#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Ranking Series entry list

By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 20) -- Wrestling fans will be treated to a grand season-opening Ranking Series event as Zagreb Open will see close to 600 wrestlers on the mat next month.

All three styles have big stars coming to set the tone for an important season which also includes Paris Olympics qualifying World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Croatian capital will see Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), Kyle SNYDER (USA), Ravi KUMAR (IND), Haji ALIYEV (AZE), Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), J'den COX (USA), Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) on the mat in freestyle.

Women's wrestling will see a strong Japanese team including world and Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) entered for the competition. Most of the Japanese team comprises the winners of the Emperor's Cup from December. The USA is also bringing a strong women's team with Helen MAROULIS (USA), Kayla MIRACLE (USA), Yelena MAKOYED (USA) among others.

Canada, China and India will also be represented by strong squads and the competition will see most wrestlers shifting to Olympic weight classes as well.

The Greco-Roman battles will restart as Iran, Azerbaijan and Hungary are bringing full squads. Most of the European countries are also entered means the likes of the Sterkenburg twins from the Netherlands and Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) are also entered.

The competition begins February 1 with freestyle followed by women's wrestling and ending with Greco-Roman.

All the live action and highlights can be accessed at uww.org or on the official UWW app.

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) will return to mat in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Freestyle

57kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU)
Valentin DAMOUR (FRA)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Aman AMAN (IND)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Rikuto ARAI (JPN)
Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN)
Darian Toi CRUZ (PUR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)

61kg
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
PANKAJ (IND)
Reza ATRI (IRI)
Narankhuu NARMANDAKH (MGL)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Daniel DESHAZER (USA)
 
65kgAgustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Ryoma ANRAKU (JPN)
Kaiji OGINO (JPN)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Sebastian C RIVERA (PUR)
Evan HENDERSON (USA)
Joseph MC KENNA (USA)
Nicholas LEE (USA)

70kg
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
AGUDAMU (CHN)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL)
Alec PANTALEO (USA)
Hayden HIDLAY (USA)
Tyler BERGER (USA)
 
74kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Miroslav KIROV (BUL)
Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN)
Patrik LEDER (CAN)
Jasmit PHULKA (CAN)
Shengsong XIA (CHN)
Nuerlanbieke WURENIBAI (CHN)
Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN)
Kojiro SHIGA (JPN)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Joseph LAVALLEE (USA)
Thomas GANTT JR (USA)
Jason NOLF (USA)

79kg
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Callum MCNEICE (CAN)
Peilong LI (CHN)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Ramazan SARI (TUR)
Chandler MARSTELLER (USA)
 
86kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Andrew JOHNSON (CAN)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Xiao SUN (CHN)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Ruslan VALIEV (FRA)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Mark HALL (USA)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Pruthviraj PATIL (IND)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWICZ (POL)
Jonathan AIELLO (USA)
Kollin MOORE (USA)

97kg
Ricardo BAEZ (ARG)
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Sahil SEHRAWAT (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Morgan SMITH (USA)
Jden COX (USA)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Reheman RUSIDANMU (CHN)
Benxin DUAN (CHN)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Milan KORCSOG (HUN)
DINESH (IND)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Abraham CONYEDO (ITA)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Hayden ZILLMER (USA)
Jordan WOOD (USA)
Ceron FRANCISCO (USA)

Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), blue, will compete at 68kg at the Zagreb Open. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG)
Turkan NASIROVA (AZE)
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Meng FAN (CHN)
Jiang ZHU (CHN)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Shivani PAWAR (IND)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Agata WALERZAK (POL)
Erin GOLSTON (USA)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)

53kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Diana WEICKER (CAN)
Yuhong ZHONG (CHN)
Li DENG (CHN)
Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (FRA)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Vivien MATYI (HUN)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN)
Sushma SHOKEEN (IND)
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Ahinsa FERNANDO (SRI)
Katie GOMEZ (USA)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Alisha HOWK (USA)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Dilshoda MATNAZAROVA (UZB)

