U23 European Championships entry list

Friday, March 10, 2023 - 16:22 By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (March 10) -- The 2023 U23 European Championships are set to take place in Bucharest, Romania from March 13 to 19 with eleven wrestlers trying to defend their titles.

The tournament will feature some of the top young wrestlers from across Europe, with a few who have tasted success at the senior level as well.

Leading the pack are Alex SZOKE (HUN), Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE), Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), Irina RINGACI (MDA), Andreea ANA (ROU) and Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) among others.

A few of these wrestlers will also enter the European Championships a month later and the U23 tournament will be the perfect warm-up for the wrestlers trying to win a medal in Zagreb in April.

In freestyle, Azerbaijan is bringing a strong team with Georgia and Turkey. In Greco-Roman, Georgia will look to defend its team title as three returning champions and two more world medalists are part of the team.

In women's wrestling, Ukraine will once again be the team to beat but as Turkiye showed last year, it cannot be taken lightly.

A rematch between Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) and Gerogios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) is expected at 79kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Freestyle

57kg
Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Ghennadi DIUVENJI (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Rafal SZEWC (POL)
Valentin BARBULESCU (ROU)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR)

61kg
Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE)
Stilyan ILIEV (BUL)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Andrei VITAN (MDA)
Arben SEJDI (MKD)
Daniel RITTER (ROU)
Emre KURAL (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)

65kg
Tigran GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Rashid BABAZADE (AZE)
Bozhidar DZHOROV (BUL)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Veniamin BORZIN (MDA)
Muhamed FERUKI (MKD)
Aminjon SADULLOEV (POL)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Dominik LARITZ (SUI)
Hamza ZOPALI (TUR)
Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR)

70kg
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Magomed KHANIEV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA)
Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Mateusz LUSZCZYNSKI (POL)
Eduard LENARD (ROU)
Shwe WIN (SWE)
Burak SININ (TUR)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR

74kg
Menua YARIBEKYAN (ARM)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Nikolay DIMITROV (BUL)
Magamed DELIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Balint BALAZS (HUN)
Raul ZARBALIEV (ISR)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Ismet CIFTCI (TUR)
Mykyta MORHUN (UKR)

79kg
Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Gabriel IGLESIAS RAMOS (ESP)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Max KASPEROVICH (ISR)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Okan TAHTACI (TUR)
Vladyslav BODORIAK (UKR)

86kg
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Farid JABBAROV (AZE)
Ilia HRISTOV (BUL)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (ITA)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Adam MODOSJAN (MKD)
Denis CHIRICA (ROU)
Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR)
Vladyslav PRUS (UKR)

92kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Alexandru BESLIU (ROU)
Farhad ANOSHEH (SWE)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)
Roman RYCHKO (UKR)

97kg
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Islam ILYASOV (AZE)
Kolyo DIMITROV (BUL)
Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Oktay CIFTCI (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

125kg
Martin SIMONYAN (ARM)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Nika BERULAVA (GEO)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA)
Uvejs FEJZULAHU (MKD)
Jakub CZERCZAK (POL)
Florin DREVE (ROU)
Efe Anil AL (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)

Exacue MUKUBU (NOR) is the U23 world champion at 82kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM)
Rahim HASANOV (AZE)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Amare FETENE (ISR)
Leonid MOROZ (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Sabolc LOSONC (SRB)
Muhammet CAKIR (TUR)
Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR)

60kg
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Aser EBRO RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Adrian ANTON (ROU)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)

63kg
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Miroslav EMILOV (BUL)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Ioannis PETKOS (GRE)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Petru ALEXE (ROU)
Ismail CULFA (TUR)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)

67kg
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Denis MERTL (CZE)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Alexandr GURALI (MDA)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
Iosif IONESCU (ROU)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)

72kg
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Hayk ASATRYAN (ARM)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Ilia MUSTAKOV (BUL)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Joni KOMPPA (FIN)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Igor BOTEZ (ROU)
Maurus ZOGG (SUI)
Oliver OLAH (SVK)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

