#WrestleAstana

Asian Championships entry list

By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (March 27) -- The Paris Olympics qualification cycle will officially begin with the Asian Championships. Astana will host the continental championships from April 9 to 14 and the nations competing in Astana will be eligible to compete at the World Championships in September, the first qualifying event for Paris 2024.

China, India, Japan and Kazakhstan are the four nations with 30 entries which means that these countries will be allowed to place 30 wrestlers at the World Championships as well. Iran has a full squad for freestyle and Greco-Roman.

In freestyle, Iran will be the favorite to lift the team trophy but Kazakhstan and India will be its biggest challenges, especially with the home advantage for the former. Kyrgyzstan too has a strong squad for freestyle.

In women's wrestling, Japan is bringing a mixed squad with defending champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) leading the charge. World champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), 2021 world champion Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) and Sae NANJO (JPN) are also part of the squad.

But China, returning to Asian Championships after four years, will be keen on making a mark after finishing second to Japan in the team race at the World Championships. Olympic silver medalist Qianyu PANG (CHN) will be wrestling at 55kg while world silver medalist Jia LONG (CHN) is at 65kg.

In Greco-Roman, Iran is bringing a solid team with world silver medalist Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) leading. While the squad is young, it still has hammers like Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) and various other U23 world medalists.

Kyrgyzstan will see world champions Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) and Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) taking the mat in Astana. Hansu RYU (KOR) and Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) will also feature in the tournament.

Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)World and Asian champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), right, will be wrestling at 65kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Freestyle

57kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
AMAN (IND)
Alireza SARLAK (IRI)
Rikuto ARAI (JPN)
Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Muhammad BILAL (PAK)
Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Ekanayaka MUDIYANSELAGE (SRI)
Sunatullo BOBOEV (TJK)
Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB)

61kg
Minghu LIU (CHN)
PANKAJ (IND)
Yasin REZAEI (IRI)
Kodai OGAWA (JPN)
Nurbolat ABDUALIYEV (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Hyeonsik SONG (KOR)
Ali ALMOHAINI (KUW)
Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL)
Eddy BIN KHIDZER (SGP)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Myrat HOJANEPESOV (TKM)
Ibrahim GUZAN (YEM)
Sardor RUZIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Anuj KUMAR (IND)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Mohammed KAREEM (IRQ)
Ryoma ANRAKU (JPN)
Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Changsu KIM (KOR)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Zi Xyan LIM (SGP)
Divoshan CHARLES FERNANDO (SRI)
Ahmad DIRKI (SYR)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Gurbanmuhammet CHARYYEV (TKM)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Agudamu AGUDAMU (CHN)
Mulaym YADAV (IND)
Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IRI)
Ali AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Orts ISAKOV (JOR)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Suhyeon PARK (KOR)
Mohammed ABDULKAREEM (KUW)
Khanburged GANKHUYAG (MGL)
Inayat ULLAH (PAK)
Mohamed BIN ABDULLAH (SGP)
Karuna PELI GEDARA (SRI)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Perman HOMMADOV (TKM)
Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB)

74kg
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Shengsong XIA (CHN)
YASH (IND)
Hossein ABOUZARIPASHKOLAEI (IRI)
Erzo ISAKOV (JOR)
Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN)
Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ)
Adilet ZHAPARKULOV (KGZ)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Abdullrahman IBRAHIM (QAT)
Hong LOU (SGP)
Udayantha FERNANDO (SRI)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Jumadurdy MAMISHOV (TKM)
Jafar CHULIBOYEV (UZB)

79kg
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Peilong LI (CHN)
DEEPAK (IND)
Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI)
Yajuro YAMASAKI (JPN)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Adilet MARATBAEV (KGZ)
Gunwoo LEE (KOR)
Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL)
Shuhrat BOZOROV (TJK)
Vepa HEMENEKOV (TKM)
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB)

86kg
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Jointy KUMAR (IND)
Alireza KARIMI (IRI)
Mustafa AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Zaid SHISHANI (JOR)
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Noman ZAKA (PAK)
Weng CHOW (SGP)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

92kg
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Xiao SUN (CHN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Arashk MOHEBI (IRI)
Issa AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Abdul ABUIDAIJ (JOR)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Mirlan CHYNYBEKOV (KGZ)
Woomin JANG (KOR)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Ajiniyaz SAPARNIYAZOV (UZB)

97kg
Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
DEEPAK (IND)
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ)
Juhwan SEO (KOR)
Ulziisaikhan BAASANTSOGT (MGL)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Makhsud VEYSALOV (UZB)

125kg
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
Anirudh KUMAR (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI VALADI (IRI)
Ahmed AL JAMIE (IRQ)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ)
Yeihyun JUNG (KOR)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Omar SAREM (SYR)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB)

