#WrestleBelgrade

#WrestleBelgrade World Championships entry list

By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (August 24) -- More than 800 wrestlers will arrive in Belgrade to compete at the World Championships beginning September 10 at the Stark Arena.

The tournament will kick off with Greco-Roman as Iran looks to win the team title it missed in Oslo. The field includes stars from Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) is returning to competition since his silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

In freestyle, the team race can end up being a thriller between Iran and the USA. Iran finished third in Oslo, six points behind the USA. A few rivalries may also see a new chapter added to them in Belgrade.

In women's wrestling, Japan will be the favorite to win the team title with the USA once again trying to challenge them for the top spot. The return of China to the World Championships after three years will interesting as they hope for a podium finish as well.

The tournament will see four Greco-Roman weight classes on Saturday before four more on Sunday. September 12 will have two women's and two Greco-Roman weight classes. Tuesday and Wednesday will be about women's wrestling with four weights on the mat each day. Freestyle competition begins with four weights on Friday, three on Saturday and three on Sunday, the final day of the tournament.

All the live action and highlights from the World Championships will be on uww.org

* This is a provisional entry list. The NFs have the right to change a wrestler 24 hours before the draw of the respective style.

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI), red, will look to defend his 125kg title in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

Freestyle

57kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Georgii OKOROKOV (AUS)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Rabby KILANDI (COD)
Oscar TIGREROS (COL)
Reineri ORTEGA (CUB)
Levan VARTANOV (ESP)
Valentin DAMOUR (FRA)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Edwin SEGURA GUERRA (GUA)
Ravi KUMAR (IND)
Alireza SARLAK (IRI)
Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Roberto BLANCO (MEX)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Jakobo TAU (RSA)
Stevan MICIC (SRB)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Thomas GILMAN (USA)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

61kg
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Jason LUNEAU (CAN)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Jordan KABONGO (COD)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Pankaj MALIK (IND)
Reza ATRI (IRI)
Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Igor CHICHIOI (MDA)
Narankhuu NARMANDAKH (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Ali ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Seth GROSS (USA)
Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB)

65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Haji ALI (BRN)
Vladimir DUBOV (BUL)
Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN)
Raby BAPELEKIA (CGO)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Norva BUKASA (COD)
Alejandro VALDES (CUB)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Bajrang PUNIA (IND)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Adil OSPANOV (KAZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Vitalie BUNICI (MDA)
Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Cavit ACAR (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Vincent DE MARINIS (CAN)
Elie DJEKOUNDAKOM DJERAYOM (CHA)
Nuerlanbieke WURENIBAI (CHN)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Bacar NDUM (GBS)
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Kevin HENKEL (GER)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Naveen MALIK (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN)
Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Yongseok JEONG (KOR)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Servet COSKUN (TUR)
Oleksii BORUTA (UKR)
Zain RETHERFORD (USA)
Nodir RAKHIMOV (UZB)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Cesar ALVAN (BRA)
Miroslav KIROV (BUL)
Jasmit PHULKA (CAN)
MENGHEJIGAN (CHN)
Redy MUPOMPA (COD)
Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Giorgi SULAVA (GEO)
Enrique PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Daichi TAKATANI (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Seungbong LEE (KOR)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Diego SANDOVAL (MEX)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Jean STE MARIE (MRI)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Franklin GOMEZ (PUR)
Maxim VASILIOGLO (ROU)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Zielimkhan TOHUZOV (UKR)
Kyle DAKE (USA)
Asomiddin HASANOV (UZB)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Shengsong XIA (CHN)
Assane BALLO (CIV)
Andy MUKENDI (COD)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Deepak MIRKA (IND)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
Dan TSESARSKY (ISR)
Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Bumgue SEO (KOR)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Kornelijus STULGINSKAS (LTU)
Stefan CANTIR (MDA)
Dulguun ALTANZUL (MGL)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Shuhrat BOZOROV (TJK)
Sahergeldi SAPARMYRADOV (TKM)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB)

86kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Alexander MOORE (CAN)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD)
Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB)
Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Sanjeet KUNDU (IND)
Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Shota SHIRAI (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Noel TORRES (MEX)
Bat BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
Khasan ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
David TAYLOR (USA)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN)
Yuxiang BI (CHN)
Aron MBO (COD)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Johannes MAYER (GER)
Vicky HOODA (IND)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN)
Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ)
Jinmyeong KIM (KOR)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWICZ (POL)
Johan MOSTERT (RSA)
Strahinja DESPIC (SRB)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Jden COX (USA)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
Ulrich MANOUAN (CIV)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Viky CHAHAR (IND)
Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Samhan JABRAILOV (MDA)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Mucahit CELIK (TUR)
Mahamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)

125kg
Catriel MURIEL (ARG)
Aydin AHMADOV (AZE)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
Youssif HEMIDA (EGY)
Jere HEINO (FIN)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Dinesh DHANKAR (IND)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)
Yeihyun JUNG (KOR)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB)
Abdullah KARIM (SYR)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
Hayden ZILLMER (USA)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)

Helen MAROULIS (USA)Helen MAROULIS (USA) is the defending world champion at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's wrestling

50kg
Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG)
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Neelam SIROHI (IND)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Rita ROJAS (MEX)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Mercy GENESIS (NGR)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

53kg
Leyla GURBANOVA (AZE)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Yuhong ZHONG (CHN)
Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV)
Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB)
Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Tatiana SALAH (FRA)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)
Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Karla ACOSTA (MEX)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)
Thi KIEU (VIE)

55kg
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Mengyu XIE (CHN)
Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sushma SHOKEEN (IND)
Mayu SHIDOCHI MUKAIDA (JPN)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Sarita MOR (IND)
Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Hyungjoo KIM (KOR)
Alma VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX)
Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)
Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (UZB)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Mansi AHLAWAT (IND)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Abigail NETTE (USA)

62kg
Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE)
Lais DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Xiaojuan LUO (CHN)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
Sonam MALIK (IND)
Nataliia SHAFIR (ISR)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

65kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
SHAFALI (IND)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Purevsuren ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)
Mallory VELTE (USA)
Dinora RUSTAMOVA (UZB)

68kg
Grabriela DA ROCHA (BRA)
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Rosie TABORA (COD)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Noemi SZABADOS (HUN)
Nisha DAHIYA (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Sujin PARK (KOR)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Ambar GARNICA (MEX)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Patricia ELNOUR (SUD)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA)
Dieu LAI (VIE)

72kg
Shauna KUEBECK (CAN)
QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
REETIKA (IND)
Masako FURUICHI (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Amy YOUIN (CIV)
Tatiana RENTERIA (COL)
Milaimys POTRILLE (CUB)
Genesis VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAE (EST)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Jemima NYARKO OFORI (GHA)
PRIYANKA (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
Thi DANG (VIE)

Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)Olympic champion Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) is returning to competition in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)
Jiahao LIU (CHN)
Rabby KILANDI (COD)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Fabian SCHMITT (GER)
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Mostafa ALQADE (JOR)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Hyeokjin JEON (KOR)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Max NOWRY (USA)
Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB)

60kg
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Simeon MABIALA (COD)
Dicther TORO CASTANEDA (COL)
Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB)
Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Gyanender DAHIYA (IND)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Alexandru TRANDAFIR (ROU)
Ardit FAZLJIJA (SWE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB)

63kg
Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Nikolay VICHEV (BUL)
Cristobal TORRES (CHI)
Erbatu TUO (CHN)
Jordan KABONGO (COD)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Abdolmohammad PAPI (GER)
Emerson FELIPE ORDONEZ (GUA)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
NEERAJ (IND)
Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI)
Ryuto IKEDA (JPN)
Galym KABDUNASSAROV (KAZ)
Tynar SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Jinseub SONG (KOR)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Jose RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
Samuel JONES (USA)
Aker AL OBAIDI (UWW)
Turabek TIRKASHEV (UZB)

