SADYKOV (KAZ)
Iigilik SATYMKUL UULU (KGZ)
Mihai PETIC (MDA)
Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF)
Sheku KASSEGBAMA (SLE)
Aron PINTER (SRB)
Oliver OLAH (SVK)
Erik Arthur PERSSON (SWE)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Andrii KULYK (UKR)
Benjamin Davis PEAK (USA)
Jamol JUMABAEV (UZB)

77kg
Ardit NDOJ (ALB)
Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Shirkhan GULIYEV (AZE)
Mikita KAZAKOU (BLR)
Zlatomir Dinkov EMILOV (BUL)
Brandon CALLE PEREZ (COL)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Edvin KIN (EST)
Akseli Elias YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Sajan SAJAN (IND)
Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Luigi RINALDI (ITA)
Rassul ZHUNIS (KAZ)
Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Patryk Adam BEDNARZ (POL)
Sergei STEPANOV (RWF)
Foday KARGBO (SLE)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Daler REZA ZADE (TJK)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Erkan ERGEN (TUR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Britton Wayne HOLMES (USA)
Dilshod OMONGELDIYEV (UZB)

82kg
Gagik HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Yauheni YUROU (BLR)
Jose Esteban MOSQUERA MURILLO (COL)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Sebastian PETRAC (CRO)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Otto Eemeli KETONEN (FIN)
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Moric KISMONI (HUN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Mohammad Aziz NAGHOUSI (IRI)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ)
Arminas LYGNUGARIS (LTU)
Mustapha AFIRAOU (MAR)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Shamil Letkaevitch OZHAEV (RWF)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Ramon Rainer BETSCHART (SUI)
Mats Ola Lukas AHLGREN (SWE)
Samet YALDIRAN (TUR)
Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR)
Thomas George BRACKETT (USA)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

87kg
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR)
Svetoslav Nikolaev NIKOLOV (BUL)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Markus Tapani SIHTOLA (FIN)
Temuri TCHKUASELIDZE (GEO)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Naser Ghasem ALIZADEH (IRI)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Abdelali EL FALLAKI (MAR)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Ruben Elias BEEN (NOR)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Aleksandr Andreevitch KOMAROV (RWF)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Vitalii ANDRIIOVYCH (UKR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)

97kg​​
Albert YEGHIKYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Uladzislau PUSTASHYLAU (BLR)
Mariyan Iliyanov MARINOV (BUL)
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Patrick NEUMAIER (GER)
Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN)
Deepanshu DEEPANSHU (IND)
Morteza Rasoul ALGHOSI (IRI)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Daulet DOSSYBAYEV (KAZ)
Daniiar SHERIMBEKOV (KGZ)
Arnoldas BARANOVAS (LTU)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Gerard Cyprian KURNICZAK (POL)
Artur SARGSIAN (RWF)
Aleksandar SIMOVIC (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Oleksandr YEVDOKIMOV (UKR)
Nicholas Allen BOYKIN (USA)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Diego Jesus ALMENDRAS RODRIGUEZ (CHI)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Franz RICHTER (GER)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN)
Aryan PANWAR (IND)
Amin Mohammadzaman MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Anton SAVENKO (KAZ)
Nikola MILATOVIC (NOR)
Lenard Istvan BEREI (ROU)
Mikhail LAPTEV (RWF)
Vladan ZIVKOVIC (SRB)
Delian Hossein ALISHAHI (SUI)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
Fatih BOZKURT (TUR)
Sviatoslav KALASHNIKOV (UKR)
Brandon Hunter METZ (USA)

Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), the '21 world bronze medalist, will compete at 76kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg

Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
Anastasiya YANOTAVA (BLR)
Samantha Francesca ROMANO (CAN)
Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Shivani PAWAR (IND)
Kamila APEKOVA (KAZ)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Munkhgerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Stefania Claudia PRICEPUTU (ROU)
Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (RWF)
Yung Hsun LIN (TPE)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Aynur ERGE (TUR)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (UKR)
Emily King SHILSON (USA)

53kg 
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Hanna VARABYEVA (BLR)
Taylor Kennedy MCPHERSON (CAN)
Szimonetta Timea SZEKER (HUN)
Ankush ANKUSH (IND)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)
Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA (KAZ)
Emma Nekesa WANGILA (KEN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Ekaterina VERBINA (RWF)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Ronna Marie HEATON (USA)

55kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Viktoryia VOLK (BLR)
Virginie KAZE GASCON (CAN)
Anju ANJU (IND)
Ainur ASHIMOVA (KAZ)
Enkhzul BATBAATAR (MGL)
Alicja CZYZOWICZ (POL)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)
Aleksandra SKIRENKO (RWF)
Zainab BARRIE (SLE)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Khrystyna Zoryana DEMKO (UKR)
Alexandra Wray HEDRICK (USA)

57kg
Hanna VAHER (BLR)
Hannah Fay TAYLOR (CAN)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Nitika NITIKA (IND)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Maral BATTSOOJ (MGL)
Esther Omolayo KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Othelie Annette HOEIE (NOR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RWF)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)
Cheyenne Brooke SISENSTEIN (USA)

59kg
Krystsina SAZYKINA (BLR)
INVILLE (CAN)
Anne Beatrice NUERNBERGER (GER)
Anna Hella SZEL (HUN)
Pushpa PUSHPA (IND)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Lolita OBOLEVICA (LAT)
Atika EL ASLA (MAR)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (RWF)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Antonyna KULAHINA (UKR)
Michaela Hope BECK (USA)

62kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Tatsiana PAULAVA (BLR)
Raya Zhanetova KYOSEVA (BUL)
Ana Paula GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Radhika RADHIKA (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR)
Anastasiia PAROKHINA (RWF)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)
Emma Patricia BRUNTIL (USA)

65kg
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Alina MAKSIMAVA (BLR)
Izabel Mariyanova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Miki Elizabeth ROWBOTTOM (CAN)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Kamila Czeslawa KULWICKA (POL)
Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RWF)
Linnea Antonia SVENSSON (SWE)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)
Ashlynn Justine ORTEGA (USA)

68kg
Natallia BELSKAYA (BLR)
Kendra Augustine Jocelyne DACHER (FRA)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Viktoria FELHO (HUN)
Monika MONIKA (IND)
Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (RWF)
Tindra Linnea SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Oksana CHUDYK (UKR)
Alyvia Nicole FISKE (USA)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
Alexia Rose SHERLAND (CAN)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
Kornelija ZAICEVAITE (LTU)
Maria larisa NITU (ROU)
Marina SUROVTSEVA (RWF)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Merve PUL (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Kayla Marie MARANO (USA)

76kg​​​​​
Kseniya DZIBUK (BLR)
Tatiana RENTERIA RENTERIA (COL)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Bipasha BIPASHA (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Dilnaz MULKINOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Diana Elena VLASCEANU (ROU)
Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RWF)
Andela PRIJOVIC (SRB)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Alina RUDNYTSKA LEVYTSKA (UKR)
Kylie Renee WELKER (USA)

#WrestleZagreb

Lee strikes gold as U.S., Iran shine at Zagreb Open

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- Spencer LEE (USA) did not compete internationally, for circumstances beyond his control, for eight years after winning his U20 world title in 2016. But in a year since he came back in February 2024, Lee has competed in six tournaments in less than a year.

Lee competed at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix in January and won gold. Two weeks later he won the Zagreb Open gold medal at 57kg on Wednesday, marking his debut at a Ranking Series event.

The Paris Olympic silver medalist led a strong performance of the wrestlers from United States as they won two gold medals as six weight classes concluded on day one of the Zagreb Open at Arena Zagreb.

Lee did not look as dominant as he did in Paris before the final but still managed to pull out a good defensive game and win the gold medal with rather ease.

In the final, Lee defeated Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 6-2, after a similar win over Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) in the semifinals. He opened the day with an 11-0 drubbing of Luka GVINJILIA (GEO).

"It's good to get competition right now," Lee said. "[It] showed that I'm really not ready yet."

Though Lee was not convinced about his readiness, his coach Dan DENNIS kept pushing Lee and reminded him of the progress he is making bout after bout.

"I think it [progress] comes from being more successful early and then I was in on three shots, kicked out of all three of them," he said. "He's (Dan Dennis) just saying that you just kind of kept progressing. You even got taken down, good counter from him, got to keep wrestling, keep moving."

