#wrestlebishkek, #WrestleParis

Asian OG Qualifier 2024 Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 4) -- The final continental qualifiers for Paris 2024 will be held in Bishkek from April 19 to 21 with 209 wrestlers fighting for the 36 quotas.

The tournament will be held two days after the Asian Championships at the same venue and live on UWW+ through uww.org and the UWW App.

Like all other continental qualifiers, there will be no gold-medal, repechage and bronze-medal bouts. The winners of the two semifinals in each Olympic weight class will earn a spot for their country for the Paris Games.

Freestyle

57kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
AMAN (IND)
Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
Khattab AL ANI (IRQ)
Yerassyl MUKHTARULY (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Muhammad BILAL (PAK)
Alvin LOBREGUITO (PHI)
Ali ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Chong Song HAN (PRK)
Gayan KATHURANGANA (SRI)
Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK)
Kabe MATJANOV (TKM)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

65kg
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
SUJEET (IND)
Mohammed KAREEM (IRQ)
Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)
Maiis ALIYEV (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL)
Muhammad ABDULLAH (PAK)
Abdullah ASSAF (PLE)
Kwang Jin KIM (PRK)
Divoshan CHARLES FERNANDO (SRI)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Jelaletdin SEYIDOV (TKM)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)
Ibrahim GUZAN (YEM)

74kg
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Feng LU (CHN)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Ali AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Fierre AFAN (PHI)
Madushanka LAKMAL (SRI)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Alp BEGENJOV (TKM)
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB)

86kg
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Vuthy HENG (CAM)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Mustafa AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Erzo ISAKOV (JOR)
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)

97kg
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
DEEPAK (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Andrey ARONOV (KGZ)
Juhwan SEO (KOR)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Muhammad INAM (PAK)
Badzha KHUTABA (SYR)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB)

125kg
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
SUMIT (IND)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Yeihyun JUNG (KOR)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Zaman ANWAR (PAK)
Omar SAREM (SYR)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)

Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) will look to earn spot for Kyrgyzstan in Women's Wrestling 68kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Samnang DIT (CAM)
VINESH (IND)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Jiah PINGOT (PHI)
Son Hyang KIM (PRK)
Nipuni WASANA (SRI)
Vatansulton SHAKARSHOEVA (TJK)
Meng HSIEH (TPE)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)
Thi Xuan NGUYEN (VIE)

53kg
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ)
Aizhan SABYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyoung PARK (KOR)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Aliah GAVALEZ (PHI)
Hyo Gyong CHOE (PRK)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

57kg
Kexin HONG (CHN)
ANSHU (IND)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
In Sun JONG (PRK)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)

62kg
Jia LONG (CHN)
MANSI (IND)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL)
Arian CARPIO (PHI)
Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK)
Gulmira AITMURATOVA (UZB)

68kg
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
NISHA (IND)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Ohyoung HA (KOR)
Sol Gum PAK (PRK)
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB)

76kg
Juan WANG (CHN)
REETIKA (IND)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Eunju HWANG (KOR)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)

Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) will try to win a Paris 2024 quota for Uzbekistan in Greco-Roman 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

60kg
SUPARMANTO (INA)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Ali ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Dahyun KIM (KOR)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Baljinnyam TSEVEENRAVDAN (MGL)
Mark OLIVEROS (PHI)
Se Ung RI (PRK)
Alexander CUEVAS (SGP)
Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK)
Umit DURDYYEV (TKM)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)

67kg
HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Muhammad ALIANSYAH (INA)
ASHU (IND)
Karrar ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Faisal ALDOSSARY (KSA)
Jason BAUCAS (PHI)
Yong Jin RO (PRK)
Mohamad ALOBEID (SYR)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Rovshen ATDAYEV (TKM)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

77kg
Rui LIU (CHN)
VIKAS (IND)
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Ali ALABODA (IRQ)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Dowon LEE (KOR)
Hassan BARNAWI (KSA)
Gadiel MISSO (SGP)
Bazargeldi EZIMOV (TKM)

87kg
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Sultan EID (JOR)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Sanghyeok PARK (KOR)
Aryan BIN AZMAN (SGP)
Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
Yhlas ABDURAZAKOV (TKM)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

97kg
Yiming LI (CHN)
NITESH (IND)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Mirzoamin SAFAROV (TJK)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

130kg
NAVEEN (IND)
Ali AL SHARUEE (IRQ)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Roman KIM (KGZ)
Seungchan LEE (KOR)
Eduard BABENOSHEV (TJK)
Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleTirana

Proud to Break Karelin's Record: Says Kayaalp After 13th European Gold

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 21) -- Soon after he broke Aleksandr KARELIN's record of 12 European Championships gold medals, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) was asked to go through the journey of winning 13 European gold medals in his career.

Kayaalp gave a smirk before going on to replay his journey from his first European Championships title in 2010.

"When you look back, you realize you’ve made 15 finals," Kayaalp said after winning the 130kg gold medal in Tirana. "Back then, I was just thinking whether I could win one or two medals. But then, making the final every time at the European Championships, it’s like a child being born and growing up to 15 years old.

"That’s how long this journey has been. It’s difficult. It requires great consistency. It requires respect for what you do."

UWW Plus

READ MORE: Kayaalp's 13 - New Gold Standard in Europe

Kayaalp's consistency led him to 15 European Championships finals from which he won 13, taking him past Karelin's record. Apart from 2026, Kayaalp won gold in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

"It’s an incredible feeling," he said. "This was my 15th final, and in my 15th final, I achieved my 13th title. I truly believe I’ve set a record that will be very difficult to break. This title is especially valuable to me because achieving such long-term and consistent success -- especially in Europe, where there are very strong nations -- is not easy. I’m very proud to have broken such a big record."

READ MORE: Riza KAYAALP Breaks Karelin's 26-Year Old Record 

Wrestling Tirana for the record, Kayaalp won four bouts, including a 1-1 criteria win against Marat KAMPAROV (UWW) in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW) bruised Kayaalp with aggressive wrestling.

"The matches were not easy. I had tough matches," he said. "One of my matches ended 1–1. In the semifinal, I can say I was subjected to some disrespect from a strong opponent in a very intense bout. But compared to those, the final match was more meaningful for me."

WATCH: All of Kayaalp's 13 European Gold Medals

But the final followed a different script as Kayaalp used his gut-wrench to beat Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, and finally claim the gold after falling short in 2024 and missing the tournament in 2025.

"When it became 7-0, well, I’m an athlete who doesn’t like to concede points," he said. "I don’t like giving points away, so I managed to protect that score. I can say I went through the second period quite comfortably, and having a 7–0 lead helped."

The 16-year dominance in Europe has taken a big part of Kayaalp's career but the five-time world champion believes that his commitment sets an example for the young wrestlers in Turkiye. 

"This comes from the respect I have for wrestling," he said. "If I’m going to do this, I have to do it at the highest level. I believe this success came because I always aimed to be the best. I’ve always done it with love.

"There are tens of thousands of wrestlers in Turkiye. We’ve been able to set an example for them. That’s very important. There are also many people around the world who look up to us."

WATCH: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs Darius VITEK (HUN)

Though they were not present in Tirana, Kayaalp dedicated his title to his wife and daughter. He shared that when he was away from wrestling, his daughter would pray for his return to the mat.

"[I want to dedicate this medal] to my wife and daughters, who have always been by my side through both good and bad times," he said. "To my family, to my father, to everyone who loves us, to my coaches, my fellow athletes, and to the Turkish people. I dedicate this great success to all of them."