#WrestleCoralville

All-World team ready for World Cup challenge

By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, Iowa (December 6) -- A world champion, five multiple times world medalists and two medalists from the 2022 World Championships.

A 10-member All-World team will descend upon Coralville for the freestyle World Cup on December 10 and 11 at the Xtreme Arena and if all works out, will be a serious threat for the title.

The 2022 World Cup is the first time that an All-World team is going to participate in the tournament. It comprises the top finishers in each weight class from Belgrade who are not part of the five teams which qualified directly.

The USA, Iran, Japan, Mongolia, and Georgia were the top five teams at the World Championships and gained automatic qualification for the World Cup. But the All-World looks a formidable unit.

Led by world champion Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (UWW) at 57kg, it has two-time silver medalist Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (UWW) at 74kg, another Slovakian and silver medalist in Batyrbek TSAKULOV (UWW) at 97kg, two young bronze medalists from Belgrade in Ernazar AKMATALIEV (UWW) at 70kg and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (UWW) at 92kg.

Two-time world bronze medalist Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (UWW) will be at 65kg with bronze medalists at 79kg Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (UWW) and Azamat DAULETBEKOV (UWW) at 86kg adding more firepower to the squad. Tokyo Olympian Georgi VANGELOV (UWW) at 61kg and Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UWW) at 125kg complete the team.

The All-World team is placed in Group B with Iran and Japan and is likely that it will finish at the top of the standing and wrestle in the final.

Opening its campaign against Japan, the All-World team will be a heavy favorite. Japan is missing both its world champion, Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) and Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN), from the line-up and has sent a relatively young team.

But the All-World team will bank on Abakarov, Muszukajev, Akmataliev, Salkazanov and Nurmagomedov to give the team an outright win.

Japan is also unlikely to win against Iran making the All-World vs Iran match late on Saturday a virtual semifinal.

"Our preparation is very good," Akmataliev said. "We were supposed to hold a camp in America but it did not go through. So, we are preparing in Bishkek. Saturday will show on the mat."

Akmataliev is one of the most exciting wrestlers around the world with clutch performances, especially in come-from-behind wins. He will be expected to win all his bouts in Coralville. And he hopes the team will also be able to do the same.

"I was very happy when I received the invite for the world team," he said. "Our team is very strong, and we will show our potential. We can beat all the other teams.

"Our wrestlers are best in their weight classes and if we can come together as a team, we will be champions," he added.

Akmataliev hopes to wrestle the USA in the final but is aware of the threats Iran and Japan pose in the group stage.

"I cannot say that one team is weak or strong," he said. "Every opponent is strong, and I will treat every bout as the final and try to win"

If the USA and All-World team do meet in the final, expect a neck-to-neck battle with both teams equally good enough to win.

If Abakarov can give a winning start to the All-World team, it will be Vangelov up against Seth GROSS (US) at 61kg and a fan-favorite bout between Muszukajev and John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) at 65kg. Akmataliev holds the upper hand against Tyler BERGER (USA) with Salkazanov and Jason NOLF (USA) at 74kg.

Salkazanov needs to win even if Budazhapov loses to Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) at 79kg. Dauletbekov up against Zahid VALENCIA (USA) at 86kg will be a crucial match-up for both teams as Numagomedov is expected to win against Nathan JACKSON (USA). Kyle SNYDER (USA) has the upper hand at 97kg against Tsakulov in the World Championships final rematch. The All-World team will need Khotsianivskyi to win at 125kg against Hayden ZILLMER (USA).

In all likelihood, it will end with five wins for both teams and the team with more classification points winning the World Cup.

#WrestleTirana

U23 European Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (February 25)  -- Soon after the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series, Tirana will shift its focus to the first continental championships of 2025.

The U23 European Championships will be held in Tirana from March 8 to 14 with 429 wrestlers entered for the competition.

Freestyle will kick off proceedings on March 8, followed by Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman will finish off things.

UWW+ (uww.org) will bring all the action live and highlights from Tirana.

