#RankingSeries

El Sayed, Amine headline Mediterranean Games entries

By Vinay Siwach

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)

#wrestlebishkek

Asian Championships 2026 Day 1 Greco-Roman Highlights

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 6) -- For the first time, the Asian Championships will be held in two-day format. The edition in Bishkek will begin with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling and then Freestyle. Five Greco-Roman weight classes -- 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg -- are in action on Monday.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

The semifinals will begin at 18:00 local time

55kg
SF 1: Huoying SHI (CHN) vs. LALIT (IND)
SF 2: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) vs. Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)

63kg
SF 1: Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM) vs. Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
SF 2: Erfan JARKANI (IRI) vs. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)

77kg
SF 1: Ali OSKOU (IRI) vs. AMAN (IND)
SF 2: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB) vs. Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)

87kg
SF 1: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
SF 2: Sunil KUMAR (IND) vs. Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)

130kg
SF 1: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Minseok KIM (KOR)
SF 2: Yuta NARA (JPN) vs. Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB)

13:10: World champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) begins his Asian title defense with a 10-0 win over Roman KIM (KGZ) and advance to the semifinals. He will face Minseok KIM (KOR)

13:03: Returning bronze medalist Yuta NARA (JPN) gets the winning score with a slow-motion gut wrench in the second period, prevailing on last-point criteria 3-3 over two-time Asian U23 silver medalist Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ) to advance to the 130kg semifinals.

12:58: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) gets a gut wrench to the back upgraded to a 4-point move upon his opponent's challenge, giving him a 10-0 victory over two-time bronze medalist Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) and moving him a step closer to a second straight gold, this time up at 87kg after winning at 82kg last year.

12:57: World bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) with some big throws and a fall against Dovletmyrat BAYRAMOV (TKM) at 87kg in just 30 seconds. Zhanyshov vs Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) final will be a treat.

12:50: Sunil KUMAR (IND), the last Indian to win a Greco gold when he did on home soil in New Dehli in 2020, reeled off two gut wrenches from par terre in the second period for a 5-1 victory over Shichang ZHENG (CHN) and a place in the 87kg semifinals. Kumar is also going for his fourth career Asian medal.

12:42: Kaisei TANABE (JPN), last year's champion at freestyle 65kg looking to make history with a victory at Greco 63kg, minimized the points scored by Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), but failed to get enough of his own and came out on the short end of a 4-3 score. Taalaibek Uulu had the first chance in par terre, but even though he lifted Tanabe off his feet, he could only get a 1-point throw out of it. Taalaibek Uulu then got in on a bear hug and lifted Tanabe again, but only got a takedown out of that situation to lead 4-0 at the break. Tanabe got a chance at par terre and hit a gut wrench to cut the gap to 1, but could not pull out the win.

12:32: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), aiming to improve on his two bronze medals from 2023 and 2025, rips off four straight rolls from par terre and he's into the 55kg semifinals with a 10-0 win over Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI). The Iranian side pushed the challenge button before the first roll, looking for a leg foul, but the scoring was upheld.

12:25: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), a bronze medalist in 2024, makes short work of Amro SADEH (JOR), storming to a quick 9-0 win to earn a semifinal date with Makhmudov.

12:23: There cannot be a better way to find a way to win a Greco-Roman bout that a five-point throw! AMAN (IND) does exactly that in his quarterfinal against Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) at 77kg. Aman was down 4-1 but got on a duckunder and locked Bahejiang and completes a perfect throw for five points and wins 6-4

12:20: Ali OSKOU (IRI), Zagreb Open Ranking Series champion at 77kg, defends from par terre twice, against Yeonghun NOH (KOR) and he does that well, once with 25 seconds remaining to win 5-2 and advance to the semifinals.

12:18: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) with another spectacular throw as he defeats Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) 9-1 to gain a place in the semifinals. Makhmudov is put on the bottom of par terre, but wiggles his way out and gets behind for a takedown. Then the fun starts, as he hits a high-flying 4-point throw to lead 6-1. In the second period, Makhmudov gets the top position, and he quickly executes a gut wrench that ends the proceedings.

12:10: Roman KIM (KGZ) gets the home crowd going, getting four straight rolls from par terre to knock off Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) 9-0 at 130kg. Batbayar is one of a few wrestlers who will be doing the Greco-Freestyle double in Bishkek — he's the Asian U23 champion in freestyle!

12:08: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI), the reigning world champion at 82kg, has moved up to the Olympic weight of 87kg and gets off to a good start, overwhelming Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK) 9-0 in less than two minutes.

12:05: Hyunwoong CHOI (KOR) survives a battle against Huangsheng WU (CHN) at 63kg. He was leading 11-6 when Wu scored a huge four-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to make it 11-10. But the last desperate attempt ended with Choi getting two points and a 13-10 win

12:02: Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), an Asian champion in 2019 and world bronze medalist in 2023, is looking to regain the magic up a weight at 63kg. He cruises through his opening match, handily defeating  Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA) 8-0.

11:51: Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI), winner at the Zagreb Ranking Series tournament, advances at 55kg with a 4-0 victory over Nurzat KABDYRAKHIMOV (KAZ). Hosseinvand chalks up three points in the first period, then adds a stepout in the second.

11:41: Local star Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) gets the tournament off to an exciting start with a 4-point bear hug en route to a 7-3 victory over a spunky Isami HORIKITA (JPN) in the opening match at 77kg. Makhmudov, a two-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion aiming for his fourth career Asian gold, used a bear hug to power Horikita to the mat, then added a 2-point roll for 6-1 lead. In the second period, Makhmudov got the passivity point, but when he tried a gut wrench from par terre, Horikita stepped over for a 2-point exposure. But that was the end of the scoring and Makhmudov was safely through. 

11:15: The Asian Championships will get underway in Bishkek with Greco-Roman. Five weight classes with local hero Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) in action as well.