#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Entries

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (July 7) -- United World Wrestling has confirmed the 289 final entries and the top-four seeds for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. Wrestlers from 60 different nations, along with Aker AL OBAIDI (EOR), who will compete on the IOC's Refugee Olympic Team, will compete for Olympic gold at the Makuhari Messe August 1-7.

The final entry list includes the names of the athletes who qualified their respective nations for the Olympic Games and who have been confirmed by their NOCs. The changes between the athlete who qualified their NOC's spot and the athlete registered by his/her NOC are listed in bold. Please note: The Late Athlete Replacement (LAR) process is in place, which means the current registered athletes could still be replaced.

As the entries sit, there are 11 Rio Olympic champions who'll be looking to defend their titles in Tokyo. Freestyle and women's wrestling each have a quartet of '16 champions, while Greco-Roman returns three champions -- including Cuba's Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ who is on a quest to become the first male wrestler to win four Olympic gold medals.

Freestyle returning champs:
86kg - Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) 
97kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) 
97kg - Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA)
125kg - Taha AKGUL (TUR)

Greco-Roman returning champs:
67kg - Ismael BORRERO MOLINA
97kg - Artur ALEKSANYAN
130kg - Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ

Women's Wrestling returning champs:
57kg - Risako KAWAI (JPN)
57kg - Helen Louise MAROULIS (USA)
68kg - Sara DOSHO (JPN)
76kg - Erica WIEBE (CAN)

Freestyle
57kg

No. 1 Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB)
No. 2 Zavur UGUEV (RUS)
No. 3 Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
No. 4 Kumar RAVI (IND)
Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ)
Reza Ahmadali ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Thomas Patrick GILMAN (USA)
Oscar Eduardo TIGREROS URBANO (COL)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)

65kg
No. 1 Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)
No. 2 Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
No. 3 Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ)
No. 4 Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Takuto OTOGURO (JPN)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Adama DIATTA (SEN)
Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN)
Alejandro Enrique VALDES TOBIER (CUB)
Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Morteza Hassanali GHIASI CHEKA (IRI)
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)
Georgios PILIDIS (GRE)

74kg
No. 1 Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
No. 2 Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
No. 3 Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS)
No. 4 Mostafa Mohabbali HOSSEINKHANI (IRI)
Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA)
Keisuke OTOGURO (JPN)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY)
Augusto MIDANA (GBS)
Jeandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB)
Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB)
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (BLR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)

86kg
No. 1 Hassan AliazamYAZDANICHARATI (IRI)
No. 2 Deepak PUNIA (IND)
No. 3 Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR)
No. 4 Artur NAIFONOV (RUS)
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI)
Carlos Arturo IZQUIERDO MENDEZ (COL)
Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR)
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
David Morris TAYLOR III (USA)
Pool Edinson AMBROCIO GREIFO (PER)
Ali SHABANAU (BLR)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)

97kg
No. 1 Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS)
No. 2 Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA)
No. 3 Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
No. 4 Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)
Mohammed FARDJ (ALG)
Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
Jordan STEEN (CAN)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR)
Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR)
Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Magomed Idrisovitch IBRAGIMOV (UZB)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Albert SARITOV (ROU)

125kg
No. 1 Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
No. 2 Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
No. 3 Taha AKGUL (TUR)
No. 4 Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG)
Gable Dan STEVESON (USA)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
AiaalLAZAREV(KGZ)

Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB) heads into Tokyo looking to become the first male to win four Olympic gold medals. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Greco-Roman

60kg
No. 1 Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)
No. 2 Sergey EMELIN (RUS)
No. 3 Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
No. 4 Ali Reza Ayat Ollah NEJATI (IRI)
Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ)
Lenur TEMIROV (UKR)
Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)
Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY)
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Luis Alberto ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Armen MELIKYAN (ARM)

67kg 
No. 1 Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB)
No. 2 Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
No. 3 Artem SURKOV (RUS)
No. 4 Mate NEMES (SRB)
Frank STAEBLER(GER)
Fredrik Holmquist BJERREHUUS (DEN)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Balint KORPASI (HUN)
Mohammadreza Abdolhamid GERAEI (IRI)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Karen ASLANYAN (ARM)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Aker AL OBAIDI (EOR)