Freestyle

57kg
Ersjan KASHIKU (ALB)
Norik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Rahman IMANOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Nika ZANGALADZE (GEO)
Danny LUBRANO (ITA)
Ion BULGARU (MDA)
Stefan SHTERJOV (MKD)
Bekir KESER (TUR)
Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR)
Iunus IAVBATIROV (UWW)

61kg
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM)
Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE)
Denis NAIM (BUL)
Omar GAZASHVILI (GEO)
Dario DITTRICH (GER)
Balazs RACZ (HUN)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Vasile MARCU (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Ivan OKSIUK (POL)
River PERLUNGHER (SUI)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR)
Ivan HRAMYKA (UWW)
Akhmed ZUBAIROV (UWW)

65kg
Klevisi PRECI (ALB)
Hayk ABRAHAMYAN (ARM)
Murad HAGVERDIYEV (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Felipe FERRUSOLA MILLA (ESP)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Marcel WAGIN (GER)
Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN)
Mattia BIENTINESI (ITA)
Artiom CVETKOV (LTU)
Fiodor CEAVDARI (MDA)
Daniel KULCZYNSKI (POL)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR)
Anatoli HRAMYKA (UWW)
Amal DZHANDUBAEV (UWW)

70kg
Fabian KOCILERI (ALB)
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Alexander SEIWALD (AUT)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Abdoul NAKAEV (FRA)
Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO)
Burak SALVIZ (GER)
Marton VARGA (HUN)
Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)
Muhamed FERUKI (MKD)
Mateusz LUSZCZYNSKI (POL)
Umut ERDOGAN (TUR)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR)
Mikita DZEMCHANKA (UWW)
Magomed ELTEMIROV (UWW)

74kg
Devi BARDHI (ALB)
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Stiliyan DZHOROV (BUL)
Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Daniel KORKIN (ISR)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Fabian NIEDZWIEDZKI (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Ismet CIFTCI (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)
Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW)
Ismail KHANIEV (UWW)

79kg
Altin GANCI (ALB)
Farid JABBAROV (AZE)
Bogdan DJANDIGOV (BEL)
Aykan SEID (BUL)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Gregor EIGENBRODT (GER)
Rolan ARNTASEV ARDASHEV (GRE)
Adam GAZDAG (HUN)
Raffaele RAFFAELE MATRULLO (ITA)
Marius RETCO (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Andrija IVANOVIC (SRB)
Umar MAVLAEV (SUI)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Bohdan OLEKSIIENKO (UKR)
Aliaksandr VIARBITSKI (UWW)
Arsen BALAIAN (UWW)

86kg
Ibrahim SULA (ALB)
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Lukas LINS (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV    (AZE)
Umar VELIEV (BEL)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Gabriel IGLESIAS RAMOS (ESP)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
Georgios KOTANIDIS (GRE)
Zeteny GANGL (HUN)
Kyrylo OHAR (ISR)
Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA)
Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Wiktor HASA (POL)
Alperen ATAR (TUR)
Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR)
Arslan BAGAEV (UWW)

92kg
Albin PEPOSHI (ALB)
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Sadig MUSTAFAZADE (AZE)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Daniel FISCHER (GER)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
Davide COSSU (ITA)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Filip SZUCKI (POL)
David JAKSIK (SVK)
Alperen TOKGOZ (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Artsiom IHNATSIUK (UWW)
Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW)

97kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Andriyan VALKANOV (BUL)
Ashab DADAEV (FRA)
Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN)
Nikita GOUBARETS (ISR)
Constantin BUZA (MDA)
Taron SHAHINYAN (POL)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Resul GUNE (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Uladzislau KAZLOU (UWW)
Bady SAMDAN (UWW)

125kg
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Giga SHAVADZE (GEO)
Dmitrii DUSCOV (MDA)
Michal DUBOWSKI (POL)
Efe AL (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)
Pavel DZIATLAU (UWW)
Artem PUKHOVSKII (UWW)

Iryna BONDAR (UKR)Iryna BONDAR (UKR) is one of the stars entered for U23 European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE)
Maria CAZALLA TORRES (ESP)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Natalia WALCZAK (POL)
Ana Maria PIRVU (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Songul KAVAK (TUR)
Viktoriia SLOBODENIUK (UKR)
Anastasiya YANOTAVA (UWW)
Natalia PUDOVA (UWW)

53kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP)
Maria FERONE (ITA)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Anastasiia LEBEDIEVA (POL)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Ellen OESTMAN (SWE)
Remziye KARADAG (TUR)
Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR)
Viktoryia VOLK (UWW)
Ekaterina KARPUSHKINA (UWW)

55kg
Nargiz SAMADOVA (AZE)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Kamila KASPROW (POL)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)
Aliaksandra BULAVA (UWW)
Anastasiia IANDUSHKINA (UWW)

57kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Inna ALIMOVA (LTU)
Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Emine CAKMAK (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Aryna MARTYNAVA (UWW)
Anastasiia KOZLOVA (UWW)

59kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Desislava IVANOVA (BUL)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Julia NOWICKA (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR)
Marta HETMANAVA (UWW)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (UWW)

62kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Anna FOTIADOU (GRE)
Yasmine SOLIMAN (HUN)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)
JOVANA RADIVOJEVIC (SRB)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Alesia HETMANAVA (UWW)
Amina TANDELOVA (UWW)

