#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 62kg

Friday, July 23, 2021 - 20:25 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO, Japan (July 23) -- Since women's wrestling was added to the Olympic program in 2004, only six countries have won gold medals, with Japan the dominant power by winning 11 of the 18 handed out. At the Tokyo Olympics, the country with the best chance of joining that elite group is a small former Soviet republic in central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan is pinning high hopes on Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), the reigning world champion at 62kg who has lost just one match since her historic triumph at the 2019 World Championships, which earned her a third trip to the Olympics.

If anyone can burst Tynybekova's bubble, it will likely be either local hope and world bronze medalist Yukako KAWAI (JPN) or 2018 world champion Taybe YUSEIN (BUL).

Others who appear capable of breaking through against that trio are 2019 world bronze medalist Henna JOHANSSON (SWE), 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist Marwa AMRI (TUN), European champion Irina KOLIADENKO (UKR) and teenaged Asian qualifier Sonam MALIK (IND).

Tynybekova already made Kyrgyzstan history by becoming its first-ever wrestling world champion, male or female, since it became independent in 1991. Striking gold in Tokyo would make her the nation's first-ever Olympic champion in any sport --- in six Olympics, the country has one silver and three bronzes, all won by men.

The 28-year-old Tynybekova came close five years ago in Rio, making it to the semifinals before losing to Valeria KOBLOVA (RUS), then coming away empty-handed after falling to Sakshi MALIK (IND) in the bronze-medal match. She had lost in the first round at the 2012 London Olympics.

"We have been going at this for a very long time," Tynybekova was quoted as saying in a January 2020 interview with Sputnik. "I have already participated in two Olympic Games -- in London and Rio de Janeiro. I didn't manage to win medals in them because of my mistakes. The only thing missing from my piggy bank is an Olympic medal. I want not just a medal, but a gold one."

Tynybekova's rise to the top is all the more remarkable given the fact that she didn't start the sport until she was 15. Four years after that, she was appearing at the London Olympics. Since then, she has medaled at every Asian Championships between 2013 and 2021 (except when she missed 2018 due to injury), with a total of four golds.

She and Kawai have developed quite a rivalry that has extended beyond the continent. In their first encounter in the final at the 2019 Asian Championships, Tynybekova came out on top of an 8-6 decision. Five months later, Tynybekova ended a close match with a fall in the third round at the World Championships.

The 23-year-old Kawai finally got her revenge when the two were drawn together in the first round at the 2020 Asian Championships, winning 6-1 for Tynybekova's lone loss between a defeat in the final of the Poland Open in August 2019 and now.

Over that span, Tynybekova chalked up titles at the Yasur Dogu, Matteo Pellicone, Poland Open and Individual World Cup in 2020, and Asian Championships (in the absense of Japan and China) and Poland Open this year.

"Since Kyrgyzstan gained independence, we have not had a gold medal in Olympic sports," Tynybekova said. "I want to make history by winning a gold at the Olympic Games."

While her goal is the same, Kawai is on a different type of quest. Along with older sister Risako, a Rio Olympic champion who is entered in Tokyo at 57kg, the two are deadset on achieving "sibling golds." At both of the first two Olympics featuring women's wrestling in 2004 and 2008, Kaori ICHO (JPN) won gold while her sister Chiharu took home silver. The Kawai sisters are intent on bettering that performance.

For Yukako, the one-year delay of the Olympics allowed her to work on building up strength. Her biggest weakness has been being overpowered by foreign opponents, often giving up points on stepouts.

"Right now, I don't have the inferiority in strength with foreign opponents that I had in the past," Kawai recently told the Japanese press. "There are also those coming from non-[Olympic] weight classes, so everyone will be strong. I think the matches will be tough, but I've done a lot of hard training. I want the effects of that training to come out in the tournament. If I do that, I can definitely win."

Kawai, the 2018 world U-23 champion and senior world silver medalist, had been hoping to use the 2021 Asian Championships as a warmup event for the Olympics, and was disappointed when Japan suddenly pulled out because of incidental contact with a person who had contracted the coronavirus.

"I really wanted to have matches [against foreign opponents], but it didn't happen. But they won't see my wrestling until the actual Olympics, so maybe it's good from that standpoint."

