#WrestleKyiv21

XXIV Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial Entries

By Eric Olanowski

The XXIV Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial Entries will take place in Kyiv on February 26-28 and will feature nearly 600 participants from 33 different nations.

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVhm78Vnhay9CDvwKxN6jKq6w5UqNP3TG

57kg
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Karen ZURABYAN (ARM) 
Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE) 
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) 
Aryian TIUTRIN (BLR) 
Dzimchyk RYNCHYNAU (BLR) 
Dzmitry SHAMELA (BLR) 
Mikyay NAIM (BUL) 
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) 
Otari GOGAVA (GEO) 
Niklas STECHELE( GER) 
Ali GHOLI ZADEGAN KOLOUKHI (IRI) 
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR (KGZ)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Petru CRACIUN (MDA) 
Andrei DUKOV (ROU) 
Razvan-Marian KOVACS (ROU) 
Nils LEUTERT (SUI) 
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Roman GUTSULIAK (UKR)
Serhii TERZI (UKR)
Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR)
Nodirjon Safarov (UZB)

61kg
Razmik PAPIKYAN (ARM) 
Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV (AZE) 
Intigam VALIZADE (AZE) 
Lachinau ASADULLA (BLR) 
Uladzislau KOIKA (BLR) 
Arman ELOYAN (FRA) 
Beka LOMTADSZE (GEO) 
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO) 
Viktor LUZEN (GER) 
Richard VILHELM (HUN) 
Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURADOV (KGZ)
Leonid COLESNIC (MDA) 
Ivan GUIDEA (ROU) 
Nino LEUTERT (SUI) 
Ali KARABOGA (TUR) 
Cabbar DUYUM (TUR) 
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR) 
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Oleksandr EVSEENKO (UKR)
Valentyn BLIASETSKII (UKR)
Volodymyr BURUKOV (UKR)
Angelo RINI (USA) 

Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), a '19 world bronze medalist, will compete at 65kg. (Photo: Kadir Calisan)

65kg
Amar LAISSAOUI (ALG)
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) 
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) 
Dzabrayil GADZHIEV (AZE) 
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) 
Andre BEKRENEU (BLR) 
Dzianis SALAVEI (BLR) 
Niurgun SKRIABIN (BLR) 
Vladimir DUBOV (BUL) 
Juan Pablo GONZALEZ (ESP) 
Marwane YEZZA (FRA) 
Quentin STICKER (FRA) 
Davit TLASHADZE (GEO) 
Giorgi TCHOLADZE (GEO) 
Shmagi TODUA (GEO) 
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) 
Aibek TOKTOGUL (KGZ)
Alibek OSMANOV (KGZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Maxim SAGULTAN (MDA) 
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU) 
Stefan-Iounut COMAN (ROU) 
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) 
Andrii SVYRYD (UKR)
Denys BOROGAN (UKR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
Gor OHANNESIAN (UKR)
Ivan BILEICHUK (UKR)
Mykyta GONCHAROV (UKR)
Petro BILEICHUK (UKR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
Vitalii GODYNA (UKR)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) 
Aliaksandr PAULIUCHENKA (BLR) 
Dillon WILLIAMS (CAN) 
Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO) 
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) 
Alehander SEMISOROV (GER) 
Daniel ANTAL (HUN) 
Erfan ELAHI (IRI) 
Hertz HOROWITZ (ISR) 
Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Gheorghe ROBU (MDA) 
Mihail SAVA (MDA) 
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI) 
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK) 
Selahattin KILIÇSALLAYAN (TUR) 
Andrii NUGUMANOV (UKR)
Igor NYKYFORUK (UKR)
Ivan KUSYAK (UKR)
Maksym LAVROV (UKR)
Mykhailo GURSKYI (UKR)
Oleksii BORUTA (UKR)
Yegor MURADYAN (UKR)
Connor KIEVMAN (USA) 