65kg
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Luisa SCHEEL (GER)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Bianca CONTRAFATTO (ITA)
Olha PADOSHYK (POL)
Viorica ADAM (ROU)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)
Kseniya TSIARENIA (UWW)
Ekaterina KOSHKINA (UWW)

68kg
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Karolina DOMASZUK (POL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (UWW)
Olesia BEZUGLOVA (UWW)

72kg
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Jennifer ROESLER (GER)
Noemi OSVATH NAGY (HUN)
Vincenza AMENDOLA (ITA)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Haticenur SARI (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW)
Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW)

76kg
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Anna BRAUN (SWE)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR)
Hanna PIRSKAYA (UWW)
Olga KOZYREVA (UWW)

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) is looking for his second U23 European title. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Arayik TOPALYAN (ARM)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Filip BARTOSIK (CZE)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Vasileios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Mehmet SARP (TUR)
Danylo KORIEIEV (UKR)
Alibek AMIROV (UWW)

60kg
Mikel TROPLINI (ALB)
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Huseyn GARIBOV (AZE)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Brian SANTIAGO (DEN)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Georgios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Tommaso BOSI (ITA)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Bohdan HRYSHYN (UKR)
Papik DZHAVADIAN (UWW)

63kg
Ergi UKU (ALB)
Davit JOTYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Miroslav EMILOV (BUL)
Diego ESTECHE GOMEZ (ESP)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Marios KAPANTAIS (GRE)
Daniel RAFAEL (HUN)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Adrian ANTON (ROU)
Alexander VAFAI (SWE)
Furkan ERKEN (TUR)
Vsevolod SAPUN (UKR)
Aleksandr ANDREEV (UWW)

67kg
Ardit ZENELI (ALB)
Ruben MIRANYAN (ARM)
Farid KHALILOV (AZE)
Antonio HRISTOV (BUL)
William REENBERG (DEN)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Janis HEINZELBECKER (GER)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Pavel DENISENCO (MDA)
Bredi SLINKERS (NED)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Noe POC (SRB)
Azat SARIYAR (TUR)
Pavlo SOROKOLIET (UKR)
Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW)
Daniial AGAEV (UWW)

72kg
Xhorxh FRROKAJ (ALB)
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Dalgat MAGOMEDOV (CZE)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Anri TAVARTKILADZE (GEO)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Rokas CEPAUSKAS (LTU)
Vasile ZABICA (MDA)
Piotr STOLARCZYK (POL)
Eren ULKU (TUR)
Oleh KHALILOV (UKR)
Viachaslau ZHEHALAU (UWW)
Danil GRIGOREV (UWW)

77kg
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Martik PETROSYAN (ARM)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Albert DOEV (BUL)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Junior BENITEZ ORTIZ (ESP)
Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Benjamin HANSEN (NOR)
Karl BAFF (SWE)
Muslim BARGA (TUR)
Vladyslav IVANINA (UKR)
Illia VALEUSKI (UWW)
Evgenii BAIDUSOV (UWW)

82kg
Xhord GJONI (ALB)
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL)
Marek VRBA (CZE)
Frederik MATHIESEN (DEN)
Ekke LEITHAM (EST)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Data CHKHAIDZE (GEO)
Dominik BOTOS (HUN)
Leon RIVALTA (ITA)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Ludvig GUNHEIM HATLAND (NOR)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Uros LECIC (SRB)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR)
Ramazan PASHAIEV (UKR)
Dzmitry BONKA (UWW)
Gamzat GADZHIEV (UWW)

87kg
Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Joju SAMADOV (AZE)
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL)
Ondrej HAVELKA (CZE)
Jesper HAERKAENEN (FIN)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Cristian RUSU (MDA)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Milos PEROVIC (SRB)
Hamza SERTCANLI (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ivan CHMYR (UKR)
Baskhan SAIDOV (UWW)

97kg
Julijan SHEHU (ALB)
Harutyun KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Agil MUSAEV (AZE)
Tomislav BRKAN (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Aapo VIITALA (FIN)
Luka GABISONIA (GEO)
Connor SAMMET (GER)
Roman BALCHIVSCHII (MDA)
Sebastian WARCHOL (POL)
Ionut GOSA (ROU)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Muhittin HELVACI (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (UWW)
Mukhammad EVLOEV (UWW)

130kg
Rigers KURTI (ALB)
Razmik KURDYAN (ARM)
Aykhan MARDANOV (AZE)
Alan DZABIEV (BUL)
Artur SARKISJAN (CZE)
Eerik PANK (EST)
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Achilleas CHRYSIDIS (GRE)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Aleksandr MELEKHOV (UWW)