#WrestleAthens

U17 World Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

ATHENS, Greece (July 18) -- Eight years after it last hosted a World U17 Championships, Athens is gearing up for the next.

From July 28 to August 2, the Greek capital will be home to almost 700 wrestlers who try to win world title at the U17 weight class.

Greco-Roman will kick-off proceedings of the tournament which will be held in two-day format. Women's Wrestling will be next before Freestyle closes the competition.

For the detailed schedule, refer to U17 World Championships 2025, Athens Schedule.

Note: The entries are subject to change 72 hours before the draw of respective weight classes. For latest entries and brackets, refer to UWW Arena

Freestyle

45kg
Youcef BOUKHALFA (ALG)
Levik AVETISYAN (ARM)
Sadig ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Stanimir SLAVOV (BUL)
Yongqiang HUANG (CHN)
Saba MINDIASHVILI (GEO)
Alexandros SERETIDIS (GRE)
SHIVAM (IND)
Parsa TAHMASBI (IRI)
Tamir SHIRMAMEDOV (ISR)
Riku FURUSAWA (JPN)
Bakdaulet AGABEK (KAZ)
Arnur NURSAIDOV (KGZ)
Eyup CEYLAN (TUR)
Volodymyr YATEL (UKR)
Keegan BASSETT (USA)
Ibragim VELIULLOV (UWW)
Mirjalol MUKAMMILOV (UZB)

48kg
Anis BOUGUERRA (ALG)
Davit BALEYAN (ARM)
Ravan HASANZADE (AZE)
Grozdan PETKOV (BUL)
Yuzheng HE (CHN)
Giorgi NARIMANIDZE (GEO)
Angelos KAMAGIANNIS (GRE)
SHIVAM (IND)
Sina BOUSTANI (IRI)
Masamune USHIMADO (JPN)
Sabyrzhan RAKHATOV (KAZ)
Dovudbek BAKHADIROV (KGZ)
Daniel NEGRU (MDA)
Attila HEGEDUS (SVK)
Sadik ATESOGULLARI (TUR)
Nazar KAPLUN (UKR)
Ariah MILLS (USA)
Islam RABADANOV (UWW)
Makar MARKOVICH (UWW)
Jakhongir TULKUNOV (UZB)

51kg
Makaya KATENDI (ANG)
Mher HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Ramal MIRHUSEYNOV (AZE)
Georgi SPASOV (BUL)
Jonrex CASA (CAN)
Xiyi LIANG (CHN)
Samvel ABRAHAMYAN (ESP)
Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO)
Michail KOKOLOGIANNIS (GRE)
Dhanraj JAMNIK (IND)
Sina ORDOU (IRI)
Haruku SHIINA (JPN)
Danael ABDYKASSYM (KAZ)
Sadyr KAIYPBEKOV (KGZ)
Serghei CAMBUR (MDA)
Cruz LITTLE (PUR)
Laurentiu FLOREA (ROU)
Bugra KAVAK (TUR)
Robert ALOIEV (UKR)
Samuel SANCHEZ (USA)
Dzhamal BAKAEV (UWW)
Dzianis SHPARTAU (UWW)
Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB)

55kg
Abderrezak CHENINI (ALG)
Armen PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Ruslan ALIZADA (AZE)
Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL)
Aaharen PIRANAVAN (CAN)
Chengzhuang MA (CHN)
Jovanni TOVAR (COL)
Gabriel GAMARNIK (GEO)
Ioannis KESIDIS (GRE)
Jaiveer SINGH (IND)
Reza BARARI (IRI)
Jinnosuke OKONOGI (JPN)
Ibrahim YSKAKBEK (KAZ)
Zhakshylyk BOROBAEV (KGZ)
Dan BULGARU (MDA)
Pavlo ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Nathaniel LYTTLE (PUR)
David MILITARU (ROU)
Jyun JHONG (TPE)
Kamil GOKCE (TUR)
Ivan BEZUHLYI (UKR)
Greyton BURNETT (USA)
Chingis SARYGLAR (UWW)
Hleb PIATROU (UWW)
Abdumalik JALOLDINOV (UZB)

60kg
Hamlet ANTONYAN (ARM)
Hasan HASANOV (AZE)
Kaloyan STAEV (BUL)
Nathan NASH (CAN)
Ao LI (CHN)
Iakovos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Pavlos NTIANTIADIS (GRE)
SITENDER (IND)
Arian MEHRALIZADEH (IRI)
Denis KODZHAK (ISR)
Rihito HIURA (JPN)
Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Ulukman ZHEKSHENKULOV (KGZ)
Leonid STARSELSCHI (MDA)
Sufjan SINANI (MKD)
Witold PAWLIK (POL)
Frederick BACHMANN (PUR)
Stefan PUSCAS (ROU)
Juan GROENEWALD (RSA)
Emre BARAN (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)
Ashton BESMER (USA)
Yahor DAROSHKA (UWW)
Tundzhai VERDIEV (UWW)
Fakhriddin NASRIDDINOV (UZB)

