#WrestleTirana

U23 World Championships 2024 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (September 30) -- The U23 World Championships will be held in Tirana, Albania from October 21 to 27. This is the second consecutive year that the tournament will be held in Tirana.

More than 650 wrestlers are entered to compete in the event with 240 wrestlers each in Freestyle and Greco-Roman and 184 wrestlers in Women's Wrestling. The tournament will begin with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling and Freestyle at the end.

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

*Note: The entry list is subject to change with a few countries still left to conduct their selection trials

57kg
Herbert AKAPIAN (AIN)
Lev PAVLOV (AIN)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE)
Ivaylo Milenov TISOV (BUL)
Treye Colby TROTMAN (CAN)
Dengburile DENGBURILE (CHN)
Ndjidda BOUBA (CMR)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
SHUBHAM (IND)
Ali Hossein MOMENIJOUJADEH (IRI)
Rocco TERRANOVA (ITA)
Gakuto OZAWA (JPN)
Allan ORALBEK (KAZ)
Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ)
Jiguur SARANTUYA (MGL)
Stojanche STOJKOV (MKD)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR)
Maxwell GALLAGHER (USA)

61kg
Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN)
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM)
Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE)
Fotis PAPADOPOULOS (CAN)
Youhua LIN (CHN)
Elkin ESPANA (SANTA COL)
Daniel RAMIREZ (CRC)
Omar GAZASHVILI (GEO)
Lok Ming TAI (HKG)
NIKHIL (IND)
Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Meiryu AKAMINE (JPN)
Adilet ALMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ)
Iukhan DOKTURBEK UULU (KGZ)
Vasile MARCU (MDA)
Arben SEJDI (MKD)
William BETANCOURT (PUR)
Emre KURAL (TUR)
Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR)
Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA)

65kg
Anatoli HRAMYKA (AIN)
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN)
Klevisi PRECI (ALB)
Hayk ABRAHAMYAN (ARM)
Rashid BABAZADE (AZE)
Shannon HANNA (BAH)
Ilyas ABDURASHIDOV (BEL)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Matias MUNOZ (CHI)
Ning WANG (CHN)
Shehabeldin MOHAMED (EGY)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Giorgi SHONIA (GEO)
Jonnathan PEREZ (GUA)
Chi Hin WONG (HKG)
ROHIT (IND)
Abbas EBRAHIMZADEH (IRI)
Kaiji OGINO (JPN)
Bekzat YERMEKBAY (KAZ)
Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Wilfredo LOPEZ (PAN)
Yacoub GHAITH (PLE)
Daniel KULCZYNSKI (POL)
Tyler KNOX (PUR)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Sulaiman KARGBO (SLE)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR)
Joshua SAUNDERS (USA)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Mikita DZEMCHANKA (AIN)
Artem GOBAEV (AIN)
Fabian KOCILERI (ALB)
Tigran GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Magomed KHANIEV (AZE)
Yves NISHIMWE (BDI)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Gregor MCNEIL (CAN)
Jorge GATICA (CHI)
Chunchen LIU (CHN)
Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO)
Tsz Hei HEUNG (HKG)
ABHIMANYOU (IND)
Sina KHALILI (IRI)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Yernur NURGAZY (KAZ)
Kanat KERIMBEKOV (KGZ)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Constantin CHIRILOV (MDA)
Tugsjargal ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Muhamed FERUKI (MKD)
Faisal DANA (PLE)
Mateusz LUSZCZYNSKI (POL)
Eligh RIVERA (PUR)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Yasin YESIL (TUR)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR)
Paniro JOHNSON (USA)

74kg
Nikita DMITRIJEVS (AIN)
Arslan BAGAEV (AIN)
Klevis KOCEKU (ALB)
Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Bradley FULMER (AUS)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Patrik LEDER (CAN)
Pengcheng WANG (CHN)
Mohamed ABDELHADY (EGY)
Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Stas WOLF (GER)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Ali REZAEI (IRI)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Murat DZHAKUPOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Rayanne ESSAIDI (MAR)
Vlad STRATAN (MDA)
Batbayar BATSUKH (MGL)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Mykyta MORHUN (UKR)
Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA)