67kg
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Kenedy MORAES PEDROSA (BRA)
Nestor ALMANZA TRUYOL (CHI)
Husiyuetu HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Norva BUKASA (COD)
Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
ASHU (IND)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Diego MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Pedro MORAIS (POR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL)
Arnaud MAMBOU (CGO)
Reangan NDOMBASI (COD)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Jose VARELA GARCIA (GUA)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
VIKAS (IND)
Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI)
Taishi HORIE (JPN)
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ)
Jiyeon LEE (KOR)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Andrii KULYK (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

77kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Rohan KALISCH (AUS)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Redy MUPOMPA (COD)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
David CHOC HUOC (GUA)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
SACHIN (IND)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Shohei YABIKU (JPN)
Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Per KURE (NOR)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Yasaf ZEINALOV (UKR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

82kg
Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL)
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Andy MUKENDI (COD)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Harpreet SINGH (IND)
Pejman POSHTAM (IRI)
David ZHYTOMYRSKY (ISR)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Sultan EID (JOR)
Yuya OKAJIMA (JPN)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Sejin YANG (KOR)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Daniel VICENTE (MEX)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Ronisson BRANDAO SANTIAGO (BRA)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)
Jinhyeok KIM (KOR)
Viorel BURDUJA (MDA)
Alfonso LEYVA (MEX)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Andrii ANTONIUK (UKR)
Alan GARCIA (USA)
Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (USA)

97kg
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Yan LIU (CHN)
Aron MBO (COD)
Juan CONDE IBANEZ (CUB)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Deepanshu AHLAWAT (IND)
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN)
Islam UMAYEV (KAZ)
Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Seyeol LEE (KOR)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Metehan BASAR (TUR)
Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR)
Braxton AMOS (USA)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
SATISH (IND)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Arata SONODA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Delian ALISHAHI (SUI)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)
Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Kiyooka hands Susaki first domestic loss in 6 years, Narikuni shines in Freestyle

By Vinay Siwach

SHIGA, Japan (October 2) -- For six years, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) built a career defined by near perfection. She remained unbeaten in Japan, captured Olympic gold, and added several world titles to her name, moving steadily toward an unprecedented winning streak.

That streak was first broken at the Paris Olympics last year, when Susaki suffered her first international defeat at 50kg, ending a 95-match winning run.

Susaki was dealt with further setback on Tuesday at National Sports Festival in Shiga. As she returned to competition at 53kg, testing herself in a higher weight class after a career largely spent at 50kg, the Tokyo Olympic champion was defeated by world champion Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) in the quarterfinals, marking her first domestic loss since 2019.

The National Sports Festival, held annually in rotating prefectures, features Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in all six Olympic weight classes. Women’s competition includes only two divisions: 53kg and 62kg. Tuesday’s 53kg quarterfinal was Susaki’s first test at the higher weight. After her 2-1 victory over Susaki, Kiyooka went on to claim the gold medal, two months ahead of the Emperor’s Cup in December.

At 62kg, Asian 57kg champion Sara NATAMI (JPN), representing Shiga, gave the local fans a big reason to cheer, as she overcame a deficit to pin world 59kg champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN) in the final, winning the gold despite trailing 8-1 in the second period.

In Freestyle, world 70kg champion Yoshunsuke AOYAGI (JPN) lost a close 3-3 decision in the 74kg quarterfinals to 2022 world 70kg champion Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN), who had transitioned to Greco-Roman after his world title three years ago. Narikuni went on to win the gold after reigning 74kg world champion Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) withdrew from the semifinals due to injury.

At 65kg, two-time world U20 champion Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) captured the gold medal, just three weeks before beginning his pursuit of a world U23 title in Novi Sad, Serbia.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by MAMO (@mamo_wrestling)

A lot of debate has surrounded Susaki's return to the mat after her Paris loss to Vinesh PHOGAT (IND). She took her time before coming back and, after careful deliberation, decided to enter the National Sports Festival, which offered only 53kg as the option.

After winning her first bout, Susaki faced a tough opponent in Kiyooka, known for some of the toughest defense on the mat. Susaki began the quarterfinal with her usual movements, attempting sweep singles but failed to score. Kiyooka, who won her world gold at 55kg, was put on the 30-second activity clock in the first period and, after failing to score, Susaki led 1-0.