65kg
Avet BOYMUSHAKYAN (ARM)
Huseyn ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Seyko KALINOV (BUL)
Liam GORTON (CAN)
Changxin WU (CHN)
Nikos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Arshavir DARAKHSHANI (FIN)
Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO)
Dario FISCHIETTI (GER)
Konstantinos MICHAILIDIS (GRE)
Gourav PUNIA (IND)
Morteza HAJ (IRI)
Nikita KOZICH (ISR)
Kodai IWASAKI (JPN)
Yeraly ASKERBEK (KAZ)
Adisbek ALTYNBEKOV (KGZ)
Maxim DIMOV (MDA)
Erdenedalai LKHAGVA OCHIR (MGL)
Michal Antoni MICHNIEWICZ (POL)
Yandro SOTO (PUR)
Istvan NAGY (ROU)
Ismail MERTKOLLU (TUR)
Ivan ZALISKO (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Kiryl PAULIUCHENKA (UWW)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UWW)
Shokhiddin ALIEV (UZB)

71kg
Yeghishe MOSESYAN (ARM)
Rashad VEYSALOV (AZE)
Aleks GROZDANOV (BUL)
Junfeng QU (CHN)
Kayden HANLON (GBR)
Koba GOGUADZE (GEO)
Jason KEIL (GER)
Ektoras SIZO (GRE)
Zeteny TUGYI (HUN)
Kapil DAHIYA (IND)
Arsham VAHABIAN (IRI)
Satoya KOBAYASHI (JPN)
Nurtay NAROV (KAZ)
Aibek ERALIEV (KGZ)
Chirill PODSEVALNICOV (MDA)
Ismail ERZANUKAEV (POL)
Catalin MINEA (ROU)
Ayubjon BOZORZODA (TJK)
Ali ESENOV (TKM)
Omer GUL (TUR)
Ihor OLIINYK (UKR)
Jayden JAMES (USA)
Artsiom BOLSUN (UWW)
Zubair BAGILOV (UWW)
Farrukhbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB)

80kg
Vache ASLANYAN (ARM)
Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Valentin ILIEV (BUL)
Beau CHARTRAND (CAN)
Enqin ZENG (CHN)
Levan CHERTKOEV (FRA)
Marshall EVERETT (GBR)
Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO)
Abdurrahim SEKMEN (GER)
Konstantinos MOURTZILAKIS (GRE)
Noel SZECSENYI (HUN)
Saurabh YADAV (IND)
Parsa KARAMI (IRI)
Haruta SHIOTSUKA (JPN)
Dinmukhammed KASSYMBEK (KAZ)
Ruslan ASANOV (KGZ)
Ivan PASLARI (MDA)
Buyantogtokh BYAMBADORJ (MGL)
Mateusz ZAWADZKI (POL)
Arslan AZYMBERDIYEV (TKM)
Berat ERTURK (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)
Aaron STEWART (USA)
Issa ZANGIEV (UWW)
Yahor DASHKEVICH (UWW)
Bunyod RUFATOV (UZB)

92kg
Abderrahmane MEZITI (ALG)
Avet ENGOIAN (ARM)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Georgi GEORGIEV (BUL)
Harjot SHERGILL (CAN)
Jiyu WANG (CHN)
Jose PEREZ (COL)
Elguja LOMIDZE (GEO)
Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE)
Levente SZIKSZAI (HUN)
Arjun RUHIL (IND)
Amirali ALIZADEH (IRI)
Sota YAMANAKA (JPN)
Beibarys YERGALI (KAZ)
Arnas JOKIMCIUS (LTU)
Eugen DOHOTER (MDA)
Saruul Erdene ERDENETSOGT (MGL)
Franco LATORRE (PUR)
Magor LORINCZ (ROU)
Said RIZA (TUR)
Samir IBISHOV (UKR)
Tanner HODGINS (USA)
David DZEBISOV (UWW)

110kg
Laert MOVSESYAN (ARM)
Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE)
Stefan STEFANOV (BUL)
Udaypartap BILLEN (CAN)
Ruijie LI (CHN)
Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO)
Georgios MANAGKANTZE (GRE)
Gyoergy JUHASZ (HUN)
LACKY (IND)
Amirhossein NAGHDALIPOUR (IRI)
Hanto HAYASHI (JPN)
Riza IZAKHAR (KAZ)
Akzhol BARPYBEKOV (KGZ)
Carlos CABRALES (MEX)
Piotr GRELA (POL)
Yu CHUANG (TPE)
Zekeriya DOGAN (TUR)
Mykyta KRASNOKUTSKYI (UKR)
Alexander TAYLOR (USA)
Magomedrasul OMAROV (UWW)
Mikita TKACHYK (UWW)
Bakhrombek RASHIDOV (UZB)

