#WrestleBelgrade

Greco-Roman entries released for 2023 World Championships

Tuesday, August 22, 2023 - 12:37 By Eric Olanowski

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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)

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Maroulis, Blades lead strong U.S. team to Budapest

Saturday, July 12, 2025 - 09:46 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 11) -- Although it will a Ranking Series by name, Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial tournament starting on Thursday in Budapest will serve more than just that for many wrestlers.

For some it will be about the ranking points, for other it is a preparatory tour for the World Championships. The United States is bringing its world team, almost while some others will test this event to select their representatives for the World Championships, to be held in September in Zagreb.

Helen MAROULIS (USA), who has not wrestled since winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in August 2024, will be leading the team which also has Paris Olympics silver medalist Kennedy BLADES (USA), who continues to shine at 68kg, a weight class she moved from 76kg at the start of the season.

Turkiye, Canada, India, Kazakhstan and a few United World Wrestling wrestlers will light up Budapest from July 17 to 20. Women's Wrestling will be held on 18 and 19. 

A few other individual stars will be making an appearance, namely, Irina RINGACI (MDA), Grace BULLEN (NOR), Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) and Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ).

Here's a breakdown of all 10 weight classes for Women' Wrestling in Budapest:

For Maroulis, who booked her World Championships spot on the U.S. team in June, the Budapest Ranking Series will pose a challenge as she returns to the mat. Having dominated the 'Final X' competition in the U.S., Maroulis will now look to show her dominance at the international stage. The U.S. has also entered Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) to the competition at 57kg.

Tokyo silver medalist and former European champion Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) and 2025 European champion Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) look to be the toughest challenge for Maroulis in the bracket. 

India's world U17 champion and world U20 medalist NEHA (IND) has made a few headlines by winning the Mongolian Open Ranking Series and followed that up with a gold medal at Yasar Dogu. Budapest will be a stern test for the youngster.

European silver medalist Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) is also in the mix to get Ranking points and get a seed for the World Championships.

Blades should run through the 68kg bracket in Budapest. She has the likes of world champion Buse TOSUN (TUR) and European champion Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) in the draw but Blades is a level above the field entered for the competition.

Blades won the Zagreb Open Ranking Series in February and also her first Pan-Am title in May. She is currently 12th in the rankings but has a chance to jump as high as sixth with a gold medal.

Tosun won a bronze medal at the European Championships in her first competition since the Paris Games and looked in good form, something she would love to carry to Budapest as well. An appearance in the final and she can well become the top ranked wrestler at 68kg.

Shevchenko made a great impression by winning the European gold in a tough bracket and has a consolidate on that win with a good show in Budapest.

Other names include Kendra DACHER (FRA), Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ) and Brooklyn HAYS (USA).

Dymond GUILFORD (USA)Both Dymond GUILFORD (USA) and Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) are entered at 76kg which could give us a rematch of Tirana final from February. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 76kg, a rematch of the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series final is on the cards as both Medet Kyzy and Dymond GUILFORD (USA) are entered. Guilford managed to beat Medet Kyzy in the final in Tirana but Medet Kyzy has since won the Asian Championships and Yasar Dogu golds.

Two young stars in the bracket include PRIYA (IND) and Elmira YASIN (TUR), both have multiple age-group continental and world medals. Former Asian champion Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) is also entered.

The 62kg and 65kg weight classes can throw some interesting match-ups, especially with Bullen and Rigaci continuing their season at 65kg. Bullen is a regular 62kg while Ringaci was at 68kg at Olympics and World Championships.

Ringaci and Bullen met in the 65kg final of the European Championships this year and the latter managed to beat Ringaci to capture the gold medal. Both can meet again in Budapest.

World bronze medalist Macey KILTY (USA), who will be in Zagreb for the U.S., will look to win gold and throw her hat in the ring as a contender for world title in Zagreb.

Dudova, Ana GODINEZ (CAN), MANISHA (IND), Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR), Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA), Alina KASABIEVA (UWW) and Amina TANDELOVA (UWW) are some of the names that highlight 62kg.

Dudova won bronze at the European Championships while Godinez won the Pan-Am gold in May. Manisha was the Asian champion in April but lost at the Mongolian Open in June and will be keen on returning to winning ways.

Kolawale is the African champion while Nwachukwu won the 'Final X' and will be in Zagreb for the World Championships. Kasabieva has blown hot and cold so far, but had good wins at the Mongolian Open to build some momentum in the season.

Tandelova, the youngster with medals at Zagreb Open and European U23s, finished fifth at the senior Europeans but has the potential to be on the podium in Budapest.

At 53kg, world and Asian bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) will start as the favorite in the bracket, especially after her domination at the Mongolian Open. She won gold in Mongolia without giving up a point in four bouts.

European medalist Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), Felicity TAYLOR (USA) and Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW) will look to finish on the podium as well.

In what will be one of the biggest brackets in Budapest, the 50kg will see European silver medalist Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), Mongolia Open winner Natalia PUDOVA (UWW), European bronze medalist Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (UWW), multiple world age-group medalist Audrey JIMENEZ (USA), Madison PARKS (CAN), Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA) among others.

Pudova and Demirhan put on a stunning 50kg final in Ulaanbaatar which the former managed to win 7-6 despite comebacks from Demirhan. A medal in Budapest will put Pudova as one of the contenders for a podium-finish in Zagreb.

Pan-Am champion Karla GODINEZ (CAN), European champion Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) and the U.S. rep for Zagreb Worlds Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA) and Turkiye's young sensation Tuba DEMIR (TUR) will be the key names at 55kg.

At 59kg, world bronze medalist Othelie HOEIE (NOR) will look to win her first Ranking Series medal but has a tough road to medal bouts. She will have Elena BRUGGER (GER), Erika BOGNAR (HUN), Bediha GUN (TUR), Abigail NETTE (USA) and Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW) in the same bracket.

Gun suffered a heartbreaking loss in the European finals but won Yasar Dogu tournament and will likely finish on podium in Budapest. Nette and Sidelnikova are strong contenders for a place in the final.

Three-time world silver medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) should have an easy path to 72kg gold unless Alexandria GLAUDE (USA) or HARSHITA (IND) spring a surprise to deny her.