#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)

#WrestleAmman

Uzbekistan dominates first day with 3 Greco golds, all at Iran's expense

By Ken Marantz

AMMAN, Jordan (March 25) -- While the ageless wonder Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) no longer wreaks havoc on the mat, his influence was strongly felt off it on the opening day of the Asian Championships on Tuesday.

With Assakalov offering encouragement and inspiration from the coach's corner, Uzbekistan came away with three of the five Greco-Roman golds on offer -- all with victories over Iranian opponents -- with teenager Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) joining veterans Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) and Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) on the top of the podium.

"Generally speaking, we’ve been working hard for this," said Assakalov, a three-time Asian champion who retired after placing fifth at the 2024 Paris Olympics three weeks after his 40th birthday. "We were aiming to wrestle in at least four finals. Our 130kg wrestler is still a bit weak, but we will work on it and improve."

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) kept Iran from being shut out of the gold medals by keeping the 130kg title safely in Iranian hands, while Japan picked up the other title when collegian Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN) triumphed at 55kg.

Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) won the 63kg final against Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI), 13-4, in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Khalmakhanov started the gold rush for Uzbekistan in dramatic fashion, coming back from a four-point deficit to stun Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) with a 13-4 win in the 63kg final that included a pair of 4-point throws.

Keshtkar, among a number of young, unproven wrestlers being given a chance by Iran, jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a takedown and 2-point throw. Khalmakhanov responded with a stepout and 2-point arm throw to cut the gap to 4-3 at the break.

In the second period, Khalmakhanov got the first chance at par terre and he took advantage, launching a 4-point throw to take the lead. He then brought an abrupt end to the match with a 4-point hip throw at 4:16.

The victory avenged a 5-4 loss in the quarterfinals at the Zagreb Ranking Series, where Kashtkar finished second and Khalmakhanov, the 2022 world U17 champion, took a bronze medal.

"Khalmakhanov was the first to set the bar high," Assakalov said. "This guy is only 18 years old, which is why all the others followed his example."

In the 77kg final, Vardanyan also needed a comeback to defeat two-time reigning world U20 champion Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI), and he couldn't have cut it any closer, scoring a takedown with one second left on the clock for a dramatic 4-2 victory.

Vardanyan, who placed fifth at the 2024 Paris Olympics following an extended drought of results in major competitions, gave up a first-period takedown and trailed 2-1 with the clock ticking down in the second period.

But he managed to drive in low and secure a body lock, then forced Abdevali backward to the mat for the winning takedown as time expired. An Iran challenge was unsuccessful, tacking on an additional point.

The 29-year-old Vardanyan had failed to make a major podium since winning a world silver medal at 72kg in 2019. His best previous finishes at the Asian Championships were a pair of bronzes back in 2016 and 2017.

Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) won his second career Asian Championships gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Unlike his compatriots, two-time world medalist Berdimuratov never had to play catch-up in defeating Yasin YAZDI (IRI) 7-2 to take the 87kg gold for his fifth Asian medal overall.

Berdimuratov stormed to a 7-0 lead in the first period with a 4-point throw and 2-point roll from par terre, then held on after giving up a passivity point and a penalty point for grabbing fingers in the second period.

Berdimuratov, the 2023 Asian Games champion, had previously won an Asian gold at 82kg in 2021. He also has a silver and two bronzes in his collection.

"We are on our way to becoming the best team in the world," Assakalov said. "It doesn’t matter if we’re competing against the national teams of Iran, Russia -- every one of our guys gave it their all and wrestled until the very end. Thank God, we showed a good result today."

At 130kg, Hedayati established himself as a rising force in Iran's packed heavyweight corps by cruising to a 7-0 victory over three-time Asian medalist Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ).

"It was a good competition and at a relatively high level," Hedayati said. "I managed to wrestle four matches and become the champion without losing a single point."

Hedayati, last year's world U23 champion and the 2023 world U20 gold medalist, combined two stepouts, an arm-throw takedown and a passivity point for a 5-0 lead in the first period. In the second, he got behind for a takedown while completely neutralizing an attacks by Syzdykov.

Hedayati's victory gave Iran the 130kg gold for the fourth straight year and ninth time in 10 years. The only year in that span that Iran missed out was 2020 -- the winner? Syzdykov.

"I’m grateful to everyone who supported me along the way," Hedayati said. "I hope to keep progressing so I can win the most beautiful medal at the World Championships and the Olympics."

Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN)Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN) won his first-ever Asian Championships on debut. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Yamagiwa won the first gold of the tournament when he nailed a 4-point back suplex to clinch a 7-1 victory over Iranian-born Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ) in the 55kg final.

Yamagiwa scored his first points from the bottom of par terre in the first period, when he stopped a roll with a headlock for a 2-1 lead.

A scramble that would have put him up 5-3 was wiped out by a challenge that ruled the original move a slipped throw, but Yamagiwa came back by locking up the head and an arm, then tossing Albidhan to his back for 4 with just under a minute left. The Japanese added a late stepout for his final point.

"He suppressed my wrestling and I didn't get a chance in par terre," Yamagiwa said. "To be honest, I have to wonder if I really did enough to win. But I gave it everything I had at the end and scored a 4-point move and I'm glad I was able to win."

Yamagiwa got over his biggest hurdle in the semifinals, when he won an action-packed battle with defending champion Yu Chol RO (PRK) 11-9 in which the lead changed hands several times.