KAJAL (IND)KAJAL (IND), a world champ at 69kg, will be at 73kg in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Polina TIMSINA (EST)
Finja STRAUCH (GER)
Preeti YADAV (IND)
An NAKANISHI (JPN)
Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ)
Valia HARSAN (ROU)
Zehra OZDEMIR (TUR)
Emma TALPA (UKR)
Maisie ELLIOTT (USA)
Daria MASLENNIKOVA (UWW)
Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB)

43kg
Mariza NASU (CAN)
Xin HUANG (CHN)
Isabela GARNICA (COL)
Mareim ABDELAAL (EGY)
Aikaterini KATIFORI (GRE)
Reka TELEKI (HUN)
RACHANA (IND)
Sayuki HIBARINO (JPN)
Inzhu BAKKOZHA (KAZ)
Aiza TAALAIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Natalia TERZI (MDA)
Liva CELIK (TUR)
Martina MODNA (UKR)
Madison HEALEY (USA)
Nurana ASADLI (UWW)
Raniia RAKHMANOVA (UWW)
Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB)

46kg
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Dayana STOYCHEVA (BUL)
Yuting YUAN (CHN)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Janka SILLEI (HUN)
Kasish GURJAR (IND)
Hanano OYA (JPN)
Shynaiy MAKEN (KAZ)
Aiana NIIAZBEKOVA (KGZ)
Emilia STRACHOTA (POL)
Elanur BERBER (TUR)
Kamila KUCHMA (UKR)
Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA)
Anastasiya BIALUHA (UWW)
Irina TSYDEEVA (UWW)

49kg
Kamryn MASON (CAN)
Xiaoqing MO (CHN)
Sheila MONDRAGO (ESP)
Dimitra SKOUVAKI (GRE)
Komal VERMA (IND)
Yu KATAOKA (JPN)
Saniya SOLTANGALI (KAZ)
Azema KALIDINOVA (KGZ)
Elsa NIKOCI (KOS)
Ruslana CARAPETIANT (MDA)
Kinga JANUSZEK (POL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Yu Hsi CHENG (TPE)
Melike KOPARAN (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Morgan TURNER (USA)
Anhelina BURKINA (UWW)
Polina BOCHKAREVA (UWW)
Mashkhura ABDUMUSAEVA (UZB)

53kg
Dounia ZITOUNI (ALG)
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Vasilena ILIEVA (BUL)
Jiaqing JIANG (CHN)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Nadiia ZHOLTIKOVA (ESP)
Josefine WIDMANN (GER)
Maria VANDOULAKI VANDOULA (GRE)
Mariia ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
SAARIKA (IND)
Naomi LIUZZI (ITA)
Rion OGAWA (JPN)
Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ)
Baktygul ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Kanita SPAHIJA (KOS)
Julia GIBALSKA (POL)
Emma A PEAKE (PUR)
Miriam MISAKOVA (SVK)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Yuliia HOLHOVSKA (UKR)
Epenesa ELISON (USA)
Margarita IARYGINA (UWW)
Kseniya KRYSHTOFIK (UWW)

57kg
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Yasmim NEPER OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Stefani LAZAROVA (BUL)
Xiaohan XU (CHN)
Oona PEKKARINEN (FIN)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Zoi KAIDOPOULOU (GRE)
MONI (IND)
Sophie RITTER (ITA)
Sayuki TANADA (JPN)
Madkhiya USMANOVA (KAZ)
Albina SALYMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Marta MANKOWSKA (POL)
Aneishka SANTOS (PUR)
Oana DUMITRU (ROU)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Ling En LI (TPE)
Delal KADIR (TUR)
Ivanna LUKIANENKO (UKR)
Emma BACON (USA)
Alina BAROEVA (UWW)
Sofiya ZUYEVA (UWW)

61kg
Sophia MERANER (AUT)
Andrea NISEVA (BUL)
Natalie WOJCIECHOWSKI (CAN)
Zichen DONG (CHN)
Lana PEZIC (CRO)
Graciela ENINGO (ESP)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Ioanna XENIDOU (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
YASHITA (IND)
Waka AWANO (JPN)
Zhaidar MUKAT (KAZ)
Akylai CHYNYBAEVA (KGZ)
Sara ROBLES (MEX)
Nadia KOCIA (POL)
Paola RAMIREZ (PUR)
Sophia PAIUS (ROU)
Yu Ting LIU (TPE)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Oleksandra MALKOVA (UKR)
Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)
Varvara ALISEYENKA (UWW)
Zalina TOTROVA (UWW)

65kg
Selsabil ROUABAH (ALG)
Luoji WANG (CHN)
Feenja HERMANN (GER)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Emese CZEGLEDI (HUN)
Ashvini VISHNOI (IND)
Mitsuki OKAWA (JPN)
Nuraiym SAIAKHMET (KAZ)
Manzura ZHUSUEVA (KGZ)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Anujin ERKHEMBAATAR (MGL)
Zuzanna HORBIK (POL)
Sophia ANASTASE (ROU)
Kiymet TEZCAN (TUR)
Sofiia ALFOROVA (UKR)
Violette LASURE (USA)
Anastasiya KOMANAVA (UWW)
Lilia ERMOKHINA (UWW)
Mukhayyo RAKHIMJONOVA (UZB)

