Complete Freestyle World Cup Rosters Released

Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 23:59 By Eric Olanowski

Iowa, United States (April 5) - Although India does not arrive until Friday morning, each of the eight participating nations have submitted their finalized rosters for the 2018 Freestyle World Cup which begins April 7.

The eight teams have been split into two groups for the dual-meet based events which is an annual highlight of the international wrestling calendar. Group A will be comprised of the United States, Georgia, Japan and India, while Group B will be Azerbaijan, Cuba, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia.

Azerbaijan
57kg Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI
57kg - Afgan KHASHALOV
61kg - Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV
65kg - Haji ALIYEV
65kg - Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV
70kg - Joshgun AZIMOV
74kg - Gadzhimurad OMAROV
79kg - Jabrayil HASANOV
86kg - Aleksandr GOSTIYEV
92kg - Aslanbek ALBOROV
97kg - Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV
97kg - Roman BAKIROV
125kg - Jamaladdin MAGOMEDOV

Cuba
57kg - Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA
61kg - Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ
65kg - Alejandro Enrique VALDES TOBIER
70kg - Franklin MAREN CASTILLO
74kg - Livan LOPEZ AZCUY
79kg - Yoan Adrian ZULUETA MORALES
86kg - Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA
92kg - Lazaro Daniel HERNANDEZ LUIS
97kg - Reineris SALAS PEREZ CUB
125kg - Yudenny ALPAJON ESTEVEZ

Georgia
57kg - Teimuraz VANISHVILI
61kg - Lasha LOMTADZE
65kg - Magamed SAIDOVI
70kg - Levan KELEKHSASHVILI
74kg - Tarzan MAISURADZE
79kg - Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI
86kg - Davit KHUTSISHVILI
92kg - Dato MARSAGISHVILI
97kg - Givi MATCHARASHVILI
125kg - Zviad METREVELI

India
57kg - Amit KUMAR
61kg - Sandeep TOMAR
65kg - Sharvan SHARVAN
70kg - Kumar ARUN
74kg - Kumar Omprakash VINOD
79kg - Sachin GIRI
86kg - Pawan KUMAR
92kg - Deepak PUNIA
97kg - Viky VIKY
125kg - Singh PUSHPENDER

Japan
57kg - Yuki TAKAHASHI
61kg - Kazuya KOYANAGI
61kg - Rinya NAKAMURA
65kg - Daichi TAKATANI
65kg - Takuto OTOGURO
70kg - Keisuke OTOGURO
70kg - Kirin KINOSHITA
74kg - Ken HOSAKA
74kg - Yuhi FUJINAMI
79kg - Sohsuke TAKATANI
86kg - Shota SHIRAI
86kg - Masao MATSUSAKA
92kg - Takashi ISHIGURO
97kg - Takeshi YAMAGUCHI
97kg - Taira SONODA
125kg -Nobuyoshi ARAKIDA
125kg -Taiki YAMAMOTO

Kazakhstan
57kg - Mukhambet KUATBEK
61kg - Rassul KALIYEV
65kg - Sayatbek OKASSOV
70kg - Meirzhan ASHIROV
74kg - Daniyar KAISANOV
79kg - Saken AITZHANOV
86kg - Elkhan ASSADOV
92kg - Iliskhan CHILAYEV
97kg - Mamed IBRAGIMOV
125kg -Daulet SHABANBAY
125kg -Oleg BOLTIN
125kg -Yermukambet INKAR

Mongolia
57kg - ERDENEBAT Bekhbayar
61kg - TUMENBILEG Tuvshintulga
65kg - BATCHULUUN Batmagnai
70kg - SANJAA Ganbayar
74kg - GANZORIG Mandakhnaran
79kg - GANTULGA Iderkhuu
86kg - ORGODOL Uitumen
92kg - LUVSANDORJ Turtogtokh
97kg - ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul
125kg - NATSAGSUREN Zolboo

United States
57kg - Thomas Patrick GILMAN
57kg - Frank Vincent PERRELLI IV
61kg - Kendric Dwayne MAPLE
61kg - Joseph Daniel COLON
65kg - Logan Jeffery STIEBER
65kg - Joseph Christopher MC KENNA
70kg - James Malcolm GREEN
70kg - Frank Aniello MOLINARO
74kg - Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS
74kg - Isaiah Alexander MARTINEZ
79kg - Kyle Douglas DAKE
79kg - Alexander David DIERINGER
86kg - David Morris TAYLOR III
86kg - Bo Dean NICKAL
92kg - J'Den Michael Tbory COX
92kg - Hayden Nicholas ZILLMER
97kg - Kyle Frederick SNYDER
97kg - Kyven Ross GADSON USA
125kg - Nicholas Edward GWIAZDOWSKI
125kg - Dominique Deshon BRADLEY

