#WrestleRome

#WrestleRome U17 World Championships entries

By Vinay Siwach

ROME, Italy (June 8) -- The battle for the top team at the U17 age level is back with the World Championships in Rome, Italy. The historic city will stage the grand event from July 25 to 31.

India will try to defend its freestyle title which it won last year in Budapest, Hungary. Leading the team will be three U17 Asian gold medalists who will now face the young stars from around the world. USA, Azerbaijan, Iran and Georgia will be the main contenders eyeing to dethrone India.

Greco-Roman will see Georgia aiming for a second straight team title but with Turkey, Armenia, Iran and Ukraine in the fray, it may become a herculean task for the team.

In women's, the world will witness the depth in Japan as the nation returns to competition after two years. The USA won the team title last year but with Japan returning, the nation from far-east will be the favorite to win. India, with five U17 Asian gold medalists including defending world champion Priya MALIK (IND), will fancy its chances for the title as it beat Japan for the continental title.

The action begins on July 25 with Greco-Roman before women's wrestling beginning July 27 before freestyle closes out the action at the Pala Pellicone on July 29.

All the bouts and highlights will be live on uww.org

Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)Luke LILLEDAHL (USA), blue, will look to upgrade his '21 silver to gold in Rome. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

45kg
Arman HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Bashir VERDIYEV (AZE)
Nikoloz BOTCHORISHVILI (GEO)
Ningappa GENANNAVAR (IND)
Amirmohammad NAVAZI (IRI)
Riccardo BONANNO (ITA)
Taiga OGITA (JPN)
Nurassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Zhanysh MOIDUNOV (KGZ)
Constantin RUSU (MDA)
Temuulen OYUNCHIMEG (MGL)
Azymberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Mustafa KOYUN (TUR)
Vladyslav CHORNOVIL (UKR)
Domenic MUNARETTO (USA)

48kg
Hayko GASPARYAN (ARM)
Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE)
Vladimir MANDALOV (BUL)
Rassoul GALBOURAEV (FRA)
Giorgi ROMELASHVILI (GEO)
Lalit KUMAR (IND)
Arshia HADDADI (IRI)
Carmine CAIAZZA (ITA)
Ariya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Ramil RASSIM (KAZ)
Azim ABDYKALYKOV (KGZ)
Ozgur CAGLAYAN (TUR)
Danyil TIAHLO (UKR)
Christian CASTILLO (USA)

51kg
Narek HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Elman AGHAYEV (AZE)
Dimitar BISERKOV (BUL)
Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO)
Arvind KUMAR (IND)
Mohammad Reza ASADI (IRI)
Omar EL FAZAZI (ITA)
Taiga KATAOKA (JPN)
Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ)
Baiaman KERIMBEKOV (KGZ)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Daniil CURTEV (MDA)
Roehan DU PLESSIS (RSA)
Mustafa KARABUGA (TUR)
Volodymyr KORNILOV (UKR)
Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)
Abbosbek KOBILOV (UZB)

55kg
Aren SEROBYAN (ARM)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Ergyun SHUKRI (BUL)
Hussein HASSANEIN (EGY)
Saba GAMBASHIDZE (GEO)
Jannis REBHOLZ (GER)
Vaibhav PATIL (IND)
Amir NEJATI ZADEH (IRI)
Pasquale LIUZZI (ITA)
Takuto OSEDO (JPN)
Daryn ASKERBEK (KAZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Ganbayar JARGALSAIKHAN (MGL)
Adrian SIKORA (POL)
Sandro HUNGERBUEHLER (SUI)
Chih LU (TPE)
Sahin ACAR (TUR)
Illia SHKETYK (UKR)
Jaxen FORREST (USA)
Husanboy USMONOV (UZB)

60kg
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Agha GASIMOV (AZE)
Denis NAIM (BUL)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Janar LIPS (EST)
Davit KOBULASHVILI (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Filippos PSOMAS (GRE)
Marton VARGA (HUN)
Nikhil YADAV (IND)
Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI)
Alessandro NINI (ITA)
Taiga OGINO (JPN)
Aidyn BEKBAYEV (KAZ)
Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ) 
Adriatik BERISHA (KOS)
Ionut TRIBOI (MDA)
Battugs MENDMAA (MGL)
Kaige BROWN (NZL) 
Dominik JAGUSZ (POL)
Benjamin BOEJTHE (ROU)
Aaron ZBERG (SUI)
Ysmayyl MUHAMMEDOV (TKM)
En LIU (TPE)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Vladyslav YATSKOVSKYI (UKR)
Kyler LARKIN (USA) 
Javokhir CHULIBOYEV (UZB)