69kg
Mayara NEPER OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Min ZHAO (CHN)
Ayla SAHIN (GER)
Elli SEITARIDOU (GRE)
Reka BERECZKI (HUN)
MANISHA (IND)
Mao TERAOKA (JPN)
Shakhizada DAULETZHAN (KAZ)
Aiana ASAMALIKOVA (KGZ)
Linda MARTINEZ (MEX)
Gereltuya AMARSAIKHAN (MGL)
Aurelia GODZINSKA (POL)
Zeynep SUCU (TUR)
Solomiia PETRIV (UKR)
Cassandra GONZALES (USA)
Ulyana LAPANIK (UWW)
Zukhra KAZULAEVA (UWW)
Dilrabo DULLIEVA (UZB)

73kg
Jolina HEALEY (CAN)
Wenjin QIU (CHN)
Anna GODELASHVILI (GEO)
Polyxeni CHRYSIKAKI (GRE)
Bianka BARANY (HUN)
KAJAL (IND)
Ichine TATESHITA (JPN)
Gulnur MAKSATKYZY (KAZ)
Meruert OKTIABREVA (KGZ)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Malak SABRY (MAR)
Deborah GARCIA (MEX)
Uranzaya TSERENNYAM (MGL)
Claudia MANTOG (ROU)
Eylem ENGIN (TUR)
Khrystyna DEMCHUK (UKR)
Ella Jo POALILLO (USA)
Amina MUSAEVA (UWW)
Sofiya AUCHAROVA (UWW)

Aslanbek KOSTOEV (UWW)Aslanbek KOSTOEV (UWW), world champion at 45kg, will be at 51kg in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM)
Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE)
Danimir YORDANOV (BUL)
Juntao LUO (CHN)
Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO)
Stefanos MEMTSAS (GRE)
Yash KAMANNA (IND)
Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI)
Yuta MIYAGAWA (JPN)
Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ)
Nurkerim KUMARBEKOV (KGZ)
Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA)
Mustafa GUVEN (TUR)
Tymur MAHARRAMOV (UKR)
Thales SILVA (USA)
Ismail BALBEK (UWW)
Javokhir SHARIFBOEV (UZB)

48kg
Martin MANJIKYAN (ARM)
Gurban MAJNUNOV (AZE)
Stanislav IVANOV (BUL)
Fuhua KANG (CHN)
Giorgi MUNTCHAVA (GEO)
Nikolaos ZINISA (GRE)
Aditya JADHAV (IND)
Amirmohammad HAJI (IRI)
Kaisei YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Nurdaulet KUMARULY (KAZ)
Zhanarbek SEIITOV (KGZ)
Baris SOYLU (TUR)
Artem KOLOS (UKR)
Michael RUNDELL (USA)
Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (UWW)
Turpal SAIDULAEV (UWW)
Bunyod HASANOV (UZB)

51kg
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Hikmat HAGVERDIYEV (AZE)
Kaloyan BORISOV (BUL)
Zihao ZHANG (CHN)
Mohamed ELTAYEB (EGY)
Giorgi AZNAURISHVILI (GEO)
Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE)
Keve KOVACS (HUN)
Yuvraj KAMANNA (IND)
Amir HAJIVAND (IRI)
Nikko ADACHI (JPN)
Daniyar BAZARBEK (KAZ)
Islam KURBANOV (KGZ)
Abu SAGA (NOR)
Andrei PELEAN (ROU)
Polat KARADENIZ (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)
Carter SHIN (USA)
Aslanbek KOSTOEV (UWW)
Otabek TURSUNOV (UZB)

55kg
Kheireddine GHAOUAR (ALG)
Meruzhan MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Nihat BAHMANOV (AZE)
Lavozier WADIK (BRA)
Antoan TSVETANOV (BUL)
Zongyao WU (CHN)
Mohamed SHAABAN (EGY)
Magomed VARAEV (FRA)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Grigorios EFTHYMIADIS (GRE)
Balint KAZINCZY (HUN)
Aditya GUPTA (IND)
Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI)
Emanuel ISRAILOV (ISR)
Naru SEMBA (JPN)
Nurali ASKAR (KAZ)
Alkham ABDIRASULOV (KGZ)
Patrick MOCAN CROITORU (ROU)
Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK)
Osman OZDEMIR (TUR)
Rakhman GAMIDOV (UKR)
Alexander PIERCE (USA)
Danil LOZHKIN (UWW)
Ivan KALENKA (UWW)
Sadriddin TULKINBOEV (UZB)