"He was the champion last year, and if I beat him I could see a championship for me," Yamagiwa said. "It was a back-and-forth match, but I came out as the winner."

In winning the Asian gold, Yamagiwa emulated two of his predecessors and role models at powerhouse Nippon Sports Science University, Shinobu OTA (JPN) and Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN), who both won senior Asian golds. The latter, who is still active, is among his training partners.

Now he hopes he can follow in their footsteps to Olympic glory -- Ota was a silver medalist at Rio 2016, while Fumita was the Tokyo 2021 silver medalist before winning the gold at Paris 2024.

Host Jordan denied first medal since 2013

In the bronze-medal matches, Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) completed the collection of Asian medals while denying the host country its first hardware since 2013, making the most of his chance at par terre to storm to an 11-3 victory at 77kg over Amro SADEH (JOR).

Sadeh had raised hopes of becoming the third Asian medalist in Jordanian history when he scored a roll from par terre for a 3-0 first period lead. But in the second period, he had no answer from the bottom as Magomadov ripped of five rolls this way and that to end the match in 4:21.

Magomadov's previous medals had come at 72kg, taking the silver in 2020 in New Delhi and the gold two years ago at home in Astana.

Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ), winner at this year's Zagreb Ranking Series, needed little time to grab the other 77kg bronze, taking down Lai Hsing YAO (TPE) to his back and securing a fall in 1:28.

At 55kg, the DPR Korea's Ro wasn't able to successfully defend his title, but he won't leave Amman empty-handed after muscling to a 5-0 victory over Yun LU (CHN) for a bronze.

Ro secured an underhook, dropped down and pancaked Lu to his back for a quick 4, then added a passivity point. Lu did a good job to keep from getting turned in par terre, but in a scoreless second period, Ro kept the enough pressure and never had to go on bottom.

Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) picked up the other bronze at 55kg and the second of his career with an 8-4 come-from-behind victory over 2023 Asian U23 champion Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ).

Botirov had scored a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, only to fall behind in the second when Kamaliyev returned the favor using a front body lock. But Botirov rolled through and reversed Kamaliyev to his back, then added a gut wrench for good measure.

At 63kg, Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) really earned his third Asian bronze and fourth medal overall, scoring three takedowns in the second period for a 6-3 victory over Godai MITANI (JPN), who was making his international debut in Amman.

Chung trailed 3-0 in the second period when he countered a throw attempt for a takedown, then went ahead with a hip throw that, on challenge, was degraded from 4 points to 2 because Mitani skillfully avoided landing on his back. A third takedown clinched the win for the Korean.

Chan KIM (PRK) won his second straight Asian bronze with a dominant 7-0 win over 2021 Asian champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ). Kim ripped off two rolls from par terre in the first period, then added an arm spin in the second for a takedown to ice the victory.

At 87kg, Russian-born Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ), a former world U23 bronze medalist, unleashed a 4-point throw from par terre and was never really challenged the rest of way in posting a 5-1 victory over Sanghyeok PARK (KOR).

It was the same scoreline in the other match at 87kg, as Sunil KUMAR (IND) captured his fifth Asian medal by defeating Jiaxin HUANG (CHN) 5-1. Sunil, the 2020 gold medalist, piled up the points with a pair of rolls from par terre.

At 130kg, Ali AL SHARUEE (IRQ) prevented Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB) from joining the Uzbek parade to the medal podium, rebounding after giving up a 4-point move to triumph 6-4.

After scoring a stepout, Al Sharuee gave up a 4-point arm throw, but reversed Nasimov and added a 2-point exposure to trail 4-4 on criteria. He rectified that by scoring a stepout in the final second of the first period to take a 5-4 lead. An unsuccessful challenge gave the Iraqi his lone point of the second period as he went on to capture Iraq's second medal of the night.

Yuta NARA (JPN) won the other 130kg bronze in spectacular fashion, scoring a 4-point amplitude throw with :05 left to stun Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ) 7-3 and deny him a second straight bronze medal.

Nara, a 2023 bronze medalist at 97kg who moved up to the heaviest weight last year, appeared to go ahead with a gut wrench from par terre, but Manatbekov managed to stop the Japanese in mid-roll for 2 and a 3-3 lead on last-point criteria.

Photo

Day 1 Results

Greco-Roman

55kg
GOLD: Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN) df. Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ), 7-1

BRONZE: Yu Chol RO (PRK) df. Yun LU (CHN), 5-0
BRONZE: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) df. Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ), 8-4

63kg
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) by TF, 13-4, 4:16

BRONZE: Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) df. Godai MITANI (JPN), 6-3
BRONZE: Chan KIM (PRK) df. Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ), 7-0

77kg
GOLD: Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) df. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI), 4-2

BRONZE: Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) df. Amro SADEH (JOR) by TF, 11-3, 4:21
BRONZE: Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Lai Hsing YAO (TPE) by Fall, 1:28 (2-0)

87kg
GOLD: Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) df. Yasin YAZDI (IRI), 7-2

BRONZE: Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ) df. Sanghyeok PARK (KOR), 5-1
BRONZE: Kumar SUNIL (IND) df. Jiaxin HUANG (CHN), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ), 7-0

BRONZE: Ali AL SHARUEE (IRQ) df. Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB), 6-4
BRONZE: Yuta NARA (JPN) df. Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ), 7-3