2026 U17 World Championships

U17 World Championships 2026 Entries: Wrestling's Young Stars in Baku

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 11) -- The U17 Wrestling World Championships will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from July 27 to August 2 at the National Gymnastics Arena.

The competition will kick off with Greco-Roman, then move to Women's Wrestling and finish with Freestyle. In Greco-Roman, 231 wrestlers are entered, 196 in Women's Wrestling and 242 wrestlers are entered in Freestyle.

Note: The entries are subject to change

UWW+

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Gulkhanim SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Rohini DEVBA (IND)
Natsumi SASAKI (JPN)
Aiaru ILIYAS (KAZ)
Aruuke NURBEKOVA (KGZ)
Azzaya BATTULGA (MGL)
Zlata KORESHOVA (RUS)
Tasmin ATHIMNI (TUN)
Sirin ASKARA (TUR)
Mariia DREBOT (UKR)
Sophia VALDEZ (USA)
Zaytuna SAPAROVA (UZB)

43kg
Maryam AMRALI (AZE)
Anastasiya LAZARCHYK (BLR)
Kristin ILIYNA (BUL)
Maya NAICKER (CAN)
Finja STRAUCH (GER)
DIKSHA (IND)
Sera FURUICHI (JPN)
Danara DAIRBEKOVA (KAZ)
Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ)
Rusalina PORTARU (MDA)
Tola RUDNIK (POL)
Valia HARSAN (ROU)
Daria MASLENNIKOVA (RUS)
Aysemin KACAN (TUR)
Valeriia YATSKIV (UKR)
Suzannah LUNDY (USA)
Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB)

46kg
Nuray JAFARLI (AZE)
Anastasiya NIAKLIAYEVA (BLR)
Frederika GROSSE (GER)
Vivien SZENTPAL (HUN)
Sandhya VISHNOI (IND)
Kokona MAKINO (JPN)
Inzhu BAKKOZHA (KAZ)
Aiana NIIAZBEKOVA (KGZ)
Irina TERZI (MDA)
Mungunchimeg GAVAA (MGL)
Julia PALKA (POL)
Alina BARANOVA (RUS)
Elif Su AKSOY (TUR)
Kateryna HOZHELOVA (UKR)
Madison HEALEY (USA)
Gulnoza ZAKIRDJANOVA (UZB)

49kg
Khadija GURBANZADA (AZE)
Milana TSIKHANOVICH (BLR)
Isabelle CHEN (CAN)
Hilary SOTO SUAZA (COL)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Malak NAWWAR (EGY)
Madina BAYRAMOVA (GER)
Kamna BABAL (IND)
Saika UCHIDA (JPN)
Ayanat MEINAMBAY (KAZ)
Zhanylai MEERBEKOVA (KGZ)
Mihaela BACOS (MDA)
Enerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Irina TSYDEEVA (RUS)
Pei Chin KO (TPE)
Evin DEMIR (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Isla Belle SILVA (USA)
Madina GAFUROVA (UZB)

53kg
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Anastasiya KEZHUN (BLR)
Valeria STANCHEVA (BUL)
Alejandra SERRANO (COL)
Lea LINGSCHEIDT (GER)
Mariia ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
AKSHARA (IND)
Sela ROZOV (ISR)
Rion OGAWA (JPN)
Arailym KOPZHASSAR (KAZ)
Aidemi ASANGAZIEVA (KGZ)
Ruslana CARAPETIANT (MDA)
Nomin SHINEBAYAR (MGL)
Zuzanna SOKOLOWSKA (POL)
Madalina PAVEL (ROU)
Malita BOLATOVA (RUS)
Miriam MISAKOVA (SVK)
Chi Yun YU (TPE)
Rahma REZGUI (TUN)
Ecrin SALIK (TUR)
Ivanna MAIDANSKA (UKR)
Marlee SOLOMON (USA)
Guzal ABDULLAEVA (UZB)

57kg
Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE)
Divine NKUNZIMANA (BDI)
Marharyta DANILEVICH (BLR)
Gurleen DHILLON (CAN)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Nadiia ZHOLTIKOVA (ESP)
Ana LABADZE (GEO)
Eleni GAVRINIOTI (GRE)
Janka SILLEI (HUN)
Nikita SEHRAWAT (IND)
Rion SUZUKI (JPN)
Arina KUANYSHOVA (KAZ)
Muslima BOLOTBEKOVA (KGZ)
Ana RACHITEANU (MDA)
Valentina PADRON TALAVERA (MEX)
Uranbayar BALJINNYAM (MGL)
Emilia REICH (POL)
Valeria FLOCEA (ROU)
Sofiia BELOVA (RUS)
Delia GISLER (SUI)
I Jou WANG (TPE)
Emna HAMMAMI (TUN)
Su SOYALP (TUR)
Mariia POLTORAK (UKR)
Epenesa ELISON (USA)
Dilnura AVEZOVA (UZB)

