Top Stories of the Decade

Wrestling Introduces New Weight Categories, Gender Equity, and Ranking Series

Sunday, December 29, 2019 - 14:09 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR -VEVEY, Switzerland (December 29) -- The growth of international wrestling since 2010 has required a number of changes, but few have seemed to impact as many wrestlers and fans as the addition of weight categories, expansion of women's opportunities, and the introduction of a yearlong competition calendar, knowns as the Ranking Series.

 Heading into the 2017 World Championships in Paris, Wrestling enjoyed eight weight categories in each style, with six aimed at Olympic participation. During a bureau meeting at the event, it was decided to increase that total allotment to 10 weight categories and slightly shift a number of weight categories across the styles to better match anticipated participation. The additional weights also prompted a two-day format with same-day weigh-ins.

"These improvements made are incredible for the sport of wrestling," UWW President Nenad Lalović said at the time. "Our sport has never been stronger, and I believe that with the new categories and the improved competition format we will see continued growth in participation, support and viewership. I also believe these new rules will also encourage healthier wrestlers."

Another significant shift in the sport came with the launch of the Ranking Series in 2018, which uses four previously independent events, plus the world and continental championships to determine a points champion for the season. The rankings also determine the top seeds at the world championships and Olympic Games. 

“The Ranking Series makes it easier for fans, athletes, and coaches to understand the impact of each tournament and match," said Lalovic.

The Ranking Series was tweaked heading into the 2019 season with more weight placed on the number of participants to help determine the ultimate allocation of points per event. The shift proved prescient as participation in the events more than doubled in 2019.

As of 2019, the points earned from the World Championships, Continental Championships and Ranking Series events are as follows:

Wrestling’s growth hasn’t been contained to competition formats. In an effort to ensure better governance and compliance with IOC norms, wrestling has reached out to female leaders around the world to ensure their participation in the sport’s growth. Wrestling has utilized national federations, IOC-backed initiatives, and created an annual Women in Wrestling Global Forum to ensure increased outreach and education of women in the wrestling community.

“The past few years has seen wrestling provide more opportunities to female leaders and competitors than ever before,” said UWW Development Director Deqa Niamkey. “I’m pleased with our growth and looking forward to the next ten years!”

In addition to professional opportunities for women in wrestling, there has also been a much-increased focus on their mat achievements. From photos to stories to documentaries the women of wrestling are covered equally to men and have enjoyed several breakout moments, including many listed in the Top Ten Stories of the Decade.

#wrestlebishkek

Asian U20 Championships 2025 Entries

Friday, July 4, 2025 - 16:27 By United World Wrestling Press

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (July 4) -- The Asian U20 Championships begins on July 9 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Around 300 wrestlers are expected to participate in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

The competition will begin with Greco-Roman followed by Women's Wrestling and Freestyle will close off the competition on July 13. For full schedule of the Asian U20 Championships, click here.

Note: These are preliminary entries and subject to change 72 hours before the draws of each style. For final entries and brackets, refer to UWW Arena.

Freestyle

57kg
Wanxing LYU (CHN)
ANKUSH (IND)
Arshia HADDADI (IRI)
Rikuto NAGAI (JPN)
Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ)
Azim ABDYKALYKOV (KGZ)
Inseong BAK (KOR)
Naran Ulzii BARKHAS (MGL)
Hayden ANCHETA (PHI)
Saihusein MALIKOV (TJK)
Kabe MATJANOV (TKM)
Chih Kai LU (TPE)
Asadbek SAIDTURAEV (UZB)

61kg
Jiayu HUANG (CHN)
Anuj VISHNOI (IND)
Abolfazl BAKHSHOUDEH (IRI)
Hyuga SATONAKA (JPN)
Allan ORALBEK (KAZ)
Askat TOKTOMATOV (KGZ)
Davaadorj ARIUNBOLD (MGL)
Muhammad WAHAB (PAK)
Ahlidin JABOROV (TJK)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Abdulloh KHABIBULLAEV (UZB)

65kg
Yufei DING (CHN)
ASHWANI (IND)
Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI)
Shina YASUMI (JPN)
Yeraly ZHENISSOV (KAZ)
Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ)
Jongpil YOON (KOR)
Janchivdorj TUVDUU (MGL)
Muhammad ABDULLAH (PAK)
Ali AL MUTAWA (QAT)
Hakim GHOIBZODA (TJK)
Bagtyyar ANNAYEV (TKM)
You Wei LAI (TPE)
Komiljon YUSUFOV (UZB)