74kg
Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG)
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM) 
Varuzhan KAJOYAN (ARM) 
Simon MARCHL (AUT) 
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) 
Azamat NURIKAU (BLR) 
Ali-Pasha UMARPASHAEV (BUL) 
Miroslav KIROV (BUL) 
Jasmit PHULKA (CAN) 
Jonathan ALVAREZ (ESP) 
Pablo GARCIA(ESP) 
Charles AFA (FRA) 
Giorgi SULAVA (GEO) 
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) 
Lennard WICKEL (GER) 
Csaba VIDA (HUN) 
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) 
Mohammadsadegh FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI) 
Mitch FINESILVER (ISR) 
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Elaman DOGDURBEK (KGZ)
Evgheni NEDEALCO (MDA) 
Stanislav NOVAC (MDA) 
Vasile DIASON (MDA) 
Andrzej SOKALSKI (POL) 
Kamil RYBYCKI (POL) 
Marcin MAJKA (POL) 
Mateusz KAMPIK (POL) 
Patrick OLENCZYN (POL) 
Maxim VASILIOGLO (ROU) 
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU) 
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI) 
Soner DEMİRTAS (TUR) 
Ali ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
Denys PAVLOV (UKR)
Kasum KASUMOV (UKR)
Semen RADULOV (UKR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
Yevgenii DYBOVYI (UKR)
Zelimkhan TOGUZOV (UKR)
David BERKOVICH (USA)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM) 
Rashad YUSIFLI (AZE) 
Toghrul ASGAROV (AZE) 
Andrei KARPACH (BLR) 
Yahor AKULICH (BLR) 
Oktay HASAN (BUL) 
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA) 
Nika KENTCHADZE(GEO) 
Tariel GAPHRINDAS HVILI (GEO) 
Zurab ERBOTSONASHVILI (GEO) 
Milan MESTER (HUN) 
Hamidreza ZARINPEYKAR (IRI) 
Narbek IZABEKOV (KGZ)
Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ)
Andrius MAZEIKA (LTU) 
Omarskhab NAZHMUDINOV (ROU) 
Vasile-Mandalin MINZALA (ROU) 
Jakub SYKORA (SVK) 
Abdullah ARSLAN (TUR) 
Abdulvasi BALTA (TUR) 
Ramazan SARI (TUR) 
Tarik GUR (TUR) 
Maksym BRES (UKR)
Nazar BOHDANETS (UKR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Viacheslav KOPOT (UKR)

Ali SHABANAU (BLR), a four-time world bronze medalist, highlights the entries at 86kg. (Photo: Martin Gabor)

86kg
Hovhannes MKHITARYAN (ARM) 
Benjamin GREIL (AUT) 
Ali SHABANAU (BLR) 
Raman CHYTADZE (BLR) 
Rasul TSIKHAYEU (BLR) 
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL) 
Dzhemal ALI (BUL) 
Hunter LEE(CAN) 
Saba CHIKHRADZE (GEO) 
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO) 
Ahmed DUDAROV (GER) 
Georgios SAVVOULIDIS (GRE) 
Amirhossein FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI) 
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR) 
Mirlan CHYNYBEKOV (KGZ)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ)
Edgaras VOITECHOVSKIS (LTU) 
Piotr IANULOV (MDA) 
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL) 
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI) 
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) 
Boris MAKOEV (SVK) 
Selim YASAR (TUR) 
Demid KARACHENKO (UKR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Khasan ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
Mraz DZHAFARIAN (UKR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Nazar Dod (UKR)
Oleksii SHCHERBAK (UKR)
Rustam DUDAIEV (UKR)
Vladyslav PRUS (UKR)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) 
Amarhaji MAHAMEDAU (BLR) 
Arkadzi PAHASIAN (BLR) 
Haji RAJABAU (BLR) 
Irakli MTSITURI (GEO) 
Mohammad ALITABARFIROUZJAH (IRI) 
Doolotbek ZHAMGYRBEK (KGZ)
Mihai-Nicolae PALAGHIA (ROU) 
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI) 
Arif OZEN (TUR) 
Andrii VLASOV (UKR)
Glib GRYNCHENKO (UKR)
Roman RYCHKO (UKR)

London Olympic champion Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) will wrestle at 97kg. (Photo: Martin Gabor)

97kg
Mohammed FARDJ (ALG)
Marzpet GALSTYAN (ARM) 
Islam ILYASOV (AZE) 
Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) 
Vasil PAULIUCHENKA (BLR) 
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL) 
Elisbar ODIKADZE (GEO) 
Zuriko URTASHVILI (GEO) 
Wladimir REMEL (GER) 
Timofei XENIDIS (GRE) 
Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU) 
Radu LEFTER (MDA) 
Albert SARITOV (ROU) 
Michael MANEA (ROU) 
Suleyman KARADENİZ (TUR) 
Daniil PIDLYPINETS (UKR)
Danylo STASIUK (UKR)
Ivan MALIN (UKR)
Magamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR)
Vasyl SOVA (UKR)