61kg
Fidan BABAYEVA (AZE)
Maryia KHRUSHCHOVA (BLR)
Andrea NISEVA (BUL)
Kai PARE (CAN)
Graciela ENINGO (ESP)
Karol TAMSON (EST)
Surae ABBASSOY (FIN)
Ana TSERETELI (GEO)
Eleni NTOUNIA (GRE)
Mariama KABA (GUI)
Zea BALAZS (HUN)
AVANSHIKA (IND)
Marharyta OVCHARENKO (ISR)
Waka AWANO (JPN)
Aruzhan BAKYTNUR (KAZ)
Aibiike AMANGELDYEVA (KGZ)
Lidia UNGUREANU (MDA)
Anujin ERKHEMBAATAR (MGL)
Inga KUC (POL)
Marisa ITURRINO (PUR)
Oana DUMITRU (ROU)
Oksana AIDAROVA (RUS)
Zaineb NASRI (TUN)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Yuliia HOLHOVSKA (UKR)
Landri VON GONTEN (USA)
Siysagul SARSENBAEVA (UZB)

65kg
Rana NURIYEVA (AZE)
Palina BRAHINETS (BLR)
Annie NIEMANN (CAN)
Lana PEZIC (CRO)
Yolayni ROSADO (DOM)
Rokaia IBRAHIM (EGY)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Szonja VERES (HUN)
ANTRA (IND)
Haruka KANEMOTO (JPN)
Aisha ABDIMALIK (KAZ)
Alina DZHARKINBAEVA (KGZ)
Margarita LISITA (MDA)
Sylvia ESPINOSA (MEX)
Ariunzul BOLDBAATAR (MGL)
Mariia GRISHCHUK (RUS)
Melisa SARICICEK (TUR)
Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR)
Eve SKROCKI (USA)
Shahzoda AZIMOVA (UZB)

69kg
Simura ABDULLAYEVA (AZE)
Kamila RUDZIANKOVA (BLR)
Natalia TASEVA (BUL)
Khushleen JHALLI (CAN)
Nino SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
TANIYA (IND)
Hibiki IIDA (JPN)
Khadisha FLYUK (KAZ)
Aiana SAMAEVA (KGZ)
Maria PAZ (MEX)
Khuslen MUNKHBAYASGALAN (MGL)
Maja WEJCHAN (POL)
Sophia ANASTASE (ROU)
Polina EFIMOVA (RUS)
Kiymet TEZCAN (TUR)
Marusia HAIDAMANCHUK (UKR)
Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)
Shakhsanem TORENIYAZOVA (UZB)

73kg
Yeseniya SALADUN (BLR)
Kaillany MELO (BRA)
Asees BAINS (CAN)
Paula BENAIXA (ESP)
Lyra LEDERER (GER)
Bianka BARANY (HUN)
GARIMA (IND)
Tsukasa KOMADA (JPN)
Bagzhan KURMANBAY (KAZ)
Diana TURGUNBEKOVA (KGZ)
Namuuntsetseg BATBOLD (MGL)
Aisha WILLIAMS (PAN)
Karina MUZALEVSKAIA (RUS)
Xin Ping WEI (TPE)
Sude CAMOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia PETRIV (UKR)
Kaili MANUEL (USA)
Chamangul MUKHAMMATSALIEVA (UZB)

Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)Arseni KIKINIOU (USA), a medalist in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle in 2025, will make the run again in 2026. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Freestyle

45kg
Tunar HASANOV (AZE)
Aliaksandr HAMAU (BLR)
Radoslav VELIKOV (BUL)
Jude GARRUCHO (CAN)
Ahmed SALEH (EGY)
Luka DOTIASHVILI (GEO)
Hanumant JADHAV (IND)
Mahdi DAMERCHELI (IRI)
Aryn ZHANAT (KAZ)
Abdunazar BAATYRKANOV (KGZ)
Catalin COJOCARU (MDA)
Ariun Erdene ERDENETUGS (MGL)
Nelson VILLAFANE (PUR)
Aldar BADMAEV (RUS)
Baraa LAMOUCHI (TUN)
Utku SOGUTLU (TUR)
Marko KVASNIUK (UKR)
Rylen WAX (USA)
Mukhammad RAKHIMJONOV (UZB)

