#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)

2026 Muhamet Malo

Muhamet Malo 2026 Day 2 Results: Sadulaev Beats Khaniev; Iran Wins 2 Golds

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (February 26) -- The Feti Borova Arena has now witness two of the most epic comeback from Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW).

In 2024, he marked his return from injury with his sixth world title, one which he won by going down to 92kg and shocking the world with a buzzer-beating win over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI).

The second was on Thursday. In his first international tournament since the world title, Sadulaev returned to 97kg and won the gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series.

READ MORE: Important Gold for Me, Says Sadulaev

Sadualev's return to competition was much talked about as he entered the tournament which had the likes of his long-time rival and world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA), up-and-coming star Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW), Olympic bronze medalist Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), former world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) and other world medalists.

While his fifth match against Snyder was denied after the American lost to Khaniev in the quarterfinals, Sadulaev was met with a stiffer challenger in Khaniev.

Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW)Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) defeated Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the 97kg quarterfinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The U23 world silver medalist defeated Snyder 10-4 and then took out Magomedov in the semifinal to set up a clash against Sadulaev. The winner would also book his spot for the European Championships, to be held at the same arena in April.

Sadulaev was checked by Khaniev in the first period but a double-leg blast helped the former take a 4-0 lead. Khaniev cut it to 4-2 but a watchful Sadulaev never allowed him to dictate the pace of the bout.

Keeping Khaniev at an arm's length, Sadulaev scored three counter takedowns while giving up two stepouts to win final, 10-4, and lock his spot for the European Championships.

Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW)Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) works on Mason PARRIS (USA) during the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In other Freestyler results, Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) clinched the 125kg gold medal after an impressive 8-5 victory over world bronze medalist Mason PARRIS (USA) in the final.

While the score makes the final look close, Kurbanov was the better of the two wrestlers in the final, managing to tire Parris out in the final. He scored a four-pointer in his eight points and did not let Parris threaten his lead even one.

When the score was 7-3, Parris tried to score a takedown but Kurbanov scored a stepout on counter to make 8-3. He did give up a takedown in the final 10 seconds to avoid further risks in the final.

Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) defeated Dean HAMITI (USA) in the 79kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran Wins 2 Golds

After Yones EMAMI (IRI) won Iran's first gold medal on Wednesday, Iran added two more through Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) and Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) at 79kg and 92kg, respectively.

Nokhodi, who had struggled with a knee injury last season, seemed to have gained full fitness. He had no trouble in seeing off Dean HAMITI (USA), 10-0, in the final at 79kg.

The two-time world silver medalist scored three different takedowns and managed to turn Hamiti twice to accumulate his points in the gold medal bout.

Firouzpour, world bronze medalist in Zagreb, was in similar form as he defeated former world silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 11-1, in the 92kg final.

Photo

RESULTS

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Dean HAMITI (USA) , 10-0

BRONZE: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df. Sagar JAGLAN (IND), 10-4 
BRONZE: Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO) df. Cameron AMINE (USA), 3-3

92kg
GOLD: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 11-1

BRONZE: Ahmed BATAEV (BUL) df. Jacob CARDENAS (USA), 11-0
BRONZE: Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 4-0

97kg
GOLD: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) df. Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW), 10-4

BRONZE: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) df. Jointy KUMAR (IND), 10-0

125kg
GOLD: Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) df. Mason PARRIS (USA), 8-5

BRONZE: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) df. Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) df. Nursultan AZOV (KAZ), 4-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) df. Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND), 13-2

BRONZE: MUSKAN (IND) df. Kendra RYAN (USA), 10-0
BRONZE: Erin GOLSTON (USA) df. Valeriia TIUKPIEKOVA (UWW), 4-2

55kg
GOLD: Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 3-2

BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. PUSHPA (IND), 3-2
BRONZE: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Beatrice FERENT (ROU), 10-0

Morning Session Highlights

Women's Wrestling

14:50: 55kg semifinals - Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) with a takedown with four seconds left to beat European champion Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) at 55kg. Trailing 3-1, she got Verbina down on the edge to take a 3-3 criteria lead. Verbina challenged only to lose it and drop the semifinal 4-3.

Malanchuk will face Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ) in the final after the Kazakhstan wrestler pinned Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER).

14:40: 50kg semifinals - Asian bronze medalist Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) with an excellent win over MUSKAN (IND) at 50kg. She uses the snap to score three different takedowns to lead 8-1 at the break. She shoots an early takedown and then a turn to finish the bout 12-1.

She will another Indian, Priyanshi PARAJAPAT (IND), in the final after the Indian pinned Valeriia TIUKPIEKOVA (UWW)

Freestyle

14:35: 125kg semifinals - Mason PARRIS (USA) dumps Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) for four points to complete a stunning 14-3 win at 125kg. He will face a stiff challenge in the final against Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW), who defeated Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL), 9-1.

14:25: 97kg semifinals - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) is so quick! He opens with a fireman's carry to throw Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) and then turns two times to lead 8-0. A reversal gives Aitmukhan a point before he adds a stepout to make it 8-2. Sadulaev scores a takedown and then manages only a point when Aitmukhan defends a takedown but goes out of bounds. Sadulaev leads 11-2 at the break. Aitmukhan manages a stepout but Sadulaev hits a front headlock turn for two points to complete a 13-3 victory. Aitmukhan asks for a stepout with a challenges but loses it, making Sadulaev's score 14-3

Sadulaev will have Mukhammed KHANIEV (UWW) in the final with spot in the European Championships spot on the line. Khaniev, who defeated Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the quarters, gets a 10-0 victory over Magomedkhan MOGAMEDOV (AZE) in the semifinals.