125kg
Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG)
Hovhannes MAGHAKYAN (ARM) 
Yuri PATRIKEEV (ARM) 
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT) 
Vaxid GALAYEEV (AZE) 
Vitali PIASNIAK (BLR) 
Islam ADIZOV (BUL) 
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) 
Asghar LAGHARI (GER) 
Daniel LIGETI (HUN) 
Lior ALTSHULER (ISR) 
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Samhan JABRAILOV (MDA) 
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) 
Enes KAAN SÖKELEN (TUR) 
Hüseyin SOGUKOGLU (TUR) 
Oktay GUNGOR (TUR) 
Paşa EKREM KARABULUT (TUR) 
Artem GASHENKO (UKR)
Danylo KARTAVYI (UKR)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKII (UKR)
Oleksandr KOLDOVSKYI (UKR)
Vazha DAIAURI (UKR)
Yurii IDZINSKII (UKR)

'19 world champion Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) will compete at 55kg. (Sachiko Hotaka)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM) 
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) 
Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO) 
Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI) 
Nurmukhmmet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Taras KRUPSKYI (UKR)
Viacheslav BAYRAKTAR (UKR)
Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) 
Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB) 

60kg 
Abdeldjebbar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Abdelkrim FERGAT (ALG)
Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) 
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM) 
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) 
Ivo ANGELOV (BUL) 
Adam MACFADYEN (CAN) 
Andy JUAN (ESP) 
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) 
Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) 
Gizo MELADZE (GEO) 
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO) 
Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI) 
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)
Andriy MARTYNYUK (UKR)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)
Mykhaylo STUPIN (UKR)
Mykola YAKHONTOV (UKR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) 
Murad HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) 
Yasin OZAY (FRA) 
Leri ABULADZE (GEO) 
Levan KAVJARADZE (GEO) 
Armin MOHEB SABET (IRI) 
Kaly SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR) 
Hevorh ARZUMANIUAN (UKR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)
Myroslav SOLOVIAN (UKR)
Nasrullakh NASIBOV (UKR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
Vasyl VASYLKIVSKYI (UKR)

67kg
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) 
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) 
Deivid DIMITROV (BUL) 
Ivo ILIEV (BUL) 
Daniel COLES (CAN) 
Marcos SANCHEZ-SILVA (ESP) 
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA) 
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) 
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) 
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) 
Mohammad ELYASI (IRI)  
Seyed Danial SOHRAB I(IRI) 
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Marlen ASIKEEV (KGZ)
Anton KUTSENKO (UKR)
Dmytro MIROSHNYK (UKR)
Edem SALIIEV (UKR)
Oleksandr DERKACH (UKR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Ruslan KUDRYNETS (UKR)
Serhii HRUSHYN (UKR)
Vitaliy FUGLAYEV (UKR)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) 
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) 
Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

72kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) 
Vladislav MANKEVICH (BLR) 
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) 
Otar ABULADZE (GEO) 
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) 
Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) 
Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) 
Andrii KULYK (UKR)
Dmytro PYNKOV (UKR)
Ihor BYCHKOV (UKR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)
Vladyslav KRAVCHENKO (UKR)

Two-time world medalist Mohammadali "The Falcon" GERAEI (IRI) is entered at 77kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

77kg
Abdelkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
Karapet CHALYAN (ARM) 
Varuzhan GRIGORYAN (ARM) 
Mikita KAZAKOU (BLR) 
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) 
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL) 
Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL) 
Yuisralembert CARRION (ESP) 
Johnny BUR (FRA) 
Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO) 
Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO) 
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) 
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) 
Roman ZHERNOVETSKI (ISR) 
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Kairatbek TUGOLBAEV (KGZ)
Marcel STERKEUBURG (NED) 
Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR)
Elmar NURALIIEV (UKR)
Oleksandr KUKHTA (UKR)
Pavlo MOLNAR (UKR)
Volodymyr YAKOVLIEV (UKR)
Yasaf ZEINALOV (UKR)

