#WrestleAstana

Asian Championships freestyle brackets breakdown

By Vinay Siwach

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (April 12) -- If freestyle is exciting on the mat, the draws paint an even better picture. The freestyle draws for the Asian Championships concluded Wednesday with wrestlers from 10 weight classes receiving them. Freestyle begins Thursday with 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg wrestlers going on the mat and the wrestlers from the remaining five on Friday.

Wrestling will begin at 11:00 am on Thursday and Friday instead of the regular 11:00 am. The timing for the medal bouts remains the same -- 18:00 hours.

57kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN) gets the number seed and he will be waiting for the winner of Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB) and Sunggwon KIM (KOR) to meet in the quarterfinal. If he wins, he will reach the semifinals which will be a tough battle.

The top half has Alireza SARLAK (IRI) wrestling Rikuto ARAI (JPN) in the qualification and the winner will take on AMAN (IND) in the quarterfinal as he is the fourth seed.

The bottom half of this bracket has Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) as the second seed and he faces the winner of Gayan KATHURANGANA (SRI) and Sunatullo BOBOEV (TJK).

Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ) is seeded third and already in the quarterfinals. He has to wait for the winner of Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) and Muhammad BILAL (PAK) to know his opponent.

61kg
PANKAJ (IND) gets the top seed in this weight class and a direct quarterfinal spot. He will face the winner of Sardor RUZIMOV (UZB) and Ibrahim GUZAN (YEM).

Two qualification bouts will be held to know the other quarterfinalists in the top half. Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK) will take on Tokyo Olympian Minghu LIU (CHN) in the first bout and Nurbolat ABDUALIYEV (KAZ) will face  Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) to decide the quarterfinalists.

In the bottom half, U23 world champion Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) gets the winner of Kodai OGAWA (JPN) and Myrat HOJANEPESOV (TKM). Third seed Yasin REZAEI (IRI) will wait for the winner of Hyeonsik SONG (KOR) and Eddy BIN KHIDZER (SGP) in the quarterfinal.

65kg
World champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) will be hoping to defend his Asian title as he is the top seed for the competition. He sits in the quarterfinal with Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ) and Mohammed KAREEM (IRQ) trying to earn the spot to wrestle him.

Others will go through qualification to fill the quarterfinal spot. Changsu KIM (KOR) will wrestle Gurbanmuhammet CHARYYEV (TKM) for a spot in the last eight. Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) has fourth seed Ryoma ANRAKU (JPN) in the other bout.

The lower side of the bracket has second seed Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) in the quarterfinal with the winner of Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) and Chlovelle ADOLFO (PHI) wrestling him.

U20 world champion Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) will be wrestling Charles FERNANDO (SRI) for a spot in the quarterfinal while Shaohua YUAN (CHN) has Anuj KUMAR (IND).

70kg
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) will be the top seed for the weight class and as the weight class has 16 wrestlers, it will kick off with the 1/16 finals.

Toktomambetov wrestles Perman HOMMADOV (TKM) in the first bout while the second one sees Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ) take on Suhyeon PARK (KOR). 

Mohamed BIN ABDULLAH (SGP) will be up against Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK) for a spot in the quarterfinal while Inayat ULLAH (PAK) has Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IR) in the other 1/16 final.

The bottom half will have second seed AGUDAMU (CHN) take on Anil PELI GEDARA (SRI). Ali AL OBAIDI (IRQ) faces Orts ISAKOV (JOR) for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) gets Khanburged GANKHUYAG (MGL) and U20 bronze medalist Mulaym YADAV (IND) will be up against third seed Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB).

74kg
While the big names are missing, 74kg will not be short of action. The top seed will be Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL) and he will face Abdullrahman IBRAHIM (QAT) in his 1/16 final. Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) and Jumadurdy MAMISHOV (TKM) will be the second face-off before former Asian champion Byungmin GONG (KOR) faces Udayantha FERNANDO (SRI). Fourth seed Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) has YASH (IND) in his 1/16 finals.

In the bottom half, Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) will face  HONG YEOW LOU (SGP) and Jafar CHULIBOYEV (UZB) gets to take on Adilet ZHAPARKULOV (KGZ). Hossein ABOUZARIPASHKOLAEI (IRI) will be up against Erzo ISAKOV (JOR). Third seed Shengsong XIA (CHN) will be facing Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN).

79kg
Veteran Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) will be the top seed for this weight class and will be in the quarterfinals. The winner of Gunwoo LEE (KOR) and Shuhrat BOZOROV (TJK) will be his first opponent.

Peilong LI (CHN) and Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL) will be wrestling for a spot in the quarterfinal against DEEPAK (IND) who will be the fourth seed.

Second seed Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI) will be in the quarterfinal as well with one of Adilet MARATBAEV (KGZ) or Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) to be his opponent.

Yajuro YAMASAKI (JPN) will face Vepa HEMENEKOV (TKM) and the winner earning a spot in the quarterfinal against Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) who is the third seed.

