Development

Guinea Hosts Referee and Coaches Course

By United World Wrestling Press

CONAKRY, Guinea (September 10th) -- Right after the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Guinean Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles pursued UWW's coaches and referee courses.

The Guinean Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles benefited from a consolidation course aimed at both coaches and referees. Indeed, in order to develop the Guinean Federation, its President, army captain Soumah Mohamed Souleymane, called on Mr Nenad Lalovic, the President of United World Wrestling, to reinforce the capacities of the technicians and administrators of his organization.

In answer to this request, United World Wrestling, through its Development Department lead by Deqa Niamkey, dispatched two UWW experts to fulfill the mission, including Vincent Aka, Development Officer, and Carlos Garcia, Educator.

As a starter to the beginning of the opening ceremony, the National Olympic Committee of Guinea, whose presence honored the assembly, set the pace by introducing the Guinean Wrestling Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles as the best sports federation in the country.

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Opening ceremony: UWW experts with the members of the Guinean Federation and the 1st Vice-President of the Guinean NOC.

The course took place at the 28 September Stadium in Conakry, from the 30 August to the 5 September. It saw the participation of 36 people, of which 11 were overseers and 25 participating athletes, including seven women. Very interested in understanding training methods and refereeing rules, 23 wrestlers attended all sessions.

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The course’s objective was to equip coaches and referees for both Olympic wrestling and beach wrestling. In addition, skill acquisition in training and refereeing was on the program for, also, both Olympic and beach wrestling, and emphasis was put on how to create one’s club so as to ensure wrestlers the best safety possible. Returning to their homeland, Camara Fatoumata Yarie and Camara Mohamed Ismaël, both high-level athletes and residents at the UWW Africa Center, benefited from this course in the context of their professional transition.

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On the left, Camara Fatoumata, the top student of the promotion, with Camara Ismaël.

The main subjects of the course were training pedagogy, safety before, during and after practice, the ethics of a UWW trainer, the trainer’s environment and how does one navigate within. The rules and regulations of Olympic and beach wrestling were put forward and, above all, applied during the pedagogical situations.

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Simultaneously, the course offered the possibility to train the Guinean Federation to use the Athena platform and to the follow-up of emails.

The course ended with a beach wrestling competition that allowed all participants to set themselves in a real life situation with regard to all aspects of wrestling ; from coaching to wrestling and refereeing, coaches and athletes were gauged on the field.

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A glance on the attitudes and behaviors during this real life situation was enough to perceive the true potentials at works among the trainers, referees and athletes - and that cram the Guinean Federation of Associated Wrestling styles.

We will be able to fully chaperon the professionalization of this organization by overseeing the creation of its clubs and structures alongside the setting up of a privileged relationship with the National Olympic Committee. One of the main assets of the Federation is the direct link it enjoys with the army, the national police and the local police. The existence of military sport in our country offers a real opportunity to boost the development of wrestling. And the long-term vision that army captain Mohamed Souleymane Soumah singles out shall allow us to prevail.

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Closing ceremony.

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The girls’ collective ready for the take-off of wrestling in Guinea.

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Ozaki, Morikawa Mark Golden Return to Olympic Weights

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 7) -- Just four months ago, Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) came to Zagreb as a training partner with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at the World Championships.

While Morikawa won the gold medal, Ozaki cheered for her close friend, even writing messages for her on a small bandage that Morikawa put on her cheek.

Back then, Ozaki wished she could compete and become world champions together.

Not the World Championships, but Ozaki and Morikawa won gold medals at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event on Friday. Ozaki completed a dominant run to win the 62kg title while Morikawa had a bumpy ride to the 68kg gold medal, a weight class above 65kg in which she won the world gold.

"We managed to win gold with the star of Physical Asia," Morikawa wrote on social media referring to a Netflix show in which Ozaki participated.

The two do not train at the same university in Japan but the closeness of their weight classes has allowed them to practice together whenever they get a chance, including being on international tours together.

They were two of the four Japanese wrestlers who won gold medals in Women's Wrestling, joining Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) at 59kg and Nana IKEHATA (JPN) at 65kg.

Greco-Roman also kicked off at the Zagreb Open, the season-opening Ranking Series event, and the world champion at 63kg Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) showed that he has adjusted to the Olympic weight class 67kg, winning gold.

Iran won gold at 63kg after Erfan JARKANI (IRI) defeated CHETAN (IND) in the final.

Ozaki began her day by securing a fall over Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) after building a 12-2 lead, and then pinned Eniko ELEKES (HUN) in the second bout to book a spot in the semifinal.

It was in this bout that Ozaki faced her first struggles of the day against Macey KILTY (USA). Though she ultimately secured a 5-2 win, Ozaki gave up positions against the American wrestler. She would later admit that it was not easy to keep herself calm during the bout.