14:15: 92kg semifinals - Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) works on several different takedowns and shuts down Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 10-0, in the semifinal. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) will challenge Firouzpour in the final after he beats Ahmed BATAEV (BUL), 4-0. Two points for two passivity calls against Bataev and a takedown from Maisuradze to complete the victory.

14:00: 79kg semifinals - Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) takes 35 seconds to beat Sagar JAGLAN (IND), 10-0, using a gut-wrench. Nokhodi will face Dean HAMITI (USA) for the gold medal. Cameron AMINE (USA) and Dean HAMITI (USA) opened the semis with fireworks with the latter taking a 4-2 lead. However, they both wore down. Hamiti hangs on for a 5-3 win.

Semifinals will begin with 79kg. Followed by 92kg, 97kg and 125kg. Women's Wrestling will follow with 50kg and 55kg

13:45: In the last quarterfinal, Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) beats Benjamin HONIS (ITA), 13-0 and sets up a semifinal against Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) at 97kg 

So far, Mukhammed KHANIEV (UWW) stunned world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the quarterfinals at 97kg with a 10-4 victory, denying a final between Snyder and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW).

Sadulaev on the other hand has made it to the semifinals with in what has looked like a rather easy outing. If he faces Khaniev in the final, the winner will go the the European Championships.

13:20: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (USA) had worked up an 8-0 lead inside the first minute but Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ) injured his elbow in that exchange with Sadulaev. Initially looked a serious injury but Bekenov manages to stand up, holding his elbow. Sadulaev into the semifinals at 97kg

13:10: Kyle SNYDER (USA) facing Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) in the quarterfinals at 97kg. Khaniev is called passive and he gives up a point but manages to score exposure point in on exchange. Snyder with a stepout but Khaniev holds 2-2 criteria. Snyder open second period with two stepouts to take a 4-2 lead. Khaniev fires a leg-attack and converts it into a takedown to make it 4-4 and lead on criteria. He shoots another similar attack and scores another takedown before countering a fake shot from Snyder to make it 8-4 with less than a minute left. One way traffic as Khaniev manages to hold his ground against Snyder and complete a 10-4 victory to advance to the semifinals.

13:00: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) got thrown for a four by Giorgi MESHDESHVILI (AZE) but he comes back with a takedown and powerful gut wrench to take an 11-4 lead. He then scores another takedown and turn to win 15-4. All in the first period at 125kg

12:50: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) hands Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) a 7-2 loss at 79kg. Nokhodi led 4-0 at the break before working a takedown and another point. Gadzhiev managed to score a takedown at the buzzer but Nokhodi in total control of that match. 

12:30: European champion and world silver medalist Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) keeps Aleksandra SKIRENKO (UWW) at a distance and wins 6-2 at 55kg. Slow start to the match before Verbina manages to open up and score takedowns.

12:22: World champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) returns to the same venue he won his sixth world title. He is facing Jointy KUMAR (IND) in his first bout. Sadulaev with patiently waits and doesn't get involved much. Kumar gets called passive in the first period and gives up a point. Sadulaev is quick and scores a takedown soon after and turns Kumar to lead 5-0. A fireman's takedown from Sadulaev and he secures the fall over Kumar to win his first bout at 97kg.

12:15: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) with a quick victory over VICKY (IND) at 97kg. Four takedowns and two stepouts for a 10-0 blanking of the Indian wrestlers. Aitmukhan will face Benjamin HONIS (ITA) in the quarterfinals

12:10: Kyle SNYDER (USA) lost his balance and Radu LEFTER (MDA) used that moment to trip him for four which made the score line 5-4, though in favor of Snyder, in their 97kg bout. But Snyder worked on two more takedowns to beat Lefter 9-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

11:50: Former U23 European champion Giorgi IVANOV (BUL) dumps Trent HIGLER (USA) for a four-pointer in the first period and then control the bout thoroughly to win 7-2 at 125kg.

11:40: Mason PARRIS (USA) overcomes a 4-2 deficit in a very draining 125kg bout to beat Omar SAREM (ROU) and advances with a 15-5 victory. Parris was made to work hard for that win.

11:35: World silver medalist Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) uses the gut-wrench and chalks up a 12-2 technical superiority win over Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM) at 125kg

11:25: SWEETY (IND) with a dominant 13-1 victory over Natalia WALCZAK (POL) at 50kg. Sweety in total control of that bout and she moves into the quarterfinals

11:15: Svenja JUNGO (SUI) with a late takedown to get a tough 3-1 victory over Agata GOLUCHOWSKA WALERZAK (POL) at 50kg. The Poland wrestler had a 1-1 criteria lead but Jungo with a match-winning takedown

11:00: At 92kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) starts with a 9-2 win over Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ). Firouzpour hit a four-pointer when Dauletbekov was trying to scamper out of a tie. He then added a stepout to lead 5-0 at the break. No more points in the bout.

10:45: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), a world champion at 92kg in 2023, had built an 8-0 lead against Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) in their 97kg bout but seemed to struggle in the second period. However, he manages to defend that lead and win 8-5

10:40: Kyle SNYDER (USA) was first up on Mat and he warms up with a 3-0 win over Ertugrul AGCA (GER). Takedown in the first period and a stepout in the second as Snyder moves into the second round at 97kg. He can face Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), only if both make the final

10:35: Richard VEGH (HUN) scored nine stepouts against AKASH (IND) and got one point for caution against the Indian as he wins the opening bout at 97kg 10-0. Victory via stepouts if we may

10:20: Welcome to the second day of the Muhamet Malo in Tirana. The Snyder vs Sadulaev chapter five is expected today. Both wrestlers will face each other only if they reach the final.