#Grappling

Genge strikes double gold for Great Britain at U20 World Grappling Championships

Friday, October 11, 2024 - 16:18 By Vinay Siwach

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ASTANA, Kazakhstan (October 10) -- Great Britain has not participated in the World Grappling Championships for the last 16 years. But Elizabeth GENGE (GBR) ended that trend and won double gold at the U20 World Grappling Championships in Astana.

Genge won gold medals in the 64kg weight class, both via submission. In Grappling, she defeated Adrianna MAZUR (POL) via submission, and in Grappling Gi, she defeated Veronika KARAKHONOVA (AIN) in the final.

Participating in her first Grappling World Championships, the 20-year-old Genge won all her bouts in two competitions via submission. Only Veronika KARAKHONOVA (AIN) could hold Genge to a decision victory.

Genge is the British champion in wrestling and has participated in the Faltz Open as well, finishing fifth this year.

Overall, Kazakhstan emerged as the best team in the U20 World Grappling Championships. Like the U17 event, Kazakhstan won all bout team titles -- two in men's and two in women's. 

RESULTS

Men's U20 Grappling Gi

58kg
GOLD: Iskander YULDASHEV (KAZ) df. Sargis VIRABYAN (ARM), via submission (2-2)

BRONZE: Bohdan CHORNEI (UKR) df. Alikhan KHAIRLIYEV (KAZ), 3-2
BRONZE: Ilia ABRAMENKO (AIN) df. Daniel GONZALEZ (ESP), 5-2

62kg
GOLD: Bekzat KAZTAYEV (KAZ) df. Emil VERDIYEV (AZE), 5-0

BRONZE: Magomed IUSUPOV (AIN) df. Wassim CHAINE (FRA), 4-4
BRONZE: Andrii TSVYK (UKR) df. Javier FRANCO (ESP), via submission (2-2)

66kg
GOLD: Nursultan KUSHTARBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Mani GRIMAUDO (FRA), 8-2

BRONZE: Vincenzo BUSSOLOTTI (ESP) df. Gafur UZHAKHOV (KAZ), 3-3
BRONZE: Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ) df. Tigran GHAZAKHYAN (ARM), via submission (5-2)

71kg
GOLD: Said ZAIPULAEV (AIN) df. Elman ASGAROV (AZE), 7-5

BRONZE: Maksim KURZHONKOV (AIN) df. Vladyslav SIZOV (UKR), 13-7
BRONZE: Stefanos VAVILIS (GRE) df. Kacper GARCZYNSKI (POL), 5-2

77kg
GOLD: Natan SAP (POL) df. Denis SHELUKHANOV (AIN), via submission (0-2)

BRONZE: Suleiman MAMUTOV (UKR) df. Karim ADEM (FRA), 6-2
BRONZE: Imam AMAGAEV (AIN) df. Renat BOCHKARYOV (KAZ), 4-0

84kg
GOLD: Pawel JAWORSKI (POL) df. Dzhabrail ISRAPILOV (AIN), via submission (7-2)

BRONZE: Maxat TOLENDI (KAZ) df. Didar NURTASSOV (KAZ), via submission (2-0)
BRONZE: Arslan GADZHIEV (AIN) df. Lorinc NAGY (HUN), 2-0

92kg
GOLD: Stefan LOBODA (ROU) df. Aliiar NAGIEV (AIN), 2-1

BRONZE: Ilyas ABDULLAYEV (KAZ) df. Andrei LIASHKO (AIN), 0-0
BRONZE: Ivan POREMCHUK (UKR) df. Nurassyl UTEPOV (KAZ), via submission (0-2)

100kg
GOLD: Yevhenii MURADOV (UKR)
SILVER: Ibrahim MANARBEK (KAZ) 
BRONZE: Ruslan HRUSHEUSKI (AIN)

130kg
GOLD: Ivan BELIAEV (AIN)
SILVER: Arystan AITMOLDIN (KAZ)
BRONZE: Khalimalav BAZIKHOV (AIN)

Women's U20 Grappling Gi

49kg
GOLD: Zhibek KULUMBETOVA (KAZ) df. Yuliia ZASULSKA (UKR), via submission (0-2)

BRONZE: Arina ZHIGACHEVA (AIN) df. Gaukharay YERSEIIT (KAZ), 9-6

53kg
GOLD: Radomira OSTANINA (AIN)
SILVER: Zuzanna KOWALSKA (POL)
BRONZE: Evelina FLORIAK (UKR)

58kg
GOLD: Nuraiym MUNAITBAS (KAZ) df. Alva PANNWITZ (GER), via submission (2-0)

BRONZE: Nuraiym RUSLANBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Ailin SANTANA (ESP), 7-3
BRONZE: Maria BARNA (POL) df. Aruzhan MARATOVA (KAZ), via submission (10-2)

64kg
GOLD: Elizabeth GENGE (GBR) df. Adrianna MAZUR (POL), via submission (7-0)

BRONZE: Veronika KARAKHONOVA (AIN) df. Raushan ABDIGAZY (KAZ), via submission (9-0) 

71kg
GOLD: Aleksandra PLEMIASHOVA (AIN)
SILVER: Yerkezhan YERLANOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE: Maja SALAMON (POL)

90kg
GOLD: Vlada BOIAKHCHIEVA (AIN) df. Hanifa EIVAZI (IRI), 19-2

Men's U20 Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Sargis VIRABYAN (ARM) df. Ilia ABRAMENKO (AIN), via submission (4-2)

BRONZE: Illia SHTANKO (UKR) df. Sharah NADAKKAV (IND), via submission (2-0)
BRONZE: Bohdan CHORNEI (UKR) df. Bakdaulet AUYEZ (KAZ), 6-2

62kg
GOLD: Andrii TSVYK (UKR) df. Adil IKHLAZOV (FRA), via submission

BRONZE: Madiyar SERIKBAY (KAZ) df. Omar MEDZHIDOV (AIN), 3-0
BRONZE: Wassim CHAINE (FRA) df. Rakhat ZHAXYBAYEV (KAZ), via submission (2-1)

66kg
GOLD: Said ZAIPULAEV (AIN) df. Vincenzo BUSSOLOTTI (ESP), 6-1

BRONZE: Gafur UZHAKHOV (KAZ) df. Duta SETURIDZE (GEO), 10-2
BRONZE: Nursultan KUSHTARBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Tigran GHAZAKHYAN (ARM), via submission (11-0)

71kg
GOLD: Magomedrasul BOLOTSILAEV (AIN) df. Zhassulan ZHETPISBAY (KAZ), 6-0

BRONZE: Artem KHVAN (KAZ) df. Bilel BOULAMA (FRA), via submission (5-2)
BRONZE: Kacper GARCZYNSKI (POL) df. Ethan FORREZ (FRA), 6-4

77kg
GOLD: Daniil TSITSORIN (AIN) df. Andrii SOFRONII (UKR), 7-1

BRONZE: Ouassim ADREUACH (ESP) df. Ilyas SAIDULLAYEV (KAZ), 2-0
BRONZE: Natan SAP (POL) df. Doman VANCSIK (HUN), via submission

84kg
GOLD: Pawel JAWORSKI (POL) df. Dzhabrail ISRAPILOV (AIN), 9-4

BRONZE: Ilyas ABDULLAYEV (KAZ) df. Viktor SHEENKO (AIN), 5-4
BRONZE: Maxat TOLENDI (KAZ) df. Robert STOIAN (ROU), via submission (0-1)

92kg
GOLD: Alikhan TUFANOV (KAZ) df. Nikita BABAEV (AIN), 2-0

BRONZE: Stefan LOBODA (ROU) df. Patryk REKMAN (POL), 2-0
BRONZE: Ivan POREMCHUK (UKR) df. Andrei LIASHKO (AIN), 2-2

100kg
GOLD: Yevhenii MURADOV (UKR) df. Rodrigo BLANCO TERAN (ESP), 10-3

BRONZE: Dmitriy ROMANENKO (KAZ) df. Shyngyskhan TURSUNKHANOV (KAZ), 0-0 

130kg
GOLD: Arystan AITMOLDIN (KAZ)
SILVER: Ivan BELIAEV (AIN)
BRONZE: Dinmukhamed KUANGALIYEV (KAZ)