48kg
Huseyn RZAZADE (AZE)
Sayaan SKRABIN (BLR)
Emir DZHEVATOV (BUL)
Esneider AYALA (COL)
Zurab DOTIASHVILI (GEO)
Bogdan SAPOJNIC (GER)
AARYAN (IND)
Amirali RAGHEB (IRI)
Netanel RAHMISTOV (ISR)
Kanta NAGAO (JPN)
Bakdaulet AGABEK (KAZ)
Abdulla RYSBEKOV (KGZ)
Leonidas ZABRIAN (MDA)
Israel AMARO (MEX)
Temuulen USUKHBAYAR (MGL)
Kirill KONDRASHOV (RUS)
Muslikhiddin KHODZHIEV (TJK)
Batin NANIS (TUR)
Volodymyr BOIKO (UKR)
Kooper DEPUTY (USA)
Farrukh MAKHMUDOV (UZB)

51kg
Youcef BOUKHALFA (ALG)
Ibrahim HASANOV (AZE)
Hristiyan LAZAROV (BUL)
Guarav BAHI (CAN)
Giorgi NARIMANIDZE (GEO)
Dariusz DRZYZGA (GER)
GOVIND (IND)
Benyamin ASHOFTEH (IRI)
Tamir SHIRMAMEDOV (ISR)
Masamune USHIMADO (JPN)
Sabyrzhan RAKHATOV (KAZ)
Nurdan BODONOEV (KGZ)
Dionisie NEGRU (MDA)
Munkhtuvshin BOLOR ERDENE (MGL)
William SOTO (PUR)
Zaiden BOTHA (RSA)
Islam KURAKHMAEV (RUS)
Attila HEGEDUS (SVK)
Said NABIEV (TJK)
Yigit EGEMEN (TUR)
Volodymyr YATEL (UKR)
Evan RESTIVO (USA)
Dostonbek YULDASHOV (UZB)

55kg
Aymene ZAGHDANE (ALG)
Abbas SHAFIYEV (AZE)
Nabi ISMAYIL (BLR)
Mert MUSTAFOV (BUL)
Jovanni TOVAR (COL)
Saba MINDIASHVILI (GEO)
Adrian AIRICH (GER)
Kyryl SHUMEIKO (HUN)
Prathmesh PATIL (IND)
Arman ELAHI (IRI)
Kyosuke IKEDA (JPN)
Temirlan MURAT (KAZ)
Mukhammadiasin IZZATILLAEV (KGZ)
Valentin DELEANU (MDA)
Edgar  BOCANEGRA (MEX)
Khusel Erdene PUREVBAATAR (MGL)
Przemyslaw MROZEK (POL)
Mustafa BERSANUKAEV (RUS)
Patrik VETRAK (SVK)
Yusuf KOCAK (TUR)
Kiril NAHIRNYI (UKR)
Chase KARENBAUER (USA)
Jakhongir TULKUNOV (UZB)

60kg
Santiago CHRISJOHN (ARG)
Eljan HASANOV (AZE)
Andrei KHARUZHY (BLR)
Mustafa FAHEL (CAN)
Adrian CANALES (ESA)
Davit MDZEVASHVILI (GEO)
Balazs HIDEG (HUN)
SITENDER (IND)
Mohammadtaha GANJEH (IRI)
Shai Beni SABAG (ISR)
Stefano GARCIA (ITA)
Shota FUJIWARA (JPN)
Mardan ORYNBASSAR (KAZ)
Mirlan NURMAMATOV (KGZ)
Victor VDOVII (MDA)
Arvinkhuslen ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Sufjan SINANI (MKD)
Witold PAWLIK (POL)
Andrew GOMEZ (PUR)
Stefan PUSCAS (ROU)
Sergei KARMRIAN (RUS)
Sami ODABASI (TUR)
Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR)
Joseph BURKE (USA)
Bekzodbek IBROHIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Ihab BERGHOUCHE (ALG)
Rashid NAZAROV (AZE)
Artsiom KAROTKI (BLR)
Alisson GONCALVES (BRA)
Petko SARAKOSTOV (BUL)
Ignacio FIGUEROA (CHI)
Dylan FERNANDEZ (ESA)
Sacha AUBERT (FRA)
Bidzina JINTCHARADZE (GEO)
Theodoros TSIRIPOV (GRE)
Vince LANG (HUN)
KRISHAN (IND)
Sam ARSHADGH (IRI)
Nikita KOZICH (ISR)
Minato WATATANI (JPN)
Zamir DANIYAR (KAZ)
Azamat AZYRANKULOV (KGZ)
Victor VEVERITA (MDA)
Enkhmunkh SAINKHUU (MGL)
Mario ANANIEV (MKD)
Jovani SOLIS (PUR)
Istvan NAGY (ROU)
Janco BEZUIDENHOUT (RSA)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (RUS)
Dario STADELMANN (SUI)
Kevin PETOCZ (SVK)
Abdumuqit NABIEV (TJK)
Noker GUVANJOV (TKM)
Beytullah BILGEN (TUR)
Tymur ABUMISLIMOV (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Shokhiddin ALIEV (UZB)

71kg
Benjamin CASAS (ARG)
Yusuf BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Tunar GULIYEV (AZE)
Vitali HARDZEI (BLR)
Nikolay ILIEV (BUL)
Mohamed HAFEZ (EGY)
Ibrahim BULGUCHEV (GBR)
Bohdan KVANTALIANI (GEO)
Ka Sing CHAN (HKG)
Matyas DERCSAR (HUN)
ANUJ (IND)
Reza SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Orel BENOGUEV (ISR)
Koichiro NAGAI (JPN)
Adilet RYSBAY (KAZ)
Abdumalik BAIZHIGITOV (KGZ)
Pavel MAVRODI (MDA)
Narantulga ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Igor KACZMAREK (POL)
Joab CARRILLO (PUR)
Nutsalmirza SAITOV (RUS)
Gergo BOTH (SVK)
Idris BAKHROMOV (TJK)
Mekan HUDAYBERENOV (TKM)
Cemal PURCU (TUR)
Dmytro KURSENKO (UKR)
Camryn HOWARD (USA)
Jaloliddin DJALALOV (UZB)

80kg
Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Mikhail CHAPAK (BLR)
Cassiano ZUSE PICOLOTTO (BRA)
Koen HURLBERT (CAN)
Yassin EZZAT (EGY)
Arshavir DARAKHSHANIFARA (FIN)
Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO)
Zeteny TUGYI (HUN)
Deepanshu KHOKHAR (IND)
Amirali FERASATI (IRI)
Takahiro HAGINO (JPN)
Adilbek YERBOLATOV (KAZ)
Alii ZAKIRZHANOV (KGZ)
David PANFILI (MDA)
Layden ACEVEDO (PUR)
Kantemir ELMESOV (RUS)
Martin MOKRAS (SVK)
Ayubjon BOZORZODA (TJK)
Shaapbas ESGEROV (TKM)
Hsing Yu WANG (TPE)
Volkan BILGIN (TUR)
Salakhuddin ABDULAIEV (UKR)
Jayden OFARRILL (USA)
Abdukodir SARSENBAEV (UZB)

92kg
Johnson TSAKIRAKIS (AUS)
Elgun KARIMLI (AZE)
Anatoli TAMAROVICH (BLR)
Tyler LANGFORD (CAN)
Ali DADAEV (FRA)
Marshall EVERETT (GBR)
Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO)
Sahibdeep SINGH (HKG)
Zsombor SIMON (HUN)
SAKSHAM (IND)
Reza ISAZADEH (IRI)
Shu YOSHIDA (JPN)
Nurislam AITUGAN (KAZ)
Kamil ONDURUSHOV (KGZ)
Arnas JOKIMCIUS (LTU)
Eugen DOHOTER (MDA)
Jose ESPARZA (MEX)
Khuslen TSERMAA (MGL)
Maciej SLOWIANSKI (POL)
Alan GARCIA (PUR)
Abdurazak SHABANOV (RUS)
Emomali SAFARALIZODA (TJK)
Yasin ERTURK (TUR)
Artem ZALVOVSKYI (UKR)
Salah TSARNI (USA)
Amirbek FAZLITDINOV (UZB)

110kg
Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE)
Daniil ZHYVULA (BLR)
Stefan STEFANOV (BUL)
Udaypartap BILLEN (CAN)
Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO)
Sergko CHOUTSISVILI (GRE)
Arush RANA (IND)
Amirhossein ESMALI (IRI)
Hanto HAYASHI (JPN)
Sagyndyk TEMIRGALY (KAZ)
Ilias TAKIROV (KGZ)
Ernests STABINS (LAT)
Skomantas RIMKUS (LTU)
Alexei USANOV (MDA)
Serjbudee PUREVJAV (MGL)
Magomed OMAROV (RUS)
Adam KOSC (SVK)
Yigit AKTAS (TUR)
Valerii PICHUHIN (UKR)
Peter MOCCO (USA)
Behruz ASHIROV (UZB)

Bunyod HASANOV (UZB)2025 world champion at 48kg Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) will be at 51kg in Baku. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Ali JAVADLI (AZE)
Ognyan BURGAZOV (BUL)
Luka BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Sachin SHIROLE (IND)
Armin ESMAEILI (IRI)
Ryunosuke TANAKA (JPN)
Nurislam PAKHITZHAN (KAZ)
Baizhigit BAKIEV (KGZ)
Nelson VILLAFANE (PUR)
Arsan ALIEV (RUS)
Kerem DERMAN (TUR)
Rodion SVIRIDENKO (UKR)
Rylen WAX (USA)
Afruzbek IBRAGIMOV (UZB)

