#WrestleHangzhou

Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 Entry List

By Vinay Siwach

HANGZHOU, China (September 26) -- The 19th Asian Games kicked off in Hangzhou, China on September 23 with wrestling scheduled to take place from October 4 to 7 at the Lin'an Sports Culture & Exhibition Centre.

Wrestling will be attended by 29 countries in Freestyle, Women’s Wrestling and Greco-Roman. All three styles will compete in the six Olympic weight classes and award 72 medals — gold, silver and two bronze — in each weight class.

The Freestyle weight classes for the Asian Games are 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg and 125kg. Greco-Roman will be competed in 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg. Women’s Wrestling will see wrestlers in 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg and 76kg.

Here are the entries for the Asian Games in all styles:

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) is the defending champion at 86kg at the Asian Games. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Sophors SOEUN (CAM)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Chongsong HAN (KOR)
AMAN (IND)
Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)
Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Muhammad BILAL (PAK)
Alvin LOBREGUITO (PHI)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK)
Nattawut KAEWKHUANCHUM (THA)
Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB)

65kg
Mashal SADEQI (AFG)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Bunna YON (CAM)
Baowen WEI (CHN)
Kwangjin KIM (KOR)
Bajrang PUNIA (IND)
Rahman AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI)
Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Tulga TUMUR-OCHIR (MGL)
Abdullah ASSAF (PLE)
Ronil TUBOG (PHI)
Changsu KIM (KOR)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Siripong JUMPAKAM (THA)
Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB)
Ibrahim GUZAN (YEM)

74kg
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Chheang CHHOEUN (CAM)
Feng LU (CHN)
Yash TUSHIR (IND)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN)
Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ)
Mohammed ABDULKAREEM (KUW)
Orozbek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Dawson SIHAVONG (LAO)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Suresh CHUNARA (NEP)
Inayat ULLAH (PAK)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Parinya CHAMNANJAN (THA)
Perman HOMMADOV (TKM)
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB)
Tat du CAN (VIE)

86kg
Farhad MALIKZADA (AFG)
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Vuthy HENG (CAM)
Xiao SUN (CHN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Randa RIANDESTA (INA)
Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
Shota SHIRAI (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Bat-Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Haider BUTT (PAK)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Weng CHOW (SGP)
Yanaal BARAZE (SYR)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB)

97kg
Sardar Wali NADERI (AFG)
Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
Sari MO (CAM)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
VICKY (IND)
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Kanybek ABDULKHAIROV (KGZ)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Juhwan SEO (KOR)
Rahmonjon MAHMADBEKOV (TJK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB)
Lam NGO (VIE)

125kg
Bali SOU (CAM)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Sumit MALIK (IND)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Raj YADAV (NEP)
Zaman ANWAR (PAK)
Yeihyun JUNG (KOR)
Omar SAREM (SYR)
Farkhod ANAKULOV (TJK)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) will wrestle at the her first Asian Games and look to extend the 127-match winning streak. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Samnang DIT (CAM)
Jiang ZHU (CHN)
Yi Jing CHEN (TPE)
Sonhyang KIM (PRK)
Pooja GEHLOT (IND)
Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Jiah PINGOT (PHI)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Manlika ESATI (THA)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)
Thi Xuan NGUYEN (VIE)

53kg
Vannak SAMBAT (CAM)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Hyogyong CHOE (PRK)
ANTIM (IND)
Candra MARIMAR (INA)
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Ahinsa FERNANDO (SRI)
Vatansulton SHAKARSHOEVA (TJK)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)
Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE)

57kg
Sreylen CHHOEUN (CAM)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Insun JONG (PRK)
Mansi AHLAWAT (IND)
Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Erdene-Suvd BAT-ERDENE (MGL)
Siwangi DUBE (NEP)
Jeongae BARK (KOR)
Danielle LIM (SGP)
Sriprapa THO KAEW (THA)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)
Thi Anh TRAN (VIE)

62kg
Noeurn SOEURN (CAM)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Hyongyong MUN (KOR)
Sonam MALIK (IND)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL)
Sushila CHAND (NEP)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Salinee SRISOMBAT (THA)
Dilfuza AIMBETOVA (UZB)
Thi My Hanh NGUYEN (VIE)

68kg
Kanha CHEA (CAM)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
RADHIKA (IND)
Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR)
Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB)
Dieu Thuong LAI (VIE)

76kg
Juan WANG (CHN)
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
KIRAN (IND)
Varadisa HIDAYAT (INA)
Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)
Thi Linh DANG (VIE)

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)World champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) will be in Hangzhou to wrestle in Greco-Roman 77kg. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari) 

Greco-Roman

60kg
Pros CHRAY (CAM)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Seung RI (PRK)
Gyanender DAHIYA (IND)
Suparmanto SUPARMANTO (INA)
Meysam DALKHANI (IRI)
Ayata SUZUKI (JPN)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Aslamjon AZIZOV (TJK)
Thanwa SUTDI (THA)
Arslanbek ZAKIRBAYEV (TKM)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
Tien Hai BUI (VIE)

67kg
Lei LI (CHN)
Yongjin RO (PRK)
NEERAJ (IND)
Muhammad ALIANSYAH (INA)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Nuttapong HINMEE (THA)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Mansur NURBERDIYEV (TKM)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)

77kg
Sophak KEO (CAM)
Rui LIU (CHN)
VIKAS (IND)
Andika SULAEMAN (INA)
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Azat SADYKOV (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Bakhit BADR (QAT)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Wisit THAMWIRAT (THA)
Dilshod OMONGELDIYEV (UZB)