U20 Women's Grappling

49kg
GOLD: Zhibek KULUMBETOVA (KAZ) df. Yuliia ZASULSKA (UKR), via submission

BRONZE: Arina ZHIGACHEVA (AIN) df. Julia BELTRAN MARUENDA (ESP), 4-3

53kg
GOLD: Radomira OSTANINA (AIN)
SILVER: Zuzanna KOWALSKA (POL)
BRONZE: Evelina FLORIAK (UKR)

58kg
GOLD: Maria BARNA (POL) df. Nuraiym MUNAITBAS (KAZ), 10-8

BRONZE: Kenzhe UZBEKOVA (KAZ) df. Maya FLORIAN (ROU), 2-2
BRONZE: Varvara MASHKINA (AIN) df. Nuraiym RUSLANBEKOVA (KGZ), 6-2

64kg
GOLD: Elizabeth GENGE (GBR) df. Veronika KARAKHONOVA (AIN), via submission (11-0)

BRONZE: Adrianna MAZUR (POL) df. Victoria ISIDRO (ESP), via submission (8-0) 

71kg
GOLD: Aleksandra PLEMIASHOVA (AIN)
SILVER: Maja SALAMON (POL)
BRONZE: Yerkezhan YERLANOVA (KAZ)
 
90kg
GOLD: Vlada BOIAKHCHIEVA (AIN) df. Hanifa EIVAZI (IRI), 9-0

2026 U20 Asian Championships

China's Yang Turns Weight-Loss Plan into Historic U20 Asian Gold

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 - 10:04 By Vinay Siwach

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PATTAYA, Thailand (July 6) -- Even Yuanchong YANG (CHN) could not help but appreciate the irony.

Yang was introduced to wrestling because he was overweight. His parents simply wanted their youngest son to lose a few kilos. Instead, he created history for China, becoming the country's heaviest-ever Asian Freestyle champion.

China won only one Freestyle medal at the 2026 U20 Asian Wrestling Championships in Pattaya, Thailand but Yang made sure it was a historic one.

The 97kg wrestler claimed the gold medal to become China's first-ever U20 Asian champion in Freestyle and only the sixth Chinese to win an Asian Freestyle title at any level. He also surpassed Ying WANG (CHN), who won the 84kg title at the 2008 Senior Asian Championships, as the heaviest Chinese Freestyle wrestler to capture an Asian gold medal.

"I was extremely fat in elementary school, so my parents sent me to a sports school [later] to exercise and become thinner and healthier," Yang told United World Wrestling. "My parents thought wrestling would help me lose weight faster."

Yuanchong YANG (CHN)Yuanchong YANG (CHN) celebrates after winning the gold medal in 97kg at the U20 Asian Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

When he first stepped onto the mat as a 12-year-old, Yang never imagined he would one day represent China. Wrestling was simply a way to shed the extra kilos.

"Following my training, I was deeply touched by the passion of my team, the teamwork and the charm of wrestling," he said.

Yang's first major breakthrough came in 2023 when he captured the U17 National Championships title. Later that year, he represented China at the East Asian Youth Games but returned home without a medal.

"I saw my older teammates winning medals consistently, so I set myself the goal of winning my own gold medal," he said. "After five years of training, I finally won the U17 title in 2023."

Yang competed at both the 2025 U20 and U23 World Championships but came up short in both after losing close bouts. When he returned home to Jinan, Shandong Province, he shifted his focus to the 2026 season.

Last week in Pattaya, Yang produced a dominant 11-0 technical superiority win over LACKY (IND) in the semifinals before defeating Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ), 8-2, in the final to complete his historic run.

Yang relied on strong underhooks to force pushouts and controlled the par terre exchanges with an effective gut wrench, leaving little room for his opponents to recover.

Yuanchong YANG (CHN)Yuanchong YANG (CHN) at the podium with the 97kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

As he stood atop the podium, Yang was emotional but he soon realised that this is just the beginning.

"When I received the gold medal, I was really happy," he said. "But while I was walking down from the podium, I realised there are higher goals waiting for me. I can't be satisfied with this. My next target is to win a medal at the Senior Asian Championships."