#WrestleBucharest

European Championships 2024 Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (January 22) -- United World Wrestling has released the preliminary entries for the European Championships, which take place in Bucharest, Romania.

The competition will kick off on February 12 with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling and Freestyle. The tournament will finish on February 19.

Note: The entries are subject to change three days before the official draws of the respective styles.

Freestyle

57kg
Aryan TSIUTRYN (AIN)
Zavur UGUEV (AIN)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Ivaylo Milenov TISOV (BUL)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Nikolaos VLANDOS (GRE)
Igor CHICHIOI (MDA)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Antal VAMOS (SRB)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)

61kg
Andrei BEKRENEU (AIN)
Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (AIN)
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Levan METREVELI (ESP)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Daniel POPOV (ISR)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Benjamin BOEJTHE (ROU)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Nebi UZUN (TUR)
Valentyn BLIASETSKYI (UKR)

65kg
Islam GUSEINOV (AIN)
Shamil MAMEDOV (AIN)
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Carlos ALVAREZ (ESP)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Andre CLARKE (GER)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)

70kg
Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN)
Uladzislau KOIKA (AIN)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
George BUCUR (ROU)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Oleksii BORUTA (UKR)

74kg
Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (AIN)
Timur BIZHOEV (AIN)
Cherman VALIEV (ALB)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Ibragim VELIEV (BEL)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Stas WOLF (GER)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Rasul SHAPIEV (MKD)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Vadym TSURKAN (UKR)

79kg
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN)
Akhmed USMANOV (AIN)
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Miroslav KIROV (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Pouria TAHERKHANI (GER)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Umar MAVLAEV (SUI)
Ramazan SARI (TUR)
Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR)
Iman MAHDAVI (UWW)

86kg
Arkadzi PAHASIAN (AIN)
Artur NAIFONOV (AIN)
Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Vasile MINZALA (ROU)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)

92kg
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (AIN)
Magomed KURBANOV (AIN)
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Balazs JUHASZ (HUN)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Andrian GROSUL (MDA)
Adam MODOSJAN (MKD)
Michal BIELAWSKI (POL)
Zoltan SZEP (ROU)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)

97kg
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (AIN)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN)
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)

125kg
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (AIN)
Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN)
Martin SIMONYAN (ARM)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Abraham CONYEDO (ITA)
Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Michael MANEA (ROU)
Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) is the reigning European champion at 77kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Vitalii KABALOEV (AIN)
Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Stefan GRIGOROV (BUL)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Adem UZUN (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)

60kg
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN)
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)
Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)
Jamal VALIZADEH (UWW)

63kg
Yaraslau KARDASH (AIN)
Zhambolat LOKYAEV (AIN)
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Aker SCHMID (AUT)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Brian SANTIAGO (DEN)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Christopher KRAEMER (GER)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Pavel ALEXE (ROU)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)

67kg
Maksim NEHODA (AIN)
Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN)
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
William REENBERG (DEN)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
David MANYIK (HUN)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Artur POLITAIEV (UKR)

72kg
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (AIN)
Narek OGANIAN (AIN)
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Michael WIDMAYER (GER)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)

77kg
Shuai MAMEDAU (AIN)
Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN)
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Ihor BYCHKOV (UKR)

82kg
Stanislau SHAFARENKA (AIN)
Islam ALIEV (AIN)
Kelsi NELAJ (ALB)
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Mats AHLGREN (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)

87kg
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)
Alan OSTAEV (AIN)
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Lukas STAUDACHER (AUT)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Raido LIITMAEE (EST)
Tourpal MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Artur SARGSIAN (AIN)
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Anton VIEWEG (GER)
Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Roman BALCHIVSCHII (MDA)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR)

130kg
Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (AIN)
Sergei SEMENOV (AIN)
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Franz RICHTER (GER)
Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Artsiom SHUMSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Delian ALISHAHI (SUI)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

Grace BULLEN (NOR)62kg finalists from last year Grace BULLEN (NOR) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) are entered for the European Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN)
Viyaleta REBIKAVA CHYRYK (AIN)
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Aintzane GORRIA GONI (ESP)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK)
Evin DEMIRHAN YAVUZ (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)

53kg
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (AIN)
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (AIN)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN)
Maria FERONE (ITA)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Veronika RYABOVOLOVA (MKD)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)

55kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Oleksandra KOGUT (AUT)
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL)
Maria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

57kg
Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (AIN)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)

59kg
Alesia HETMANAVA (AIN)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN)
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Ramina MAMEDOVA (LAT)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Yuliia TKACH (UKR)

65kg
Tatsiana PAULAVA (AIN)
Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Taybe YUSEIN (BUL)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)

68kg
Hanna SADCHANKA (AIN)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Nerea PAMPIN BLANCO (ESP)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Paula ROTARU (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Tetiana SOVA RIZHKO (UKR)

72kg
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN)
Kseniia BURAKOVA (AIN)
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Eleni CHRYSIKAKI (GRE)
Ilana KRATYSH (ISR)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

76kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Epp MAE (EST)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Aikaterini PITSIAVA (GRE)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Yasemin ADAR YIGIT (TUR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)

#WrestleBucharest

Sadulaev back, Freestyle stars assemble for European Championships

By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (February 2) -- Four months after a neck surgery and four years since his last European Championships, Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) will return to the mat, hoping to win his sixth European title.