82kg
Artavazd VARDANYAN (ARM) 
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL) 
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) 
Demuri KAVTARADZE (GEO) 
Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI) 
Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ)
Artem MATIASH (UKR)
Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR)
Hlib SKOROFATOV (UKR)
Iurii SKRIUBA (UKR)
Ivan KRAICHEV (UKR)
Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

Reigning European champion Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) highlights the entries at 87kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Gevorg TADEVOSIYAN (ARM) 
Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) 
Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL) 
Tarek ABDELSLAM (BUL) 
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL) 
Yiannis NARLIDIS (CAN) 
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) 
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) 
Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO) 
Ramin TAHERISARTANG (IRI) 
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Tyrone STERKENDURG (NED) 
Andrii ANTONIUK (UKR)
Davyd SHADT (UKR)
Dmytro KIYASHOK (UKR)
Ruslan KONIEV (UKR)
Ruslan MAHOMEDOV (UKR)
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR)
Serhii OMELIN (UKR)
Vitalii ANDRIIOVYCH (UKR)

97kg
Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 
Artur SHAHINYAN (ARM) 
Kiril MILOV (BUL) 
Jesus GASCA (ESP) 
Giorgi MELIA (GEO) 
Irakli KAJAIA (GEO) 
Revazi NADAREISHVILI (GEO) 
Mehdi BALIHAMZEDEN (IRI) 
Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Metehan BASAR (TUR) 
Andrii DEHTIAROV (UKR)
Oleksandr YEVDOKIMOV (UKR)
Valentyn SHKLIARENKO (UKR)
Vladlen KOZLUYK (UKR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)
Zielimkhan DZIHASOV (UKR)
Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB)

130kg
Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
David OVASAPYAN (ARM) 
Radoslav GEORGIEV (BUL) 
Jakob KAJAIA (GEO) 
Levani ARABULI (GEO) 
Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) 
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) 
Amir GHASEMIMONJEZI (IRI) 
Roman KIM (KGZ)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)
Sviatoslav KALASHNIKOV (UKR)
Vladyslav KOVALENKO (UKR)
Vladyslav VORONYI (UKR)
Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) 

'19 world champion Aiusuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) will make her first appearance since winning gold at the '20 Individual World Cup. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg 

Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Turkan NASIROVA (AZE) 
Natallia VARAKINA (BLR) 
Viyaleta REBIKAVA-CHYRYK (BLR) 
Madison PARK (CAN) 
Jekaterina JERMALONOKA (LAT) 
Kamile SERNAUSKATE (LTU) 
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) 
Ramona ERIKSEN (NOR) 
Agata WALERZAK (POL) 
Anna ŁUKASIAK (POL) 
Iwona MATKOWSKA (POL) 
Emilia-Alina VUC (ROU) 
Stefania-Claudia PRICEPUTU (ROU) 
Aynur ERGE (TUR) 
Bohdana YASHCHUK (UKR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Veronika MOSKALOVA (UKR)
Yana SOROKA (UKR)
Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB) 
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)

53kg 
Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG)
Leyla GURBANOVA (AZE) 
Tatyana VARANSOVA (AZE) 
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) 
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL) 
Diana WEICKER (CAN) 
Samanta STEWART (CAN) 
Marina RUEDA (ESP) 
Iulia LEORDA (MDA) 
Silje Knutsen KIPPERNES (NOR) 
Alicja CZYŻOWICZ (POL) 
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) 
Roksana ZASINA (POL) 
Andreea-Beatrice ANA (ROU) 
Esra PUL (TUR) 
Zeynep YETGİL (TUR) 
Iryna HUSYAK (UKR)
Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR)
Liliya HORISHNA (UKR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) 

55kg
Othelie Annette HOEIE (NOR) 
Anastasiia KRAVCHENKO (UKR)
Anna VOITOVA (UKR)
Khrystyna-Zoryana DEMKO (UKR)
Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Madina USMONJONOVA (UZB)

Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) will compete for the first time since closing out the year with gold at the '20 Individual World Cup. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