55kg
Dorcas JOSE (ANG)
Mengyu XIE (CHN)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Lauren MASON (USA)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)

57kg
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Tianna KENNETT (CAN)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Alexandria TOWN (CAN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Ningning RONG (CHN)
Lana NOGIC (CRO)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
SITO (IND)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Sae NANJO (JPN)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Alexandra HEDRICK (USA)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)

59kg
Lidia VUVU (ANG)
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Viktoria BORSOS (HUN)
Yui SAKANO (JPN)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)

62kg
Sara LANDO (ANG)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Taybe YUSEIN (BUL)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
ZHUOMALAGA (CHN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Xiaojuan LUO (CHN)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Lauren LOUIVE (USA)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB)
Dilfuza AIMBETOVA (UZB)

65kg
Iva GERIC (CRO)
BHATERI (IND)
Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)
Mallory VELTE (USA)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)

68kg
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Olivia DI BACCO (CAN)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
RADHIKA (IND)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Marilyn GARCIA (USA)
Solin PIEARCY (USA)
Alexandria GLAUDE (USA)

72kg
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
REETIKA (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Sumire NIIKURA (JPN)
Skylar GROTE (USA)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)

76kg
Taylor FOLLENSBEE (CAN)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Shauna KUEBECK (CAN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Qian ZHOU (CHN)
Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Cynthia VESCAN (FRA)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
KIRAN (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Ayano MORO (JPN)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
Precious BELL (USA)
Ozoda ZARIPBOEVA (UZB)

Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) and Seyed SHORABI (IRI) will resume their rivalry at 67kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
MANJEET (IND)
Mohammad JAVAHERI FARID (IRI)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Dalton DUFFIELD (USA)
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB)

60kg
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN)
Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
GYANENDER (IND)
Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Kaito INABA (JPN)
Maito KAWANA (JPN)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Mateusz SZEWCZUK (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Dalton ROBERTS (USA)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Randon MIRANDA (USA)

63kg
Mbiayavanga ADRIANO (ANG)
Aker AL OBAIDI (AUT)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
SAGAR (IND)
Aref Hossein MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)
Jesse THIELKE (USA)
Samuel JONES (USA)
Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB)

67kg
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Husiyuetu HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Lei LI (CHN)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Domagoj CELICEK (CRO)
Luis ORTA (CUB)
Elmer MATTILA (FIN)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Adam POHILEC (HUN)
Karanjit SINGH (IND)
ASHU (IND)
Reza Mahdi ABBASI (IRI)
Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Eito NISHIDA (JPN)
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN)
HARUTO YABE (JPN)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Alston NUTTER (USA)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

72kg
Stefan STEIGL (AUT)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Jian TAN (CHN)
Lovro ZURAK (CRO)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Jiri CAPEK (CZE)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Ankit GULIA (IND)
Sajjad Ali IMENTALABFOUMANI (IRI)
Amir ABDI (IRI)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)
Eimantas VILIMAS (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Britton HOLMES (USA)
Patrick SMITH (USA)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Jamol JUMABAEV (UZB)

77kg
Francisco KADIMA (ANG)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
SAJAN (IND)
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Minto MAEDA (JPN)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Per KURE (NOR)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Maksym ZAKHARCHUK (POL)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

82kg
Tunjay VAZIRZADE (AZE)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Ivo SVIGLER (CZE)
Marcel HEIN (DEN)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Pejman POSHTAM (IRI)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

87kgBachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Lukas STAUDACHER (AUT)
Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Maimaiti KAISAIER (CHN)
Yi YANG (CHN)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Ondrej HAVELKA (CZE)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
SUSHANT (IND)
Hamidreza BADKAN (IRI)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Zarko DICKOV (SRB)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Alan VERA GARCIA (USA)
Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

97kg
Mawete KIANGEBENI (ANG)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Zamir MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Yan LIU (CHN)
Yiming LI (CHN)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Narinder CHEEMA (IND)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Gerard KURNICZAK (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Lucas SHERIDAN (USA)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

130kg
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Gino AVILA DILBERT (HON)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
NAVEEN (IND)
Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)
Amir GHASEMIMONJEZI (IRI)
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Delian ALISHAHI (SUI)
Tanner FARMER (USA)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Oh Beats Kiyooka in Battle of World Champs in Ulaanbaatar

By Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 5) -- Soon after winning the 53kg gold medal the Meiji Cup two weeks ago, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) said that she will be travelling to Ulaanbaatar for the third Ranking Series.