60kg
Wail BEN AISSA (ALG)
Zaven MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Ali NAZAROV (AZE)
Zhivko HINKOV (BUL)
Aoyu HAO (CHN)
Roko CURIC (CRO)
Raimond PROUS (EST)
Lazare GOGOTISHVILI (GEO)
Mika LABES (GER)
Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE)
Imre JUHASZ (HUN)
RITESH (IND)
Abolfazl ZARE (IRI)
Riccardo DELLE CAVE (ITA)
Kodai HIHARA (JPN)
Damir AKAN (KAZ)
Amangeldi YSAKBAEV (KGZ)
Emilis NEVERAUSKAS (LTU)
Vlad DUMINICA (MDA)
Zeus GONZALEZ (MEX)
Raffaele HIGHT (NED)
Przemyslaw ANDRYCHOWSKI (POL)
Alexandru LUNGU (ROU)
Joel GAECHTER (SUI)
Amirjon OBIDOV (TJK)
Abdul ARSLANTAS (TUR)
Denys SEREDIN (UKR)
William DETAR (USA)
Ivan KOZLOV (UWW)
Kiryl VASKO (UWW)
Humoyun ERKINOV (UZB)

65kg
Janes NAZARYAN (ARM)
Huseyn ISGANDAROV (AZE)
Kristiyan PETKOV (BUL)
GAMAWANGDUI (CHN)
Luka SEVEREC (CRO)
Kyliane EDDOUH (FRA)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Iason MARGARITIDIS (GRE)
ANUJ (IND)
Abolfazl Ali SHIRI (IRI)
Yehonatan NEMSADZE (ISR)
Alessio ARANCIO (ITA)
Yutaro OMORI (JPN)
Dosbol SHAMIL (KAZ)
Adilet OMURBEKOV (KGZ)
Kernius KURMILEVICIUS (LTU)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Mate VAN OS (NED)
Andreas FJELDSTAD (NOR)
Julian IWASZKO (POL)
Luka ZELIC (SRB)
Tim SCHREIBER (SUI)
Shohijahon BOBOEV (TJK)
Mesut SOGUT (TUR)
Yehor TARASENKO (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Marat MARGIEV (UWW)
Xusan GIEZIDINOV (UZB)

71kg
Firas HAMATA (ALG)
Roman USOYAN (ARM)
David SCHOBER (AUT)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Fernando BENCKE BRANDAO (BRA)
Radoslav PERYANSKI (BUL)
Yingjie JIAN (CHN)
Miscael NKUNGA (COD)
Bozidar GRBINICEK (CRO)
Vaclav SATRAPA (CZE)
Mardo AERMUS (EST)
Matias ONNENLEHTO (FIN)
Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO)
Dimitrios SOULIS (GRE)
Imre KOLOMPAR (HUN)
VINIT (IND)
Hossein KAZEMI (IRI)
Edgar DAVIDOV (ISR)
Edoardo VITALE (ITA)
Shu SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Marlen MEIRBEKULY (KAZ)
Aktilek SADIROV (KGZ)
Ignat MEICO (MDA)
Heder SALDANA (MEX)
Kacper GOLONKA (POL)
Adrian SEICA (ROU)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Alisher RUZIMADOV (TJK)
Emirhan CAKIR (TUR)
Serhii YARCHENKO (UKR)
Dominic WILSON (USA)
Kaimaraz ARBAKHANOV (UWW)
Zakhar TSERASHKOU (UWW)
Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB)

80kg
Hayk MEKHRIYAN (ARM)
Christopher SZENTKIRALYI (AUT)
Nijat YEYLAGALIYEV (AZE)
Miguel XAVIER (BRA)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Yuxiang TENG (CHN)
David VILK (CRO)
Stepan DANHEL (CZE)
Robert KOVALKOV (EST)
Luka MARTIASHVILI (GEO)
Stefanos VASDEKIS (GRE)
John SAENZ (GUA)
Dominik KERTESZ (HUN)
Samarth GOVEKAR (IND)
Taha Javid NOURI (IRI)
Koan VALENTINI (ITA)
Sora TAHARA (JPN)
Mardanbek MAKHKAMBAYEV (KAZ)
Nurislam OSKONBAEV (KGZ)
Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU)
Szymon TREDER (POL)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK)
Ismail BEREKET (TUR)
Nestor BARAN (UKR)
Isai FERNANDEZ (USA)
Hleb DRAZHNIK (UWW)
Senik VARDANIAN (UWW)
Abdulaziz KHOLMIRZAEV (UZB)

92kg
Petros BAGHRAMYAN (ARM)
Niklas OEHLERER (AUT)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Raphael RODRIGUES (BRA)
Yanko DELCHEV (BUL)
Yang JIN (CHN)
Jose PEREZ (COL)
Andrija MIKULIC (CRO)
Vitezslav ZAK (CZE)
Youssef RAYA (EGY)
Mamuka BIDZINASHVILI (GEO)
Ioannis MOUTOUSIDIS (GRE)
Zsombor KORODI (HUN)
NITIN (IND)
Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Haruto KITO (JPN)
Adilet TOISHY (KAZ)
Nurbek ABDAMITOV (KGZ)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA)
Jose ESPARZA (MEX)
Tomasz MITAL (POL)
Ionut Erick PATRU (ROU)
Todor AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Zong Han WU (TPE)
Ahmet UZUN (TUR)
Tymur LARIN (UKR)
David CALKINS (USA)
Kanstantsin KASYAN (UWW)
Vadim DRAGUSHAN (UWW)
Fakhrikamol KOMILJONOV (UZB)