57kg
Rayan HOUFAF (ALG)
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) 
Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) 
Giullia RODRIGUES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) 
Biliana DUDOVA (BUL) 
Tianna KENNETT (CAN) 
Graciela SANCHEZ (ESP) 
Maria Victoria BAEZ (ESP) 
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) 
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) 
Angelina ŁYSAK (POL) 
Jowita WRZESIEŃ (POL) 
Magdalena GŁODEK (POL) 
Patrycja GIL (POL) 
Bediha GUN (TUR) 
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR) 
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)
Iryna KHARIV (UKR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB) 
Sevara ESHMURATOVA (UZB) 
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB) 

59kg
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU) 
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)
Laura Sofia AAK (NOR) 
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA) 
Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Oksana MOSKALOVA (UKR)
Sofiia BODNAR (UKR)
Yuliia LISOVSKA (UKR)

62kg 
Amel HAMMICHE (ALG)
Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE) 
Krystsina SAZYKINA (BLR) 
Tatsiana PAULAVA (BLR) 
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR) 
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) 
Jessica BROUILLETTE (CAN) 
Michelle FEZZARI (CAN) 
Jackeline CASTILLO (COL) 
Lydia PEREZ (ESP) 
Aiusuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Alina Aleksandra ANTIPOVA (LAT) 
Aleksandra WÓLCZYŃSKA (POL) 
Katarzyna MĄDROWSKA (POL) 
Natalia KUBATY (POL) 
Kriszta-Tuende INCZE (ROU) 
Asli TUGCU (TUR) 
Cansu AKSOY (TUR) 
Antonyna KULAHINA (UKR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Tetiana RІZHKO (UKR)
Yuliia TKACH (UKR)
Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB) 
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) 
Rushana ABDIRASULOVA (UZB) 

65kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) 
Irina RINGACI (MDA) 
Henna JOHANSSON (SWE) 
Anastasia OSTAPYK (UKR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Mariia ILCHYSHYN (UKR)
Oksana KUKHTA (UKR)

'20 Individual World Cup champ Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) will compete at 68kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

68kg
Irina NETREBA (AZE) 
Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR) 
Maria MAMASHUK (BLR) 
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) 
Olivia DI BACCO (CAN) 
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT) 
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU) 
Agnieszka WIESZCZEK –KORDUS (POL) 
Natalia STRZAŁKA (POL) 
Alexandra-Nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU) 
Asli DEMİR (TUR) 
Buse TOSUN (TUR) 
Nesrin BAS (TUR) 
Alina BEREZHNA (UKR)
Alina RUDNYTSKA (UKR)
Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR)
Anna MAZURKEVYCH (UKR)
Oksana CHUDYK (UKR)
Oryna BILOUS (UKR)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB) 

72kg
Gozal ZUTOVA (AZE) 
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Romana VOVCHAK (UKR)
Ozoda ZARIPBOEVA (UZB)

76kg 
Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE) 
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) 
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) 
Erica WIEBE (CAN) 
Mae EPP (EST) 
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU) 
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR) 
Patrycja SPERKA (POL) 
Catalina AXENTE (ROU) 
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR) 
Yasemin ADAR (TUR) 
Anastasiia OSNIACH (UKR)
Anna MELNYK (UKR)
Liudmyla PAVLOVETS (UKR)

#WrestleBudapest

Takahashi marks return from injury with Ranking Series gold

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 18) -- The last memories of Kota TAKHASHI (JPN) on the mat were painful. He had a heavily strapped right knee and was wrestling at the Non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana last year. He was torn.

A surgery and nine months later, Takahashi returned to international wrestling at the Budapest Ranking Series on Friday and captured the 74kg gold medal.

The world U23 champion was the third gold medalist from Japan in Budapest after Takara SUDA (JPN) and Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) won at 61kg and 70kg, respectively.

In the other two weight classes that were in action on Friday, Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) and Trent HIDLAY (USA) captured the gold medal at 86kg and 92kg as Freestyle came to a close at the Ranking Series.

Takahashi, who won the Asian Championships gold in 2024, made himself a gold-medal threat for the World Championships in Zagreb with an impressive performance that saw him score wins over Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and David CARR (USA).

"This was my first international competition since my right knee surgery, and I wanted to show my true abilities," Takahashi said. "I'm very happy that I was able to win by thoroughly executing my tackles and aggressive wrestling style."

Takahashi was up against Salkazanov in his first match and began by blasting two double-leg attacks to race to a 4-0 lead. But the second period was not the same as he was put on the activity clock and Salkazanov cut the lead with a takedown during that.

