#WrestleBelgrade

Greco-Roman entries released for 2023 World Championships

By Eric Olanowski

BELGRADE, Serbia (August 22) — Serbia's capital city, Belgrade, is set to host United World Wrestling's flagship event of 2023, the World Championships, from September 16-24.

This year's stacked preliminary Greco-Roman field includes nine of ten reigning Greco-Roman world gold medalists, with recent-retiree Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) being the only absentee 2022 world title holder.

The competition begins on September 16 with freestyle action, but the draws for Greco-Roman wrestling come out on September 20, with the Classic Style starting on September 21. 

The 2023 World Championships hold significant importance for the 2024 Olympic cycle as they mark the initial phase of the six qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 90 Olympic quotas—30 each in freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women's wrestling—are up for contention in Belgrade.

The Olympic quotas will be allocated across six weight classes: 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg, and 130kg. Additionally, four non-Olympic weights will be contested—55kg, 63kg, 72kg, and 82kg—however, placements in these categories will have no impact on qualification for the Paris Olympics.

Wrestlers who achieve gold, silver, or bronze medals in the six Olympic weight categories will secure a place for their nation in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Additionally, the two wrestlers who fall short in the bronze-medal bouts will compete in a wrestle-off to determine the fifth quota for the Paris Olympics.

Other Olympic Qualification Events:

  • March 01-03: Pan-American Olympic Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico
  • March 22-24: African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Cairo, Egypt
  • April 04-07: European Olympic Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan
  • April 19-21: Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
  • May 09-12: World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey

Nine out of the ten world champions currently grace the early entry list. However, Sebastian NAD (SRB) and Mate NEMES (SRB), Serbia's reigning world champions at 63kg and 67kg, respectively, are both registered at the Olympic weight of 67kg, with the final spot yet to be determined.

Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), Ali ARSALAN (SRB), Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) and Riza KAYAALP (TUR) are the other notable world-title holders who'll have targets on their backs coming into Belgrade.

Azizli, a lightweight standout, will strive to secure his third 55kg world title by overcoming fellow world champion Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO). The two clashed in a battle for world gold a year ago, with Azizli emerging victorious. 

Returning world bronze medalist Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB) is also registered in the 55kg category.

Sharshenbekov faces a challenging journey to defend his 60kg world championship title against countless formidable opponents, including world champions Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) and Victor CIOBANU (MDA). Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL), who Sharshenbekov defeated in the finals last year, is also a guy to highlight at 60kg.

At 63kg, Leri ABULADZE (GEO), a two-time world runner-up, stands as the solo returning medalist in the weight category and is favored to vie for world supremacy.

The 67kg category holds a compelling narrative centered around Serbia's "issue." With a pair of reigning world champions as viable options, the spotlight is on Mate Nemes, the reigning world champion of the weight, and 63kg world gold medalist Sebastian Nad, who moved up a weight class to pursue his Olympic title aspirations. The Serbian coaching staff will look at Nemes and Nad's results from this season and make a decision in the coming weeks.

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) seeks to recapture his 2021 form when he became the only Greco-Roman wrestler in history to win golds at the World Championships and Olympic Games in the same year.

Promising newcomer Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), who is only 20 years old, has already earned a European gold and world bronze medal in the 67kg category. He's a guy who could send shockwaves through weight.

At the non-Olympic weight of 72kg, Serbia's Ali ARSALAN (SRB) aims to face off against 2022 world medalists Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) and Selcuk CAN (TUR) once again.

The 77kg bracket features all four medalists from the previous year's competition.

Makhmudov, the first wrestler from Kyrgyzstan to win a world title, will try to keep his hot streak alive and build towards a second consecutive world-title run.

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), the opponent Makhmudov defeated for the world title, is certaintly seeking retribution. Also in contention are 2022 world bronze medalists Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) and Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR).

The anticipated clash for world gold in the 82kg category is expected between the last two winners of the bracket: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), the reigning world champion, and Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE), who clinched the title in 2021.