In September, Sadulaev pulled out of his semifinal against eventual champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and underwent surgery. This will be his first international competition as he won the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in the last week of January. 

The European Championships will kick off on February 12 in Bucharest, making the countries participating in the tournament eligible to participate in the European Olympic Qualifier in Baku. The tournament will be available on UWW+ on uww.org and the UWW app.

Apart from Sadulaev, Tokyo Olympic champion  Zavur UGUEV (AIN), world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), world champion Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) and arch-rivals Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) will be in action.

Sadulaev, who is yet to qualify for the Paris Olympics, will be checked by world silver medalist in Belgrade Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), bronze medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN) and former world silver medalist Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK).

Soon after winning the Yarygin tournament, Sadulaev posted on his Instagram that "he is back on track." A fully fit Sadulaev is expected in Bucharest which will mean that his opponents will have a tough time.

Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) is the defending champion at 86kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Among other Olympic weight classes, 86kg defending champion Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) will be returning since his injury in the Ranking Series in Budapest last year. In all likelihood, he is set to face Tokyo bronze medalist Artur NAIFONOV (AIN) as the two revive their rivalry. The two used to dominate the national scene in Russia.

Another transfer and winner of the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series, Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) will also be in action, making it a tough bracket. Ramazanov will be keen on continuing his good form and challenging the established stars at 86kg in Europe.

World bronze medalist Myles AMINE (SMR) is entered and making it to his third straight final at the European Championships will be his top priority. U20 world champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), 79kg world silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) and Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) are also in the bracket.

Taha AKGUL (TUR)Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) are expexted to meet in the 125kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Akgul and Petriashvili, ranking second and fourth in the world, can only meet in the final, setting up another gold-medal bout if both make it to the final.

The two have long dominated the weight classes with the former winning it 10 times since 2012 and Petriasvili winning it twice with the last coming in 2020. Akgul defeated Petriashvili in the final in Zagreb last year.

At the Ranking Series in Zagreb, Petriashvili pulled out of his bout against world champion Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) citing injury. It will be interesting to see if he will return fully fit.

At 57kg, Zavur UGUEV (AIN) will look to put behind the disappointment of finishing without a medal at the World Championships and return to winning ways. Uguev has a lot to fight for as a win in Bucharest will make him the favorite for the gold medal in Paris as well if he goes to the Olympics.

But world bronze medalist Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) will look to win the European title at 57kg as well. The 61kg champion last year has moved down to the Olympic weight and possesses the skills to upset any star wrestler. At the World Championships, he dropped a 16-13 semifinal against Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) before winning a bronze medal.

With many wrestlers deciding not to go through the rigorous process of reducing their weight, the 65kg weight class will see world bronze medalists Shamil MAMEDOV (AIN) and Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) as the top stars.

The two will be drawn on the same side of the bracket given Tevanyan is ranked third in the world and Mammedov is fifth. Mikyay NAIM (BUL) and Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) will also be in the fray to reach the final.

Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)65kg world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) will be at 70kg in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The 65kg world champion Muszukajev has moved up to 70kg and will be the favorite to win the gold medal. A definite crowd-puller, Muszukajev will once again be tested for his conditioning. But if his performance at the World Championships is anything to go by, Muszukajev should put on a show of explosive wrestling.

U23 world champions Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) and Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) will look to upset the world champ if they meet in the bracket. At the U23 World Championships, Sheriev defeated Heybatov 13-3 and the Azerbaijan wrestler will be keen on avenging that loss as well.

At 74kg, three-time champion Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) will start as the favorite but will be tested by Timur BIZHOEV (AIN), a former world bronze medalist. The field also includes Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) and veteran Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR).

Akhmed USMANOV (AIN)World champion Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) will be up against a strong field at 79kg. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Most of the regular stars of 74kg have moved up to 79kg, a weight class which will be a tightly-contested category. Multiple world and Olympic medalists are entered in the weight class for the Bucharest tournament. World champion Akhmed USMANOV (AIN), Tokyo silver medalist at 74kg Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN), former world medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), young star and defending champion Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), multiple-time world medalist Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), veteran Hetik CABOLOV (SRB), Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) and Ramazan SARI (TUR) are a few names who will be vying for the European title.

A face-off between Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (AIN) and Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) is expected at 61kg. MAgomedov lost the 61kg final at the World Championships while Abakarov finished with a bronze medal at 57kg after suffering a loss to Stevan MICIC (SRB). Micic was registered for the European Championships but pulled out.

Boris MAKOEV (SVK) is moving up to 92kg for the European Championships but the weight class already has a few hammers. Magomed KURBANOV (AIN) will have a chance to win the title but world silver medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), bronze medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) and former European champion Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) are also in the mix.