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) and Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) will be renewing their rivarly in Astana. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
NEELAM (IND)
Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN)
Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA (KAZ)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL)
Lachyn ANNAMURADOVA (TKM)
Yi Jing CHEN (TPE)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)
Thi Xuan NGUYEN (VIE)

53kg
Li DENG (CHN)
ANTIM (IND)
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Hsiao LIM (SGP)
Ahinsa PORUTHOTAGE (SRI)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)
Thi Dao BUI (VIE)

55kg
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
SITO (IND)
Rino KATAOKA (JPN)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

57kg
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
ANSHU (IND)
Sae NANJO (JPN)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Erdenesuvd BAT ERDENE (MGL)
Danielle LIM (SGP)
Yu Han CHENG (TPE)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)​​​​​​
Thi Anh TRAN (VIE)

59kg
ZHUOMALAGA (CHN)
SARITA (IND)
Yui SAKANO (JPN)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Sarbinaz JIENBAEVA (UZB)

62kg
Xiaojuan LUO (CHN)
SONAM (IND)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Subeen JO (KOR)
Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL)
Sachini WERADUWAGE (SRI)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Dilfuza AIMBETOVA (UZB)
Anh Tuyet TRAN (VIE)

65kg
Jia LONG (CHN)
MANISHA (IND)
Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN)
Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ)
Dilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ)
Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)
Nadeesha PERERA (SRI)
Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB)

68kg
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
NISHA (IND)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Minji HA (KOR)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Deepthika KUMARASINGHE (SRI)
Oguljan EGEMBERDIYEVA (TKM)
Dieu Thuong LAI (VIE)
Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB)

72kg
QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN)
REETIKA (IND)
Sumire NIIKURA (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Ping Tsen HUNG (TPE)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)

76kg
Juan WANG (CHN)
PRIYA (IND)
Mizuki NAGASHIMA (JPN)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL)
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
Ozoda ZARIPBOEVA (UZB)
Thi Linh DANG (VIE)

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) will lead Iran's charge in Astana. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
RUPIN (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Mostafa ALQADE (JOR)
Taiga ONISHI (JPN)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Sardarbek KONUSHBAEV (KGZ)
Hyeokjin JEON (KOR)
Abduvali RAHIMBAYEV (TKM)
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (CHN)

60kg
Liguo CAO (CHN)
SUMIT (IND)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Maito KAWANA (JPN)
Yernur FIDAKHMETOV (KAZ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK)
Umit DURDYYEV (TKM)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Akmal KHAMROEV (UZB)

63kg
Haodong TAN (CHN)
NEERAJ (IND)
Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Chiezo MARUYAMA (JPN)
Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ)
Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
Jinseub SONG (KOR)
Siyovush ACHILOV (TJK)
Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB)

67kg
HUSIYUETU (CHN)
ASHU (IND)
Reza Mahdi ABBASI (IRI)
Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Begmyrat NOBATOV (TKM)
Hong Yu CHEN (TPE)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

72kg
Jian TAN (CHN)
VIKAS (IND)
Sajjad IMENTALABFOUMANI (IRI)
Ali Mohammed ALABODA (IRQ)
Taishi HORIE (JPN)
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Jiyeon LEE (KOR)
Loiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK)
Toyly ORAZOV (TKM)
Jamol JUMABAEV (UZB)

77kg
Rui LIU (CHN)
SAJAN (IND)
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Amro SADEH (JOR)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Bakhit K BADR (QAT)
Gadiel MISSO (SGP)
Jeyhun OVEZDURDYYEV (TKM)
Lai Hsing YAO (TPE)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

82kg
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Sultan EID (JOR)
Yuya MAETA (JPN)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ)
Sejin YANG (KOR)
Aryan BIN AZMAN (SGP)
Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

87kg
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)
Byeongcheol SHIN (KOR)
Saidislomiddin ASLAMOV (TJK)
Shyhazberdi OVELEKOV (TKM)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

97kg
Yiming LI (CHN)
Narinder CHEEMA (IND)
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Ali AL KAABI (IRQ)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Seyeol LEE (KOR)
Azizdzhon ZARIPOV (TJK)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Abrorbek NURMUKHAMMEDOV (UZB)

130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
NAVEEN (IND)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Ali AL SHARUEE (IRQ)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Roman KIM (KGZ)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Timothy Yu LOH (SGP)
Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleParis

Wrestling at Paris 2024: Tazhudinov vs Snyder in semis

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

PARIS (August 10) -- Wrestling at Paris enters its penultimate day with Freestyle in 65kg and 97kg and women's wrestling in 76kg. More medals to be won at the Olympics.