In the second period, Susaki went on the activity clock. After she failed to score, Kiyooka claimed the 1-1 criteria lead with two minutes remaining. With just 30 seconds left, Susaki went for Kiyooka’s left leg following a misdirection to the right.

She was unable to complete the takedown or force a stepout that would have secured victory for her. But Kiyooka prevented Susaki to pass behind and control the takedown. Susaki’s corner challenged for the final pushout but the sequence was well after the clock had expired.

"It’s very frustrating that I couldn’t win such a close match at the end," Susaki told the media. “It shows my lack of skill that I wasn’t able to take advantage, so I’m very disappointed."

The 26-year-old was particularly upset about not finishing the final takedown, which could have handed her the win.

"I made a one-legged tackle and misjudged how to handle it," she said. "I’m very disappointed that I made such a poor decision with so little time left. I wanted to go for it more from the beginning, but it didn’t work out as I wanted."

Susaki hinted that she will compete at the Emperor’s Cup in December but is still undecided about which weight class she will enter.

"There are still two months until the Emperor’s Cup, so I want to prepare well in those two months so I can win,” she said. "I came all the way here aiming to win. It’s really disappointing, but no matter the challenges, my goal remains the same: I’ll definitely win gold.

"Taking into account the situation and this result, I would like to discuss it with the team and decide the weight class. It was my first match in a year, so it was different from practice. I was a little nervous. I want to find the causes of my mistakes and do my best at the Emperor’s Cup."

Sara NATAMI (JPN)Sara NATAMI (JPN) celebrates after beating Sakura ONISHI (JPN). (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

Natami’s hometown triumph at 62kg left Onishi in tears after Natami pinned her for the fall in the final. Onishi had built an 8-1 lead but was on the defensive in the second period. Both wrestlers launched a few attacks, but when Onishi went for a single-leg, Natami stood firm, unbalancing her opponent. Onishi fell to the mat, and Natami controlled her to secure the victory.

Just two weeks prior, Onishi had won the 59kg gold medal at the World Championships in Zagreb. She moved up to 62kg, an Olympic weight class, in her bid to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN)Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN) won the 74kg gold medal. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

Meanwhile, Narikuni demonstrated he remains a top contender in Freestyle after claiming gold at 74kg. He had recently competed at the Zagreb World Championships in Greco-Roman at 72kg, attempting to add to his Freestyle world title. In Shiga, he returned to Freestyle and faced Aoyagi in the quarterfinals.

During a scramble, both wrestlers went out of bounds and were initially called neutral. Aoyagi challenged, but the review showed it was actually a neutral position. Narikuni was awarded one point for the lost challenge. Aoyagi scored two points by tripping Narikuni, who landed on his back without danger, and added a stepout as he circled inside as Narikuni was trying to force a stepout.

With less than a minute remaining, Narikuni constantly pressured Aoyagi, who dropped to his knees to avoid a stepout. He attempted a counter duckunder, but Narikuni defended and executed a front headlock roll for two points, giving him a 3-3 criteria lead.

After defeating Aoyagi, Narikuni advanced via walkover in the semifinals before decisively beating Masaki SATO (JPN) 8-1 in the final to claim the gold. The victory prompted Paris Olympic 57kg champion and 2022 world champion Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) to post on social media: “Why do you even wrestle Greco?”

RESULTS

Freestyle Winners

57kg: Fuga SASAKI
65kg: Yuto NISHIUCHI
74kg: Taishi NARIKUNI
86kg: Fumiya IGARASHI
97kg: Yudai TAKAHASHI
125kg: Taiki YAMAMOTO

Women's Wrestling Winners

53kg: Moe KIYOOKA
62kg: Sara NATAMI

Greco-Roman Winners

60kg: Koto GOMI
67kg: Chiezo MARUYAMA
77kg: Kodai SAKURABA
87kg: Tatsuya FUJII
97kg: Takahiro TSURUDA
130kg: Sota OKUMURA