In the final against Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), a silver medalist from the European Championships, Ozaki scored four different takedowns and looked in complete control. With the 8-0 win, Ozaki won her first Ranking Series gold medal.

Ozaki won the world title at 65kg in 2023 but was a phenom at 62kg when she emerged on the international scene in 2022. But after a slump in form both in Japan and internationally, she missed out on making the Japan team for the 2023 World Championships at 62kg.

However, with Ami ISHII (JPN) qualifying Japan for the 2024 Paris Games without winning a medal opened a door for Ozaki to be at the Olympics.

Ozaki set out on a daunting task of moving to 68kg and not only did she defeat Ishii while being underweight, she managed to win a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Soon after, she decided to move back to 62kg but suffered two back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and failed to make the 2025 world team.

It turned around at the Emperor's Cup in December 2025 as Ozaki avenged her loss to Motoki and earned the right to participate in the Zagreb Open and Asian Championships in April.

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) scores a takedown on Nesrin BAS (TUR) during the 68kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Morikawa, who also moved to 68kg after winning gold at 65kg at the World Championships in 2025, had a hiccup in the final, but managed to get the gold medal against Nesrin BAS (TUR).

The two-time world champion captured her third Ranking Series gold medal and first since 2018 but not before having a tough time on the mat. She began with an 11-0 win over Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) and then a 10-0 technical superiority over Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW).

While the fall over Aleah NICKEL (CAN) in the semifinals was dominant, Morikawa did show some signs of discomfort. That showed up in the final against Bas as Morikawa fell behind 2-0 in the first period. She managed to score a point before the break and cut the lead to 2-1.

Morikawa found a way to score two takedowns in the second period to take a 5-2 lead to capture the gold medal at 68kg.

Bas, who was at the Paris Olympics at 62kg but won world silver medal in 2025 at 72kg, was another wrestler trying to adjust to a new weight class. Her biggest test came in the semifinal against Olympic silver medalist Kennedy BLADES (USA).

Blades led 1-0 at the end of the first period but  Bas seemed unfazed. The American was put on the shot clock in the second period and after 30-second activity time exchanged, Bas took a 1-1 criteria lead. Bas also got a point for stepout to make it 2-1.

 

She then defended the lead until the end of the time to claim a victory over Blades and a spot in the final against Morikawa. Bas is likely to continue at the weight and the silver medal in Zagreb will be a huge boost for her going forward.

Khalmakhanov adjusts to 67kg

Another star wrestler shifting to an Olympic weight class was 63kg world champion Khalmakhanov and he performed strongly at 67kg. His first battle came in the semifinal when he faced Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN).

But an arm-throw and turn gave him a 6-0 lead against Sogabe who got a few stepouts in the bout. Khalmakhanov scored two correct throws to add four more points in the bout and got one point for a lost challenge to win 11-5.

From the other side of the bracket, Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) made it to the final after beating Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 11-3, in the semifinals.

For the gold medal, Khalmakhanov and Chkhikvadze were matched evenly. While the scoreline points to a low-scoring bout, both wrestlers left it all on the mat.

Chkhikvadze was the first to get par terre but he failed to score any more points from the position and led 1-0 at the break. Khalmakhanov also got a point for the par terre position in the second period but Chkhikvadze held criteria.

The Georgian managed to score a stepout to extend his lead to a clear 2-1 score. But as the bout grew in intensity, it was Chkhikvadze who suffered, giving up a stepout with less than 30 seconds left.

With the score at 2-2, Khalmakhanov held criteria for the last point scored. He managed to hold his lead and won the gold medal in Zagreb, thus making a smooth transition to the Olympic weight class, three months after winning bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games at 67kg.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

59kg
GOLD: Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) df. Alexis JANIAK (USA), 10-0

BRONZE: Elena BRUGGER (GER) df. Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), via fall (7-0)
BRONZE: Abigail NETTE (USA) df. Iris SLATKA (CRO), via fall (10-0)

62kg
GOLD: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 8-0

BRONZE: Macey KILTY (USA) df. Eniko ELEKES (HUN), via fall
BRONZE: ANJLI (IND) df. Bhagyashree FAND (IND), 5-4

65kg
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA (JPN)
SILVER: PULKIT (IND)
BRONZE: Kriszta INCZE (ROU)

68kg
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Nesrin BAS (TUR), 5-2

BRONZE: NISHA (IND) df. Kennedy BLADES (USA), via inj. def. 
BRONZE: Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) df. Aleah NICKEL (CAN), 9-0

Greco-Roman

63kg
GOLD:  Erfan JARKANI (IRI) df. CHETAN (IND), 8-4

BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Khusniddin OLIMBOEV (UZB), 6-1
BRONZE: Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) df. Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ), 8-0

67kg
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 2-2

BRONZE: Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) df. Valentin PETIC (MDA), 5-0
BRONZE: Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) df. Mahmoud KAMALI (IRI), 3-2