#RankingSeries

El Sayed, Amine headline Mediterranean Games entries

Friday, June 17, 2022 - 17:00 By Vinay Siwach

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ORAN, Algeria (June 16) -- The XIX Mediterranean Games are scheduled to be held in Oran, Algeria from June 26 to 29 and will see a number of stars in the action next week.

Not only the Games will see some of the biggest names of the sport, but it will also mark the Ranking Series points being at any Games for the second time after the South-East Asian Games last month.

United World Wrestling's decision to include the Mediterranean Games, which struggled to get wrestlers to compete in the Games, in the ranking system has received a tremendous response which resulted in nearly twice as many athletes registering for this edition as the previous ones. This year's edition received entries from countries like Turkey, France, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Algeria, Morocco, San Marino, North Macedonia and Albania.

Olympic bronze medalist Yasemin ADAR (TUR) will be leading the women's wrestling field while the Games will also mark the return of Mohamed EL SAYED (EGY), who won a bronze medal in the 67kg weight class at the Tokyo Olympics. History maker for San Marino with a bronze medal in Tokyo and European champion, Myles AMINE (SMR) is entered at 86kg.

Turkey is sending a strong team with European champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR), Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) and Murat FIRAT (TUR) wrestling in Oran.

Earlier this year, United World Wrestling had added the Games before the September World Championships as part of the Ranking Series.

Wrestlers competing at these Games are eligible for Ranking points that will ultimately count for the seeds at the World Championships. The points will be calculated from the four Ranking Series events and the continental championships. Between the Games and four Ranking Series events, a wrestler's best four results will be counted for the seeding.

Across 17 Olympic weight classes, a total of 145 wrestlers will be competing at the EMEC Hall over the four days beginning June 26.

Myles AMINEEuropean champion Myles AMINE (SMR) is entered at 86kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Salah KATEB (ALG)
Mohamed GAMAL (EGY)
Valentin DAMOUR (FRA)
Nikolaos VLANDOS (GRE)
Morris OBISPADO (ITA)
Levan METREVELI (ESP)
Muhammed KARAVUS (TUR)

65kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Yehia HAFEZ (EGY)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Stevan MICIC (SRB)
Juan GONZALEZ (ESP)
Ahmad DIRKI (SYR)
Munir AKTAS (TUR)

74kg
Orges LILA (ALB)
Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG)
Amr HUSSEN (EGY)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Jacopo MASOTTI (ITA)
Alban SOPA (KOS)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Samet AK (TUR)

86kg
Osman HAJDARI (ALB)
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Choiras CHARALAMBOS (CYP)
Mahmoud BADAWI (EGY)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Damian IGLESIAS (ESP)
Feda ALASTA (SYR)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)

97kg
Mohamed FARDJ (ALG)
Mostafa ELDERS (EGY)
Simone INNATTONI (ITA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Alejandro CANADA PANCORBO (ESP)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)

125kg
Mohamed KHELIL (ALG)
Alexios KAOUSLIDIS (CYP)
Youssif HEMIDA (EGY)
Konstantinos ALEXANDRIDIS (GRE)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO (ITA)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB)
Omar SAREM (SYR)
Salim ERCAN (TUR)

Kerem KAMAL (TUR)Kerem KAMAL (TUR) will looking to win the 67kg gold in Oran. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Abdeldjbar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Fouad FAJARI (MOR)
Ahmad ALNAKDALI (SYR)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)

67kg
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Pedro MIGUEL (POR)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Mohamad FAWAZ (SYR)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)

77kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Elkrim Abd OUAKALI (ALG)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Ciro RUSSO (ITA)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Luka GUMILAR (SLO)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Mohamad ALOBEID (SYR)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Vjeksolav LUBURIC (CRO)
Noureldin HASSAN (EGY)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Zarko DICKOV (SRB)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)

130kg
Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Samuele VARICELLI (ITA)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)

Marwa AMRI (TUN)African champ Marwa AMRI (TUN) will be wrestling at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Mohamed NADA (EGY)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Imane BOUJNANE (MOR)
Aintzane GONI (ESP)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)

53kg
Chemlal LAMIA (ALG)
Mohamed SHAIMAA (EGY)
Tatiana SALAH (FRA)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)
Zinem HASSOUNE (MOR)
Marina RUEDA (ESP)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)

57kg
Rayane HOUFAF (ALG)
Farah HUSSEIN (EGY)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Morena DE VITA (ITA)
Atika EL ASLA (MOR)
Garciela SANCHEZ (ESP)
Bediha GUN (TUR)

62kg
Mastoura SOUDANI (ALG)
Soaad ABDELDAYIM (EGY)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Ana FABIAN (SRB)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)

68kg
Houria BOUKRIF (ALG)
Menatalla BADRAN (EGY)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Nerea PAMPIN (ESP)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)

76kg
Hadil BOUGHEZAL (ALG)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Stefania ZACHEILA (GRE)
Enrica RINDALI (ITA)
Carla LERA CELDA (ESP)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)

#WrestleUlaanbaatar, #OffTheMat

Purevdorj reignites Olympic quest with Ulaanbaatar Open gold

Friday, June 20, 2025 - 09:31 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 18) -- The last time Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) wrestled in front of home crowd in Ulaanbaatar, she was one of the top wrestlers in the world at 62kg.

She was the 2017 world champion and a year before that, she had ended Kaori ICHO's (JPN) 13-year long unbeaten streak at the Ivan Yaryguin Grand Prix. Then in 2018, she won the Asian Championships in Bishkek and the Mongolian Open gold medal in Ulaanbaatar.

Few months later, she failed a dope test at the Asian Games, where she had won the gold medal in 62kg. Her rise turned into a fatal fall and Purevdorj was left to serve the four-year ban. During her long hiatus, Purevdorj focused on personal life.

“I was very sad but I decided to just live and raised my son. I kept myself busy with him,” Purevdorj says. “The most important thing is my mind. It's important to be strong.”

Purevdorj, who still remains Mongolia last world champion in wrestling, made her comeback in 2022 and was part of the Mongolian team to the World Cup. She won silver medal at the Asian Championships in 2023 and qualified for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Seven years since the ban and now in the twilight of her wrestling career, Purevdorj is hoping to reignite the fire to wrestle. She took the first step by winning a gold medal at hte Ulaanbaatar Open. The 31-year-old won in 62kg in front of her family and local fans to once again stamp herself as the best wrestler in Mongolia and even Asia.

"I am wrestling for the second time [first time internationally] this year but it's hard," she says after her gold-medal bout against compatriot and rival Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) who she defeated 11-2 to win the gold medal.

At the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Purevdorj is joined by her husband, son and even parents as they watch her wrestle live after a long time. It's not an ideal start for her as she gets hammered 10-0 by Alina KASABIEVA (UWW), a wrestler she has defeated multiple times in her career before.

That's not what Purevdorj or her family expected in the first bout itself. But she runs back to the warm-up hall and prepares for the second bout, this time against Asian champion MANISHA (IND). And Purevdorj looked in form against the Indian, winning via fall. [The 62kg bracket at the Ulaanbaatar Open was a round-robin bracket, hence giving Purevdorj the second chance].

The fall helps Purevdorj get five classification points and a place in the semifinal over Manisha. She will wrestle Ekaterina KOSHKINA (UWW) for a spot in the final. Her son, six years old, keeps cheering every time he sees his mother on the mat.

Koshkina takes Purevdorj to the limits scoring via counters. Still, Purevdorj led 9-7 at the break and both resumed their dynamic wrestling. Purevdorj managed to defend some of the attacks from Koshkina and ultimately won 15-11.

In a high-affair all-Mongolian final at 62kg, Purevdorj put on a defensive masterclass to beat Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL), 11-2, and capture the gold medal.

"I was able to win because I played calmly," she said after the final. "In the first match, I was not good mental state and was not ready. But next match I was better."

Purevdorj celebrated with a few photos with her family and coaches. She looked visibly tired after the four bouts and could use some rest days.

"As I said, it's hard. I am not sure about anything," said Purevdorj, who was wrestling a UWW tournament for the first time since the Paris Games.

Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL)Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) celebrating after becoming a world champion in 2017. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

When she began wrestling 17 years ago in Ulaanbaatar after her cousins introduced her to the sport, Purevdorj did not think she will reach this level. So being a world champion makes her feel happy and she is proud that she choose this sport.

“I'm seventh child in my family and only I am a wrestler. My cousins were wrestlers but they stopped soon but I never stopped. I really loved it."

But she regrets not having an Olympic medal. She has been on that stage twice but fell short. In Rio 2016, she lost in the repechage while in Paris, she lost to her long-time rival Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) in the bronze-medal bout.

Now, the only motivation to be at the 2028 Los Angeles is to get an Olympic medal which may complete her journey. A medal will make her the third Mongolian wrestler to win a medal in Women's Wresting.

“I'm not sure about wrestling till Los Angeles. But I'm just trying,” she said. “The last Olympics were so hard for me in my career. I'm trying again, and I've started this year. There are many wrestlers in 62kg who are better but I have to train more.”