#WrestleBaku

European OG Qualifiers 2024 Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (March 25) -- The third continental Olympic qualifiers, European OG Qualifiers, will be held in Baku from April 5-7 with 36 quotas on offer for the Paris Olympic Games 2024.

A total of 301 wrestlers are registered for the tournament with Greco-Roman receiving the most entries at 114. A host of countries are yet to earn their spots for Paris 2024.

The tournament will be live on uww.org and the UWW App using UWW+. The two winners of the semifinals will earn a Paris quota with no final or bronze-medal bouts scheduled.

Hosts Azerbaijan will look to earn as many quotas as possible including one at 65kg in Freestyle with onus two-time Olympic medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE). Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) who missed the quota at the World Championships in dramatic fashion will give it another try.

Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) is back in action since his neck surgery which forced him to pull out of his 97kg semifinal against Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) at the World Championships. Tokyo bronze medalist Artur NAIFONOV (AIN) is also returning to international competition for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics.

In Women's Wrestling, the 57kg will end in heartbreak for someone as Tokyo silver medalist Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN), Tokyo bronze medalist Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) and former European champion Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) are entered.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE), a four-time Olympic medalist, will look to earn a spot to her fifth Olympic at 50kg.

Freestyle

57kg
Aryan TSIUTRYN (AIN)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)

65kg
Niurgun SKRIABIN (AIN)
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Carlos ALVAREZ IGLESIAS (ESP)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Andre CLARKE (GER)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)

74kg
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Ibragim VELIEV (BEL)
Miroslav KIROV (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Stas WOLF (GER)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Rasul SHAPIEV (MKD)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)

86kg
Ilya KHAMTSOU (AIN)
Artur NAIFONOV (AIN)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)

97kg
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (AIN)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

125kg
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (AIN)
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Abraham CONYEDO (ITA)
Ralfs LUKINS (LAT)
Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) will return to competition after recovering from her injury. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Aintzane GORRIA GONI (ESP)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Ana PIRVU (ROU)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)

53kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN)
Maria FERONE (ITA)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Veronika RJABOVOLOVA (MKD)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)

62kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)

68kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Hanna SADCHANKA (AIN)
Khanum VELIEVA (AIN)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Ilana KRATYSH (ISR)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Tetiana SOVA RIZHKO (UKR)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Epp MAE (EST)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Agoro PAPAVASILEIOU (GRE)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)

Leri ABULADZE (GEO)63kg world champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) is wrestling at 60kg in Baku. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Aker SCHMID AL OBAIDI (AUT)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)

67kg
Maksim NEHODA (AIN)
Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Michael WIDMAYER (GER)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)

77kg
Pavel LIAKH (AIN)
Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN)
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Per KURE (NOR)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Elmar NURALIIEV (UKR)

87kg
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)
Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN)
Lukas STAUDACHER (AUT)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Leon RIVALTA (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)

97kg
Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Gerard KURNICZAK (POL)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Dogan YILMAZ (TUR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)

130kg
Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (AIN)
Sergei SEMENOV (AIN)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)

#WrestleAthens

Olympic legend Icho returns to Athens to lead Japan’s next generation

By Vinay Siwach

ATHENS, Greece (August 2) -- In Athens, home of the Olympics, Kaori ICHO (JPN) is already one of the pantheon of greats.

Having once made history as an athlete here -- winning the first of four Olympic gold medals at the 2004 Olympics -- Icho now sets out to carve a new legacy, this time as coach to the next generation of Japanese talent.

In Athens, she is making her international debut as coach of the Japanese women's team at the World U17 Championships as she returns to the Ano Liossia Olympic Sports Hall, the same venue she won the Olympic gold.

"I have returned to this arena for the first time in 21 years," Icho told United World Wrestling. "I won an [Olympic] gold medal in this arena for the first time."

Icho, who ended her wrestling career in 2019, started coaching after the Tokyo Olympics. She has coached Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) domestically as both Morikawa and Icho are recruited with ALSOK.

Japan managed to win only one gold medal in Women's Wrestling at the World Championships and finished third in the team race. While Japan is not used to finishing at that position in Women's Wrestling, the third-place highlighted that even Japan's second-tier team poses a significant challenge to the world.

The presence of Icho definitely helped the wrestlers, who were not only helped by her experience but the presence of the four-time Olympic champion motivated them.

Japan's world champion in Athens, Hanano OYA (JPN), said that watching Icho win her record fourth gold medal in Rio 2016 inspired her to take up wrestling.

"The reason I started wrestling was because of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics," Oya said. "It was when Kaori achieved her fourth consecutive victory, and I saw it on TV. I started wrestling myself, so I was very happy when she accompanied me and acted as my second coach, and I felt that I had to live up to her expectations."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) coaches one of the members of the Japanese team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For Icho, not being on the mat and coaching from the corner was a different experience.

"I feel really strange being able to come back here as a coach," she said. "This tournament is the World Championships for those under 17 years old. I also became an Olympic gold medalist at this venue when I was 20 and I hope that the young athletes will work hard towards their Olympic dreams."

Back in 2004, the first Olympics when Women's Wrestling became part of it, Icho remembered the nervous and the excitement. The enjoyment, however, came only after she had won the gold.

"It was my first Olympics," she said. "I was very nervous and excited. I was here for about two weeks, from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. After winning, I went swimming in the Aegean Sea. It was a very enjoyable Olympics."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) during a warm-up session of the Japanese team in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

When she landed at the airport in Athens on Monday, memories from the past came rushing back.

"I don't particularly feel it at the airport, but I wondered if it was this hot," she said. "I wondered what the venue will be like. I was reminiscing about 21 years ago."

Once at the venue, Icho was requested for photos from wrestlers and coaches which she obliged. With her first tournament as coach behind her, Icho is determined to work even harder as she prepares the senior Japan team for the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, this September.

"Coaches and players asked me to take pictures with them," she said. "I felt stronger coming here. I want to work harder as a coach."