LIVE MATCH ORDER | PARIS 2024 DAY 5

13:48: Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) avenges a loss to her predecessor as world champion, Yasemin ADAR (TUR), at the 2022 World Championships, holding on for a 3-0 victory to gain a spot in the women's 76kg semifinals. Kagami gains an activity point in the first period, then connects on a single-leg attempt for a takedown. She then fends off all of Adar's attacks to keep alive her gold-medal hopes.

13:30: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) seems to have recovered from that hectic opening bout against Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI). He casually beats Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) 14-2 in the quarterfinal. He will have a tough one in the semifinal -- Kyle SNYDER (USA).

13:24: Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) posts a dramatic 6-3 victory over Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) to advance to the women's 76kg semifinals and move a step closer to making Colombian history. Renteria gives up a go-ahead takedown in the second period, but comes back with a stepout and takedown to take a 5-3 lead. She then holds out against a single-leg attempt by Enkh Amar to clinch the victory. The Mongolian side challenges, but it is denied. Renteria is looking to join two-time Olympic bronze medalist Jackeline RENTERIA (COL) as Colombia's lone Olympic medalist in wrestling.

13:26: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) is looking particularly sharp at freestyle 65kg. He comes out like a buzzsaw in his quarterfinal against Islam DUDAEV (ALB), who has no answer as the Iranian chalks up three stepouts and two takedowns in the first period, and two stepouts and a clinching takedown in the second for an 11-0 victory.

13:23: Kennedy BLADES (USA) survives a tough battle with Milsimy MARIN (CUB), advancing to the women's 76kg semifinals with a 4-3 win. Blades goes ahead 2-1 in the second period with a stepout while on the activity clock, then makes it 4-1 by stuffing a takedown attempt by Marin for 2. But Marin scores a takedown in the final 10 seconds, and Blades does all she can to keep from being turned out.  

13:20: Kyle SNYDER (USA) with a fall! Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB) kept him under control for some time but Snyder dumps him and holds him on the edge before a fall at the start of the second period.

13:14: In a testy freestyle 65kg quarterfinal between two longtime foes, Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) gets a 4-point takedown en route to a 10-3 victory over Haji ALIYEV (AZE). Musukaev clinched the win with a slick ankle pick for a takedown.  

13:10: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) holds on for a 1-1 victory on last-point criteria over REETIKA (IND) in a women's 76kg quarterfinal limited to activity points. On the clock in the second period, Reetika came close to getting a clinching takedown, but Medet Kyzy managed to keep her from completing the move. 

13:00: World champion Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), looking to give powerhouse Japan its first-ever gold medal in the heaviest women's weight class, gets an activity point in the first period and a stepout in the second while on the clock to defeat Genesis REASCO  (ECU) 2-0 and fill the final women's 76kg quarterfinal spot.

13:00: Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) reaches the semifinal at 97kg after a 7-2 win over Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL).
      
12:59:
Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) chalks up a dramatic and at times acrobatic 8-6 victory over Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) to advance to the freestyle 65kg semifinals. Kiyooka gets a pair of 2-point exposures in a scramble off his single-leg attempt, then transitions to a lace lock for 2 more. Rivera comes back with a takedown to cut the lead to 6-2 at the break. In the second period, Rivera successfully counters a low single for a 2-point exposure, but Kiyooka gets an exposure on his next takedown attempt. Rivera scores a final takedown, which he completes despite a balletic flip by Kiyooka, in an attempt to escape the hold.12:48: A dramatic win on Mat A for Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) and he's into the freestyle 65kg semifinals. After giving up a 4-point takedown to Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), he gradually cuts the lead, finally going ahead with a spin-behind takedown with :12 left. An unsuccessful challenge makes it a 7-5 win.

12:47: Tokyo bronze medalist Yasemin ADAR  (TUR) trails 2-2 on criteria when she scores three takedowns in the final minute for a 6-2 win over Justina DI STASIO (CAN), a world champion in 2018 who was making a long-awaited Olympic debut.  

12:47: World champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) with a huge comeback in the second period to move into the quarterfinals. Tazhudinov was down 2-0 against Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) at the break and then 3-0 with 90 seconds left. But Azarpira could not hold for the final 40 seconds and gave up two takedowns to go down 4-3.

12:35: World 72kg silver medalist Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) bulls Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) backward for a takedown with 10 seconds left that clinches a 5-2 victory over at women's 76kg.

12:34: Two-time Asian champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) gets two takedowns in the first period then scores with stepouts in the second in a comfortable 8-0 win over world 70kg champion Zain RETHERFORD (USA) in the final first-round match at freestyle 65kg.

12:24: World bronze medalist Tatiana RENTERIA (COL), who also dabbles in beach wrestling, dug herself out of a 4-point hole against Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) to advance to the women's 76kg quarterfinals with an 8-4 win.