Freestyle World Cup Schedule
Saturday, April 7 (All Times, CST)
10:00 am: United States v. India (Mat A) // Mongolia v. Kazakhstan (Mat B)
11:15 am: Japan v. Georgia (Mat A) // Azerbaijan v. Cuba (Mat B)
2:00 pm: Opening Ceremonies
2:30 pm: United States v. Japan (Mat A)
4:30 pm: Mongolia v. Cuba (Mat B)
5:45 pm: India v. Georgia (Mat A) // Azerbaijan v. Kazakhstan (Mat B)

Sunday, April 8 (All Times, CST)
10:00 am: United States v. Georgia (Mat A) // Mongolia v. Azerbaijan (Mat B)
11:15am: India v. Japan (Mat A) // Kazakhstan v. Cuba (Mat B)
12:30pm: Fifth Place Match (Mat A) // Seventh Place Match (Mat B)
2:15 pm: Bronze Medal Match (Mat A)
4:00 pm: Gold Medal Match (Mat A)

TV Schedule
Saturday, April 7 (All Times, CST)
10:00 am: USA v. India — Olympic Channel
2:30 pm: USA v. Japan — NBCSN

Sunday, April 8 ((All Times, CST)
11:00 am: United States v. Georgia — Olympic Channel
4:00 pm: Gold Medal Match — NBCSN

#IranWrestling

Inspired by Olympic Gold, Esmaeili's Cousins Win U17 Asian Titles

Friday, June 12, 2026 - 12:33 By Vinay Siwach

DA NANG, Vietnam (June 11) -- When 20-year-old Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) returned to Iran after winning Olympic gold in Greco-Roman 67kg at the Paris Games, he came home with more than just a medal around his neck. He returned with proof that wrestling could change lives.

Raised in poverty in Dezful, Khuzestan Province, Esmaeili's improbable run to Olympic gold transformed him overnight into a national sensation. He was showered with gifts, cash awards and job offers.

The ripples of that triumph are still being felt. Last month, two of Esmaeili's own cousins, Ali ESMAEILI (IRI) and Vahid ASHIRI (IRI), won gold medals at the U17 Asian Championships in Da Nang after taking up wrestling only two years ago, inspired by his Olympic success and the hero's welcome he received back home.

Paris Olympic champion Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI), left, with his cousin Ali who won 48kg gold medal at the U17 Asian Championships.

Ali, whose father is Esmaeili's uncle, competed in Greco-Roman 48kg and won three bouts to capture the gold medal. He outscored his opponents 22-2 including two technical superiority wins.

Another cousin from his mother's side, Ashiri, competed in the Greco-Roman 55kg weight class and was crowned champion after four victories. He defeated wrestlers from India, Jordan, China and Kyrgyzstan with scores of 6-1, 5-2, 11-1, and 3-1 to capture the Asian title.

While they were winning gold medals in Vietnam, Olympic champion Esmaeili was watching from Iran.

"I watched their Asian finals and I always follow their training," Esmaeili told United World Wrestling. "We are from the same club and both are talented."

Ali ESMAEILI (IRI) became the U17 Asian champion at 48kg in Greco-Roman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The two took up wrestling at the age of 14 and quickly rose through the province before making it to the Iran team for the U17 Asian Championships. Ali Esmaeili feels that Saeid's presence motivates him to work harder to achieve medals in wrestling.

"I got into wrestling after watching Saeid's Olympic final. In 2 years, with his help, I managed to become the Asian champion. Every time I see Saeid, I feel really good and I am proud of him."

Though Esmaeili trains at the national camp in Tehran, he does not miss a chance to train the youngsters when he returns home and practices in Dezful.

"I tried to answer every question they asked me about wrestling carefully and I also taught them some of my techniques," he said.

Vahid ASHIRI (IRI) claimed the 55kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Ashiri also stepped foot in the club after watching Esmaeili's thrilling Paris campaign. Two years later, he is proud to represent both the Esmaeili family and the club.

"After Saeid won the gold medal, I went to the club where he trains and whenever I had any questions, he explained them to me carefully," Ashiri said. "I am truly proud to be a member of the club and a family with such a personality."

The next stop for both Ali and Ashiri will be the U17 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan from July 28 to August 2.

"Just like the Asian Championships, I want to repeat the success at the World Championships," Ali said.

RESULTS

48kg
Final: Ali ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Javokhir SHARIFBOEV (UZB), 4-2
Semifinal: Ali ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Umarali BERDALIEV (KGZ), 9-0
Quarterfinal: Ali ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Liaotan LAN (CHN), 9-0

55kg
Final: Vahid ASHIRI (IRI) df. Syimyk ASKAROV (KGZ), 3-1
Semifinal: Vahid ASHIRI (IRI) df. Zihao ZHANG (CHN), 11-1
Quarterfinal: Vahid ASHIRI (IRI) df. Adam ABU FARE (JOR), 5-2
Qualification: Vahid ASHIRI (IRI) df. HARION (IND), 6-1

Complete Freestyle World Cup Rosters Released

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Inspired by Olympic Gold, Esmaeili's Cousins Win U17 Asian Titles