70kg
Jinrui LIU (CHN)
SOURABH (IND)
Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI)
Ariya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Sungkar SEIDAKHMET (KAZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Ankh Erdene ALTANGEREL (MGL)
Sohail KHAN (PAK)
Muhammadfoteh OLIMOV (TJK)
Batyr BEGENJOV (TKM)
Javokhir CHULIBOYEV (UZB)

74kg
Jinpeng ZHU (CHN)
VIVEK (IND)
Mohammad MAMIVAND (IRI)
Yujin TAKIZAWA (JPN)
Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ)
Ilim ZHUMABEKOV (KGZ)
Yong SHIN (KOR)
Burenjargal BATBAYAR (MGL)
Saad AL SULAITI (QAT)
Muhammadamin ABDULOEV (TJK)
Vatan ANNAORAZOV (TKM)
Jeng CHUAN (TPE)
Umarkhon MUYDINOV (UZB)

79kg
Guanpeng XIAO (CHN)
AMIT (IND)
Abolfazl Mehdi SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Natsura OKAZAWA (JPN)
Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ)
Zhakshylyk BAITASHOV (KGZ)
Gan Erdene BAATARKHUU (MGL)
Alp Arslan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Jorullo ABDUFATTOKHOV (UZB)

86kg
Chunchen LIU (CHN)
SACHIN (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Rintaro INOUE (JPN)
Navruz AKHMEDKHANOV (KAZ)
Elnur AKYBAEV (KGZ)
Juhwan LEE (KOR)
Ganbat TSERENPUNTSAG (MGL)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Nodirbek ABDULLAEV (UZB)

92kg
Iqbal AHMADI (AFG)
Hairui YUE (CHN)
SACHIN (IND)
Toohid NOORY (IRI)
Yuya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Iakov CHAPLIN (KGZ)
Bayarbaatar ERDENEMUNKH (MGL)
Orazmuhammet HOJALYYEV (TKM)
Sherzod POYONOV (UZB)

97kg
Jiawei LI (CHN)
VISHAL (IND)
Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI)
Genki HOKI (JPN)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Aitenir MAKSATOV (KGZ)
Yujun LEE (KOR)
Temuujin ENKHMEND (MGL)
Muhammetdurdy MUHAMMETDURDYYEV (TKM)
Mukhammadjon ISMOILJONOV (UZB)

125kg
Maysam SHAH QOL (AFG)
Ruijie LI (CHN)
Jaspooran SINGH (IND)
Mohammadreza LOTFI (IRI)
Akinari ORIYAMA (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Sulde DONGAK (KGZ)
Baejoon JANG (KOR)
Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL)
Eldorbek KHASANOV (UZB)

Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) is the defending champion at Greco-Roman 130kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Zongyao WU (CHN)
NITIN (IND)
Payam AHMADI (IRI)
Masatora HONDA (JPN)
Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ)
Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ)
Nuryagdy DOVRANOV (TKM)
Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB)

60kg
Dahua XIONG (CHN)
SURAJ (IND)
Seyediman HOSSEINI (IRI)
Sota SAKAKI (JPN)
Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)
Erbol OZGONOV (KGZ)
Jueui YANG (KOR)
Muteb ALMUWALLAD (KSA)
Abbosjon TURAQULOV (TJK)
Husniddin ULUGBEKOV (TKM)
Shu Wei CHUNG (TPE)
Khurshidbek NORMUKHAMMADOV (UZB)

63kg
Xiaoli FAN (CHN)
VARUN (IND)
Mohammad ABOUTALEBI (IRI)
Kazuto FURUICHI (JPN)
Yesbol SHAMILOV (KAZ)
Emirlan DUISHENALIEV (KGZ)
Haitham BARAHMAH (KSA)
Muhammadjon ABDULOEV (TJK)
Kemal KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Ming Han SHEN (TPE)
Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB)

67kg
Zhengye HAN (CHN)
YOGESH (IND)
Gholamreza ABDOVALI (IRI)
Taisei MAEDA (JPN)
Alibek TURLYGAZY (KAZ)
Zhantoro MIRZALIEV (KGZ)
Mingun JEONG (KOR)
Sunat ABDULLOEV (TJK)
Ding Jen HUANG (TPE)
Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB)

72kg
Rihao YAN (CHN)
Akash PUNIA (IND)
Amir SAEIDI (IRI)
Kento NOMURA (JPN)
Alikhan DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Ilgis KANYBEKOV (KGZ)
Anvarjon JURAEV (TJK)
Kaka CHARYYEV (TKM)
Ahmad KODIROV (UZB)

77kg
Wentao RAO (CHN)
Sachin KUMAR (IND)
Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI)
Fuga MISAIZU (JPN)
Omar DUISEMBEK (KAZ)
Adilet ABYKEEV (KGZ)
Juwan CHOI (KOR)
Ali A MAJRASHI (KSA)
Kemal BERDILIYEV (TKM)
Jeng Jung CHUAN (TPE)
Bekmurod RUSTAMOV (UZB)