65kg
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Raschid ABAKAROV (AUT)
Ilyas ISAYEV (AZE)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Nathan RAINVILLE (CAN)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Denis KODAKOV (ESP)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Ilias KARNAVAS (GRE)
Robert BIBLIA (HUN)
ANKIT (IND)
Mohammad MAMIVAND (IRI)
Daniele GUBBIOTTI (ITA)
Kodai KANNO (JPN)
Aikyn BOLATULY (KAZ)
Maksat TABYLDYEV (KGZ)
Serghei CILCIC (MDA)
Tolui MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Nixon SUDDENS (NZL)
Eduard LENARD (ROU)
Terence ESTERHUIZEN (RSA)
Alp BEGENJOV (TKM)
Cheng GAO (TPE)
Fatih ACAR (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)
Tyler KASAK (USA)
Akobir RAHIMOV (UZB)

71kg
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Mukhammad INSHAPIEV (AUT)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Tejvir DHINSA (CAN)
Nikoloz MAISURADZE (GEO)
Marat KARDANOV (GER)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
NARENDER (IND)
Younes SHAFIEI (IRI)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Kazuto FURUICHI (JPN)
Alisher ZHOLDASBAY (KAZ)
Avtandil TOLOGONOV (KGZ)
Bleonit BYTYCI (KOS)
Titas PIJORAITIS (LTU)
Rayanne ESSAIDI (MAR)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Gan BAATARKHUU (MGL)
Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Corne TELLEMAN (RSA)
Nick SCHERRER (SUI)
Aslan OZTURK (TUR)
Tymur YUSOV (UKR)
Joseph SEALEY (USA)
Jorullo ABDUFATTOKHOV (UZB)

80kg
Papin HUNANYAN (ARM)
Shamistan AKHUNDOV (AZE)
Slavi STAMENOV (BUL)
Arjun NAGRA (CAN)
Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)
Angelos APOSTOLIDIS (GRE)
Peter ZSIVNOVSZKY (HUN)
Sachin MOR (IND)
Reza SOLEIMANIAN (IRI)
Daniel KAGALOVSKI (ISR)
Matteo MINI (ITA)
Shin ASANO (JPN)
Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ)
Denizbek ULAN UULU (KGZ)
Nojus DIJOKAS (LTU)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Otgonbayar LUVSANDORJ (MGL)
Shakjir BISLIMI (MKD)
Noah SCHWALLER (SUI)
Muhammadamin ABDULOEV (TJK)
Parahat ATAYEV (TKM)
Kai WU (TPE)
Hamza KUCUK (TUR)
Yehor HOROKH (UKR)
Zackary RYDER (USA)
Abbosjon YULDOSHEV (UZB)

92kg
Varuzhan HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Ravan MUSAYEV (AZE)
Andriyan VALKANOV (BUL)
Nika PANTSULAIA (GEO)
Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN)
Sahil JAGLAN (IND)
Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI)
Jacopo GIUSTI (ITA)
Sorato KANAZAWA (JPN)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Armanis BARSAMYAN (LTU)
Batzorig NYAM (MGL)
Pieter OOSTHUIZEN (RSA)
Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR)
Yaroslav LISNIAK (UKR)
Maxwell MCENELLY (USA)
Sherzod POYONOV (UZB)

110kg
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Dian MANEV (BUL)
Marwan MOHAMED (EGY)
Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA)
Ramini GULITASHVILI (GEO)
Mikael GOLLING (GER)
Jaspooran SINGHJ (IND)
Mohammadreza LOTFI (IRI)
Martino PILIERO (ITA)
Kaito UTSUNOMIYA (JPN)
Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ)
Ralfs LUKINS (LAT)
Mateusz PUDLOWSKI (POL)
Taha TEMEL (TUR)
Yurii KOZHUKHAR (UKR)
Koy HOPKE (USA)
Khikmatullo KURBONOV (UZB)