110kg
Khachik KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Rihad IBRAHIMLI (AZE)
Denis LAZAROV (BUL)
Hu Anshi NUERLEBIEKE (CHN)
Petr GRUBER (CZE)
Essam HUSSEIN (EGY)
Temuri SIMSIVE (GEO)
Maximilian LEO (GER)
Vasileios BOUNTOULIS (GRE)
HARDEEP (IND)
Yazdan Reza DELROUZ (IRI)
Taichi SATO (JPN)
Baktur SOVETKHAN (KAZ)
Umar ORMANOV (KGZ)
Angel GARCIA (MEX)
Mateusz TOMELKA (POL)
Vlad PETREAN (ROU)
Andrej SIMIC (SRB)
Aslan AGADADAYEV (TKM)
Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR)
Anatolii NOVACHENKO (UKR)
Alexander TAYLOR (USA)
Daniil MASLAKOU (UWW)
Dmitrii KOCHUROV (UWW)
Sayidamir NEMATOV (UZB)

#WrestleAmman

Choe crushes Kiyooka to become frontrunner at 53kg

By Ken Marantz

AMMAN, Jordan (March 28)--It can be said that with a victory in the 53kg final at the Asian Championships, Hyogyong CHOE (PRK) has become the favorite to fill the hole left by the move up to 57kg by Paris Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN).

Choe, a Paris bronze medalist herself, powered to a comprehensive 12-1 victory over world 55kg champion Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) at the Asian Championships on Friday in Amman, Jordan, establishing herself as the one to beat in the runup to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Choe had an answer for everything Kiyooka threw at her, and seemed to score at will both offensively and defensively to give the DPR Korea its lone win in three finals on the final day of the women's competition.

"Our national wrestling team has trained together as one united group, supporting each other along the way," Choe said. "I was only focused on training to raise our national flag high on the world stage."

Japan picked up golds by Sara NATAMI (JPN) at 57kg and Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at 65kg to finish with four overall -- a somewhat disappointing showing for the preeminent women's powerhouse -- and win the team title with 186 points. China finished second with 157, two ahead of DPR Korea in third.

The other golds at stake Friday went to MANISHA (IND), who won the 62kg title to end a streak of three consecutive bronzes, and four-time world medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), who took home her fourth career gold at 72kg.

In the 53kg final, Kiyooka, who moved down to the Olympic weight with eyes firmly on Los Angeles, scored first with an activity point, but who would have thought that would be the extent of her efforts for the rest of the match?

Choe got onto the scoreboard by getting in on a single, raising the leg into the air and, after a struggle, finishing off the takedown to lead 2-1 at the break.

In the second period, Choe took advantage of some anxiousness on Kiyooka's part. Choe layed in wait for Kiyooka to take a shot, then sprung the trap by reaching back and whipping Kiyooka onto her back for 2.

From there, Kiyooka failed to properly set up two tackle attempts and it cost her when Choe had little trouble fending off the attacks and spinning behind for takedowns. After the second one, Choe latched onto the laces and rolled twice to finish off the win with 39 seconds to spare.

Hyogyong CHOE (PRK)Hyogyong CHOE (PRK) completes the lace against Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) in the 53kg final during the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

"Our team, led by our esteemed Supreme Commander, had absolute confidence in victory and felt no fear at all," said Choe, who took home a third career continental medal, having won an Asian bronze at 55kg in 2010 and an Asian Games bronze in 2023.

It was an eye-opening setback -- and just her third loss ever to a non-Japanese -- for the 21-year-old Kiyooka, whose older brother Kotaro won the freestyle 65kg gold at the Paris Olympics. She had preceded her world title by winning the Asian gold last year at 55kg, and came into Amman coming off a victorious run at the Tirana Ranking Series event in February.

Sara NATAMI (JPN)The match-winning sequence between Sara NATAMI (JPN) and Il Sim SON (PRK) during the 57kg final at the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In the 57kg final, 2023 world U23 champion Sara NATAMI (JPN) learned from an early mistake and avoided giving up the same points to Il Sim SON (PRK) to preserve a hard-earned 2-2 victory on last-point criteria.

"I gave everything I had to win," Natami said. "Without thinking about how much time was left, I tried to put together moves to create a chance that would lead to points all the way up to the end."

Natami, the 2022 Asian champion at 59kg, gave up a takedown in the first period when Son spun out of an underhook and got behind for a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Natami emerged from a scramble by flipping Son onto her back to go ahead 2-2 on criteria.

With Natami desperately clinging to the lead, Son once again spun out of an underhook, but this time the Japanese was ready and managed to keep Son from getting behind.

