#WrestleTirana

List of superstars headed to Senior World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (October 2) -- The World Championships in Non-Olympic Weight Classes is making a return after eight years and will be held in Tirana, Albania from October 28 to 31.

The wrestlers who participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics cannot compete at this World Championships. Close to 300 wrestlers will be in Tirana competing in 12 weight classes in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

Freestyle competition will be in 61kg, 70kg 79kg and 92kg. Women's Wrestling will be in 55kg, 59kg, 65kg and 72kg and Greco-Roman will compete in 55kg, 63kg, 72kg and 82kg.

The World Championships will be live on uww.org and the UWW App.

Note: The entries are subject to change as a few countries are yet to hold their selections

Freestyle

61kg
Aryan TSIUTRYN (AIN)
Zavur UGUEV (AIN)
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Christopher MERLO (CAN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Rabby KILANDI (COD)
Peter HAMMER CUDE (CRC)
Joshua KRAMER (ECU)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
UDIT (IND)
Reza Hossein MOMENIJOUJADEH (IRI)
Masanosuke ONO (JPN)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Vitali ARUJAU (USA)

70kg
Niurgun SKRIABIN (AIN)
Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN)
Eriglent PRIZRENI (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Peiman BIABANI (CAN)
Shijian ZHOU (CHN)
Norvil BUKASA (COD)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Manish GOSWAMI (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Umut ERDOGAN (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
James GREEN (USA)

79kg
Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN)
Orges LILA (ALB)
Chems FETAIRIA (ALG)
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Nan CAO (CHN)
Andy MUKENDI (COD)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Lucas KAHNT (GER)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Parvinder SINGH (IND)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
RAFFAELE MATRULLO (ITA)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Traian CAPATINA (MDA)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Andrzej SOKALSKI (POL)
Shane JONES (PUR)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)
Mirzo KHAYITOV (UZB)

92kg
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (AIN)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN)
Marjus MALKO (ALB)
Igor SARKISIAN (ARM)
Aslan ABAKAROV (AZE)
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Andrew JOHNSON (CAN)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Balazs JUHASZ (HUN)
Sandeep MANN (IND)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Filip ROGUT (POL)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Bekir Talip OVEC (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
David TAYLOR (USA)

Risako KINJO (JPN)Former Olympic and world champion Risako KINJO (JPN) will be eyeing another world title, first since 2019. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

55kg
Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Jin ZHANG (CHN)
Maria BAEZ (ESP)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
KIRTI (IND)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA)

59kg
Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN)
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Ana PEREIRA FRANCA (BRA)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
MANSI (IND)
Risako KINJO (JPN)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA)
Alejandra RIVERA ARRIAGA (MEX)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)

65kg
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN)
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Olivia DI BACCO (CAN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
MANISHA (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Eldarah BROWN (TON)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Alexis GOMEZ (MEX)
Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)
Duygu GEN (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Macey KILTY (USA)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Thamires MARTINS MACHADO (BRA)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Qian JIANG (CHN)
Rosie TABORA (COD)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
BIPASHA (IND)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Emilia CRECIUN (MDA)
Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Kylie WELKER (USA)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN)
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Stefan GRIGOROV (BUL)
Haifeng ZHANG (CHN)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
SANJEEV (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Kagetora OKAMOTO (JPN)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Servan CINAR (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Brady KOONTZ (USA)

63kg
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN)
Jurgen UKU (ALB)
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
CHETAN (IND)
Iman Hossein MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Ayata SUZUKI (JPN)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Servet ANGI (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)

72kg
Mikita MURASHKA (AIN)
Aslan VISAITOV (AIN)
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Hayk MELIKYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Ji LENG (CHN)
Reangan NDOMBASI (COD)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Michael WIDMAYER (GER)
Amadeusz VITEK (HUN)
Ankit GULIA (IND)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Mihai PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Ihor BYCHKOV (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Abdullo ALIEV (UZB)

82kg
Stanislau SHAFARENKA (AIN)
Islam ALIEV (AIN)
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Sosruko KODZOKOV (BRA)
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL)
Pengcheng WANG (CHN)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Artem SHAPOVALOV (FIN)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Hassan BARNAWI (KSA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Aliaksandr KIKINIOU (USA)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

#WrestleTirana

Turkiye rejoices with Bakir gold, team title; Gutu ends Worlds gold drought

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 29) — There certainly could not be one more loss for Turkiye in the finals. After three losses on Saturday, as the law of averages, Turkiye had to win one Greco-Roman gold medal at the U23 World Championships.

But with just over a minute left and returning silver medalist Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) leading 3-3 on criteria, it seemed to be turning out to be another heartbreak for Turkiye.

That’s when Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) turned things around, quite literally.

Turning 130kg+ wrestlers from par terre in the final minute is superhuman stuff. But then, wrestlers are that. Bakir got the par terre advantage, thanks to a third passivity in the final. He would smartly move his grip towards Vyshnyvetskyi’s waist, the limit allowed in Greco-Roman, instead of a grip on his chest. Defending the gut-wrench needs unreal strength, but when the grip is on the waist, it’s close to impossible. A tired Vyshnyvetskyi’s was turned and so was the mood in the Turkish camp.

After Saturday’s gloom, Turkiye finally claimed a gold medal in Greco-Roman, also winning the team title with 121 points, 28 points more than second-placed Azerbaijan. Georgia was third with 78kg, one more than Armenia.

Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) celebrates after winning the 130kg gold medal in Tirana. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The furious Turkish coach, who had to be escorted off mat after Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) lost the 97kg 4-3 Saturday, was in a saner mood as well. Emotions ran high after Mert ILBARS (TUR), Alperen BERBER (TUR) and Olgun lost and he came on the mat to express his displeasure. On Sunday, he would simply clap to celebrate win.

For Vyshnyvetskyi, that is a second straight U23 world finals loss to a Turkish wrestler. Fatih BOZKURT (TUR) had defeated him 9-1 last year. Though he did not suffer a technical fall this year, the Ukrainian will reflect on this loss more critically.

Bakir now has world title at three age groups with the senior level the one left. Wrestling at his first World Championships since the 2021 U20 one, which he won, Bakir was on a roll in Tirana. He opened the tournament with a win over Mikhail LAPTAEV (AIN) 4-0, thrashed Assylbek ZHANIBEKULY (KAZ) 9-0 in quarterfinals and defeated Razmik KURDYAN (ARM) 4-2 in the semifinal.

He was a off to a great start in the final as well, turning Vyshnyvetsjyi from par terre in the first period. But he gave up a takedown in the second period. His passivity added another point to the Ukrainian’s score and gave him a 3-3 lead.

That was until his magical turnaround when awarded the third passivity which only offers par terre advantage and not a point. He defended his 5-3 lead for the 22 seconds left on the clock and claimed the gold.

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) celebrates with his coach after winning the 77kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Gutu golden after 5 years

“Nothing is impossible.”

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) was a relieved man. He said after clinching his first gold medal at a World Championships after years. In between, it was increasing looking impossible.

Since winning the U17 World Championships and the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, Gutu has reached the final of the World Championships once — 2022 U23 World Championships.

After putting behind the ghosts of all those losses, Gutu managed to end the drought by winning the 77kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships on Sunday. He defeated Khasay HASANLI (AZE) 3-1 in the gold-medal bout.

“ I’ve been working hard for this medal for so long, not only this year,” Gutu said. “Only last year I could make it to the final, before that it’s been a long time that I couldn’t even qualify for the final.”

In the seven World Championships at different levels since 2018, Gutu has one silver and three bronze medals. He is yet to medal at the senior level with his best finishing being eighth in Belgrade this year.

But Gutu has been taking long strides in the sport. He won the U23 European Championships this year and was fifth at the senior continental event.

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) scored a takedown after Khasay HASANLI (AZE) failed to score from this position. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Wrestling Hasanli in the final on Sunday was a rematch of the U23 Euros from March which Gutu won 6-3. The one in Tirana was a little similar as Gutu, after leading 1-1 on criteria, was called passive.

As Hasanli got the par terre advantage on the third passivity, he tried throwing Gutu who landed on his feet and scored a takedown. Hasanli had little chances of coming back from there.

“Last year I couldn’t win the gold medal, because I had a knee injury and I couldn’t wrestle in my full potential,” he said. “This year I’ve had a really good training camp together with my coaches and training partners.

“We wrestled each other in the [U23] European final. We showed a really good match then and here as well. I am thankful to him for this match.”

With that load off his back, Gutu has a new challenge waiting for him next. After failing to earn an Olympic quota for Moldova, he will have to try and earn it at the European Olympic Qualifiers next year.

“I have big plans for this sport,” he said. “I am not gonna stop. My dream is the Olympic gold. I will follow it util I win it. I will first need to win the national championships and then I am ready to train day and night to get the Olympic quota. Nothing is impossible.”

Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) completes a throw to win 9-0 against Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ) in the 55kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Returning bronze medalist Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) earned the gold medal at 55kg in Tirana after beating Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ) 9-0 in the final in just 38 seconds.

Kurbayev was hoping to win a second gold medal for Kazakhstan in two days after Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) became the country’s first-ever U23 world champion on Saturday. But Tokhadze was not allowing any of that.

He got his first four-pointer over Kurbayev 15 seconds into the final. Kazakhstan corner decided to challenge the four but lost, adding one more point to Tokhadze’s score. Using double overhook, Tokhadze threw Kurbayev once again to claim a 9-0 win.

Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN)Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) won the 87kg gold medal over Matej MANDIC (CRO). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 87kg, Matej MANDIC (CRO) became the fifth wrestler from Croatia to reach the Greco-Roman final at U23 World Championships and finishing with a silver medal, prolonging the country’s wait for a world champion.

Mandic seemed to have competed well for the initial period in the final but Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) build a 9-4 lead before a desperate attempt from Mandic saw him fall on his back and Murtazaliev used that opportunity to pin Mandic.

At 63kg, Rakhman TAVMURZAEV (AIN) was crowned as the champion as he defeated Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN), 6-1, in the final.

 

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) df. Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ), 9-0

BRONZE: Farid SADIKHLI (AZE) df. Denis MIHAI (ROU), 10-0
BRONZE: Adem UZUN (TUR) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 10-0

63kg
GOLD: Rakhman TAVMURZAEV (AIN) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN), 6-1

BRONZE: Chiezo MARUYAMA (JPN) df. Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM), 2-1
BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. PRAVESH (UWW), 9-0

77kg
GOLD: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Khasay HASANLI (AZE), 3-1

BRONZE: Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Aleksa ILIC (SRB), 8-0
BRONZE: Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO) df. Attila TOESMAGI (HUN), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) df. Matej MANDIC (CRO), via fall (13-4)

BRONZE: Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Exauce MUKUBU (NOR), 2-1
BRONZE: Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL) df. Waltteri LATVALA (FIN), 9-0

130kg
GOLD: Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) df. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), 5-3

BRONZE: Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE), 10-0
BRONZE: Mikhail LAPTEV (AIN) df. Razmik KURDYAN (ARM), 7-1