79kg
Artsiom BELAVUSAU (AIN)
Arsen BALAIAN (AIN)
Altin GANCI (ALB)
Arjan DANAJ (ALB)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Nelson OBROU (CAF)
Owen MARTIN (CAN)
Feng LU (CHN)
Juan CARDOZO (COL)
Joona VUOTI (FIN)
Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO)
Amit AMIT (IND)
Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI)
RAFFAELE MATRULLO (ITA)
Masaki SATO (JPN)
Zhengis KANYBEKOV (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Gheorghi CARA (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Alie SESAY (SLE)
Umar MAVLAEV (SUI)
Bekir OVEC (TUR)
Vladyslav BODORIAK (UKR)
Patrick KENNEDY (USA)

86kg
Ilya KHAMTSOU (AIN)
Ibragim KADIEV (AIN)
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Taran GORING (CAN)
Ye LI (CHN)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Cesar UBICO ESTRADA (GUA)
ASHISH (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Aaron AYZEROV (ISR)
Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Nurzhan ISSAGALIYEV (KAZ)
Bekzat RAKHIMOV (KGZ)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Kweli HERNANDEZ (PUR)
Joshua ALOFIPO (SAM)
Michal VERES (SVK)
Emre CIFTCI (TUR)
Denys BYKOV (UKR)
John GUNDERSON (USA)
Steven RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

92kg
Aliaksei PARKHOMENKA (AIN)
Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN)
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Aiden STEVENSON (CAN)
Tuxige TUXIGE (CHN)
Mukhammedsultan KOPBAYEV (ESP)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
Jointy KUMAR (IND)
Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Satoshi MIURA (JPN)
Bekzat AMANGALI (KAZ)
Davids PIROZNIKS (LAT)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Filip SZUCKI (POL)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Jacob CARDENAS (USA)

97kg
Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN)
Sergei KOZYREV (AIN)
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Aslan ABAKAROV (AZE)
Callum KNOX (CAN)
Aman WULAHATI (CHN)
Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO)
Emmanuel OSEI SARFO (GHA)
Sahil JAGLAN (IND)
Mahdi HAJILOUEIAN (IRI)
Yuta SASAKI (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Taron SHAHINYAN (POL)
Rifat Eren GIDAK (TUR)
Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR)
Massoma ENDENE (USA)

125kg
Pavel DZIATLAU (AIN)
Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN)
Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)
Jorawar DHINSA (CAN)
Yiwei ZHUANG (CHN)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Milan KORCSOG (HUN)
Anirudh KUMAR (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Toyoki HAMADA (JPN)
Omarkhan NADIROV (KAZ)
Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA)
Batmagnai ENKHTUVSHIN (MGL)
Michal DUBOWSKI (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Omar Ihab SAREM (SYR)
Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)
Lucas STODDARD (USA)

Umi ITO (JPN)Umi ITO (JPN) is the returning champion at 50kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling 

50kg
Natallia VARAKINA (AIN)
Polina LUKINA (AIN)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Kelyn YOUNG (CAN)
Yu ZHANG (CHN)
Justine VIGOUROUX (FRA)
MEENAKSHI (IND)
Umi ITO (JPN)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Zineb ECH CHABKI (MAR)
Munkhgerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Yusneiry AGRAZAL (PAN)
Natalia WALCZAK (POL)
Ana PIRVU (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK)
Yi Hui LIN (TPE)
Chahrazed AYACHI (TUN)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR)
Sage MORTIMER (USA)
Mariana ROJAS (VEN)

53kg
Viktoryia VOLK (AIN)
Olga OVCHINNIKOVA (AIN)
Esmeralda NELA (ALB)
Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN)
Xiaomin XIE (CHN)
Yusmy CHAPARRO URREGO (COL)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
TAMANNA (IND)
Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL)
Ellen OESTMAN (SWE)
Sila AYKUL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Elena IVALDI (USA)

55kg
Aliaksandra BULAVA (AIN)
Anastasiia IANDUSHKINA (AIN)
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Victoria SEAL (CAN)
Antonia VALDES ARRIAGADA (CHI)
Ying LU (CHN)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Sito SITO (IND)
Karina HONDA (JPN)
Ainur ASHIMOVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Otgontuya BAYANMUNKH (MGL)
Emma MALMGREN (SWE)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Amani JONES (USA)