Priya MALIK (IND)Priya MALIK (IND) is the defending champion at 73kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Women's wrestling

40kg
MUSKAN (IND)
Mona EZAKA (JPN)
Zhuldyz BAIMAKHANOVA (KAZ)
DianaIANA VOICULESCU (ROU)
Yagmur KARABACAK (TUR)
Yevheniia DRUZENKO (UKR)
Megan VALDEZ (USA)
Gulasal ABDUNAZAROVA (UZB)

43kg
Elvina KARIMZADA (AZE)
Azra MUSTAFOVA (BUL)
Malak MOUSTAFA (EGY)
Josephine WRENSCH (GER)
RITIKA (IND)
Melissa DOROFTEI (ITA)
Olessya PILIPENKO (KAZ)
Dominika KONKEL (POL)
Maya JOHANSSON (SWE)
Hava KONCA (TUR)
Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR)
Erica PASTORIZA (USA)
Gulnura RUSLANOVA (UZB)

46kg
Aysel MAMMADZADA (AZE)
Juliette LESCURE (FRA)
Kornelia LASZLO (HUN)
SHRUTI (IND)
Angela CASAROLA (ITA)
Koko MATSUDA (JPN)
Aizhan MURATBAY (KAZ)
Nomin CHINZORIG (MGL)
Daniella BEKY (NOR)
Alexandra VOICULESCU (ROU)
Busranur OZMEZ (TUR)
Yelyzaveta KULAKIVSKA (UKR)
Gabriella GOMEZ (USA)
Diyora MIRZAEVA (UZB)

49kg
Gular HABIBOVA (AZE)
Viktoria BOYNOVA (BUL)
Sama MAHMOUD (EGY)
Laura FATH (HUN)
NEERAJ (IND)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
Mihoko TAKEUCHI (JPN)
Aiymgul ABYLOVA (KAZ)
Soyolmaa GEREL (MGL)
Aida LACHINOVA (NOR)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Chloe BREWIS (RSA)
Anja EPP (SUI)
Reka HEGEDUS (SVK)
Ciao LI (TPE)
Sevval CAYIR (TUR)
Anastasiia ZADVORNA (UKR)
Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)
Sandugash DJENBAEVA (UZB)

53kg
Sarah LINS (AUT)
Gular HABIBOVA (AZE)
Manar ELMASRY (EGY)
Lilya COHEN (FRA)
Elpida KOUTELI (GRE)
Hedi MIKLE (HUN)
REENA (IND)
Concetta SIMONELLI (ITA)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Anna STRATAN (KAZ)
Lina NITA (MDA)
Khaliun BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Maria SZKUDLAREK (POL)
Florentina ROTARU (ROU)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Ya CHEN (TPE)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)
Elena IVALDI (USA)

57kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Ella FINDING (CAN)
Lana NOGIC (CRO)
Tereza MRACKOVA (CZE)
Rosa RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Romaissa EL KHARROUBI (FRA)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Agapi AMPELIDOU (GRE)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Liza TOMAR (IND)
Denise PIRODDU (ITA)
Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)
Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ)
Aitolkun MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Enkhdangina DEJINBEE (MGL)
Anabela DANILOVA (MKD)
Mirijam HANSEN (NOR)
Michalina IGNASZAK (POL)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Tindra DALMYR (SWE)
Kai LI (TPE)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Shelby MOORE (USA)
Ulmeken ESENBAEVA (UZB)

61kg
Lyubov ANTOVA (BUL)
Akoua Yao (CIV)
Petra MRACKOVA (CZE)
Maram ALY (EGY)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Evangelia TRANOU (GRE)
SAVITA (IND)
Elena NICOLODI (ITA)
Suzu SASAKI (JPN)
Zhangyl BEKEN (KAZ)
Ana CRETU (MDA)
Neevis RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Leah SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Wiktoria KAMELA (POL)
Sabina PETRACHE (ROU)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Wilma HOFFMAN (SWE)
Yen LI (TPE)
Ilayda CIN (TUR)
Mariia MIZIURKO (UKR)
Valerie HAMILTON (USA)
Sevinch SULTONOVA (UZB)