The 30-year-old Yusein, who is appearing in her second Olympics, came close to successfully defending her world title when she faced Tynybekova in the 2019 final, but gave up a takedown in the final 15 seconds to lose 5-3. That gave her a third world silver, along with one gold and one bronze.

The gold came with an 8-2 victory over Kawai in the final in Budapest in the only head-to-head meeting between the two.

After a third-place finish at the 2020 European Championships, Yusein also took a bronze at 65kg at this year's Poland Open, where she lost in the semifinals to Johansson. She came back three weeks later with a victory at 62kg at the Yasar Dogu amid a light field.

Johansson, who is three days older than Yusein, will be aiming for her first medal in her third trip to the Olympics. She won the 65kg title at this year's Poland Open following a 10th-place finish at the European Championships.

A 2009 world junior champion, her bronze in Nur-Sultan in 2019 was her second world medal, with the first also a bronze won back in 2010.

Johansson came away with the gold at the 2019 City of Sessari Tournament in a field that included Tynybekova and Amri, although she didn't directly face either of them.

The 32-year-old Amri made history in 2016 when she became Africa's first-ever female Olympic wrestling medalist by taking the bronze in Rio. She followed that up by taking the silver at 58kg at the 2017 World Championships, losing to Helen MAROULIS (USA) in the final after beating Tynybekova in the semifinals.

Her first attempt to qualify for Tokyo ended abruptly with a 12-5 loss to Jong Sim RIM (PRK) in the qualification round at the 2019 worlds, but she had little trouble making the cut at the African Olympic qualifying tournament, winning all four of her round-robin matches.

Koliadenko, 22, was the 2019 world silver medalist at 65kg behind Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS). She dropped down to 62kg for the European Olympic qualifying tournament, which she won, then followed that by taking the European title at 62kg.

India's 19-year-old Malik beat out Rio bronze medalist Sakshi Malik for the right to represent her country in Olympic qualifying, and she came through at the Asian qualifier. A two-time world cadet champion, she will be competing in the Olympics before competing on the junior level.

Two others to keep an eye on are Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT), a two-time world bronze medalist making her third Olympic appearance, and Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS), the 2019 world silver medalist at 59kg.

62kg
No. 1 Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
No. 2 Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL)
No. 3 Yukako KAWAI (JPN)
No. 4 Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)

#WrestleSamokov

U20 Worlds: After two heartbreaks, Kassimbek is world champ

Monday, August 18, 2025 - 19:08 By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 18) -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) had lost two World U17 Championships finals, denying him the world champion tag.

He got his third chance to be a world champion on Monday at the World U20 Championships in Samokov and third time proved to be lucky for the Kazakhstan wrestler.

Wrestling a familiar opponent in Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) in the final, Kassimbek seemed in no trouble during the six minute bout and captured the gold medal and his first world title with a 4-1 victory.

Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) turns Abofazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) for match-winning two points in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wresting / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The 18-year-old had previously wrestled Mohammad Nezhad three times in his career and won all three. Kassimbek defeated the Iranian at the 2023 Asian U17 Championships, 8-1, in their first meeting. In 2024, he defeated him twice, in the semifinals at the World U17 and Asian U17 Championships, 4-3 and 2-2, respectively.

"I am very happy," Kassimbek said. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time, and I am glad [to win]. In the future, I will become an Olympic champion. I am already slowly preparing for this goal."

Mohammad Nezhad thought he may have a chance to change that record when he went up 1-0 in the final after Kassimbek failed to score after being put on the activity clock. But the second period was all about Kassimbek as he got a takedown and then turned the Iranian, wrapping Mohammad Nezhad's legs around his head, for two points.

The 4-1 lead and some defensive wrestling was enough for Kassimbek to win the final and claim his gold medal, making him the first wrestler to win the heaviest weight class at any World Championships.

World U20 champion at 125kg -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"Even though I have defeated the Iranian wrestler more than once, I take every opponent seriously," he said. "But when I stepped on the mat, I was confident in my victory."

While Kassimbek will have more age-group tournaments, he has ambitions to be at the senior level in quick time with some added strength and weight.

"I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I am still not strong enough," he said. "I need to work harder. I am eighteen years old, but I already want to compete at senior level, I just need to gain a little bit more weight."

PJ DUKE (USA) celebrates after winning the 70kg gold medal in Samokov. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

U.S. wins 2 golds

Two returning bronze medalists from the U.S. -- PJ DUKE (USA) and Justin RADEMACHER (USA) -- upgraded their medals to gold.

Duke, a recent high school graduate, was the first world champion on Monday as he won a slugfest against Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5. Duke's gold comes a month he wrestles at the senior World Championships in Zagreb.

He scored the first five points against Gaidarli's one but the Moldovan a takedown and turn from Gaidarli made it 5-5 with him leading on criteria and 1:20 left on the clock.

Duke, however, remained composed and managed to get on a leg-attack and convert it into a takedown for a 7-5 match-deciding lead. Gaidarli's attempts to score at the end where easily negated by Duke.

With the win, Duke denied Gaidarli a historic title which would have made him the first Freestyle world U20 champion since 1999 for Moldova.

PJ DUKE (USA) scores a takedown over Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) in the 70kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

"One thing I never really thought about, like obviously I've dreamed about winning a world title, but that feeling you get when you're on the podium when they're playing the national anthem. It's something I've never felt before and it's just so cool," Duke said.

Duke will have one month to rebound and wrestle in Zagreb, a competition much tougher than the U20 level.

"I got to definitely have a few things I need to tweak, easy fixes and minor technical changes," he said. "My body's is in good shape, I feel fine. I'm not too beat up on this."

Duke had to beat Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) in a best-of-three series to win the spot on the U.S. senior. While he celebrated his victory there, Duke had a subdued celebrations when he won in Samokov.

"The Final X was just a little different for me," he said. "I was definitely a bigger underdog there. It's just being on that senior team is my main goal. Coming from last year after losing the U20s. I just had to get that done. I tried not to show too much emotion but sometimes it's big deal, like final X, it comes out."

Justin RADEMACHER (USA) attempts a leg attack against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Rademacher had a rather straightforward final against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) at 97kg. The match was majorly a one-move finish as Rademacher got on a leg attack and forced Magomedov towards the zone before throwing him in danger for four points.

From there on, Rademacher was happy to play the clock while Magomedov, struggling with his conditioning, never really got a chance to score until a late stepout to get on the board.

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European U23 champion Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) got his world title to his name after he won the 74kg final against Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ). Khaniev blanked Akylbekov, 11-0, with a series of takedowns.

In the first period, Khaniev had two takedowns, a turn and a stepout to lead 7-0. He finished the bout quickly in the second period with takedown and an exposure to win.

"This was my goal for the year," Khaniev said. "I needed to accomplish it, and I did. I rate my performance at this tournament 4 out of 5 because there is always room to grow, I still made some mistakes."

Khaniev had a tough bracket to go through, wrestling returning silver medalist Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) and European U20 champion Manuel WAGIN (GER), a wrestler he recently lost to at the European U20 Championships.

"Against Lockett, I was focused and really wanted to beat him, just like the German wrestler to whom I lost at the Europeans," he said. "I was very well prepared for the match [against Lockett], and I managed to win with full confidence."

Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) won his first world title on Monday. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Khaniev had lost to Wagin in Italy, 5-4, in a close semifinal but their rematch in Samokov followed a different storyline as Khaniev won via technical superiority.

"At the U20 European Championships I wasn’t fully prepared, I had injuries, although that is not an excuse," he said. "Here I really wanted to take revenge, I prepared very hard, did everything possible on my side, and it worked out."

Khaniev called the 74kg weight class as the "royal" one and wants to continue his career in it for the time being.

"I believe that if I continue to work hard, then even in such a competitive weight class I will be able to withstand the competition," he said. "This is considered the 'royal' weight. It will be very interesting for me to keep competing in this weight, unless my weight increases and I have to move up to a higher category."

RESULTS

70kg
GOLD: PJ DUKE (USA) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5

BRONZE: Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 4-0
BRONZE: Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) df. Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) df. Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ), 11-0

BRONZE: Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ) df. Raul CASO (ITA), 6-3
BRONZE: Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW), 4-1

BRONZE: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR), 8-3
BRONZE: Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ) df. VISHAL (IND), via fall

125kg
GOLD: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) df. Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI), 4-1

BRONZE: Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) df. Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA), 3-1
BRONZE: Cole MIRASOLA (USA) df. Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL), 12-2

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 62kg

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U20 Worlds: After two heartbreaks, Kassimbek is world champ