77kg
Ashot KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Aistis LIAUGMINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Simon BORKENHAGEN (SWE)
Sahan ACAR (TUR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)

82kg
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL)
Ivo SVIGLER (CZE)
Marcel HEIN (DEN)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Saba MAMALADZE (GEO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Semion BREKKELI (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Kadir KAMAL (TUR)
Madamin MIRZOIEV (UKR)

87kg
Hovhannes HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Ivan MANOV (BUL)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Ondrej HAVELKA (CZE)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Mykyta ALIEKSIEIEV (UKR)

97kg
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Archontis XOURAS (GRE)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Roman BALCHIVSCHII (MDA)
Jakub ANTOSZEWSKI (POL)
Ionut GOSA (ROU)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Maans KLOSTERMANN (SWE)
Fatih ONVERMEZ (TUR)
Oleksandr YEVDOKIMOV (UKR)

130kg
Albert VARDANYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Dominik KRAWCZYK (POL)
Gean ALI (ROU)
Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

Irina RINGACI (MDA) will look to defend her U23 European title in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
Emine OSMAN (BUL)
Taru VAINIONPAEAE (FIN)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Marija SPIRKOVSKA (MKD)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Ana PIRVU (ROU)
Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Snizhana ONUFRIIEVA (UKR)

53kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Mihaela MIHOVA (BUL)
Chadia AYACHI (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Maria FERONE (ITA)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)

55kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Laurie LESAFFRE (FRA)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Angelika MYTKOWSKA (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Nazife TAIR (BUL)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Celeste SION (FRA)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Wiktoria KARWOWSKA (POL)
Georgiana Carla LIRCA (ROU)
Nellie FLORENTIN (SWE)
Nazar KAYA (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)

59kg
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Asia CRAPAROTTA (ITA)
Gabriele DILYTE (LTU)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
JOVANA RADIVOJEVIC (SRB)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)

62kg
Viktoria IVANOVA (BUL)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Luisa SCHEEL (GER)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Alina ANTIPOVA (LAT)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Gabriela CUC (ROU)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)

65kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Gergana STOYANOVA (BUL)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Gerda BARTH (GER)
Drosoula TZIANAKOPOULOU (GRE)
Bianca CONTRAFATTO (ITA)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Olha MASLOVSKA (SVK)
Nora SVENSSON (SWE)
Busra EFE (TUR)
Oksana CHUDYK (UKR)

68kg
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Daniela BRASNAROVA (BUL)
Marta OJEDA NAVARRO (ESP)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Karolina KOZLOWSKA (POL)
Adina IRIMIA (ROU)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)

72kg
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Paula ROTARU (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Romana VOVCHAK (UKR)

76kg
Marta PAJULA (EST)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Marion BYE (NOR)
Elena MARGAS (ROU)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

#WrestleBucharest

Returning medalists rule day one at U23 Europeans

Monday, March 13, 2023 - 16:57 By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (March 13) -- All five returning medalists who were in action on day one of the U23 European Championships made it to their respective finals in Bucharest, Romania.

Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) and Khasay HASANLI (AZE) earned a shot at winning their second straight gold medals while Denis MIHAI (ROU), Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) and Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) have a chance to improve their previous medals to gold.

The U23 European Championships got underway in the Romanian capital with five Greco-Roman weight classes and not many surprises.

Defending champion at 63kg Shotadze entered the final after a clinical performance. He began the day with a 9-0 win over Mairbek SALIMOV (POL) before the semifinal against Ismail CULFA (TUR).

Shotadze gave up passivity in the first period but defended the par terre position. He tried to body lock Culfa who answered with a head pinch. However, both wrestlers failed in their respective moves and Shotadze fell on top of Culfa, earning four points.

With less than a minute remaining in the bout, Culfa got a go behind to cut the lead to 4-3. He tried a front headlock but gave up two points on exposure, enough for Shotadze to win 6-3.

Shotadze will face Tino OJALA (FIN) for the gold medal as the latter became just the fourth wrestler from his country to reach the final at U23 Europeans.