86kg
Defending champion Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) will be the top seed for the competition and he is placed in the quarterfinal. He will face the winner of Noman ZAKA (PAK) and Weng CHOW (SGP).

The second quarterfinal will be between the winner of Jointy KUMAR (IND) and Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ). Though he is the fourth seed Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB) will have to wrestle Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM) for a place in the quarterfinal against the previous winner.

Second seed Zushen LIN (CHN) will be in the quarterfinal and his opponent will be decided by a bout between Gwanuk KIM (KOR) and Alireza KARIMI (IRI). In the other quarterfinal of the bottom half, third seed Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) will wait for Mustafa AL OBAIDI (IRQ) or Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL).

92kg
The top seed and a quarterfinal spot at 92kg go Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL). He will face the winner of Arashk MOHEBI (IRI) and Arash YOSHIDA (JPN). In the other quarterfinal, fourth seed Abdul ABUIDAIJ (JOR) will wait for the winner of Ajiniyaz SAPARNIYAZOV (UZB) and Woomin JANG (KOR).

In the bottom half, Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) is the second seed and will face one of Mirlan CHYNYBEKOV (KGZ) or Issa AL OBAIDI (IRQ). The third seed Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) will have a test against Xiao SUN (CHN) or Deepak PUNIA (IND).

97kg
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN) is the top seed and will have a spot in the quarterfinal. He will face the winner of DEEPAK (IND) and Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ). The second quarterfinal of the top half will see fourth seed Makhsud VEYSALOV (UZB) take on Juhwan SEO (KOR).

Going to the bottom half, Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) is seeded second and will face the winner of Ulziisaikhan BAASANTSOGT (MGL) and Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI).

Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) enjoys the third seed and will be in the quarterfinals. He will wait for the winner of Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ) and Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM).

125kg
World silver medalist Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) will be the top seed for the weight class and will face one of BUHEEERDUN (CHN) and Ahmed AL JAMIE (IRQ). U23 world champion Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) will be in the quarterfinal against fourth seed Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM).

The bottom half has second seed Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) in the quarterfinal. He has to wrestle the winner of Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN) and Anirudh KUMAR (IND).

Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB) is third seed and will be facing the winner of Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ) and Yeihyun JUNG (KOR).

#WrestleBudapest

#WrestleBudapest Ranking Series women’s wrestling entries

By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 26) — Like the previous three Ranking Series events, the fourth and final event in Budapest, Hungary promises to be a thrilling affair as close to 600 wrestlers are registered for the July 13-16 tournament.

Women’s wrestling too has received entries that include full-strength squads from the USA, China, Canada, Mongolia, Ukraine, France and Turkiye.

Wrestlers are also shifting to the Olympic weight classes as the Paris Olympic qualifying World Championships are just two months away. The Ranking Series allows two-kilogram weight tolerance and awards prize money to all the medal winners.

For Budapest, a host of nations have entered three wrestlers in the Olympic weights with the hope of getting their final entry to the Belgrade World Championships.

At all of the Olympic weight classes — 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg and 76kg — fans can expect a preview to how competitive the World Championships are going to be as the wrestlers battle for five Paris Olympic spots at each weight.

All the action from Budapest can be followed live on uww.org and the UWW App from July 13.

50kg
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Madison  PARKS (CAN)
Katie  DUTCHAK (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Bianka FATH (HUN)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Agata WALERZAK (POL)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Erin GOLSTON (USA)
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)

53kg
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Diana WEICKER (CAN)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Min ZHANG (CHN)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Lucia YEPEZ (ECU)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN)
Vivien MATYI (HUN)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Thalia MALLQUI PECHE (PER)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Ahinsa FERNANDO (SRI)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Liliya HORISHNA (UKR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)

55kg
Li DENG (CHN)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
VINESH (IND)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Alisha HOWK (USA)
Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA)

57kg
Engracia PANDA (ANG)
Ana PELENDA (ANG)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Alexandria TOWN (CAN)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Jeongae BARK (KOR)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Nova BERGMAN (SWE)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)
Xochitl MOTA PETTIS (USA)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)
Alexandra HEDRICK (USA)
Betzabeth SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN)

59kg
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Viktoria BORSOS (HUN)
SARITA (IND)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Olena NASIBOVA KREMZER (UKR)
Jennifer PAGE (USA)
Brenda REYNA (USA)

62kg
Angelina LELO (ANG)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Xiaojuan LUO (CHN)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Yasmine SOLIMAN (HUN)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Zuzanna WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Bridgette DUTY (USA)

65kg
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)

68kg
Sara LANDO (ANG)
Olivia DI BACCO (CAN)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Tayla FORD (NZL)
Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Alexandria GLAUDE (USA)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)

72kg
Shauna KUEBECK (CAN)
Noemi OSVATH NAGY (HUN)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Alina RUDNYTSKA LEVYTSKA (UKR)

76kg
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAE (EST)
Cynthia VESCAN (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Fanni NAGY (SRB)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)