#YasarDogu

Yasar Dogu Women's Wrestling Entries

Monday, July 8, 2019 - 13:02 By Eric Olanowski

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 11) --- The most anticipated Ranking Series event of the year, the Yasar Dogu, will take place July 11 to 14 in Istanbul, and more nearly 150 women from 20 countries are expected to make the journey to Turkey's most populated city. The goal remains simple: try to pocket the remaining Ranking Series points before heading to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, for September's World Championships. 

Since the Budapest World Championships, wrestlers have been stashing away Ranking Series points with hopes of becoming one of the forty top-four seeded wrestlers come September. The Yasar Dogu leaves those on the cusp of earning a top-four seed one last opportunity to gain those additional much-needed Ranking Series points. 

Heading into Istanbul, five wrestlers have seized the No. 1 seed, 15 wrestlers have cemented at least a top-four seed, leaving 25 seeds open for the taking in Istanbul. Though they're not all entered, there are still 74 wrestlers who could steal a seed from a current top-four seeded wrestler if they were to win a gold medal in a weight class with 20+ wrestlers in Turkey. 

Wrestling begins July 11 and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

50kg
Kseniya STANKEVICH (BLR)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Natasha Irene Vera KRAMBLE (CAN)
Seema SEEMA (IND)
Maria Alexandra CIOCLEA (ROU)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS)
Valeriya CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS)
Veronika GURSKAYA (RUS)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aynur ERGE (TUR)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB)
Diyora AMONOVA (UZB)

53kg
Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA)
Diana Mary Helen WEICKER (CAN)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Annika WENDLE( GER)
Ellen RIESTERER (GER)
Vinesh VINESH (IND)
Aigul NURALIM (KAZ)
Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Silje Knutsen KIPPERNES (NOR)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
Emine CATALOGLU (TUR)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Funda TUKENMEZ (TUR)
Liliya HORISHNA (UKR)
Iryna HUSYAK (UKR)


Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR), the fourth-ranked wrestler at 57kg, will be dropping down to compete at 55kg at the Yasar Dogu. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan). 

55kg
Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR)
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Sinem KOROGLU (TUR)

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN)
Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Elena Heike BRUGGER (GER)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Pooja DHANDA (IND)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Nazgul NURAKHAN (KAZ)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Siwar BOUSETTA (TUN)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Ozge FINDIKCI (TUR)
Tetyana KIT (UKR)
Sevara ESHMURATOVA (UZB)
Nigora BAKIROVA (UZB)

59kg
Katsiaryna HANCHAR YANUSHKEVICH (BLR)
Kumari MANJU (IND)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Emma JOHANSSON (SWE)
Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Hatice Ece TEKIN (TUR)
Nurife DUMAN (TUR)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Gulnora TOSHPULATOVA (UZB)

European Games champion Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) will be looking for her second Ranking Series title of the year after winning the Dan Kolov earlier this year. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Aminat ADENIYI (NGR)
Anzhela FOMENKO (RUS)
Iuliia ALBOROVA (RUS)
Uliana TUKURENOVA (RUS)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Moa NYGREN (SWE)
Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Gamze Nur ADAKAN (TUR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR)
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB)

65kg
Yuliana Vasileva YANEVA (BUL)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Rimma RYSSAYEVA (KAZ)
Natalia FEDOSEEVA (RUS)
Ekaterina BALDANOVA (RUS)
Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Sule KABAK (TUR)
Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)

68kg
Yauheniya ANDREICHYKAVA (BLR)
Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR)
Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)
Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER)
Nadine WEINAUGE (GER)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Yekaterina LARIONOVA (KAZ)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Rihem AYARI (TUN)
Beste ALTUG (TUR)
Merve PUL (TUR)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR)
Bakhtigul BALTANIYAZOVA (UZB)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
Alena STARODUBTSEVA (RUS)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Vahide Nur GOK (TUR)
Tugba KILIC (TUR)
Nilufar GADAEVA (UZB)

Third-ranked Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) will be looking for her fourth Ranking Series medal of the year. If she medals in Istanbul, she'll move into the top two of the world rankings at 76kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

76kg
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)
Fanny Helene GRADIN (SWE)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Mehtap GULTEKIN( TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

#WrestleNoviSad

U23 Worlds: Fujinami ready for first international test at 57kg

Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:32 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (October 9) -- She already has an Olympic gold and two senior world titles, not to mention a 141-match winning streak that dates back to her junior high school days. And there is that undefeated record against non-Japanese opponents.