Ojala won his first bout 9-0 and escaped Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) 6-6 in the quarterfinals. He was in trouble in the semifinal against Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR) after conceding the par terre and a turn. But he managed a near-perfect throw from par terre and a turn to lead 7-3. Semenchuk tried an arm spin that fetched him two points but could not stop Ojala from winning 7-5.

Defending champion at 77kg Khasay HASANLI (AZE) reached the final with a 5-1 win over Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 77kg, Hasanli amassed 19 points in his first two bouts before wrestling Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR) in the semifinal. He came out on top 5-1. In the final, he will take on U23 world silver medalist Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) who also had a dominating day in the office.

In the semifinal, Gutu defeated U20 world champion Deni NAKAEV (GER) 7-1 using three gut wrenches from par terre after getting the advantage in the first period. Nakaev failed to capitalize on the same in the second period.

Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN) Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) used his big throws to great effect and reached the 87kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Bisultanov clearly was the most dominant wrestler of the day as he entered the final without giving up a point in three bouts. In the semifinal, he faced Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA) and won 9-0, extending his overall score to 24-0.

He used an arm throw for the first takedown before using the same to get four points. He ended the bout with a gut wrench. Lupasco challenged the call for four points on the second throw but lost.

Bisultanov, who won a silver medal last year, will face David LOSONCZI (HUN) in the final after the Hungary wrestler defeated Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR) 7-3.

Istvan TAKACS (HUN) denied Bisultanov the gold medal last year and now it will be upon world bronze Losonczi to repeat against the world silver medalist.

Denis MIHAI (ROU) reached the 55kg final in front of his home crowd in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 55kg, Mihai will get yet another chance to win his first championships gold medal. He finished with a bronze medal last year but defeated Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR) 3-0 in the semifinals on Monday.

Mihai has wrestled at 13 World or European Championships in different age groups and reached the final twice. Monday marked his third entry into a final in which he will face Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM).

In a close semifinal, Manvelyan defeated Muhammet CAKIR (TUR) 1-1 after the two wrestlers traded passivities in the bout.

Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) reached the 130kg final after beating Muhammet BAKIR (TUR). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The final gold medal bout on Tuesday will see Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) take on Giorgi Tsopurashvili at 130kg.

U20 world champion Vyshnyvetskyi pinned Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) in the semifinal, his second pin of the day, to earn his spot in his first U23 European final.

Bakir got a turn from par terre to lead 3-0 in the first period but Vyshnyvetskyi scored a four-pointer using a front lock from par terre to lead 5-3. Bakir challenged the call which revealed that the move was dangerous and points were removed.

However, as Bakir got tired, Vyshnyvetskyi got him into a bear hug and launched a four-pointer. Bakir tried a desperate body throw but failed and Vyshnyvetskyi sat on him to get the fall with a minute remaining in the bout.

Tsopurashvili had a one-sided semifinal as he beat Albert VARDANYAN (ARM) 5-0 to set up the final against the Ukraine wrestler.

Bronze medalist from last year, Tsopurashvili used a big arm throw and a stepout early in the bout to claim the victory over Vardanyan. While he has already upgraded his bronze from last year, the Georgian will have a chance to claim the gold medal.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Denis MIHAI (ROU) vs. Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM) df. Muhammet CAKIR (TUR), 1-1
SF 2: Denis MIHAI (ROU) df. Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR), 3-0

63kg
GOLD: Tino OJALA (FIN) vs. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)

SF 1: Tino OJALA (FIN) df. Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR), 7-5
SF 2: Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) df. Ismail CULFA (TUR), 6-3

77kg
GOLD: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Khasay HASANLI (AZE)

SF 1: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Deni NAKAEV (GER), 7-1
SF 2: Khasay HASANLI (AZE) df. Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR), 5-1

87kg
GOLD: David LOSONCZI (HUN) vs. Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)

SF 1: David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR), 7-3
SF 2: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) df. Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA), 9-0

130kg
GOLD: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) vs. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) df. Albert VARDANYAN (ARM), 6-0
SF 2: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR), 7-3

U23 European Championships entry list

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Returning medalists rule day one at U23 Europeans