Sara NATAMI (JPN)Sara NATAMI (JPN) secured her second career title at the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

"She was very powerful, and I didn't want to give in to the pressure," said Natami, who earlier advanced to the final with a victory by fall over Paris Olympics bronze medalist Kexin HONG (CHN). "In the first period, my aim was to see how far I could keep her from scoring points."

Natami now faces the daunting task of trying to knock off Fujinami when the young superstar returns for her first individual competition at the All-Japan Invitational Championships [Meiji Cup] in June, a qualifier for the World Championships.

"Akari Fujinami will be entered, and although it's not just her, my goal right now is to beat Fujinami," Natami said. "If I can do that, next will be the World Championships."

MANISHA (IND)MANISHA (IND) defends an arm-spin attempt from Ok Ju KIM (PRK) In the 62kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The match of the finals came at 62kg, where MANISHA (IND) rallied from a five-point deficit for a thrilling 8-7 victory over Ok Ju KIM (PRK) for her first Asian gold after winning three consecutive bronzes.

"At every competition my start is very slow. Even at the World Championships you must have seen this last year," Manisha said, referring to her fifth-place finish in Tirana. "I am working on it. Today, I had this positive feeling about myself that I will perform my best."

After giving up an activity point to Kim, Manisha came back with a nice ankle pick for a takedown to take a 2-1 lead into the second period. That's where the action really got going.

Manisha constantly used an underhook offense, which Kim countered with a sitout spin that enabled her to get behind. She used the technique to score three takedowns of different variations to move in front 7-2.

But Manisha finally wised up and avoided the same mistake, opting for a snapdown attack that led to two takedowns to cut the gap to one. With 20 seconds left, she pancaked Kim for a 2-point exposure to clinch the victory.

"I was trailing in the first period but I could feel that she was tired," Manisha said. "As wrestlers we know when our opponent is tired. When the second period began, I could feel she was very tired. I had worked on it and I wanted to be pushing at full force all the time. So it was easy to cover."

Manisha said that tribulation of making the Indian team served as good preparation for the tournament in Amman.

"The competition in India is also tough," Manisha said. "But I did my best there and when I won, I realized that I can do well here as well. I was very positive from the start. Maybe the hard work of previous years will help me in 2025."

Kim made the final in her senior international debut with a stunning victory by fall in the semifinals over Paris Olympic 68kg bronze medalist and two-time world champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN).

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) works to finish a takedown against Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL) in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 65kg, Morikawa added to her gold from 2022 with a solid 6-2 victory over Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL), who had to settle for the silver for the second straight year.

"I won the title and was able to do a victory lap for the first time in awhile, so I am happy about that," said Morikawa, a three-time world medalist, including a gold in 2022. "But this time, the opponents were not so strong, so there are some things I need to look back on about how I wrestled. Most of all, I won the gold, so that's good."

Morikawa, coming off a victory at the Tirana Ranking Series, scored a takedown with Tuvshinjargal on the activity clock, then forced her over for a 2-point exposure to take a 5-0 lead into the break.

Tuvshinjargal mounted a comeback of sorts with a takedown in the second period, but couldn't further break through the defenses of Morikawa, who added a stepout on a counter. It was the second straight year that Tuvshinjargal lost to a Japanese in the final, having fallen to Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN) last year in Bishkek.

Morikawa lamented the fact that the DPR Korea had no entry in the weight class as she prepares for her next shot at a world title.

"At first, it had an entry but was withdrawn, so I had to fight who was here," Morikawa said. "I felt like there's no way I would be allowed to lose. My goal this year is to win the gold at the World Championships, so first of all to win in Asia is a good step.

"But globally, there are many strong opponents...I am well aware that the level around the world is continually getting better, so to keep from losing, I want to practice harder and harder, keep improving and make it so that people will still say that Japan is the strongest."

In the 72kg final, Bakbergenova capped the women's competition by scoring all of her points in the second period to forge a 4-1 victory over world U20 silver medalist and Asian U20 champion Yuqi LIU (CHN) for her fourth Asian gold and sixth medal overall.

There were plenty of shots in the first period, but none of them connected and an activity point for Liu was the lone score going into the break.

In the second period, Bakbergenova received an activity point, then pulled ahead with a 2-point exposure from a single-leg attack, which she followed by forcing a stepout. In the waning seconds, Bakbergenova defended against a single-leg attack to secure the victory.

Olympic medalists Hong, Ozaki settle for bronzes

In bronze-medal matches, the two Olympic bronze medalists who suffered stunning losses by fall in the semifinals, Hong and Ozaki, swallowed their pride and came back to secure some consolation from their trip to Amman with quick wins.

At 57kg, Kexin HONG (CHN) took little time in finishing off a not-so-easy opponent in two-time Asian medalist Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL), scoring a takedown and going straight to the lace lock, whipping off four rolls for a 10-0 win in :59.

Three matches later, Ozaki made it look like an instant replay, although she needed just 28 seconds to overwhelm local teenager Tala ABUKHEIT (JOR) in the exact same way for a 62kg bronze and her fourth career Asian medal.