65kg
Karen GREGORY (AUS)
Fatima ISAYEVA (AZE)
Viktoria RADEVA (BUL)
Mouda HAMDOUN (EGY)
Nella HONKANIEMI (FIN)
Drosoula TZIANAKOPOULOU (GRE)
Szonja SZABO (HUN)
ANJALI (IND)
Rosalia MUTOLO (ITA)
Anju SATO (JPN)
Aruzhan KARL (KAZ)
Zharkynai NURLAN KYZY (KGZ)
Odgerel ERDENE-OCHIR (MGL)
Reka VAN OS (NED)
Nicola WASILEWSKA (POL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Minette KRUGER (RSA)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Tsai YUAN (TPE)
Duygu GEN (TUR)
Daria KONSTANTYNOVA (UKR)
Elizabeth SHUNN (USA)
Gleymaris DIAZ (VEN)

69kg
Gergana STOYANOVA (BUL)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
HARSHITA (IND)
Emma CARRI (ITA)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Akerke AMIRSHEYEVA (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Odzaya ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Paulina KUCHARCZYK (POL)
Anya HATCH (TGA)
Chih LI (TPE)
Ayse ERKAN (TUR)
Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR)
Jasmine ROBINSON (USA)

73kg
Gabriela MAEVA (BUL)
Rupinder JOHAL (CAN)
Lou IRIE (CIV)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Heba IBRAHIM (EGY)
Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA)
Lotta ENGLICH (GER)
Priya MALIK (IND)
Anna IODICE (ITA)
Makoto KOMADA (JPN)
Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ)
Tuvshinjargal TARAV (MGL)
Dominika POCHOWSKA (POL)
Gemma RUSSELL (RSA)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Mariia ZENKINA (UKR)
Amarisa MANUEL (USA)

Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO)Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO) is a silver medalist from '21 U17 Worlds. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Samvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Huseyn SAVADOV (AZE)
Giorgi KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
Mozes LASZLO (HUN)
Neeraj PATEL (IND)
Payam BALOOTAKI (IRI)
Hiro SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Beknur MUKAN (KAZ)
Omur YNTYMAK UULU (KGZ)
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
Omer ALTAS (TUR)
Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR)
Davis MOTYKA (USA)
Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB)

48kg
Tigran GALSTYAN (ARM)
Said KHALILOV (AZE)
Amr ELSHAER (EGY)
Richard PAJUVIIDIK (EST)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
Ronit SHARMA (IND)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Gabriele PUCHER (ITA)
Yu TAKEMOTO (JPN)
Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ)
Kurmanbek ALIMZHANOV (KGZ)
Umit ALTAS (TUR)
Nikita DEMENTIEV (UKR)
Christian CASTILLO (USA)

51kg
Armen GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Vadat GASIMLI (AZE)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Filip BARTOSIK (CZE)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Lukas BENZING (GER)
Vasileios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
MANISH (IND)
Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI)
Amare FETENE (ISR)
Manato NAKAMURA (JPN)
Rauan BEKIMOV (KAZ)
Said TURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Kajetan JAKUBOWSKI (POL)
Dragos DRAGA (ROU)
Ali SUMBUL (TUR)
Dmytro DEMIANOVSKYI (UKR)
Elyle FRANCISCO (USA)
Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)

55kg
Hayk LYUDVIGYAN (ARM)
Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Hussein HASSANEIN (EGY)
Ilian AINAOUI (FRA)
Saba SURMANIDZE (GEO)
SURAJ (IND)
Mohammad KAMALI (IRI)
Francesco STOPPONI (ITA)
Kohaku KANAZAWA (JPN)
Nariman BEKIMOV (KAZ)
Bekzhan ESENBEK (KGZ)
Alexandru VARZARI (ROU)
William EKEROT (SWE)
Shu CHUNG (TPE)
Halil CINAR (TUR)
Maksym CHUBENKO (UKR)
Nicholas TREASTER (USA)
Khurshidbek NORMUKHAMMADOV (UZB)