48kg
Houssem BOUHA (ALG)
Omar SALMANOV (AZE)
Tzvetan NIKOLOV (BUL)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Benedek TOMBOR (HUN)
Avinash CHETAKE (IND)
Ali ESMAEILI (IRI)
Ichia INAOKA (JPN)
Ali ALMAS (KAZ)
Abdyshukur DURUSALYEV (KGZ)
Hector AGUILAR (MEX)
Soltan IUSUPOV (RUS)
Samil SAHAN (TUR)
Tymur MAHARRAMOV (UKR)
Arav PANDEY (USA)
Javokhir SHARIFBOEV (UZB)

51kg
Lyes BOUMAZA (ALG)
Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE)
Boris KRUMOV (BUL)
Jan BERAN (CZE)
Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO)
Georgios CHONDRONASIOS (GRE)
Sandor KURDI (HUN)
Dhiraj DAPHALE (IND)
Ahmad BADRADDINI (IRI)
Eito SATO (JPN)
Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ)
Azhybek MANAPOV (KGZ)
Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA)
Artem TKACHENKO (RUS)
Ali IPEK (TUR)
Denys KIRYK (UKR)
Wyatt DANNEGGER (USA)
Bunyod HASANOV (UZB)

55kg
Gurban MAJNUNOV (AZE)
Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (BLR)
Lavozier WADIK (BRA)
Danimir YORDANOV (BUL)
Timo MARCENKOV (CZE)
Abdullah AHMED (EGY)
Giorgi KEDELIDZE (GEO)
Samuel PUSCAS (GER)
Nikolaos ZINISA (GRE)
Keve KOVACS (HUN)
HARIOM (IND)
Vahid ASHIRI (IRI)
Hiroki TAZAWA (JPN)
Diyar AMANALI (KAZ)
Alikhan MIINAZAROV (KGZ)
Domantas MERKELIS (LTU)
Andrei SOCHIRCA (MDA)
Daniel JACOBO (MEX)
Abu Bakar SAGA (NOR)
Vlad TRIP (ROU)
Edem PAIZIEV (RUS)
Umarjon MUKHTOROV (TJK)
Muhammet KARATEKIN (TUR)
Illia VANZHUL (UKR)
Corey BROWN (USA)
Asilbek KARIMOV (UZB)

60kg
Elmir CHARKAZOV (AZE)
Raman SHARKOU (BLR)
Vladislav IVANOV (BUL)
Roko CURIC (CRO)
Simon SEBECEK (CZE)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Sultan KUSHT (FIN)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Christiano LIEBZEIT (GER)
Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE)
Milan BUDAI (HUN)
Darpan CHAUDHARI (IND)
Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI)
Andrea DE MARZIO (ITA)
Hinata HANAMORI (JPN)
Nurali ASKAR (KAZ)
Ulan DZHANALIEV (KGZ)
Ronaldas POGOZELSKIS (LTU)
Vlad DANILA (MDA)
Alexandru LUNGU (ROU)
Mikhail STEPANOV (RUS)
Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK)
Osman OZDEMIR (TUR)
Rakhman GAMIDOV (UKR)
Cooper MATHEWS (USA)
Sadriddin TULKINBOEV (UZB)

65kg
Orkhan HABIBLI (AZE)
Andrei MAYEUSKI (BLR)
Georgi MARKOV (BUL)
Lovro VIDOVIC (CRO)
Gaspar SANCHEZ (CZE)
Abdalla ABDELMAGEED (EGY)
Ramin Ram YOUSEFI (FIN)
Vasili LOMJARIA (GEO)
Dionysios BOULOUTIDIS (GRE)
Imre JUHASZ (HUN)
Kunal DAGAR (IND)
Armin GHOLI (IRI)
Tamirlan KHALIMOV (ISR)
Yuki UEDA (JPN)
Miras MAKHAMBET (KAZ)
Ramil BERDIKULOV (KGZ)
Mangirdas BRAZDZIUNAS (LTU)
Nicolae CERNOUS (MDA)
Raul CASTILLO MOLINA (MEX)
Raffaele HIGHT (NED)
Gabriel LUNGU (ROU)
Shamil LABAZANOV (RUS)
Bakhtovar PRIMQULOV (TJK)
Emirhan DOGAN (TUR)
Ibrahim NASIBOV (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Sardor MAKHMUDOV (UZB)

71kg
Houdaifa BOUTARFAYA (ALG)
Ali MAMMADOV (AZE)
Siarhei DOUHI (BLR)
Kristiyan KRASTEV (BUL)
Cristobal ALIAGA (CHI)
Luka SEVEREC (CRO)
Adam BOUBEL (CZE)
Tanel LAISARV (EST)
Eeli OJALA (FIN)
Nikoloz KUTUBIDZE (GEO)
Dimitrios SARAPIS (GRE)
Ervin CZUCZOR (HUN)
Parnam SINGH (IND)
Esmaeil ZAHERDOUST (IRI)
Yehonatan NEMSADZE (ISR)
Nicolas DE GRECIS (ITA)
Soya AKASHI (JPN)
Alinur TOLEUGALI (KAZ)
Baiel NURALIEV (KGZ)
Dmitrijus PETROVICEVAS (LTU)
Bogdan TALMACI (MDA)
Martin LETVIK (NOR)
Julian IWASZKO (POL)
David MALDONADO (PUR)
Albert DEACU (ROU)
Ivan SHULKO (RUS)
Luka ZELIC (SRB)
Mahdi AZIZBOEV (TJK)
Resit YURUK (TUR)
Roman IVANYK (UKR)
Aiden ARNETT (USA)
Kodirjon FOZILOV (UZB)

80kg
Isfahan HASANOV (AZE)
Yaraslau BLOTSKI (BLR)
Stoyan ZEBEKOV (BUL)
Toma JELENC (CRO)
Jalo KETONEN (FIN)
Luka BUIGLISHVILI (GEO)
Suraj SHARMA (IND)
Alireza REZAEI (IRI)
Yonatan LEONTYEV (ISR)
Koan VALENTINI (ITA)
Ryohei MARUYAMA (JPN)
Alikhan KUSHEV (KAZ)
Nurluutan KUBATOV (KGZ)
Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU)
Vitalii MADJAR (MDA)
Szymon TREDER (POL)
Layden ACEVEDO (PUR)
Ilias GADABORSHEV (RUS)
Arijan ALIJA (SRB)
Sheroz GHANIJONI (TJK)
Abdulhalik BAL (TUR)
Danyil MELNYCHUK (UKR)
Ivan IVANOV (USA)
Abdulaziz KHOLMIRZAEV (UZB)

92kg
Zohrab SAFAROV (AZE)
Mark KOT (BLR)
Filip DUREV (BUL)
Niko VIDOVIC (CRO)
Zyad MOHAMED (EGY)
Shota TABATADZE (GEO)
Sascha SCHWAB (GER)
Polykarpos SERVETAS (GRE)
Sandor ANTALY (HUN)
Rajvardhan PATIL (IND)
Amirreza MEHRITALARPOSHTI (IRI)
Sagi MIREL (ISR)
Sarito KAMENAGA (JPN)
Ali BEKENGAZY (KAZ)
Sanjar STALBEKOV (KGZ)
Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA)
Tomasz MITAL (POL)
Ionut PATRU (ROU)
Aslan KARDANOV (RUS)
Todor AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Matti EICHMANN (SUI)
Cheng En WU (TPE)
Yusuf AKSU (TUR)
Hlib YEVSIEIEV (UKR)
William ETU (USA)
Mirjalol SHOVKATOV (UZB)

110kg
Mahammad MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Yahor SAVICH (BLR)
Luiz PINHEIRO (BRA)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Petr GRUBER (CZE)
Mohamed ELSAFY (EGY)
Osma TURUNEN (FIN)
Saba TAKIDZE (GEO)
Harsh DALAL (IND)
Aliakbar AKOO (IRI)
Mitsuyoshi URUSHIMA (JPN)
Arystan TEMERGALI (KAZ)
Elbek TURGUNOV (KGZ)
Viesturs KILKENS (LAT)
Mateusz TOMELKA (POL)
Eugen Florin POPA (ROU)
Fedor SUKHAREV (RUS)
Andrej SIMIC (SRB)
Kaan DONERTAS (TUR)
Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR)
Bruno PALLONE (USA)
Shokhjakhon ILKHOMOV (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Ishii Beats Morikawa Twice to Grab Ticket Back to World Championships

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (May 23) -- Making the most of her raw determination and an effective low single, Ami ISHII will get a chance at a third straight world title after all. And she earned a ticket to the Asian Games as a bonus.

Ishii notched consecutive victories over rival Miwa MORIKAWA on Saturday, first in the women's 68kg final at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships then again in a playoff for a place on the national team at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"What went well at the tournament was not so much how I handled my matches, but the process I went through in the six months since I lost [to Morikawa] in December," Ishii said. "To get where I am today, after my loss in December, I spent every day thinking about making the national team. The difficult times became my ally."

Ishii, the reigning world champion at 68kg, fell to world 65kg champion Morikawa last December in the final of the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships which, along with the Meiji Cup, are the domestic qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Wrestlers who win both tournaments automatically earn tickets to both big events. If the winners are different, a playoff is held between the two in an extra session following the medal ceremony.