The 87kg bracket is the only weight class lacking a defending world champion. With the recent unexpected retirement of Zurabi Datunashvili, the two-time world champ, and the injury to world silver medalist Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), the category presents an open field.

Tokyo Olympic champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) is registered to compete for the second time since his Olympic victory. He returned to competition earlier this season, securing gold at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane.

David LOSONCZI (HUN) and Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) are noteworthy contenders for 87kg gold.

In his most recent outing, Losonczi showcased dominance by securing Hungarian Ranking Series gold, outscoring his opponents 41-0.

Maskevich aims to build on his runner-up finish in Oslo and claim the world championship title.

Despite the presence of all medalists from the previous year's World Championships, Artur Aleksanyan remains the favorite in the 97kg category. A consistent force in Greco-Roman wrestling since 2012, 'The White Bear' has accumulated gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympic Games and six world medals—four of which are gold—during this period.

Aleksanyan's primary competition includes Kiril MILOV (BUL), who he defeated for the world and European gold over the past year, as well as rival Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) and world bronze medalist Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE).

The 130kg category will witness efforts to prevent Riza KAYAALP (TUR) from adding a sixth world title to his achievements. His strongest contenders include Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) and Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU), who secured world silver and bronze medals, respectively, last year.

The 2023 World Championships begin September 16-24 in Belgrade, Serbia. Fans can follow all the action live on www.uww.org or on 'The Home of Wrestling,' United World Wrestling's new app.

*Please note these entries are preliminary and are subject to change.

Greco-Roman entries

55kg
Vitalii KABALOEV (AIN)
Mohamed DRIDI (ALG)
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Wenjie CHEN (CHN)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Mostafa ALQADE (JOR)
Taiga ONISHI (JPN)
Marlan MUKASHEV (KAZ)
Davies ORIWA (KEN)
Hyeokjin JEON (KOR)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Umit DURDYYEV (TKM)
Adem Burak UZUN (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Brady KOONTZ (USA)
AJAY (UWW)
Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB)

60kg
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Reginaldo da SILVA (ANG)
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Dicther TORO (COL)
Latuf MADI (COM)
Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB)
Jeremy PERALTA (ECU)
Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Christopher KRAEMER (GER)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)
Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Samuel GURRIA (MEX)
Joao BENAVIDES (PER)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)
Sabolc LOSONC (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
MANISH (UWW)
Jamal VALIZADEH (UWW)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

63kg
Astemir BIZHOEV (AIN)
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Zheng LI (CHN)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Ryuto IKEDA (JPN)
Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ)
Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
Jinwoong JUNG (KOR)
Alexis RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)
Akmyrat GELDIYEV (TKM)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
Xavier JOHNSON (USA)
Vikram KURADE (UWW)
Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB)

67kg
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (AIN)
Aslan VISAITOV (AIN)
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Nestor ALMANZA (CHI)
Husiyuetu HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Julian HORTA (COL)
Luis SANCHEZ (CUB)
Andres MONTANO (ECU)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Minseong KWON (KOR)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Edsson OLMOS (MEX)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Nilton SOTO (PER)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Mansur NURBERDIYEV (TKM)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Vinayak PATIL (UWW)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

72kg
Narek OGANIAN (AIN)
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL)
Jian TAN (CHN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Michael WIDMAYER (GER)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Zaur KABALOEV (ITA)
Rintaro SOGABE (JPN)
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ)
Jiyeon LEE (KOR)
Mihai PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Artur POLITAIEV (UKR)
Patrick SMITH (USA)
Ankit GULIA (UWW)
Jamol JUMABAEV (UZB)

77kg
Pavel LIAKH (AIN)
Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN)
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Abd OUAKALI (ALG)
Francisco KADIMA (ANG)
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Joilson RAMOS (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Jair CUERO (COL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Mohamed KHALIL (EGY)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Amro SADEH (JOR)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Daekun PARK (KOR)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Toyly ORAZOV (TKM)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Gurpreet SINGH (UWW)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)
Wuileixis RIVAS (VEN)