77kg 
No. 1 Tamas LORINCZ(HUN)
No. 2 Alex Michel BJURBERG KESSIDIS (SWE)
No. 3 Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
No. 4 Mohammadali Abdolhamid GERAEI (IRI)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
ZiedAIT OUAGRAM (MAR)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Alfonso Antonio LEYVA YEPEZ (MEX)
Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Shohei YABIKU (JPN)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)

87kg 
No. 1Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
No. 2 Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)
No. 3 Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)
No. 4 Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
Denis Maksymilian KUDLA (GER)
Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)
Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Abdall METWALLY (EGY)
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
John Walter STEFANOWICZ JR (USA)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Fei PENG (CHN)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)

97kg
No. 1 Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
No. 2 Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
No. 3 Mohammadhadi Abdollah SARAVI (IRI)
No. 4 Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Cenk ILDEM (TUR)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Haikel ACHOURI (TUN)
Gabriel Alejandro ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)
Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)

130kg
No. 1 Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
No. 2 Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
No. 3 Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
No. 4 Amin Mohammadzaman MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB)
Artur VITITIN (EST)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Eduard POPP (GER)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA)
Sergey SEMENOV (RUS)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN)

Defending Olympic champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) headlines the women's wrestling entries at the Olympic Games. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
No. 1 Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
No. 2 Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
No. 3 Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
No. 4 Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS)
Yanan SUN (CHN)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Adijat Avorshai IDRIS (NGR)
Yusneylis GUZMAN LOPEZ (CUB)
Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA)
Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL)
Seema SEEMA (IND)
Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)

53kg
No. 1 Vinesh VINESH (IND)
No. 2 Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN)
No. 3 Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
No. 4 Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Joseph Emilienne ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR)
Rckaela Maree Ramos AQUINO (GUM)
Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL)
Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB)
Jacarra Gwenisha WINCHESTER (USA)
Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)

57kg 
No. 1 Risako KAWAI (JPN)
No. 2 Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
No. 3 Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR)
No. 4 Ningning RONG (CHN)
Jowita Maria WRZESIEN (POL)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Fatoumata Yarie CAMARA (GUI)
Alma Jane VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX)
Helen Louise MAROULIS (USA)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Tatyana KIT (UKR)
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Valeria KOBLOVA (RUS)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)

62kg 
No. 1 Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
No. 2 Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL)
No. 3 Yukako KAWAI (JPN)
No. 4 Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)

68kg
No. 1 Tamyra Mariama STOCK MENSAH (USA)
No. 2 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
No. 3 Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
No. 4 Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER)
Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK KORDUS (POL)
Battsetseg SORONZONBOLD (MGL)
Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR)
Sara DOSHO (JPN)
Enas Mostafa Youssef Khourshed AHMED (EGY)
Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)
Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)

76kg
No. 1 Adeline Maria GRAY (USA)
No. 2 Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
No. 3 Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN)
No. 4 Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Epp MAEE (EST)
Qian ZHOU (CHN)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Burmaa OCHIRBAT (MGL)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)

#WrestleTirana

U23 Worlds: Ganiev, Beishekeev end title droughts for Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 22) -- Alisher GANIEV (UZB) was a little harsh on himself when he failed to win gold at the U20 Asian Championships in July. He even called it a 'painful defeat'. Little did he know that three months later, he would be creating history for Uzbekistan.

The 19-year-old Ganiev became the first U23 world champion for Uzbekistan in any style. The country did not have a medalist at the U23 World Championships in Greco-Roman until Ganiev changed that with a gold medal.

"Last year, I finished third at the U20 World Championships," Ganiev said. "That loss gave me a lot of motivation. This is my first Worlds gold. I lost at the U20 Asian championships this year. That was a painful defeat. I guess those losses hugely influenced the way I prepared for this World championships."

Ganiev won all his bouts on Monday via technical superiority and on Tuesday, he defeated Dinislam BAMMATOV (AIN) 8-4 in the 60kg final to clinch the first-ever gold medal for his country.

"The final was the most difficult one," he said. "But the right plan and technique made my dream come true."

Ganiev was off to a flyer and finished the final in the first period when he tossed Bammatov for four points and the referees called a foul on Bammatov to give a 9-0 lead for Ganiev. However, on challenge, Bammatov received a lifeline as he had not committed a foul and the scored was reversed to 7-0.

But the gap was too big got Bammatov to make a comeback in the second period. He managed to score four points over Ganiev but he failed to change the outcome of the final. 

"It might have looked so easy but it was definitely tough," he said. "We have been preparing the tactics for every single opponent. That’s why it worked out."

Kyrgyzstan too crowned its first U23 world champion in Greco-Roman as Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) clinched the 67kg with a 6-1 victory over European bronze medalist Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) in the final. Beishekeev got the early advantage as he used an arm-throw to get four points and since, Chkhikvadze was only playing catch-up.

In the last few years, Kyrgyzstan has got its first senior world champion, a U23 world champion and more recently a U20 world champion. The last time it won a U17 world title was won by Kyrgyzstan wrestler, was in 2018. Incidentally, Beishekeev was the last U17 world champion.

Another wrestler chasing a first for his country fell short as Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI) defeated Beka MELELASHVILI (USA), 4-3, in the 82kg final. 

Melelashvili was the first Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to secure a medal at the U23 World Championships and had the chance to become the first champion. However, Naghousi kept his cool and managed to eke out a 4-3 win.

At 97kg, Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM), who has never placed on a podium before, won the gold medal by beating Paris Olympian Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN), 11-6, in the final.

Prior to the World Championships, Khloyan had finished 14th and fifth. But none of that mattered on Tuesday as he built a 7-0 lead over Khaslakhanau. Khloyan got the first par terre advantage and to everyone's surprise, managed to turn Khaslakhanau three times to lead Iran. Khaslakhanau got his opportunity in the second period but he failed to get even a single turn.

Georgia was also crowned a champion at 72kg after Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) defeated Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 3-1, in the gold medal bout.

Chkhikvadze was leading 1-1 on criteria but the referees awarded a third passivity to Khachatryan who went for a par terre position. As he tried to turn Chkhikvadze, Khachatryan was blocked during the turn and Chkhikvadze scored two points for exposure.

This was Chkhikvadze's first world title as he had finished with a silver at the U20 World Championships in 2021. He had defeated Khachatryan in the semifinals of that tournament. However, Khachatryan leveled the head-to-head score by beating Chkhikvadze in the opening round of the U23 World Championships.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Dinislam BAMMATOV (AIN), 8-4

BRONZE: Pridon ABULADZE (GEO) df. SURAJ (IND), 9-1
BRONZE: Denis MIHAI (ROU) df. Nihad GULUZADE (AZE), 

67kg
GOLD: Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 6-1

BRONZE: Daniial AGAEV (AIN) df. Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA), 2-1
BRONZE: Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL) df. Farid KHALILOV (AZE), 8-4

72kg
GOLD: Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) df. Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 3-1

BRONZE: Imran ALIEV (AIN) df. Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ), 11-1
BRONZE: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Georgios BARBANOS (SWE), 9-0

82kg
GOLD: Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI) df. Beka MELELASHVILI (USA), 4-3

BRONZE: Data CHKHAIDZE (GEO) df. Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
BRONZE: Deni NAKAEV (GER) df. Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY), 5-1

97kg
GOLD: Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM) df. Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN), 11-6

BRONZE: Shayan HABIBZARE (IRI) df. Richard KARELSON (EST), 8-5
BRONZE: Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) df. Anton VIEWEG (GER), 11-0

Semifinals

55kg
GOLD: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) vs. Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Vishvajit MORE (IND), 14-5
SF 2: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN), 12-2

63kg
GOLD: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) vs. Komei SAWADA (JPN)

SF 1: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Arman VARDANYAN (ARM), 14-5
SF 2: Komei SAWADA (JPN) df. Bekir ATES (TUR), 7-0

77kg
GOLD: Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER) vs. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)

SF 1: Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 2-1
SF 2: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), 6-1

87kg
GOLD: Aues GONIBOV (AIN) vs. Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)

SF 1: Aues GONIBOV (AIN) df. Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ), 2-1
SF 2: Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) df. Yasin YAZDI (IRI), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Dmitrii BABORYKO (AIN) vs. Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)

SF 1: Dmitrii BABORYKO (AIN) df. Albert VARDANYAN (ARM), via fall
SF 2: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Koppany LASZLO (HUN), 8-0