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WW World Cup: Five must-watch bouts

By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, US (November 23) -- The women's World Cup will be held alongside the freestyle one on December 10 and 11 in Coralville. With two days of intense wrestling action, a few match-ups are expected to light up things at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville.

The top five teams from the World Championships in Belgrade along with the All-World Team will assemble for the two-day tournament. The top team from the World Championships Japan will be joined by China, the USA, Ukraine and Mongolia.

Six teams are placed in two groups with Japan, Mongolia and Ukraine placed in Group A and the USA is joined by China and the All-World Team. Even before the final fixture, some mouth-watering clashes are expected in the group duals.

Here are five bouts that are a must-watch for the fans:

Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) is a 2019 world champion at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

55kg: Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) vs Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)

It may need the aligning of the stars for this bout to happen but a potential match-up between young star Khomenets and former world champion Winchester at 55kg is one of the top clashes to watch at the World Cup. Khomenets reached the final of the World Championships in Belgrade before coming up short against Olympic champion Mayu SHIDOCHI (JPN). Winchester, despite an injury, reached the bronze medal bout and led before suffering a fall.

If the two meet, Khomenets counter-attacking style will be put to test as Winchester likes to build an early lead. The bout may see a slow start but expected some tight defense and a fierce battle as the two like to go for the attacks till the clock expires.

 

62kg: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (UWW) vs Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)

Tynybekova did not have a strong season, even missing out on a world medal. But the two-time world champion will be keen to end the season on a high. If it does happen, a bout against Sukhee will test Tynybekova who will start as the favorite. This year, Sukhee began on an impressive note, winning the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series and was a medal contender at the World Championships. But she fell in the opening round after a close 9-8 loss against Xiaojuan LUO (CHN).

That makes both wrestlers hungry for positive results before the end of the year. While Tynybekova has a solid defense, Sukhee has displayed an ability to secure falls from any position. This will be a challenge for Tynybekova as she has been struggling against the younger crop of wrestlers this year.

68kg: Irina RINGACI (MDA) vs Feng ZHOU (CHN)

Ringaci will be one of the biggest names in the All-World team heading to Iowa. And she will have added responsibility to take her team to the final being a former world champ and a bronze medalist from Belgrade. But with China clubbed in the same group, she will have to go past Zhou. The two met in the bronze medal bout in Belgrade and Ringaci won via fall. Zhou will be looking to avenge that 51-second loss. She was looking to throw Ringaci from a bodylock position but the latter had her arm around Zhou's neck and reversed the position with a headlock.

Having wrestled each other, the two will have their task cut out at the World Cup.

 

72kg: Amit ELOR (USA) vs Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (UWW)

A rematch and that too of a World Championships final can only be better. The USA's star wrestler Elor will be up against Bakbergenova when the USA and All-World team clash at the World Cup. Elor defeated Bakbergenova in the final of 72kg in Belgrade to capture her first world title. She caught Bakbergenova in a leg lace and finished the bout in a minute and 13 seconds. Elor will look to repeat the result in her home country even as Bakbergenova hopes to figure out a new way to counter Elor's dominance on the mat.

Bakbergenova not only has to find ways to attack, but she will also have to break Elor's strong defense. Elor, time and again, has shown how to come out of danger positions without giving up a point. Her only close bout in the last two years was the semifinal in Belgrade against the returning world champion Masako FUIRICHI (JPN). Elor won that 3-2.

Yasemin ADAR (TUR)Yasemin ADAR (TUR) won the 76kg gold in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

76kg: Yasemin ADAR (UWW) vs Yelena MAKOYED (USA)

Another clash on the cards in Iowa may see world champion Adar face Makoyed. Since becoming Turkiye's first-ever female Olympic medalist in wrestling in Tokyo, Adar won her second world title in Belgrade. As the leader of the All-World team in Iowa, Adar will look to use her experience to guide the team. On the mat, she will likely face Makoyed who showed stunning form in 2022. At the Matteo Pellicone, she won the gold after wins over established stars in Martina KUENZ (AUT), Epp MAE (EST), Francy RAEDELT (GER) and former U23 world champion Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) in the final. She won another Ranking Series gold in Tunisia by beating Dymond GUILFORD (USA). In the semifinal, she pinned world silver medalist Samar HAMZA (EGY).

Adar and Makoyed will be a thrilling clash with both expected to leave everything on the mat. Given the quality of the teams, it may come to this bout for a place in the final of the World Cup, adding value to an already important bout.

#wrestlemanama

Bahrain to host 2026 World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- For the first time in history, the World Championships are headed to Bahrain.

The 2026 World Championships will be held in Manama, Bahrain from September 5 to 13, United World Wrestling announced on Tuesday, during the ongoing World Championships in Zagreb.

No Arab country has ever hosted a World Championships but Bahrain will etch its name in history with the 2026 edition.

Secretary General of the Bahrain Olympic Committee Faris AL-KOOHEJI attended the press conference at the Arena Zagreb for the historic announcement. UWW President Nenad LALOVIC and Al-Kooheji announced the host together and signed the agreement.

"Bahrain has a superstar in wrestling," UWW President Lalovic said. "They probably want to use this opportunity to promote the sport through this superstar [Akhmed] TAZHUDINOV (BRN). But he's not the only one.

"They also want to develop the local Bahrain born athletes to compete because they have the role model of the top achievement in wrestling. This is something that we considered and that is why we made this decision.

Bahrain won its first-ever gold medal in Olympics in Paris when Tahzudinov ran-through the 97kg weight class and captured the gold medal. A year before that, he won the world title in the same weight class.

Tazhudinov is also an Asian champion, Asian Games champion and winner of other Ranking Series events.

Lalovic on the fact that wrestling wants to change the host continent of the World Championships more regularly.

 "We also want to change the continent regularly," he said. "A state that can organize the Asian [Youth] Games like they will do now in October, they will not face any problem with the championships, especially that we give all the assistance possible for the execution"

Manama, Bahrain will host the Asian Youth Games in which wrestling will be held from October 28 to 30.

Expressing its gratitude to UWW and readiness to host the mega event, Al-Kooheji said that the tournament will help Bahrain take wrestling to the grassroot levels in the country.

"For us, wrestling is a long term project," Al-Kooheji said. "Wrestling is a growing sport. It's a strategic sport for us. We got a gold medal in Paris, and we're looking to getting more medals. That gold medal started to inspire a lot of people, locally, to pursue wrestling, which is why part of the discussions with United World Wrestling is to even help us add wrestling in schools."

The Bahrain Olympic Committee expects that the World Championships will have a positive impact in growing the sport in the country.

"Strong economic impact [from the event]," he said. "We're going to get lots of travel spectators from Iran, the United States, and other countries as well. It's going to encourage the local community. They will understand more wrestling."