There were four playoffs in total among the nine weight classes that had finals on Saturday, with Paris Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI also making the grade by completing a double victory over Yasuha MATSUYUKI at women's 76kg.

Ami ISHII (JPN)Ami ISHII (JPN) wrestles off Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the 68kg playoff. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Ishii, who lost 5-3 to Morikawa at the Emperor's Cup, never gave her opponent an opening to go the offensive, and both of their bouts revolved around actions initiated by Ishii low singles, which Morikawa would counter by reaching over the top.

"From the new year to today, I have worked on various things, but the major issue was how to finish off [the takedown]," Ishii said. "I'm really happy that that became the key to victory."

In the Meiji Cup final, Ishii notched a 2-1 win, with a first-period stepout accounting for the difference when both received activity points in the second period. On the scoring move, Ishii got in deep on a single, then got the point when a scramble took them over the edge.

Returning to the mat several hours later for the playoff, Morikawa was able to score off a counter, but it wasn't enough as Ishii held on to win 4-2.

After receiving an activity point, Ishii scored a stepout to take a 2-0 lead into the break. In the second period, she got in exceptionally deep on a single, giving her the leverage to dump Morikawa onto her back for 2. Morikawa squirmed to her knees and reached back to fling Ishii for a 2-point exposure of her own, but that would be the end of the scoring.

Ishii will get a chance to win a third straight world gold, having also taken the 72kg title in 2024. She also has a silver from 2022, but her fifth-place finish in 2023 led to her eventually missing out on the Paris Olympics.

Ishii's medal collection also includes an Asian gold from 2022, but as with other Japanese wrestlers, this year's Asian Games holds special appeal for her, as Japan will be hosting the quadrennial event for the first time in 30 years.

"As for the Asian Games, it has the same frequency as the Olympics being once every four years, making it an important competition," Ishii said. "I will work hard to win and make it one of my memories."

Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) won the 76kg Meiji Cup final and the playoff against Yasuha MATSUYUKI. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Like Japan's other Olympic medalists, Kagami took her time returning to competition after Paris, enjoying the limelight and adoration that comes with the sport's most important gold medal.

She acknowledged that she might have taken her preparation for granted, which resulted in a stunning last-second 4-2 loss to Matsuyuki at the Emperor's Cup.

Kagami wasn't going to let that happen again and, in winning the final and playoff 6-2 and 3-2, respectively, she quickly responded after making an aggressive mistake in each match.

"After I lost, I trained harder than anyone," Kagami said. "Even with my busy schedule, I never cut down on my time in practice. Maybe noone could see it, or I didn't let it be seen. I continued progressing and getting more confident, and the result here shown a light on it."

In the final, Kagami received an activity point in the first period, then started the second period by scoring a 2-point exposure to off her opponent's single-leg attempt. But when she got behind and attempted a gut wrench, Matsuyuki stopped her cold to cut the gap to 3-2.

Kagami fired right back with a driving double-leg takedown, which, with an unsuccessful challenge point tacked on, made it 6-2.

In the playoff, Kagami again led 1-0 in the first period, this time from a stepout. She added an activity point in the second period to make it 2-0, only to fall behind on criteria when Matsuyuki countered a takedown attempt for 2.

Again, Kagami went right back to business, shooting in on a single, lifting it up and marching Matsuyuki over the edge for the go-ahead stepout point. She never let Matsuyuki get close to scoring the rest of the way.

"I had absolutely no anxiety," Kagami said of falling behind in the playoff. "What I gave up came from a counter to my tackle. I knew I could get in on my tackle and after she countered, I went right back to taking another shot. There was still about a minute and 20 seconds and there was nothing for me to fear."

Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) defeated Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN), 11-1, in the 53kg final. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

In another high-profile final, former world champion Moe KIYOOKA took advantage of the first opening that reigning world champion Haruna MURAYAMA gave her and ran with it to capture the women's 53kg title with an 11-1 win.

Kiyooka, who won the Emperor's Cup in Murayama's absence, was trailing 1-0 in the second period when she noticed a lapse and pounced at the three-time world champion's open foot.

Kiyooka swept it up by the heel for a takedown, then transitioned to a position favored by her brother, Paris Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA, in which she gets her head between the opponents legs from behind. From there, she executed four quick rolls and the match was over in 4:11.

Kiyooka will now get a chance add to the world title she won at 55kg in 2022 when she makes the trip to Astana, where it is likely she will be accompanied by her brother. He made the final at Freestyle 65kg, to be contested on Sunday.

In other action, the rivalry between Nippon Sport Science University alumni and practice partners Kyotaro SOGABE and Katsuaki ENDO at Greco 67kg added another chapter to its long-running saga, with Sogabe coming out on top this time.

Sogabe nullified his loss to Endo at the Emperor's Cup by winning the Meiji Cup final 4-0, then took the playoff with a 3-1 victory.

In both matches, Sogabe was able to score with a gut wrench from par terre, while keeping from being rolled himself while on the bottom.

"Recently in practice, I often gave up points from the ground," Sogabe said. "Up to this tournament, I worked on that, and the fact that I didn't give up points from the ground, I think was the reason behind my victory."

It proved to be a banner day for the Sogabe family. Following Sogabe's victory, his younger brother Rintaro SOGABE won his first-ever senior national title with a wild 12-12 win in the Greco 72kg final over Hajime KIKUTA.

"I came here coming off the disappointment of losing at the All-Japan," Kyotaro Sogabe said. "Today, I was able to win the title along with my brother. He was able to see it through to victory, and I could win out in the playoff, so I'm really happy."

Rintaro also earned the ticket to the World Championships, as Emperor's Cup champion Taishi NARIKUNI was unable to take part in the playoff after suffering a broken facial bone his quarterfinal match on Friday. According to a family member, Narikuni will undergo surgery on Tuesday.

Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN)Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) won the 79kg gold to earn his spot for the World Championships. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Also heading to his first senior World Championships will be rising star Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI, who repeated his victory at the Emperor's Cup over Kanata YAMAGUCHI with a 4-0 win the the Freestyle 79kg final.

Waseda University's Gharehdaghi scored all of his points in the first period with a takedown, stepout and activity point, then spent the second period holding off Yamaguchi.

"I'm happy, but in the second period, I wasn't able to do my wrestling, and that's something I want to fix," Gharehdaghi said.

Gharehdaghi, whose father is Iranian, was coming off a gold-medal run at last month's Asian Championships in Bishkek.

"It really gave me a boost of confidence," he said. "Being Asian champion makes me look anew at what I should be doing. The matches at the World Championships will be even harder, so I must continue practicing as I have been, without letting up at all."

Day 3 Results

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI, 4-0

BRONZE: Shunsuke GOTO df. Kohei KITAMURA, 6-3
BRONZE: Ariya YOSHIDA df. Kojiro SHIGA by Fall, 4:57 (7-5)

86kg
GOLD: Hayato ISHIGURO df. Natsura OKAZAWA by TS, 12-1, 2:25

BRONZE: Ryunosuke KAMIYA df. Tatsuya SHIRAI by Def.
BRONZE: Yudai TAKAHASHI df. Rintaro INOUE by TS, 11-1, 3:57

125kg
GOLD: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Hosei FUJITA by TS, 10-0, :29

BRONZE: Akinari ORIYAMA df. Yamato HASEGAWA, 5-2
BRONZE: Keivan YOSHIDA df. Kazushi IWASAKI by TS, 10-0, 5:12

Greco-Roman

67kg
GOLD: Kyotaro SOGABE df. Katsuaki ENDO, 4-0

BRONZE: Kojiro HASEGAWA df. Chiezo MARUYAMA, 6-2
BRONZE: Komei SAWADA df. Kensuke SHIMIZU, 3-1

World team playoff: Sogabe df. Endo, 3-1

72kg
GOLD: Rintaro SOGABE df. Hajime KIKUTA, 12-12

BRONZE: Zenji ANADA df. Taishi NARIKUNI by Inj. Def.
BRONZE: Daigo KOBAYASHI df. Takeru KOZUKA, 5-2

97kg
GOLD: Yuri NAKAZATO df. Takahiro TSURUTA, 5-3

BRONZE: Sorato KANAZAWA df. Issa KIKUCHI, 7-1
BRONZE: Koki MATSUMOTO df. Riku NAKAHARA by Fall, 2:50 (5-5)

World team playoff: Nakazato df. Tsuruta, 1-1

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA df. Haruna MURAYAMA by TS, 11-1, 4:11

BRONZE: Umi IMAI df. Mai OGAWA, 5-2
BRONZE: Mayu SHIDOCHI df. Saki YUMIYA, 2-0

68kg
GOLD: Ami ISHII df. Miwa MORIKAWA, 2-1

BRONZE: Rey HOSHINO df. Masako FURUICHI, 6-0

World team playoff: Ishii df. Morikawa, 4-2

76kg
GOLD: Yuka KAGAMI df. Yasuha MATSUYUKI, 6-2

BRONZE: Mahiru FUJITA df. Mizuki NAGASHIMA, 5-0
BRONZE: Ayano MORO df. Sakura NAKANO by Fall, 1:08 (2-0)

World team playoff: Kagami df. Matsuyuki, 3-2