82kg
Zheying SONG (CHN)
PRINCE (IND)
Alireza MOHAMMAD (IRI)
Aito TANGE (JPN)
Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ)
Mirsaid IUNUSOV (KGZ)
Majd M HAWSAWI (KSA)
Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB)

87kg
Xinyu LIU (CHN)
ROHIT (IND)
Hamidreza KESHTKAR (IRI)
Rondo KODAMA (JPN)
Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ)
Asylbek NIIAZBEK UULU (KGZ)
Kangju LEE (KOR)
Chen Feng SUNG (TPE)
Bobur ABDURASULOV (UZB)

97kg
Yikai KAN (CHN)
NAMAN (IND)
Mohammad SEYDI (IRI)
Koki MATSUMOTO (JPN)
Beibit KORGANOV (KAZ)
Rustam SADYKOV (KGZ)
Jaeno CHOI (KOR)
Javohir KHUJAEV (UZB)

130kg
Yeersheng YEERGEN (CHN)
Joginder RATHEE (IND)
Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)
Taiki IWASAWA (JPN)
Ilya BORODAY (KAZ)
Talasbek BOOBEKOV (KGZ)
Seunggyu MIN (KOR)
Amirkhon BERDIKULOV (UZB)

Mansi LATHER (IND)Senior Asian Championships bronze medalist Mansi LATHER (IND) is aiming for her first Asian U20 gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari) 

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Shenyu LIU (CHN)
SHRUTI (IND)
Mai OGAWA (JPN)
Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ)
Dilnaz ABDYKADYROVA (KGZ)
Nilufar NURMUKHAMMADOVA (UZB)

53kg
Xiaole HAN (CHN)
SAARIKA (IND)
Mihoko TAKEUCHI (JPN)
Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ)
Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Roeun SONG (KOR)
Ya Hsin CHEN (TPE)
Khusniobod SULTANNAZIROVA (UZB)

55kg
Huiyi WEI (CHN)
REENA (IND)
Yuna SAWATANI (JPN)
Aida ALZHAN (KAZ)
Aziza SHUMKAROVA (KGZ)
Odonchimeg TSEVEEN (MGL)
Yi Hsuan TSENG (TPE)
Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)

57kg
Xinyu WANG (CHN)
Neha SHARMA (IND)
Rin KINOSHITA (JPN)
Anna STRATAN (KAZ)
Akylai SATYBAEVA (KGZ)
Eunso CHO (KOR)
Yu Hsuan CHENG (TPE)
Ulmeken ESENBAEVA (UZB)

59kg
YANGJIBAZONG (CHN)
Ashlesha BAGADE (IND)
Sae NOGUCHI (JPN)
Akmarzhan MAYABAS (KAZ)
Aidai NURUDINOVA (KGZ)
Erdenebolor LKHAGVASUREN (MGL)
Kai Yi LI (TPE)
Ulbiyke KARLYBAEVA (UZB)

62kg
Zhengwei MA (CHN)
ANJLI (IND)
Hana YOSHIKAWA (JPN)
Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ)
Manzura ZHUSUEVA (KGZ)
Yeyeon LEE (KOR)
Gundegmaa ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Tzu Ling WU (TPE)
Nigina SABIROVA (UZB)

65kg
Sangquzhen GE (CHN)
MUSKAN (IND)
Ayana HISHINUMA (JPN)
Kyzzhibek ZHARKYNBAYEVA (KAZ)
Asel ZHAPAROVA (KGZ)
Narkhajid NYAMSUREN (MGL)
Kang Yu CHIANG (TPE)
Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB)

68kg
Wenjin QIU (CHN)
Mansi LATHER (IND)
Haruka KOBARU (JPN)
Uldana TILEUKHAN (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Yeonwoo SONG (KOR)
Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL)
Enejan YOLDASHOVA (TKM)
Sheng Fang CAI (TPE)
Iroda TURDYMURATOVA (UZB)

72kg
Yawen WEI (CHN)
HARSHITA (IND)
Ai SAKAI (JPN)
Meiramgul MAKSOT (KAZ)
Kaiyrkul SHARSHEBAEVA (KGZ)
Oyun Erdene ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Nazik BAZAROVA (TKM)
Saodat TURAEVA (UZB)

76kg
Saihan AO (CHN)
KAJAL (IND)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Meruyert NAZARBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aizharkyn ZHANYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Tuvshinjargal TARAV (MGL)
Gulnaz BAKYYEVA (TKM)
Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB)