#wrestlebishkek

Asian Championships 2026 Entries

Friday, March 20, 2026 - 10:33 By United World Wrestling Press

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (March 20) -- The Asian Championships will return to Bishkek, a city that hosted the competition in 2018 and 2024. Close to 350 wrestlers are competing for the 30 gold medals on offer.

The event, which will follow a two-day format for the first time, will begin April 6 with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling and then Freestyle.

Click here for the Asian Championships 2026 Wrestling Schedule

Note: The entries are subject to change 72 hours before the draws of the respective styles. For latest entries, refer to Asian Championships 2026.

Freestyle

57kg
Liguo CAO (CHN)
ANKUSH (IND)
Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
Husein ALBEHADILALBORS (IRQ)
Fuga SASAKI (JPN)
Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Gayan MUDIYANSELAGE (SRI)
Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK)
Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB)
Wessem ALYAMANI (YEM)

61kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
AMAN (IND)
Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Changsu KIM (KOR)
Batnasan GANKHULEG (MGL)
Kwang Myong KIM (PRK)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

65kg
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Xuexian OU (CHN)
SUJEET (IND)
Peyman NEMATI (IRI)
Takara SUDA (JPN)
Adi SERIKULY (KAZ)
Rustamzhan KAKHAROV (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Zeneemeder BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Divoshan FERNANDO (SRI)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Shuang CHEN (CHN)
ABHIMANYOU (IND)
Sina KHALILI (IRI)
Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN)
Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Seonho YOO (KOR)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Viktor RASSADIN (TJK)
Shakhzodbek YARASHEV (UZB)

74kg
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
BATUQINGGELE (CHN)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Yernur NURGAZY (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Daegil HAN (KOR)
Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Suresh CHUNARA (NEP)
Anil PELI GEDARAA (SRI)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Vatan ANNAORAZOV (TKM)
Begijon KULDASHEV (UZB)
Abdulkareem AL RABEDHI (YEM)

79kg
Feng LU (CHN)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI)
Erzo ISAKOV (JOR)
Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Adilet MARATBAEV (KGZ)
Sungho LEE (KOR)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Somonjon IKROMOV (TJK)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Razambek JAMALOV (UZB)

86kg
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Suhe GANG (CHN)
Mukul DAHIYA (IND)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Malik SHAVAEV (KGZ)
Gyeongyeon LEE (KOR)
Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL)
Song Gang JI (PRK)
Weng CHOW (SGP)
Madushanka MUDIYANSELAGE (SRI)
Bakhodur KODIROV (TJK)
Alp Arslan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

92kg
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Hade AYIDUSI (CHN)
Punit KUMAR (IND)
Mobin AZIMI (IRI)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Iakov CHAPLIN (KGZ)
Seohyun CHA (KOR)
Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Ismail KARTOEV (TJK)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Sadirdin DAMINJONOV (UZB)

97kg
Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
VICKY (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Kanybek ABDULKHAIROV (KGZ)
Juhwan SEO (KOR)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Triloki YADAV (NEP)
Rahmonjon MAHMADBEKOV (TJK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Sherzod POYONOV (UZB)

125kg
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
DINESH (IND)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will be wrestling at 50kg for the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
NEELAM (IND)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Maral TANGIRBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Munkhnar BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Aliah Rose GAVALEZ (PHI)
Son Hyang KIM (PRK)
Nipuni HEWA PEDIGE (SRI)
Yi Hui LIN (TPE)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)
Ngoc Linh DO (VIE)

53kg
Jin ZHANG (CHN)
MEENAKSHI (IND)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Seoyoung PARK (KOR)
Tsovoo GANKHUYAG (MGL)
Pabasara GAMAGE (SRI)
Vatansulton SHAKARSHOEVA (TJK)
Ya Hsin CHEN (TPE)
Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)
Thi My Linh NGUYEN (VIE)

55kg
Yuxuan LI (CHN)
Hansika LAMBA (IND)
Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Jeongbin OH (KOR)
Ariunzaya ODONCHIMEG (MGL)
Dilshoda MATNAZAROVA (UZB)

57kg
Kexin HONG (CHN)
MANISHA (IND)
Sara NATAMI (JPN)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Tancholpon KYBALBEKOVA (KGZ)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Danielle LIM (SGP)
Nethmi PORUTHOTAGE (SRI)
Pei Ying LIAO (TPE)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)
Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE)

59kg
Mengyu XIE (CHN)
NEHA (IND)
Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN)
Viktoriia KHUSAINOVA (KAZ)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Hyebin AHN (KOR)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Ulmeken ESENBAEVA (UZB)

62kg
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
MANSI (IND)
Balqis TAAIBIN (JOR)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Tynys DUBEK (KAZ)
Dilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ)
Subeen JO (KOR)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Nigina SABIROVA (UZB)

65kg
LILI (CHN)
MONIKA (IND)
Tala ABUKHEIT (JOR)
Nana IKEHATA (JPN)
Aizhan SUIDUOVA (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Narkhajid NYAMSUREN (MGL)
Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB)

68kg
Zelu LI (CHN)
Mansi LATHER (IND)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Sheng Fang CAI (TPE)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)
Thi Linh DANG (VIE)

72kg
Jia LONG (CHN)
HARSHITA (IND)
Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Soobin KIM (KOR)
Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL)
Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB)

76kg
Wenji LI (CHN)
KAJAL (IND)
Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Eunju HWANG (KOR)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
Ozoda ZARIPBOEVA (UZB)

Hadi SARAVI (IRI)World and Olympic champion Hadi SARAVI (IRI). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Huoying SHI (CHN)
LALIT (IND)
Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI)
Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Ahmad AHMAD (JOR)
Mizuki ARAKI (JPN)
Nurzat KABDYRAKHIMOV (KAZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Jonghyeon KIM (KOR)
Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL)
Alexander CUEVAS (SGP)
Rasul JORAYEV (TKM)
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB)

60kg
Haodong TAN (CHN)
SAHIL (IND)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)
Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ)
Kurmanbek ZHAPAROV (KGZ)
Minwoo KIM (KOR)
Se Ung RI (PRK)
Yong Xiang SU (TPE)
Alisher GANIEV (UZB)

63kg
Huangsheng WU (CHN)
Sunny KUMAR (IND)
Erfan JARKANI (IRI)
Kaisei TANABE (JPN)
Saifulla KURMAN (KAZ)
Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
Hyunwoong CHOI (KOR)
Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA)
Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)

67kg
Ji LENG (CHN)
sachin SAHRAWAT (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI)
Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN)
Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Man Gwang SON (PRK)
Sunat ABDULLOEV (TJK)
Abdumalik AMINOV (UZB)

72kg
Dongyu LI (CHN)
ANIL (IND)
Javad REZAEI (IRI)
Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN)
Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Dohun LIM (KOR)
Rafeeq ELNATSHEH (QAT)
Loiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK)
Didar ORAZBERDIYEV (TKM)
Shakhzod KUCHKOROV (UZB)

77kg
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN)
AMAN (IND)
Ali OSKOU (IRI)
Amro SADEH (JOR)
Isami HORIKITA (JPN)
Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Yeonghun NOH (KOR)
Saoud ALMEFQAEY (QAT)
Alisher RUZIMADOV (TJK)
Lai YAO (TPE)
Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB)

82kg
Rui LIU (CHN)
PRINCE (IND)
Amin HOSSEINI (IRI)
Tatsuya FUJII (JPN)
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Bada LEE (KOR)
Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT)
Kakabay KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

87kg
Shichang ZHENG (CHN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)
Yahiro MOTOHASHI (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Seunghwan LEE (KOR)
Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK)
Dovletmyrat BAYRAMOV (TKM)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

97kg
Zegang WANG (CHN)
NITESH (IND)
Hadi SARAVI (IRI)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ)
Minho LEE (KOR)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Abdikodir JALILOV (UZB)

130kg
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
Joginder RATHEE (IND)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ)
Roman KIM (KGZ)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Omer AMIROGLU (KSA)
Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL)
Eduard BABENOSHEV (TJK)
Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB)

#WrestleTirana

European Championships 2026 Greco-Roman Preview

Thursday, April 16, 2026 - 09:14 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (April 15) -- When Aleksandr KARELIN won his 12th European gold in 2000, it seemed like one of the most impregnable records in wrestling. In 2023, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) equaled that accomplishment but his hopes of going past Karelin came to naught after he was pinned in the final at Bucharest in 2024. [Kayaalp’s 12 golds include the 2025 European Games gold medal since no European Championships was held in that year].

Two years later, Kayaalp will take another shot at history when he steps onto the mat in Tirana next week for the European Championships in the 130kg weight class.

DOWNLOAD FULL PREVIEW HERE | European Championships 2026 Schedule | European Championships 2026 Freestyle Preview | European Championships 2026 Women's Wrestling Preview

Kayaalp began this season with a gold medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series to set the stage for an epic European comeback. Apart from breaking the record, a win in Tirana will give Kayaalp much-needed confidence as the 36-year-old continues his comeback after missing two years of action.

The field in Tirana includes Muhamet Malo Ranking Series winner and perhaps Kayaalp's biggest threat Marat KAMPAROV (UWW). 2025 European bronze medalists Jello KRAHMER (GER) and Darius VITEK (HUN) are returning with an aim to change the color of their medals.

Among other contenders are former U23 world champion Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), former U20 world champion Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) and Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) who once pinned Kayaalp in Istanbul.

Turkiye will be hoping to win more golds than just Kayaalp's.

Defending champion at 63kg Kerem KAMAL (TUR) will look to find the same form he did in the first half of 2025, winning three gold medals in a span of four months.
 
Trying to stop Kamal from winning a second straight gold medal will be returning silver medalist Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) who fell short in a one-sided final last year. Also in the mix are U23 world champion Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) and world bronze medalist Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA). Babashov defeated Eriomenco in the final of the U23 World Championships but both can make a run for gold in Tirana.

Veteran Sergey EMELIN (UWW) enters with hopes of winning his third European gold and first since in 2021.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) is a four-time European champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Amoyan's World
There is no Greco-Roman wrestler who can be considered as dominant as Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) among current wrestlers. The defending champion will land in Tirana in a bid to win his fifth straight European title. He last lost at the European Championships in 2021, dropping his 72kg final.

But since then, Amoyan has been untouched at the continental level. He never looked in trouble during his golden run in 2025 and is unlikely to suffer any upsets this year as well.

Lining up to challenge him are returning silver medalist Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) and former champion Robert FRITSCH (HUN). Joining them will be U23 world champion Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), Sergei STEPANOV (UWW) and world bronze medalist Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR).

Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) is one of the three defending Greco-Roman champions for Azerbaijan. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Azerbaijan's Defending Champs
Azerbaijan is bringing all three of its 2025 champions as it looks to defend the team title. Olympic bronze medalist and world silver Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) leads the charge at 67kg and is the favorite to win gold.

A possible rematch of last year's final is on the cards as Abu AMAEV (BUL) returns to maintain his 100 percent record of winning a medal at the European Championships. Amaev has two bronze and a silver at the tournament.

Two young stars who can pose a threat are U23 world silver medalist Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) and former U20 world champion Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW). Chkhikvadze began this year with two silver medals at the Zagreb Open and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series events.

Zakriev made his senior debut at the Muhamet Malo in Tirana and finished with a bronze medal.

Returning at 60kg is Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) who began this season with a gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series. He would like to forget the medalless campaigns at World Championships and Islamic Solidarity Games and regain the form he was at last year's Europeans, winning three out of four bouts via technical superiority.

The only wrestler who troubled Mammadli was Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) who will be returning with the hope of changing his silver to gold this year. Tibilov's defense can be hard to penetrate but he has not been able to stop Mammadli's par terre offense, from where he lost the final last year.

Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) is the third returning champion for Azerbaijan as he looks to defend his 82kg gold medal. Apart from the two technical points he gave up, Gurbanov was unscored upon as he won four bouts to win the gold medal.

He blanked Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 4-0, in the semifinals but the Georgian will be keen on avenging that loss. The world silver medalist was not awarded the par terre position in the semifinals last year which could have changed the result of the bout.

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), silver medalist at 77kg at Zagreb Open, is moving up to 82kg and will be among the medal contenders in Tirana along with Muhamet Malo Ranking Series silver medalist Adlet TIULIUBAEV (UWW).

Return of Novikov, Milov
After missing the entire 2025 season after the European Championships, Olympic champion Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) and European champion Kiril MILOV (BUL) will be back in action in Tirana with an aim to win gold medals at 87kg and 97kg respectively.

Novikov was stunned in the 87kg final last year by David LOSONCZI (HUN) but he will like to make amends and win his second European gold. At the recent Dan Kolov tournament in Bulgaria, Novikov suffered a 7-3 in the semifinal against Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) who had troubled Novikov at the European Championships last year as well.

Filchakov will be in Tirana to challenge Novikov again along with several other stars including world champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) who picked up a bronze medal last year. Paris bronze medalist Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), who skipped the tournament last year, will also be returning to action for the first time this year.

Returning bronze medalist Islam ABBASOV (AZE), former world champion Lasha GOBADZE (GEO), former European champion Istvan TAKACS (HUN) and Alan OSTAEV (UWW) are also in the hunt for medals at this weight class.

Kiril MILOV (BUL)Kiril MILOV (BUL) defeated Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) for the first time in his career and went on to win the 97kg gold. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

For Milov, the path to gold should be much simpler than Novikov. Milov stunned Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) last year, handing the Armenian legend his first European loss since 2017, before winning his second European gold medal. In Tirana, he will be joined by the three other medalists from the 2025 edition -- silver medalist Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER), and bronze medalists Alex SZOKE (HUN) and Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW).

But Milov's biggest threat will be world silver medalist Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) who suffered a shocking loss to Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED). Sargsian has an explosive offense from par terre and can defend as well as he did during the World Championships, winning four bouts by the score of 1-1 before losing the final.

At 55kg, it can well be the passing of the baton as world champion and returning bronze medalist Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) takes on defending champion Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW). These are the only two returning medalists but Lolua is primed to upset Sefershaev.

At 72kg, world silver medalist Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), who had to share the gold medal with Levente LEVAI (HUN), will be the sole favorite this year. He has one of the most effective defenses in the world.

Among the few challengers will be Krisztian VANCZA (HUN), U20 world champion Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM) and former U23 European champion Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE).