Top Stories of the Decade

Wrestling Expands to Include Cadet, U23 and U15 World Championship Events

Wednesday, December 25, 2019 - 22:38 By Andrew Hipps

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 25) -- Over the past decade, United World Wrestling has continued to expand its world championship events, reinstating the world championships for cadet wrestlers and adding world championship events for U23 and U15 wrestlers.

The first Cadet World Championships took place in 1975. However, it did not become an annual event on the competition calendar until 1987. Starting in 1987, the Cadet World Championships were contested for 13 consecutive years before being removed from the competition calendar after 1999. After a dozen years, the event was reinstated in 2011 and has once again become an annual world championship event that attracts the world's top 17-and-under wrestlers.

In 2017, United World Wrestling announced the addition of the U23 World Championships to its official competition calendar. The inaugural event took place that same year in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The U23 World Championships event was created following the success of the U23 European Championships in 2016 where more than 400 wrestlers from 34 nations competed for the continental gold. The large turnout was attributed to a desire by many national federations to give their top prospects a chance to compete in a meaningful federation-based championship.

Wrestling success tends to favor the young, with the average age of 2016 Olympic champion being just 23.1 years old for freestyle wrestling, 24.6 years in women’s wrestling and 27.5 years old in Greco-Roman.

In 2019, United World Wrestling held the World School Combat Games, the first-ever world championship event for U15 wrestlers, in Budapest, Hungary. Ten nations competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman, while seven competed in women’s wrestling. 

U-15 continental championship events were also held for Asia, Europe and the Americas.

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WATCH: Shiotani's signature move - Reverse Lift or Tawaragaeshi

Monday, March 3, 2025 - 10:38 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 3) -- Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) has done it many times domestically in Japan. On Sunday, he showed it to international fans.

As soon as he get the par terre position, instead for the typical gut-wrench, Shiotani goes for the reverse lift.

The reverse lift, known as Tawaragaeshi in Japanese, majorly seen in Greco-Roman wrestling when the wrestler on top in par terre jumps to face the grounded wrestler and the locks his hands around the opponents waist to throw him over his own head, or sometimes sideways.

That Aleksandr KARELIN photo in which he is clenching his teeth as he lifts his opponent like a sack. Exactly, a reverse lift.

Shiotani, former Asian champion, has mastered that move. And a reverse lift masterclass was on display on the final day of the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series 2025 in Tirana.

Out of the 53 points he scored on Sunday, Shiotani got 33 points from his signature reverse lift. Match after match, he would try the move and succeed as if the opponents did not how to defend it.

"There's not much to think about during a game like this. I do the Tawaragaeshi as if my body were moving on its own," Shiotani said.

Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) performs a reverse lift during the 60kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

The Japanese federation Instagram page is full of Shiotani's reverse lift videos. Despite his go-to move, Shiotani is shy to explain his obsession with the move which he performs even when he is in a position to pin or roll his opponent.

"I'm trying to switch things up and try to lift the wrestlers rather than trying to hold him down," Shiotani said. "I'm always practicing so I am able to do it in any situation."

Shiotani doesn't hide it that he is going for the reverse lift. He ideally starts from a chest wrap and quickly moves his grip to waist. If the opponent tries to raise his head to defend, Shiotani scores an exposure, opening more scoring options.

This was the first time Shiotani was wrestling at 60kg in a UWW event, up from 55kg but he said that he always remained in shape for wrestling.

"I always keep in shape," he said. "Ever since moved up the weight class, I've always believed that I could win by building my body, so I'm glad I was able to do that."