60kg
Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM)
Isa BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Mahammad GASIMZADE (AZE)
Grisha NAZARYAN (BUL)
Martin CICHY (CZE)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Avtandil MAMALADZE (GEO)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Mukul CHAUHAN (IND)
Abolfazl MIRSHEKAR (IRI)
Federico CANIGLIA (ITA)
Sota SAKAKI (JPN)
Yussuf ASHRAPOV (KAZ)
Emirlan DUISHENALIEV (KGZ)
Konstantins GEIKINS (LAT)
Vladimir PASCARI (MDA)
Hubert WYSOCZANSKI (POL)
Cristian MURGUI (ROU)
Jesse VAN BAALEN (RSA)
Adam SILVERIN (SWE)
Shatlyk YUNUSOV (TKM)
Han YU (TPE)
Yusuf KILCAN (TUR)
Denys KOVSHUN (UKR)
Zan FUGITT (USA)

65kg
Andranik SEDRAKYAN (ARM)
Ali ALIZADA (AZE)
Hristiyan IVANOV (BUL)
Sebastian CIBARIC (CRO)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Max HRISTJUK (EST)
Oskari TALALA (FIN)
Aleksandre RUSITASHVILI (GEO)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
MOHIT (IND)
Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI)
Alessandro GRESPI (ITA)
Takaku SUZUKI (JPN)
Sergazy ABDIKHADYR (KAZ)
Abdulla ANORBAEV (KGZ)
Kipras PUIKIS (LTU)
Artur BORS (MDA)
Mateusz DAWID (POL)
Pavel ALEXE (ROU)
Terence ESTERHUIZEN (RSA)
Jovan MIOLSKI (SRB)
Saya BRUNNER (SUI)
Sunat ABDULLOEV (TJK)
Kakabay KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Po CHEN (TPE)
Abdullah KESKIN (TUR)
Petro SHAFRANSKYI (UKR)
Joel ADAMS (USA)
Bekhruz BARNOEV (UZB)

71kg
Ararat VARDERESYAN (ARM)
Marco BEGLE (AUT)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Dimitar RACHEV (BUL)
Mihael LUKAC (CRO)
Rainer PLASER (EST)
Miro LEINONEN (FIN)
Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO)
Dominik CZUCZOR (HUN)
Ankit PUNIA (IND)
Mohammad MORADI (IRI)
Michael RINDONE (ITA)
Naoki KADODE (JPN)
Tair AMANGELDI (KAZ)
Adilet ABYKEEV (KGZ)
Minijus LEONAVICIUS (LTU)
Florin COZMA (ROU)
Antal VAMOS (SRB)
Ding HUANG (TPE)
Ibrahim OZDEMIR (TUR)
Maksym RADYK (UKR)
Arvin KHOSRAVY (USA)
Amirshoh VAHOBOV (UZB)
Darfel CAMACARO (VEN)

80kg
Paul MAIER (AUT)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Adrian MAYNARD (BAR)
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL)
Antonio LUKAC (CRO)
Stefan MOELDER (EST)
Veeti KAJANNE (FIN)
Luka GELASHVILI (GEO)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
Oliver KOVACS (HUN)
Mohit KHOKHAR (IND)
Seyed AZARSHAB (IRI)
Anry PAPIASHVILI (ISR)
Kevin KAZAZI (ITA)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Beibit KORGANOV (KAZ)
Alisher KALYBEKOV (KGZ)
Renatas CAIKOVSKIS (LTU)
Mihai GUTU (MDA)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Gabriel STAN (ROU)
Branko DUKIC (SRB)
Hung YEH (TPE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)
Cole HAN LINDEMYER (USA)
Brian MARIN (VEN)

92kg
Mikayil ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Josip BENKO (CRO)
Elias LYYSKI (FIN)
Gor AYVAZYAN (GEO)
Darius KIEFER (GER)
Nikolaos GIAGKOUNIDIS (GRE)
Marcell GYURICZA (HUN)
RAMANDEEP (IND)
Hamidreza KESHTKAR (IRI)
Riccardo BUFIS (ITA)
Isshin ONITSUKA (JPN)
Elchinbek ROZAKULOV (KAZ)
Arsen RUSLANOV (KGZ)
Tadas MIKALAUSKAS (LTU)
Sebastian WARCHOL (POL)
Florin MANOLACHE (ROU)
Lokman GUL (TUR)
Ivan SYNO (UKR)
Cody MERRILL (USA)