Just when it seemed that Salkazanov can take the lead, Takahashi hit a low leg-attack and converted it into takedown to make the gap 6-3. Salkazanov did not let it go and scored a stepout with nine seconds left.

Takahashi was happy to not engage in those nine seconds, and happily gave a stepout and a caution. He won 6-6 and set up a quarterfinal against Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN). He did not need any of those attacks as he managed a 3-0 win.

The semifinal against Carr was a challenging one as Takahashi struggled to keep his conditioning for six minutes. He opened with a stepout and Carr was called for fleeing. As Carr used a chest wrap to stop Takahashi's double-leg attack, he fell on his back with hand opens. Only Takahashi was awarded two points which made his lead 4-0. Two stepouts later, it was 6-0.

Carr got going in the final two minutes as he scored two takedowns inside 20 seconds to make it 6-4. So far, Takahashi had remained low in his stance and cancelled Carr's long reach. However, his defense began to break up.

As Carr tried to turn Takahashi after the second takedown, Takahashi blocked the turn and got two points. Carr scored a reversal to make it 8-5. He then made it 8-7 with 10 seconds remaining but that was the final scoring action of the bout.

"Car is very aggressive, and I am also good at aggressive wrestling, but in the second half, my opponent's attacks were superior to mine. I ended up conceding points," he said. "I think that was my mistake. In the second period, I tried to attack, but the opponent kept attacking repeatedly. I ended up just defending, and that was the reason I lost points. I need to be more aggressive and attack more."

Takahashi's aggressive wrestling was once again on show in the final against another former world U23 champion Magomed KHANIEV (AZE). He scored two takedowns and defending so well that Khaniev was not able to score a point and Takahashi won gold medal, 4-0.

But the Japanese accepted the chinks in his armor and has decided to work on them before the World Championships where he knows that the competition will be even tougher.

"Similar story against Salkazanov. I want to review my stamina to maintain an aggressive attack throughout the six minutes without breaking my stance, and keep solid stance," he said. "In the second half, my desire to attack weakened, and I ended up being attacked by the opponent, leading to them scoring points. I need to improve on that."

Carr returned for the bronze medal bout and defeated Salkazanov 4-4, avenging his previous to the Slovak from Zagreb.

Trent HIDLAY (USA)Trent HIDLAY (USA) defeated Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 7-2 in the 92kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Trent HIDLAY (USA), a 86kg silver medalist last year in Budapest, upgraded to gold medal after beating world silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 7-4, in the 92kg final.

Hidlay was in red-hot form the whole day as he began with a win over Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)  and then posted a 10-0 win over Krizstian ANGYAL (HUN) in the quarterfinal. He began the semifinal against Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) with a powerful double-leg takedown.

As Kurugliev fell, he landed on his knee and suffered an injury so bad that he was unable to walk off the mat. Hidlay reached the final after the injury forced Kurugliev to stop.

It was Maisuradze who opened the scoring in the final with a snapdown to takedown for two points but Hidlay answered with two stepouts and the Georgian led 2-2 on criteria at the break.

Hidlay opened the second period with a takedown to take a 4-2 lead and then continued to put pressure on Maisuradze. It paid off as he scored another takedown on the edge to lead 6-2. Georgia challenged that both wrestlers were already out of the zone and it should be one point. But the challenge was lost, making it 7-2 for Hidlay with 1:47 left on the clock.

That was all in the bout as Hidlay captured the gold and put his name in contention for the gold medal at the upcoming World Championships.

At 86kg, Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) was the gold medalist after European silver medalist Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) pulled out of the final injured.

Kadzimahamedau suffered a knee injury in the semifinal against Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) as the Iranian did not let go off his knee despite it turning more than 90 degrees.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), 4-0

BRONZE: David CARR (USA) df. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), 4-4
BRONZE: Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) df. Yeldos KUANYSHBAY (KAZ), 8-2

86kg
GOLD:  Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df. Boris MAKOEV (SVK), 3-2
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df. Nurzhan ISSAGALIYEV (KAZ), 3-0 

92kg
GOLD: Trent HIDLAY (USA) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 7-4

BRONZE: Benjamin HONIS (ITA) df. Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN), via fall (5-5)
BRONZE: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df. Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE), via inj. def.