82kg
Stanislau SHAFARENKA (AIN)
Aues GONIBOV (AIN)
Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Aker SCHMID AL OBAIDI (AUT)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN)
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Idris Hanpasaevic IBAEV (GER)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Sultan Ali Mohd Damen EID (JOR)
Isami HORIKITA (JPN)
Shohei YABIKU (JPN)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ)
Sejin YANG (KOR)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Jose Andres VARGAS RUEDA (MEX)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
SAJAN (UWW)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

87kg
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)
Savelii BORISOV (AIN)
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Lukas STAUDACHER (AUT)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Ronisson BRANDAO (BRA)
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Carlos MUNOZ (COL)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Toni METSOMAEKI (FIN)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Yoji KAWAMURA (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
John OMONDI (KEN)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Sanghyeok PARK (KOR)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Viorel BURDUJA (MDA)
Daniel VICENTE (MEX)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Azym ANNAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)
Zachary Kyle BRAUNAGEL (USA)
Manoj KUMAR (UWW)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
Luis AVENDANO (VEN)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Artur SARGSIAN (AIN)
Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Igor ALVES DE (BRA)
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
Yiming LI (CHN)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Peter OEHLER (GER)
Laokratis KESIDIS (GRE)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Riku NAKAHARA (JPN)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Gerard KURNICZAK (POL)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Metehan BASAR (TUR)
Serhii OMELIN (UKR)
Josef RAU (USA)
Shailesh SHELKE (UWW)

Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

130kg
Ilya YUDCHYTS (AIN)
Sergei SEMENOV (AIN)
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA)
Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Oscar PINO (CUB)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Yuma MIYAUCHI (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Seungchan LEE (KOR)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Paul MORALES (MEX)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)
Mehar SINGH (UWW)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleBelgrade

2023 World Championships FS 65kg, 97kg; WW 55kg, 59kg semis set

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 18) -- The third day of the World Championships and women's wrestling is being introduced. The final two Freestyle weights, 65kg and 97kg, will be in action along with WW 55kg and 59kg in action. Remember that Olympic weight classes offer 5 Paris Olympic quotas, four to the medal winners and one to the winner of the playoff which has the bronze-losing wrestlers.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

15:24: What a finish to the morning session! After Kyle SNYDER (USA) was unceremoniously ousted by Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) in the 97kg quarterfinals, Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) was on the verge of slaying the other half of the Snyderlaev beast when Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) pulled off a miracle victory in the final seconds. Asian champion Tazhudinov scored two 4-point moves off counter lifts, the second giving him an 11-0 victory over Snyder at 2:52. Meanwhile, Goleij had gone ahead of Sadulaev 4-2 with a lift-and-dump takedown, only for the five-time world champion to gain a reverse headlock and put Goleij onto his back for a fall with just seconds remaining.

15:10: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) appears to be cruising into the 65kg semifinals with a seven-point lead in the second period when Nicholas LEE (USA) comes to life and pancakes him to his back. But it is too little, too late as the Iranian fights out of it and holds on for a 7-4 victory.

15:00: Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) has taken out another hammer. He scored two takedowns in his 5-4 win over Shamil MAMMEDOV (AIN). On Mat D, Sebastian RIVERIA (PUR) rolls to a 15-4 win over Maxim SACULTAN (MDA) to reach the semifinals against Vagzen TEVANYAN (ARM)

14:43: A takedown in each period and veteran Yullia TKACH (UKR) is into the 59kg semifinals with a 5-0 victory over Othelie HOEIE. Tkach is pursuing her fifth world medal and first since 2018. She's nine years removed from her lone title won in 2014.

14:18: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) earns a shot at Sadulaev in the quarterfinals, overwhelming Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) 11-1.

14:15: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) gives up a late takedown to Vladislav BAITCAEV (HUN) but the Olympic champ wins 4-2 at 97kg and sets up a bout with Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI)

14:12: One thing is for sure, Kyle SNYDER (USA) doesn't like to waste time. He scores a stepout four seconds into his match against Radu LEFTER (MDA) and then it's off to the races. A run of takedowns and he's a 12-1 winner with 30 seconds to spare in the first period. Lefter got his point with a stepout, but the fact that he got Snyder's leg in the air and only came out with 1 point shows the tenacity of the American.