12:23: Japan-born Gaku AKAZAWA (SAM), who received Samoan citizenship in time to become just the second wrestler in the Pacific island nation's history to qualify for the Olympics, gets a rough intro to the Olympic level when he is dealt a 10-0 loss by Islam DUDAEV (ALB) at freestyle 65kg.

12:18: Tempestuous Tokyo silver medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE) keeps Austin GOMEZ (MEX) at bay and advances at freestyle 65kg with a safe 7-0 victory. Aliyev leads 2-0 in the second period when he chalks up two takedowns and a stepout at the buzzer.

12:14: Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB) works his way to a slow but controlled 5-0 win over Erik THIELE (GER). He will face Snyder in the next bout.

12:14: There is a delay on Mat B as Catalina AXENTE (ROU) continues to receive treatment on her neck. She is taken off on a stretcher to respectful applause from the crowd.

12:07: Awusayiman HABILA (CHN) would be proud of his four-point counter against Kyle SNYDER (USA) but the returning silver medalist from America breaks Habila and goes on to win 9-5 in the opening 97kg bout for Snyder.

12:06: Reigning world champion and two-time world bronze medalist Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) gets a slow start, taking a 1-0 lead into the second period at freestyle 65kg against Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ). But a second-period takedown opens the door for a series of gut wrenches that give him an 11-0 win.

12:05: Kennedy BLADES (USA), who defeated six-time world champion and Tokyo silver medalist Adeline GRAY (USA) at the U.S. trials, gets her Olympic debut off to a roaring start, but a painful one for Catalina AXENTE (ROU). After an opening takedown, Blades connects with a 4-point takedown to take a 6-0 lead into second period. It is then she hits a back suplex for which any Greco wrestler would be proud for 5.

11:46: World U23 champion REETIKA (IND) uses her counter lifts to great advantage and advances at women's 68kg with a 12-2 win over Bernadett NAGY (HUN).

11:45: Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) gives up an opening takedown to Georgii OKOROKOVV (AUS), then takes control of their freestyle 65kg clash. Rivera scores a takedown and two gut wrenches, then another takedown and two tilts for a 12-2 win.

11:43: European champion Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) has little trouble seeing off Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA) at 97kg. Top counter game from Matcharashvili who has a really good chance to be in the final here.
      
11:41: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), who dethroned Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) as national freestyle 65kg champion and earned his ticket to Paris at the Asian Qualifier, showed no fear in his first major senior tournament, rolling to a 10-0 victory over 2021 European bronze medalist Maxim SACULTAN (MDA). Kiyooka follows his third takedown with two rolls to end the match with three seconds to spare in the second period.

11:36: Asian champion Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), a fifth-place finisher at the Tokyo Olympics, executes a classic counter-lift for 2, then twists around to put Juan WANG (CHN) onto her back for 2 more. Wang gets an activity point in the second period, but falls well short in a 4-1 scoreline in their women's 76kg clash.

11:35: Two-time Asian silver medalist Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) gets an activity point and takedown in the first period, and he goes on to a 5-0 victory at freestyle 65kg over 35-year-old Alejandro VALDES (CUB), a two-time Olympian who won consecutive world bronze medals in 2017-18.

11:30: World silver medalist Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) with a nice warm-up win over Luis PEREZ SOSA (DOM) at 97kg. Perez Sosa is the first ever freestyle wrestler from Dominica to be at the Olympics.

11:26: Ana GODINEZ  (CAN) scores a takedown while on the activity clock in the first period, and that's enough to defeat Kriszta INCZE (ROU) 2-0 in the second repechage at women's 62kg.  She will face Grace BULLEN (NOR) for the bronze.

11:24: World bronze medalist Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) gets a pair of takedowns in the second period to finish up an 11-0 victory over  Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO) in 4:45 of the opening match at freestyle 65kg.

11:20: Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) is into the bronze medal bout after missing out on it twice before at the Olympics. He pins Amarveer DHESI (CAN) at 125kg. In the second 125kg repechage, Robert BARAN (POL) gives himself a chance to win a bronze after he beats Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)

11:16: A women's 62kg repechage match starts the action on Mat B, Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) gets a takedown with 1:02 left to defeat Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) 3-2 in a clash of former world champions.  Purevdorj will face Tokyo silver medalist and reigning world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) for a bronze medal.

11:15: The last full morning session on Mat A starts with a 74kg repechage match between Tokyo silver medalist Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN) and four-time reigning European champion Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK). An earlier defensive exposure and a key takedown with a minute to go give Kadzmihamedau a 6-6 victory on big-point criteria. Because 74kg had 18 entries and there was a preliminary round, Kadzmihamedau will have another repechage match later in the session against Chermen VALIEV (ALB) for a place in the bronze-medal match.

11:00: Welcome to Paris 2024! We have a few big matches coming on the last full day of wrestling at the Champs de Mars Arena.