110kg
Leonhard JUNGER (AUT)
Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE)
Maksim PETROV (BUL)
Omar ELKELINY (EGY)
Davit MGELADZE (GEO)
Dimitrios THANOS (GRE)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
AMAN (IND)
Mohammad JAHANGIRI (IRI)
Cristian CATINI (ITA)
Sota OYABU (JPN)
Maxim UKRAINTSEV (KAZ)
Rustam SADYKOV (KGZ)
Justas KAMINSKAS (LTU)
Marko SUPIC (SRB)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Dmytro STRYZHEKOZIN (UKR)
Koy HOPKE (USA)

#WrestleBudapest

World C'ships hopefuls battle it out in Budapest Ranking Series

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 13) -- The Budapest Ranking Series, held at this time of year, serves as the primary team selection event for most countries heading into the World Championships. Rather than conducting domestic trials, nations use this international competition to identify their top wrestlers for each weight class.

Georgia, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan will be among the top countries looking to finalize their Greco-Roman teams during the July 17-20 tournament in Hungary capital.

Azerbaijan, one of the strongest Greco-Roman nations, is bringing all three of its 2024 world champions. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), the 55kg world champion, and Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), the 63kg world champion, are both entered at 60kg. Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE), the 72kg world champion, will compete at 77kg alongside Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE).

Mammadli is on a hot streak, having claimed European and world titles in 2024 before adding the 2025 European gold at 60kg. Meanwhile, Azizli, a European silver medalist at 55kg, enters the 60kg bracket for two key reasons: to challenge Mammadli and avoid a significant weight cut.

Ganizade and Suleymanov did not win medals at the European Championships but will battle it out at 77kg in Budapest to make the team.

Paris Olympic bronze medalist and European champion Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) is at 72kg, up from his preferred 67kg as he prepares for the World Championships without forcing himself to reduce weight.

Similarly, hosts Hungary will have tough battles among local wrestlers. European 72kg champion Levente LEVAI (HUN) is moving up to 77kg and his brother Zoltan, a regular at 77kg, is now at 82kg. But so is world silver medalist Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) and it will be toss-up between the two to make the World Championships team.

The 87kg continues to be a heavily contested weight class as Tamas LEVAI (HUN), Istvan TAKACS (HUN) and European champion David LOSONCZI (HUN) are entered and the winner is likely to take the spot for the Zagreb Worlds.

At 130kg, Darius VITEK (HUN) and Koppany LASZLO (HUN) will fight it out for the spot.

The competition, however, won't be limited to these team selection battles. Many other top wrestlers are also entered, aiming for final preparations before the World Championships in Zagreb from September 13-21.

Here's the breakdown of each weight class:

55kg: European champion Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) will be the favorite in the bracket which also has 2024 European champ Artiom DELEANU (MDA), United States phenom Jayden RANEY (USA), Mongolia Ranking Series winner Anil MOR (IND) and world bronze medalist Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB).

The Budapest tournament will be a big test for teenagers Mor and Raney as they compete at the senior level.

60kg: Apart from Azizli and Mammadli, Pridon ABULADZE (GEO), world U20 medalist SUMIT (IND), Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ), former world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA), European silver medalist Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), Sadyk LALAEV (UWW), Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (UWW) and world U23 champion Alisher GANIEV (UZB) rack up a stacked bracket.

Mammadli will still be the favorite, coming in as the European champion. He will also be keen on avenging his Zagreb Open loss to Mehroj BAKHRAMOV (UZB). Azizli, who has tried to make 60kg before in his career, will have a big task as he has struggled to match up against bigger-sized wrestlers at this weight class.

Tibilov made the finals in Bratislava but lost to Mammadli. He will be keen on getting a rematch in Budapest. Lalaev, who lost to Tibilov, has a chance to avenge that loss to the Serbian. He also has to battle it out with Allakhiarov as both are fighting for a spot at the World Championships as UWW wrestlers in Zagreb.

Ganiev, who has impressed with world U23 gold and Asian Championships silver, can be a problem for others in the bracket.

63kg: Red-hot Kerem KAMAL (TUR) will try to maintain his winning streak of 2025 as he enters the fourth tournament of the year. He won gold in Tirana, Bratislava and Ulaanbaatar in dominant fashion. He will be in Budapest at 63kg as the favorite.

European silver medalist Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) has a chance to avenge his loss in the final to Kamal but a strong bracket means he has bigger hurdles as well.

World U23 champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT), Dinislam BAMMATOV (UWW) and Sergey EMELIN (UWW) are entered to gain ranking points in Budapest.

67kg: With Jafarov moving up to 72kg for this tournament, former world champions Leri ABULADZE (GEO) and Sebastian NAD (SRB) along with a few others can win the gold.

Abuladze needs to win gold to make the World Championships over European bronze medalist Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) who will also look to beat his compatriot and earn his ticket to Zagreb.

Kazakhstan's world U23 champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) has not shown the same form since winning the world gold in 2023. He has a chance to be in Zagreb with good performance in Budapest. He also has Din  KOSHKAR (KAZ) fighting for the same spot.

Add Ruslan BICHURIN (UWW) to the bracket as he can easily take the gold medal to surprise the field at 67kg.

Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) is a world U23 champion at 72kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

72kg: Three Georgians are entered at 72kg -- Iuri LOMADZE (GEO), Otar ABULADZE (GEO), Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO). The winner will get the spot on the Georgian team for the World Championships but the challenge is to win the tournament.

Lomadze failed to win a medal at the European Championships which created an opportunity for world bronze medalist Abuladze and world U23 champion Chkhikvadze to enter the race for a spot on the team.

Former world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB), who missed out on a medal at the Europeans, would be keen on getting back to winning ways before the World Championships where he won bronze last year.

Jafarov won't be too worried about his result here as he neither gains ranking points nor is his Azerbaijan team spot in danger.

77kg: Both Ganizade and Suleymanov have a chance to make the world team for Azerbaijan. Even if Ganizade misses the podium, he will most likely be back to 72kg. Still, it spices up the 77kg in Budapest.

Levai, who won 72kg European gold, will be challenging the 77kg field in Budapest as he prepares for the World Championships. His win in Bratislava has forced his brother Zoltan to move to 82kg. Levai has rock-solid defense and can score points from different positions.

But big-throwing wrestlers like Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), Sergei STEPANOV (UWW) and Sergei KUTUZOV (UWW) are entered in the competition.

Gutu missed the European Championships and his place was taken by Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA). Now, both are fighting for the 77kg spot for Moldova. Asian champion Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) will be hoping to build on his gold, his first-ever in any championships. 

Other significant names include Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR), Yunus BASAR (TUR) and Kamal BEY (USA).

82kg: European champion Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) will be challenged more than the Euros in Budapest. While he has mastered the European field, the Asian wrestlers can pose some unique challenges.

Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) and Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB) are the big names entered from Asia. Also add the two Kazakhstan wrestlers, Dias KALEN (KAZ) and Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ). World U23 silver medalist Beka MELELASHVILI (USA) will also be a tough competitor from the U.S.

Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) and Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) are some of the European stars.

87kg: Always regarded as the toughest weight class in Greco-Roman, the 87kg doesn't have a clear favorite. Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) will only be at his third competition this year after he won the Zagreb Open early in the year and then the invitational Thor Masters last month. It remains to be seen how rusty he looks coming back from the break.

Hungarian trio -- Levai, Takacs and Losonczi -- are fighting it out for the spot on the team and Losonczi will be the favorite to win, like last year.

The biggest challenge will come from Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW), Alan OSTAEV (UWW) and Aues GONIBOV (UWW). Only one of the three can be at the World Championships and that will add motivation for them to win the tournament.

Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) are also entered as they look to earn some ranking points for World Championships.

Islam ABBASOV (AZE), Ivan HUKLEK (CRO), Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ) and Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) are also in the bracket, making it even more unpredictable.

97kg: A mini-battle for Azerbaijan will be between Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE) and Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), while Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) and Magomed MURTAZALIEV (UWW) will vie for UWW spots. Sargasian suffered a surprising loss at the European Championships but will hope to make the world team.

Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) and Alex SZOKE (HUN) are other big names in the competition.

130kg: European silver medalist Hamza BAKIR (TUR) will be the favorite to win the gold medal at 130kg despite the presence of Beka KANDELAKI (AZE),  Heiki NABI (EST), Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) among others.

Hungary has Darius VITEK (HUN) and Koppany LASZLO (HUN) competing for the 130kg spot for Hungary. 

Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) is a surprise entry at 130kg from Serbia as he seems to struggle to make the 97kg weight class

The United States has three entries -- Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA), Aden ATTAO (USA) and Courtney FREEMAN (USA).