It's rare for a Japanese wrestler to compete in Ranking Series especially close to the Meiji Cup. Kiyooka explained her participation in the Ulaanbaatar Open as more of a necessity to gain more experience competing against international wrestlers as she continues to find a firm footing at 53kg.

After all, the 22-year-old had secured her spot on the Japan team for the World Championships and Asian Games by winning the gold medal at the Meiji Cup.

The experience came in the form of a showdown with reigning 55kg world champion Kyong Ryong OH (PRK), who rallied from a four-point deficit to defeat Kiyooka, 10-6, and win the 53kg gold medal on Friday at the third Ranking Series.

The final pitted two world champions against each other, with Kiyooka, a former 55kg world champion, also moving down to 53kg. Despite leading by four points midway through the second period, Kiyooka was unable to hold off Oh's comeback.

Oh's gold medal was the second of the night for the DPR Korea. India also won two gold medals while Poland took home the fifth gold medal.

Greco-Roman also concluded in Ulaabaatar with three weight classes with Iran, Kyrgyzstan and South Korea winning gold medal each.

Kyong Ryong OH (PRK)Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) turns Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) using the leg lace in the 53kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In the marquee match-up of the night between Kiyooka and Oh, the former struck first with a single-leg takedown that Oh failed to defend, opening a 2-0 lead. She maintained control for the remainder of the first period. Oh, who was warned for passivity in the first period, showed little urgency at the start of the second.

Kiyooka capitalized again with a single-leg attack and stepped over for two points, but surrendered a reversal in the same sequence. Oh immediately took advantage, scoring a gut wrench and a lace turn to move ahead 5-4 with 1:26 remaining.

Twenty seconds later, Oh added a stepout to extend her lead to 6-4. Kiyooka responded in the next exchange, regrouping after an initial attack was defended and finishing a takedown to regain the lead on criteria at 6-6 with 53 seconds left.

A heavy snap from Oh squared Kiyooka, and the DPR Korea wrestler quickly converted a takedown before adding a lace turn to surge ahead 10-6. Kiyooka had 18 seconds remaining to find four points but was unable to break through as Oh closed out the victory.

Asian silver medalist Son Hyang KIM (PRK) secured DPR Korea's second gold medal of the evening, needing just 1 minute and 35 seconds to defeat Anqi BAO (CHN), 10-0, in the 50kg final. Kim scored an early takedown and followed with four gut-wrench turns to complete the technical superiority victory.

MANISHA (IND)MANISHA (IND) pins Il Sim SON (PRK) in the 57kg final at the Ulaanbaatar Open. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Despite claiming two gold medals, DPR Korea suffered defeats in two other finals, both against Indian wrestlers.

At 57kg, world silver medalist Il Sim SON (PRK) was stunned by former Asian champion MANISHA (IND) in the final as the Indian secured a fall to claim the gold medal.

As has often been the case for Manisha, she was called passive in the first period and Son led 1-0 at the break after Manisha failed to score any points in the 30-second activity clock.

Manisha began the second period with a stepout to lead 1-1 on criteria which forced Son to attack again. She attempted a throw, but Manisha rotated through the action and avoided conceding points.

Son, still holding onto Manisha during the scramble, lost her balance and rolled onto her back. Manisha was quick to return on top and pushed Son's shoulders on the mat to get the pin with 2:02 left in the final.

NEHA (IND)NEHA (IND) scores a takedown on Pyol HONG (PRK) during the 59kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

NEHA (IND) also defeated a DPR Korea wrestler in the 59kg final to capture the second gold medal for India in Ulaanbaatar. Taking on Pyol HONG (PRK) for the gold medal, Neha opened the scoring with a stepout and then added two takedowns to lead 5-0 at the break.