14:00: Iszmail MUSZUKAJAEV (HUN) pins Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN)! A bodylock controlled by Muszukajaev and Otoguro, who isn't aware of the fall, is in disbelief.

13:54: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) remains on track to defend his 65kg title with a silky smooth 12-0 rout of Stefan COMAN (ROU) to advance to the quarterfinals. He starts with three stepouts, then gets a takedown with a barrel roll. Another stepout, another takedown, then he stops a counter lift for 4 and the bout is over with seven seconds to go in the first period.

13:39: Haruna OKUNO (JPN) takes the mat at 55kg with tape wrapped around her face after suffering a gash on her nose in her previous match. She shows obvious discomfort, especially when Otgontuya CHINBOLD delivers a forearm to the face. Okuno gets only an activity point in the first period, but turns it on in the second, scoring a takedown-gut wrench combination and two more takedowns for a 9-2 win and a place in the quarterfinals. 

13:23: 2014 world champion Yuliia TKACH (UKR) comes back from 4-0 down to pin Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN) at 59kg. The arm bar to use. In the same weight class, Qi ZHANG (CHN) 12-0 over Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)

13:19: Iran is dealt a setback in the freestyle team race as Yones EMAMI (IRI), a bronze medalist a year ago, falls to former world champion Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) in the repechage at 74kg. That not only means one less medal for Iran, but it will also miss out on the Paris Olympic berth in the weight class -- although that will likely be acquired at the Asian qualifying tournament.

13:10: Sae NANJO (JPN), chasing her first senior world title, gets her first bout against Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) underway with a takedown to lead 2-0 at the break. He adds another takedown in the second period to win 4-0

12:26: Haji ALIYEV (AZE), back on the mat with little turnaround time after a tough win over Shaohua YUAN (CHN), breaks open a close match with Georgii OKOROKOVV (AUS) to stay alive at 65kg. Aliyez leads 2-2 by criteria, but scores a takedown and gut wrench, then another takedown in the final two minutes for an 8-2 win. 

12:10: Defending champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) warms up for the journey ahead at 65kg with a carefree 10-0 win over Yanisse MADI (COM). Amouzad expends little effort in scoring a takedown and lace lock, then reeling off three takedowns to end it at 2:46.

11:57: Otoguro has no problem putting away Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR). He scores a takedown and a pair of gut wrenches to go up 6-0. Another takedown, another gut wrench, and it's all over at 10-0 with 12 seconds left in the first period. Next up for Otoguro could be Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), who he beat in the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics to avenge a loss in the bronze-medal match at the 2019 worlds.

11:45: Three-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE) had to take an extended medical break as he wrestles Shaohua YUAN (CHN). Aliyev leads 3-2 at the break as he answered Yuan's takedown with an underhook throw of his own. Another takedown for Aliyev to start the second period and he calls bleeding time instantly. Yuan tried challenging but Aliyev with a 10-4 win

11:32: Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), wrestling in his first international match since his triumph in Tokyo, meets some resistance from Islam DUDAEV (ALB) in his opener at 65kg, but scores three takedowns in the second period to secure a 9-2 win.

11:12: Two-time former world champion Haruna OKUNO (JPN), back at women's 55kg because of Japan's depth at 53kg, gets a 4-pointer off a late scramble to clinch an 8-2 victory over world U20 champion Aryna MARTYNAVA (AIN). Okuno, who won her third world U23 gold last year, is making her first senior world appearance since 2018.

11:00: Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) hit a monster five-pointer on Krystsina SAZYKINA (POL) and secured the fall to start the day at 59kg.

10:30: Another day and we got two more Olympic weight classes going on the mat. Perhaps the deepest weight class in wrestling, 65kg, and 97kg will be on today in Freestyle. Women's Wrestling will see non-Olympic weight classes 55kg and 59kg