57kg
Marta HETMANAVA (AIN)
Anastasiia KOZLOVA (AIN)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Mia FRIESEN (CAN)
Shuang HAN (CHN)
Reena REENA (IND)
Ruka NATAMI (JPN)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Bertha ROJAS (MEX)
Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Emine CAKMAK (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Sofia MACALUSO (USA)

59kg
Alesia HETMANAVA (AIN)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN)
Gular HABIBOVA (AZE)
Gabriela CROSS (CAN)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Alexa CUERO (COL)
Tsz Ying HEUNG (HKG)
Pushpa YADAV (IND)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN)
Guldana BEKESH (KAZ)
Gabriele DILYTE (LTU)
Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR)
Khulan BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Julia NOWICKA (POL)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Skye REALIN (USA)

62kg
Yana TRETSIAK (AIN)
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Gloria NIYONKURU (BDI)
Jolie BRISCO (CAN)
Zaixue RUI (CHN)
Grace ABONA NKOUMOUDIE (CMR)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Nitika NITIKA (IND)
Nagisa ITO (JPN)
Tynys DUBEK (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Alina ANTIPOVA (LAT)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Olha PADOSHYK (POL)
Karoline ORTIZ (PUR)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Macey KILTY (USA)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

65kg
Kseniya TSIARENIA (AIN)
Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Kleona SHABANI (ALB)
Angelina ELLIS TODDINGTON (CAN)
Liuxuan CHEN (CHN)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Antim ANTIM (IND)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Rin TERAMOTO (JPN)
Guldana OSSERBAY (KAZ)
Dilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Gantsetseg BATSUKH (MGL)
Ingrid SKARD (NOR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Sofiia KUSHNIR (UKR)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)

68kg
Alina SHAUCHUK (AIN)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Yati GU (CHN)
Nicoll PARRADO (COL)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
PRIYANKA (IND)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Beibit SEIDUALY (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Ayse ERKAN (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Brooklyn HAYS (USA)

72kg
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN)
Olesia BEZUGLOVA (AIN)
Vianne ROULEAU (CAN)
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Maria CEBALLOS (COL)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Amruta PUJARI (IND)
Vincenza AMENDOLA (ITA)
Yuka FUJIKURA (JPN)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ)
Tsogzolmaa DORJSUREN (MGL)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Bukrenaz SERT (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Kylie WELKER (USA)

76kg
Olga KOZYREVA (AIN)
Brianna FRASER (CAN)
Meile ZHANG (CHN)
Marta PAJULA (EST)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Zsofia VIRAG (HUN)
PRIYA (IND)
Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ)
Sandra GUERRERO (PUR)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)

Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)Paris Olympic bronze medalist Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) is entered at 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN)
Adam ULBASHEV (AIN)
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Armen GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Huoying SHI (CHN)
Cristopher VERASTEGUI (COL)
Tamazi GLONTI (GEO)
Vishvajit MORE (IND)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Daisuke MORISHITA (JPN)
Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ)
Leonid MOROZ (MDA)
Emre MUTLU (TUR)
Ivan STEFANSKYI (UKR)
William SULLIVAN (USA)

60kg
Zakhar YANEVICH (AIN)
Dinislam BAMMATOV (AIN)
Armen SUKIASYAN (ARM)
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
Ziyue XI (CHN)
Ronaldo SANCHEZ (COL)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
SURAJ (IND)
Mohammadmehdi GHOLAMPOUR (IRI)
Kohaku KANAZAWA (JPN)
Doszhan UTEPKALIYEV (KAZ)
Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Bohdan HRYSHYN (UKR)
Maxwell BLACK (USA)
Alisher GANIEV (UZB)

63kg
Talibsho KHAIBARAU (AIN)
Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Yunlong HU (CHN)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Ankit ANKIT (IND)
Erfan JARKANI (IRI)
Komei SAWADA (JPN)
Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Mukhammed KALBAEV (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Hector SANCHEZ (MEX)
Bredi SLINKERS (NED)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Adrian ANTON (ROU)
Bekir ATES (TUR)
Vasyl MYSHANYCH (UKR)
Jonathan GURULE (USA)