Hong opened the second period with a stepout to get on board before adding a takedown to cut Neha's lead to 5-3. However, Neha controlled the remaining bout to clinch the gold medal.

The two-point victory of Neha contrasted her earlier meeting with Hong in the Nordic bracket, when Neha dominated and won 10-2 in Round 2.

The fifth gold medal on offer on Friday in Women's Wrestling went to European silver medalist Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) who ran through Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL) for a 12-2 technical superiority win.

Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI)Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI), blue, loads for a throw even as Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) commits a leg foul during the 63kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Keshtkar Beats Sharshenbekov

In Greco-Roman action, Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) spoiled the return of former world champion and Paris 2024 bronze medalist Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) at 63kg.

Sharshenbekov was return to international wrestling after a gap of almost two years. He began with two strong victories, first over Erfan JARKANI (IRI) and then over Sunny KUMAR (IND).

In Round 3 of his Nordic bracket, Sharshenbekov faced Keshtkar having already made his place in the semifinals. Keshtkar was put in par terre first but Sharshenbekov failed to score any points from the position and led 1-0 at the break.

Keshtkar was given the par terre in the second period and he scored two points for exposure. As Keshtkar tried to pin Sharshenbekov, the latter committed defensive foul and was docked two points.

As the bout restarted in par terre, Keshtkar lifted Sharshenbekov and threw him for two points. Sharshenbekov again committed a foul, this time using his legs, and was docked another two points, essentially finishing the bout 9-1.

Kyrgyzstan challenged for no foul but the review confirmed leg foul from Sharshenbekov whose lost challenge added one more point to Keshtkar's score.

Both wrestlers advanced from Group A and won their respective semifinals to set up a clash in the final. However, Keshtkar defaulted the final, giving Sharshenbekov the gold medal.

Iran won gold as 60kg as well as Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) humbled Yu Chol RO (PRK), 10-0, in the final. Ro, who was moving up from 55kg to 60kg, had no chance against Ahmadi Vafa who threw Ro for two four-point throws from par terre to accumulate nine points. A lost challenge from Ro added the last point.

The 130kg gold medal was won by Minseok KIM (KOR) who defeated Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL), 8-0, in the final. Kim's gold medal was the first for Korea internationally in Greco-Roman since 2021 when Hansu RYU (KOR) won the Asian Championships gold medal at 72kg in Almaty.

Photo

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Yu Chol RO (PRK), 10-0

BRONZE: Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ) df. Seunghak KIM (KOR), 9-0
BRONZE: SAHIL (IND) df. SUMIT (IND), via inj. def.

63kg
GOLD: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Yerkebulan ARDAKOV (KAZ) df. Hyunwoong CHOI (KOR), 7-4

130kg
GOLD: Minseok KIM (KOR) df. Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL), 8-0

BRONZE: Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ) df. Joginder RATHEE (IND), 10-0

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Son hyang KIM (PRK) df. Anqi BAO (CHN), 10-0

BRONZE: Miyu NAKAMURA (JPN) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 4-0
BRONZE: NEELAM (IND) df. Maral TANGIRBERGENOVA (KAZ), 10-0

53kg
GOLD: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) df. Moe KIYOOKA (JPN), 10-6

BRONZE: Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) df. Otgontuya BAYANMUNKH (MGL) , 6-6
BRONZE: Andreea ANA (ROU) df. Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL), via fall (11-0)

57kg
GOLD: MANISHA (IND) df.  Il Sim SON (PRK), via fall (3-1)

BRONZE: Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ) df. Danielle LIM (SGP), 10-0
BRONZE: Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR) df. Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL), via forfeit

59kg
GOLD: NEHA (IND) df. Pyol HONG (PRK), 5-3

BRONZE: Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) df. Bediha GUN (TUR), via fall (4-1)

72kg
GOLD: Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) df. Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL), 12-2

BRONZE: Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL) df. Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), via inj. def.