In the final, Lee scored two takedowns, first one a double-leg and second a counter, as his scoring actions to beat Bazarganov, a bronze medalist at the European Championships last year.

The win takes second-ranked Lee to 43000 ranking points, same as top ranked Rei HIGUCHI (JPN), the gold medalist from Paris Olympics. If Lee can finish top eight at any other Ranking Series or Pan-Am Championships, he will move to the top. However, Lee was not sure if he will be in action internationally before the World Championships.

"I think that ranking tournaments are awesome because good guys come," he said. "The points are obviously a nice bonus to that just because you can get seeded in the bracket. I love competing. Obviously I need more of it. So maybe. This tournament was tough. So good for me."

Zahid VALENCIA (USA)Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won the 86kg gold medal in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Zahid VALENCIA (USA) was the second gold medalist for the U.S. as he won gold medal at 86kg after beating Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0, in the final. Valencia was good with his counters and after building a 4-0 lead at the break, he scored two more takedown in the second period to win the gold medal.

The two bronze medals at this weight class went to Nathan JACKSON (USA) and Trent HIDLAY (USA), making sure all three U.S. wrestlers finish on the podium at the weight class.

Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) defeated Ibrahim KHARI (IRI) 10-0 in the 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran wins 2 golds

Iran also won two gold medals but the tournament left it with more questions than answers for the Asian Championships team.

At 61kg, Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) defeated Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) 10-0 to confirm his spot for the Asian Championships. Khari, who won silver at the U20 World Championships last year, failed to give Javan a fight in the final.

Prior to the final, Javan defeated Nashon GARRETT (USA) 7-2 in the quarterfinals and Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) 9-3 in the semifinals.

Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI)Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) defeated Joseph MC KENNA (USA) 8-6 in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) undoubtedly gave Iran its biggest win of the day as he came back to beat Joseph MC KENNA (USA) 8-6 in the 65kg final.

McKenna got the first two takedowns to lead 4-0 before Ebrahim answered with his own to lead 4-4 at the break. Ebrahim began the second period with another takedown to go ahead 6-4 but with less than a minute to go, McKenna hit ankle pick and transitioned into a leg-attack. He scored a takedown to lead 6-6 on criteria.

In the dying seconds of the bout, Ebrahim  tried a front headpinch but McKenna defended it as he had Ebrahim's one leg locked. However, the Iranian managed to get his leg out of McKenna's hands, he tried to circle back and complete a takedown but McKenna held his knee pad which was penalized as one point, giving the win to Ebrahim 7-6.

The United States challenged that call but it remained and McKenna was docked one more point for lost challenge, making the score 8-6.

Both Iran and the U.S. had two silver medalists as well after Sina KHALILI (IRI) lost the final at 70kg and David CARR (USA) dropped the final at 74kg.

Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE), a former U20 world champion, gave no chance to Sina KHALILI (IRI) in the final and shut him down for a 12-1 win victory.

The weight class also had Paris Olympian and 2023 world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) who was stunned in the first bout of the day by Jarrett JACKQUES (USA) who scored a takedown in his 3-2 win Muszukajev.

Carr ran into three-time world medalist Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) in the final and finished with a silver medal at 74kg.

Salkazanov scored a takedown on each side of the break to complete a 4-0 win.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Spencer LEE (USA) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 6-2

BRONZE: Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) df. Luka GVINJILIA (GEO), 11-2 
BRONZE: Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) df. Ahora KHATERI (IRI), 11-0

61kg
GOLD: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: Nahshon GARRETT (USA) df. Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO), 16-11
BRONZE: Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Reza MOMENI (IRI), 8-4

65kg
GOLD: Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) df. Joseph MC KENNA (USA), 8-6

BRONZE: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df. Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR), 2-2
BRONZE: Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 6-0

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. Sina KHALILI (IRI), 12-1

BRONZE: Austin GOMEZ (MEX) df. Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI), 9-3
BRONZE: Vasile DIACON (MDA) df. James GREEN (USA), via inj. def.

74kg
GOLD: Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. David CARR (USA), 4-0

BRONZE: Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) df. Kamil RYBICKI (POL), 10-0
BRONZE: Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 3-2

86kg
GOLD: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0

BRONZE: Nathan JACKSON (USA) df. Matthew FINESILVER (ISR), 12-2
BRONZE: Trent HIDLAY (USA) df. Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO), 10-4