67kg
Viachaslau ZHEHALAU (AIN)
Daniial AGAEV (AIN)
Fayssal BENFREDJ (ALG)
Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM)
Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Gavin ELDRIDGE (CAN)
Nestor ALMANZA (CHI)
Kang ZHEN (CHN)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Yanis NIFRI (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Adam POHILEC (HUN)
Vinayak PATIL (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
HARUTO YABE (JPN)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Alexandr GURALI (MDA)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Niklas Jan OEHLEN (SWE)
Azat SARIYAR (TUR)
Oleh KHALILOV (UKR)
Robert PEREZ (USA)

72kg
Illia VALEUSKI (AIN)
Imran ALIEV (AIN)
Ardit ZENELI (ALB)
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Wenhao HU (CHN)
Nilson SINISTERRA (COL)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Junior BENITEZ ORTIZ (ESP)
Kristo MERILAIN (EST)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Ashu PAL (IND)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Hajime KIKUTA (JPN)
Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)
Vasile ZABICA (MDA)
Piotr STOLARCZYK (POL)
Brandon NAVARRO (PUR)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Georgios BARBANOS (SWE)
Furkan ZIRIN (TUR)
Marian HOLUBOVSKYI (UKR)
Justus SCOTT (USA)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

77kg
Abdulmasih ABDULMASIH (AIN)
Evgenii BAIDUSOV (AIN)
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Henrik GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Yang CHANG (CHN)
Alonso PARRA GARCIA (COL)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Ekke LEITHAM (EST)
Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Sagar THAKRAN (IND)
Ali OSKOU (IRI)
Shu YAMADA (JPN)
Temirlan KARATAY (KAZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Hassan BARNAWI (KSA)
Benjamin HANSEN (NOR)
Ludvig GUNHEIM HATLAND (NOR)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Aryan BIN AZMAN (SGP)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Simon BORKENHAGEN (SWE)
Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)
Hunter GARVIN (USA)
Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB)

82kg
Uladzislau DUBROUSKI (AIN)
Imam ALIEV (AIN)
Teo SPIRI (ALB)
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Shichang ZHENG (CHN)
Marek VRBA (CZE)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Data CHKHAIDZE (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Miklos KIRALYHAZI (HUN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Mohammad Aziz NAGHOUSI (IRI)
Leon RIVALTA (ITA)
Daizo TANIZAKI (JPN)
Almir TOLEBAYEV (KAZ)
Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Islam ALIEV (POL)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Joshua ALOFIPO (SAM)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ivan CHMYR (UKR)
Beka MELELASHVILI (USA)
Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB)
Daniel BELLO VEGA (VEN)

87kg
Ilya MIALESHCHYK (AIN)
Aues GONIBOV (AIN)
Julijan SHEHU (ALB)
Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Lachin VALIYEV (AZE)
Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL)
Jie WANG (CHN)
Tomislav BRKAN (CRO)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Nikolaos GIAGKOUNIDIS (GRE)
Tejpal TEJPAL (IND)
Yasin Ali YAZDI (IRI)
Yudai KOBORI (JPN)
Baglan KUANYSH (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Samet YALDIRAN (TUR)
Vladyslav DIAHILEV (UKR)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)
Brian RUIZ MARIN (VEN)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN)
Arshak GEGHAMYAN (ARM)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Zichen YANG (CHN)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Aapo VIITALA (FIN)
Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO)
Anton VIEWEG (GER)
Christos CHATSATOUROV (GRE)
Nitesh NITESH (IND)
Shayan HABIBZARE (IRI)
Riku NAKAHARA (JPN)
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)
Nurmanbet RAIMALY UULU (KGZ)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Igor SHEPETUN (POL)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Algot KAELLMAN (SWE)
Mustafa OLGUN (TUR)
Yurii DOROHAN (UKR)
Wyatt VOELKER (USA)
Juan DIAZ BLANCO (VEN)

130kg
Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)
Dmitrii BABORYKO (AIN)
Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Shaoyi YANG (CHN)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Fekry EISSA (EGY)
Eerik PANK (EST)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Sonu SONU (IND)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Koei YAMADA (JPN)
Assylbek ABDIKALYK (KAZ)
Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ)
Rostislav COVALI (MDA)
Tomasz WAWRZYNCZYK (POL)
Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Keith MILEY (USA)

#WrestleTirana

U23 Worlds: Tirana triumph for O'Toole, Brooks; Gimri wins Turkiye's first gold

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 24) -- When Keegan O'TOOLE (USA) gets to a cradle, it's game over for his opponents. 

