#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)
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#JapanWrestling

Gomi Takes Big Strides as Japan’s Next Greco-Roman Hope

By Vinay Siwach

JAPAN (February 18) -- Koto GOMI (JPN) has been racking up titles in recent times. Last year, he won the U23 world title, the first for Japan in six years. He then won the All-Japan Championships gold in December for the first time.

Making his senior debut in 2026, the 21-year-old had an extraordinary run at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event, winning the 60kg gold medal and giving up only three points in four bouts. In the final, Gomi defeated world silver medalist Alisher GANIEV (UZB), 10-0, using three arm-throws to secure the victory inside the first period.

Koto GOMI (JPN)Koto GOMI (JPN) defeated Alisher GANIEV (UZB) in the Zagreb Open final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

While it may be too early to call Gomi a protégé, he may have already ended Japan's search for a new star at 60kg and a replacement for Olympic champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN).

The 30-year-old Fumita is a two-time world champion and won silver at the 2023 World Championships. A silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, he turned it into gold at Paris 2024.

But Fumita has not stepped on the mat since. He took time off and was entered in the All-Japan Championships at 63kg, but later pulled out. Though he did not mention it, most in Japan cite weight-cut issues for his delayed return.

That leaves Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), Kaito INABA (JPN) and Gomi as the front-runners for the spot if Fumita cannot make it. Gomi pinned Shiotani and then beat Inaba via technical superiority at the National Sports Festival in October.

Two months later in December, he again beat Shiotani to earn a spot on Japan’s Asian Championships team.

Koto GOMI (JPN)
Koto GOMI (JPN), left, after winning the All-Japan University Championships. (Photo: Koto Gomi / Instagram)

Early start

Gomi was born in the Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo. The prefecture has given wrestling some of its biggest stars including Olympic champions Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) and Tatsuhiro YONEMITSU (JPN).

He was introduced to wrestling by his father Joe, a kickboxer. Joe would take his eldest son Koto to far away tournaments to compete. Though the results were not always satisfying, Shiro wanted his son to face high-level competition every year.

"Wrestling has few injuries," he was quoted as saying by Japan Wrestling Federation in 2010. "It's a sport that develops physical ability and trains both the body and mind. I think it's the perfect martial art for children.

"It's a sport where older students take care of younger students. They naturally take care of you without you having to teach them." 

It's true in Gomi's case. Like Gomi, both Fumita and Inaba hail from the same prefecture and attended the same high school.

Fumita's father, Toshiro, introduced most wrestlers to Greco in their high school. While Fumita and Inaba moved to Nippon Sports Science University, Gomi is at the Ikuei University, same as the world and Olympic champions in women's Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN).

Koto GOMI (JPN)Koto GOMI (JPN), blue, at the 2022 U20 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Gomi began competing exclusively in Greco-Roman around 2022 but did not get satisfactory results internationally, finishing fifth and ninth at the two U20 World Championships.

In one of the memorable matches early in his career, Gomi had troubled the now Olympic Saied ESMAEILI (IRI). At the 2022 U20 Worlds, he was led 6-4 and then 9-4 at one point in the match against the Iranian but he lost it 13-9.

Two years later, Gomi emerged as a dominant force. He won the gold medal at the U20 Asian Championships and all age-group domestic competitions. His only losses came at the senior All-Japan Championships, winning bronze at three of them.

Gomi said his recent success was the result of years of hard work, particularly at university.

"I don't seem to be the athletic type, but rather a refreshing liberal arts type, and that's how I'm often seen," Gomi said. "I'm competitive. I get really annoyed and frustrated when I lose in practice. The hard work I've put in over the past four years at university is starting to show in the past year."

Domestic challenges

In 2025, Gomi suffered only one loss in five tournaments -- a 10-0 humiliation to Shiotani in May. But in December, he avenged that loss in the final of the All-Japan Championships and earned a chance to represent Japan at the 2026 Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in April.

The December win also put Gomi a step closer to the 2026 World Championships and Asian Games. He now has to win the Japan National Championships in May to qualify for both. If he fails to win, he will have a wrestle-off with the winner on the same day.

Both the U23 World Championships and the Zagreb Open showcased Gomi's technical excellence. He often uses a two-on-one to set up his arm-throws and arm-drags. It is his swiftness, rather than brute force, that allows him to complete his attacks.

In par terre, Gomi has an excellent high gut-wrench, which he used effectively against Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI) in Zagreb and Maxwell BLACK (USA) at the U23 Worlds.

"I'm starting to find my strengths, like in terms of technique, so I think that's a good thing," he said.

Despite his rapid rise, Gomi is cautious about calling himself the best yet. He knows he still needs to get past several domestic rivals before becoming Japan’s first-choice wrestler at 60kg.

"It's not like that, but I was conscious of focusing on my strengths and techniques and taking the initiative to attack," he said. "But, there are many other players in Japan, like Fumita and Inaba, and I don't think I can beat them yet, so I'll continue to practice hard."

But if Zagreb was any indication, it may not take long.