Coming off the mat, Ozaki could only manage a wry smile over a tournament that went awry. Ozaki, who won the bronze in Paris and last year's Asian gold at 68kg after losing out to Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) at 62kg, earned her ticket to Amman by winning the All-Japan [Emperor's Cup] title in her return to 62kg.

"I was defeated [here], but after the Olympics, I moved back to this weight class, so I see it as an experience," Ozaki said. "It's a disappointing memory here, but I'm going to do what I can to be a contender again."

Ozaki said the psychological effect of cutting weight was bigger than the physical.

"I had to drop some weight, but mentally it was really tough," she said. "After the Olympics, where I had taken the bronze, i was really nervous about coming back, more nervous than I've ever been. But I look at it all as an experience."

The other bronze at 57kg went to Youngjin KWON (KOR), who picked up her first major medal when she survived a dangerous situation and went on to notch a victory by fall over Pei Ying LIAO (TPE).

Kwon came out like gangbusters with a 4-point headlock throw and a 2-point roll, but when she went for a gut wrench, Liao stepped over and put her on her back. Kwon escaped the predicament, and in the second period, put Liao onto her back during a counter takedown and secured the fall in 5:13.

Kalmira BILIMBEK KYZY (KGZ) gave Kyrgyzstan its lone medal of the night and her second career bronze at 62kg, breaking open a stepout-a-thon to build a 10-3 lead before defeating Tynys DUBEK (KAZ) by fall.

Bilimbek Kyzy led at one point 4-3, with all of the points coming on stepouts, then finally connected on three takedowns before securing the fall.

At 53kg, Asian U23 bronze medalist Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) scored in a variety of ways to grind out a 10-6 victory over world U23 bronze medalist Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL).

Bayanova employed an arm drag, an inside leg trip and a counter tilt among her techniques to deny a third Asian bronze to Chinbold, whose three stepouts in the second period left her on the short end of the decision.

ANTIM (IND) earned her second career Asian medal with powerful 10-0 win over Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE) in the other 50kg bout, getting a 4-point takedown in an eight-point first period, then ending the match 25 seconds into the second with a double-leg takedown.

At 65kg, Qi ZHANG (CHN), last year's 59kg champion, earned her fourth career Asian medal dating back to 2017 with a 10-0 victory over Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ).

Zhang opened with a 4-point takedown and went to the gut wrench for three rolls or tilts to end the match in 1:43.

Shakhzoda ALLANIYAZOVA (UZB) claimed her first-ever major medal by winning the other 65kg bronze, scoring a juicy 4-point takedown off an arm drag early in the second period and then defending well to defeat Jeongae BARK (KOR) 5-1.

At 72kg, former world champion Masako FURUICHI (JPN), denied a chance for a first-ever Asian title with a close loss to Bakbergenova in the semifinals, rolled to a 10-0 win over teenager Sehee KIM (KOR) as she settled for a third continental medal in her first appearance since 2018.

Furuichi, who has completed the "Grand Slam" of all four world age-group golds, spun behind on a takedown counter, then reeled off four gut wrenches this way and that for the victory in 1:37. The victory added to her silver in 2017 and bronze in 2018.

In the other 72kg match, veteran Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL) added a second straight Asian bronze and fifth overall to her collection with a victory by fall over two-time Asian U23 medalist Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB).

Zorigt, who also has an Asian gold from 2021 --the year Japan did not participate -- pancaked Oknazarova for a 2-point exposure, then twisted her onto her back for the fall in 52 seconds.

Day 4 Results

Women's Wrestling

53kg (11 entries)
GOLD: Hyogyong CHOE (PRK) df. Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) by TF, 12-1, 5:21

BRONZE: Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) df. Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL), 10-6
BRONZE: ANTIM (IND) df. Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE) by TF, 10-0, 3:25

57kg (12 entries)
GOLD: Sara NATAMI (JPN) df. Il Sim SON (PRK), 2-2

BRONZE: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) by TF, 10-0, :59
BRONZE: Youngjin KWON (KOR) df. Pei Ying LIAO (TPE) by Fall, 5:13 (12-2)

62kg (10 entries)
GOLD: MANISHA (IND) df. Ok Ju KIM (PRK), 8-7

BRONZE: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Tala ABUKHEIT (JOR) by TF, 10-0, :48
BRONZE: Kalmira BILIMBEK KYZY (KGZ) df. Tynys DUBEK (KAZ) by Fall, 5:38 (10-3)

65kg (12 entries)
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL), 6-2

BRONZE: Qi ZHANG (CHN) df. Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ) by TF, 10-0, 1:43
BRONZE: Shakhzoda ALLANIYAZOVA (UZB) df. Jeongae BARK (KOR), 5-1

72kg (8 entries)
GOLD: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) df. Yuqi LIU (CHN), 4-1

BRONZE: Masako FURUICHI (JPN) df. Sehee KIM (KOR) by TF, 10-0, 1:37
BRONZE: Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL) df. Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB) by Fall, :52 (4-0)