Many in the United States have witnessed O'Toole win school and college titles on the back of his go-to move. International fans first saw it in 2021 as he stunned a strong 74kg field to win the U20 world title.

Two years since winning his first and only international competition, O'Toole and his cradle were on display and were good enough to win another world title. The American won the 74kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships on Tuesday, leading to a strong performance from the United States as the first set of medals were awarded on the second day of the tournament.

The U.S. won three of the five gold medals on offer on Tuesday while Turkiye crowned its first-ever Freestyle U23 world champion with Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) winning gold at 92kg. The fifth gold of the night was captured by Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN), winning the title at 61kg.

This is also the first time the U.S. has more than one Freestyle world champ at the U23 level. It drew a blank last year despite three finalists.

Keegan O'TOOLE (USA)Keegan O'TOOLE (USA) won the 74kg gold after beating Imam GANISHOV (AIN). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

O'Toole had shown a glimpse of his funkiness on Monday as he made his way to the final using a cradle to pin Hikaru TAKATA (JPN) in the quarterfinals and then got Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR) in the semifinal.

Given his preferred move and crafty wrestling, it was understandable that Imam GANISHOV (AIN) came prepared for the 74kg final and to not get caught in the move. But what he was not prepared for was O'Toole's defense as the American denied Ganishov any points apart from a stepout in the first period. That was the only point O'Toole gave in a 6-1 victory that saw him score three takedowns.

"It feels really good," O'Toole said. "I trained super hard for this. I wasn't sure where I would be as the location got changed. The level is harder at the U23 Worlds but I prepare for challenges and for the worst but I hope for the best."

Keegan O'TOOLE (USA)Keegan O'TOOLE (USA), blue, cradles Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR) in the semifinals on Monday. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Both wrestlers were cautious at the start but O'Toole scored by elevating Ganishov's leg when the latter was attempting a lift. He then caught Ganishov by surprise with a single-leg and though Ganishov defended for some time, O'Toole scored a takedown and led 4-0.

Ganishov did try some duckunders and go-behinds but O'Toole was up for the task, defending with ease. A split defense from Ganishov delayed O'Toole's takedown but when he got it, he led 6-1 with just over a minute remaining in the final. O'Toole was happy to play the clock from there on.

The gold medal also qualifies O'Toole for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the Paris Games and he is not shying away from giving it a shot despite his NCAA season.

"That [to qualify for OTT] pressure is gone," he said. "I am going to take some time off. I got to heal up my body a little bit and jump into the college season. NCAA season is good preparation for the Olympic trials but in my head, I am always going for "how am I going to win a gold medal? How am I going to make the Olympic team? I am really confident and excited going forward. I have got eight [six] months for the Olympic trials and each day I am going to do something to prove myself."

Aaron BROOKS (USA)Aaron BROOKS (USA) defeated defending champion Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) to win the 86kg gold. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

If cradle was O'Toole's move in Tirana, Aaron BROOKS (USA) was chasing ankle picks all day as he stormed to the 86kg world title beating returning champion Tastsuya SHIRAI (JPN) 11-0 in the final.

Shirai had become the first world champion for Japan in over 80kg weight classes and became the first to return to the final at U23 Worlds in Freestyle. A record second straight, however, wasn't to be.

Brooks was on the offense right in the first minute, using collar ties against Shirai. He got the first takedown just as the clock hit the one-minute mark, catching Shirai in a leg attack. After some attempted leg attacks, Brooks ankle-picked Shirai who fell on his back, giving four points to Brooks. A similar pick and one turn on the lace earned him a 10-0 win in two minutes and 39 seconds.

"I am blessed and fortunate," Brooks said. "I trained hard, keeping my mind and spirit in alignment with God. A lot of stuff goes on in the world that can affect us."

Like O'Toole, Brooks will be going for the Olympic Team Trial with the aim of upsetting world champion David TAYLOR (USA).

"Of course [I will challenge for the team spot]," he said. "Just wrestle and get better every day, focus on that. Not just in wrestling but better in every aspect of life and it transcends into wrestling. Just me being me in the present. If that comes, it comes."

Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA)Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) battled an injured knee and Adil MISIRCI (TUR) to win the 125kg title. (Photo: UWW / Ulug Bugra Han Degirmenci)

The U.S. surged further as Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) won the 125kg gold medal after not only battling Adil MISIRCI (TUR) but also an injured knee that "may heel in a long time."