87kg
Veasna CHHOEUNG (CAM)
Fei PENG (CHN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)
Jafar KHAN (QAT)
Byeongcheol SHIN (KOR)
Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
Azym ANNAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURTOV (UZB)
Dinh Hieu NGHIEM (VIE)

97kg
Yiming LI (CHN)
Narinder CHEEMA (IND)
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)
Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN)
Islam UMAYEV (KAZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Seyeol LEE (KOR)
Atthaphol SIRITHAHAN (THA)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
NAVEEN (IND)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Roman KIM (KGZ)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Timothy Yu LOH (SGP)
Nanthawat PANPHUEK (THA)
Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleZagreb

Kusaka earns shot at world title; Iran puts 3 in final

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 18) -- Olympic champion Nao KUSAKA (JPN) is a step away from winning his first world title.

After finishing with a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships at 77kg, Kusaka went on to win the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the same weight. The Olympic champion now wants the tag of world champion.

Returning for the first time since Paris, Kusaka wrestled like is the Olympic champion, beating Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1, in the semifinals. He scored a takedown to open the scoring before getting the par terre advantage. He failed to score but led 3-0. Fritsch was in danger of giving up a four-pointer but he flung Kusaka on counter for a point to make it 3-1.

There was no action in the second period and Kusaka defended his lead till the time expired to earn his first trip to the finals at a World Championships.

"Like at the Olympics, you can't predict what will happen. But a year after the Olympics, I want to show my strength to the world again," Yoshida said after the win. " I always worked out with him, so we know each other well. But to me, it didn't matter if he had a strategy or not."

Earlier in the quarterfinals, he defeated Olympic silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 4-2, in a rematch of the Olympic final. Kusaka had to come back as he was down 2-2 on criteria as Zhadrayev launched a counter throw for two points. But Kusaka added two stepouts in the second period to win 4-2.

He will now face Olympic bronze medalist Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) for the gold medal after the Armenian defeated world U20 champion Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) in a one-move semifinal.

Amoyan got the first chance in par terre and he loaded for a suplex on the edge. Abdevali was ready to land on his hands but Amoyan changed his throw and slammed the Iranian in a reverse throw for four and lead 5-0.

Abdevali failed to score from par terre in the second period and dropped the semifinal 5-1 against Amoyan.

Despite Abdevali's loss, Iran managed three other wrestlers in the finals with world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) leading the way. Two World Championships debutants, Payam AHMADI (IRI) and Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) reached the finals at 55kg and 82kg, respectively.

At 130kg, world champion Mirzazadeh had no trouble reaching the final after he defeated Wenhao JIANG (CHN), 3-1, in the semifinals. He got a roll from par terre for two points and despite par terre position in the second period, he won 3-1.

He will face a surprise finalist Darius VITEK (HUN) who denied Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), 1-1, as he got the criteria for the first point in a 1-1 finish.

Farokhi, who won the Zagreb Open this year, powered his way to the 82kg final after denying local star Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-1, in the semifinals. Farokhi led 3-1 at the break after a takedown. He scored another as soon as the second period began before adding two stepouts to win.

He will face Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) for the gold medal after the Georgian denied Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) yet another comeback as he had all day on Thursday. Yoshida began with two stepouts before getting the par terre. He failed to score any points but led 3-0 at the break.

It was all Bolkvadze in the second period as he scored three turns from par terre to take a 7-3 lead. Japan challenged the last turn saying that Yoshida's head was out of bounds before last turn. However, the review showed that it was inside and Bolkvadze got a point for the lost challenge to make it 8-3 with 1:10 remaining. 

Yoshida used an arm drag to takedown and make it 8-5 but he did not have any another action and Georgia got its second finalist of the night.

Ahmadi upsets Azizli

Iran's gamble to switch Pouya DAD MARZ (IRI) with world U20 champion Payam AHMADI (IRI) a week before the World Championships paid off as he denied four-time world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) a record fifth at 55kg.

Ahmadi was subjected to a selection bout against Dad Marz in Iran and he defeated the former world silver medalist with ease thus earning a trip to Zagreb a month after winning the gold at the U20 World Championships.

In the semifinals, Ahmadi got a takedown to put Azizli on the backfoot. He was awarded the par terre position as well but failed to score. However, he led 3-0 at the break. Azizli got his chance in the second period but Ahmadi brought out his top defense to not give up any points and keep his 3-1 lead, a score he went on to win with.

He will face another teenager for the gold medal, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO), who defeated Emin CAKIR (TUR), 2-2, on last point criteria to earn a spot in the final.

Lolua, just 18 years of age, won a bronze medal at 55kg at the U20 World Championships in which Ahmadi was the champion. Lolua and Cakir traded passivity points with the latter holding first-point criteria. Lolua got a third passivity which is without points and only position, but he failed to score from that as well. Georgia challenged for a leg-foul but there was none.

Cakir got a point for lost challenge from Georgia which made it 2-1 with 40 seconds left. However, Lolua got a stepout soon after and got the 2-2 criteria for the last point scored to win.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Payam AHMADI (IRI) vs. Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)

SF 1: Payam AHMADI (IRI) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Emin CAKIR (TUR), 2-2

77kg
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) vs. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1
SF 2: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI), 5-1

82kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) vs. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)

BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN), 8-5
BRONZE: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-1

130kg
GOLD: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Darius VITEK (HUN)

SF 1: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Wenhao JIANG (CHN), 3-1 
SF 2: Darius VITEK (HUN) df. Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), 1-1