So what has compelled Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) to even bother entering the U23 World Championships, a tournament that, on paper at least, she should have no problem winning?

Rest assured there is method to what she would not regard as madness. It is all part of a grand plan, centered on the 21-year-old's much-publicized move from 53kg directly up to the next Olympic weight of 57kg with eyes firmly on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"This will by my first world tournament since I moved up in weight class," Fujinami said in an interview via social media. "I want to try out what I have been practicing, and get an idea of where I stand in terms of my current ability. I also want to identify areas to work on ahead of the All-Japan Championships in December."

Fujinami tops the marquee as she makes her debut at the U23 World Championships, to be held October 20-27 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Currently in her senior year at Nippon Sports Science University, it will be just her third competition since she cruised to the 53kg gold at the Paris Olympics, where she won all four matches by either fall or technical superiority.

The two other outings -- one a collegiate team event in November 2024 and the other the Japan Queen's Cup in April at which she qualified for the U23 Worlds -- did not provide much of a workout. She won a total of four matches in a combined time of 7:11 without giving up a point.

Fujinami expressed no concerns about her extended absence from top-level competition. "This will be my first tournament in six months," she said. "I'm not worried about regaining my match feeling. For the Olympics, I had about a seven-month blank."

Fujinami had at first planned to try for the senior worlds, but decided she would not be ready as she makes the physical adjustment to 57kg. So will we see a bulked-up Fujinami in Novi Sad?

"Compared with the time when I was in the 53kg class, my natural weight is more than then," Fujinami said. "I am also going to have cut weight before the tournament at 57kg. I'm also working hard on weight training, and I'll try to show the effects of that in the matches."

Despite her exalted status, Fujinami knows not to take any opponent lightly – a lesson she learned fully well when she won her second senior world title in 2023. In the quarterfinals, she was stunned when Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) tagged her for five points early in the match and seven overall, marking the most points ever scored upon her by a non-Japanese.

Although Fujinami came back to take the lead and win by fall, it showed any lapse can lead to disaster – which, ironically, makes the sport more appealing for her.

“You never know what will happen in a match,” Fujinami said. “But I think that’s what makes it interesting. For me, a match is like a presentation of yourself, so I will go into it aiming to win while having fun.”

In Novi Sad, Fujinami may have to share some of the spotlight with compatriot, fellow Paris Olympic gold medalist and recently crowned senior world champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN).

A victory by Motoki at 62kg would make her the third member of the “Golden Grand Slam” club -- those who have combined an Olympic gold with titles on the senior and all three age-group levels. The two current members are Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Amit ELOR (USA).

Ironically, circumstances beyond her control worked against Fujinami ever having a chance to also gain entry into the club.

A world U17 champion in 2018, she was deprived twice of chances to win a U20 world title – first in 2021 when Japan opted to not send a team during the pandemic, and again in 2022 when an injury forced her to withdraw. Those same years she qualified for the U23 worlds, but missed out for the same reasons.

This time, her preparations have gone without a hitch. "I've been able to continue to train and practice without any major injuries," she said.

Prior to securing a second Olympic goal in Los Angeles, Fujinami has one more immediate goal. The Asian Games will be held next October in her native Mie Prefecture, and, because of the early deadline for entries, she needs a victory at the All-Japan Championships in December to make the Japanese squad.

“My goals are to win gold at the Asian Games in Nagoya and at the Los Angeles Olympics,” she said. “To achieve those goals, I’ve dedicated myself to strengthening myself during this period. It’s been a time for me to look inside myself and explore my wrestling. Now the time has come to show the results.”