Hendrickson, who could barely walk to the medal ceremony stage, showed extreme courage to beat Misirci 13-3 in the final despite being in clear pain.

He began the final aggressively, almost pinning Misirci, jumping to a 5-0 lead. A scramble saw both wrestlers twist their knees which further made things worse for Hendrickson, before the referee called neutral. The American then decided to keep his injured right leg out of the attack but did not drop his offense.

He scored two takedowns and a gut to build a 12-1 lead when Misirci stopped him in a turn and scored two points to remain in the match as the score became 12-3. Hendrickson, however, continued the scramble and scored a reversal to win 13-3 with 1:34 still left on the clock.

The 125kg wrestler will also join the star-studded superheavyweight line-up at the Olympic Team Trials next year.

Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) became Turkiye's first-ever U23 world champ in Freestyle. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Gimri's historic gold

One of Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) and Ion DEMIAN (MDA) was certain to create history in the 92kg final. Neither Turkiye nor Moldova had won a U23 world title in Freestyle and by the end of the 92kg final, it was Gimri who wrote his name in history books, becoming Turkiye's first-ever U23 world champion in Freestyle. He defeated Demian 4-3 in a tense final.

Demian led 1-0 at the break after Gimri failed to score any point in the 30-second activity period. But the match sprung to life in the second period as Gimri scored a takedown on the edge to take a 2-1 lead. That was short-lived as Demian blocked Gimri's spin and landed on top of him to get two points.

The Moldovan was 20 seconds away from history but Gimri spoiled his party. He shot for Demian's legs and got hold of the left to score a takedown. He tried a lace to kill the remaining time even as Demian smashed his hand on the mat in disappointment.

At 61kg, Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) denied Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) and Kazakhstan a gold medal, winning the final 4-0, with two activity period points and two stepouts.

Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) won the bronze medal at 61kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Bronze results

In the bronze medal bouts, returning silver medalist at 61kg Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) added a bronze medal by beating Akash DAHIYA (UWW) 7-0. Zhumashbek Uulu suffered a 9-7 semifinal loss to Yessengeldi. The other bronze medal at 61kg went to Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM) who steamrolled Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN), 11-0.

Hikaru TAKATA (JPN) and Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR), both of whom lost to O'Toole at 74kg, clashed for the bronze medal with Takata beating Santiago 11-0 to capture the gold medal. The other bronze-medal bout was a humdinger with NAVEEN (UWW) scoring a stepout with five seconds left to beat Vasile DIACON (MDA), 7-7, and return home with bronze.

At 86kg, Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) and Joshua MORODION (GER) defeated Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA), 6-1, and Benjamin GREIL (AUT), 9-2, respectively to claim third spots on the podium.

The U.S. also got a bronze medal as Jacob CARDENAS (USA) scored a takedown late in the bout against Pruthviraj PATIL (UWW) and eked out a 4-3 win. Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE) and Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) were involved in a 25-point bout with the former coming out on top 14-11.

2021 U23 silver medalist Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) managed to pull off a strong win as he defeated World Championships fifth-placer Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN), 5-4, for the bronze medal at 125kg. Khosonov trains at the same center as world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (AIN).

The other bronze medal at 125kg was won by Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE) was managed to beat Anirudh KUMAR (UWW), 10-0, with ease.

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RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ), 4-0

BRONZE: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Akash DAHIYA (UWW), 7-0
BRONZE: Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM) df. Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN), 11-0

74kg
GOLD: Keegan OTOOLE (USA) df. Imam GANISHOV (AIN), 6-1

BRONZE: NAVEEN (UWW) df. Vasile DIACON (MDA), 7-7
BRONZE: Hikaru TAKATA (JPN) df. Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Aaron BROOKS (USA) df. Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN), 10-0

BRONZE: Joshua MORODION (GER) df. Benjamin GREIL (AUT), 9-2
BRONZE: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) df. Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA), 6-1

92kg
GOLD: Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 4-3

BRONZE: Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE) df. Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO), 14-11
BRONZE: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) df. Pruthviraj PATIL (UWW), 4-3

125kg
GOLD: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) df. Adil MISIRCI (TUR), 13-3

BRONZE: Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE) df. Anirudh KUMAR (UWW), 10-0
BRONZE: Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) df. Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN), 5-4