#Grappling

Kazakhstan Emerges as Top Nation at Asian & Oceania Grappling

Monday, June 8, 2026 - 13:12 By United World Wrestling Press

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DA NANG, Vietnam (June 6) -- Kazakhstan showed up in style at the Asian & Oceania Grappling Championships, held in Da Nang, Vietnam from June 4 to 6. The country won six gold medals and one silver medals at the senior Grappling event and claimed the team title as well.

Out of the 10 weight classes, Kazakhstan entered only seven grapplers with all seven returning home with a medal. Kazakhstan won the team title with 170 points, far ahead of second-placed Philippines which finished with 89 points. India finished third with 64 points in a nine-team competition.

The first gold medal for Kazakhstan was won by former U20 Asian champion Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ) after he won all four of his bouts in round-robin. He won three via submission while one, against J Han TAN (MAS), was by a 3-2 decision. He also won the gold medal at the U20 Grappling event at 71kg, beating Alonso AGUILAR (PHI), 3-2, in the final.

Maral SARTBAEV (KAZ) added the second gold medal by winning all his bouts at 71kg via submission. None of his bouts went the distance and he finished two of the four inside a minute.

Next was Ilyas SAIDULLAYEV (KAZ) who captured the 77kg with three wins. He won his first two bouts via submission but was checked by Welton WEI (MAS) in Round 3 bout. However, Saidullayev came out victorious 5-2 to capture the gold medal. Saidullayev scored pushout to start the bout before the two got holds on each others legs. Saidullayev managed to escape the control Wei from top for two points.

The bout restarted with Saidullayev on but Wei reversed with an arm lock for two points. As time ran out, Wei asked for two more points but the referees saw no points in the sequence even after the challenge, which was lost.

Three grapplers were entered at 84kg and Darkhan YERENBAYEV (KAZ) easily captured the gold medal by winning his two bouts.

Zhassulan YERMENBET (KAZ), a former U23 Asian silver medalist in Freestyle, won the gold medal at 100kg. He defeated Duy Thanh LE (VIE), 11-0, in Round 1 before an 18-0 technical superiority win over  Callum ROBERTS (PHI). In what was a virtual final, Yermenbet defeated compatriot Madi KABYKBAYEV (KAZ), 2-1, to claim the gold medal.

Yerlan SHAKISHOV (KAZ) defended his 130kg title after he submitted Rustam SARTBAEV (KAZ) as only two wrestlers were entered in this weight class.

The only Kazakhstan grappler who failed to win the gold medal was Gomar SHALTABAYEV (KAZ) as Azizbek SHARIPOV (UZB) defended his 92kg gold, helped by a forfeit from Buyannemekh MUNKHSUKH (MGL).

At 58kg, Lord DEL ROSARIO (PHI) won the gold medal with three victories in three bouts in 19 seconds, four seconds, 15 seconds.

Philippines' second gold medal was confirmed by Denzel ALIPIO (PHI) at 62kg as he also won his two bouts via submission. He won his first bout in 13 seconds and second in a minute 17 seconds.

In the lone women's Grappling weight class that was competed, GOLD: Bless YEAP (MAS) captured the gold medal at 58kg after winning three bouts. Madina UVALIYEVA (KAZ) won silver while Lyubov TEMNIKOVA (KAZ) won bronze.

RESULTS

Men's Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Lord DEL ROSARIO (PHI)
SILVER: Yedenkachew TELAHUNE (NZL)
BRONZE: Huynh Tai LE (VIE)

62kg
GOLD: Denzel ALIPIO (PHI)
SILVER: Taller TAMO (IND)
BRONZE: Shivraj CHOUDHARY (IND)

66kg
GOLD: Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ)
SILVER: J Han TAN (MAS)
BRONZE: Joaquin MARTE (PHI)

71kg
GOLD: Maral SARTBAEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Abylaikhan TENGIBAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Ho Yee CHIA (MAS)

77kg
GOLD: Ilyas SAIDULLAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Welton WEI (MAS)
BRONZE: Maksat ARGYNBAY (KAZ)

84kg
GOLD: Darkhan YERENBAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Rauan ZHAKENULY (KAZ)
BRONZE: Takahisa ODA (JPN)

92kg
GOLD: Azizbek SHARIPOV (UZB)
SILVER: Gomar SHALTABAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Ikram YERSAIYN (KAZ)

100kg
GOLD: Zhassulan YERMENBET (KAZ)
SILVER: Madi KABYKBAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Duy Thanh LE (VIE)

130kg
GOLD: Yerlan SHAKISHOV (KAZ) df. Rustam SARTBAEV (KAZ), via submission (6-0)

Women's Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Bless YEAP (MAS)
SILVER: Madina UVALIYEVA (KAZ)
BRONZE: Lyubov TEMNIKOVA (KAZ)

U20 Men's Grappling

62kg
GOLD: Travis RATCLIFF (PHI)
SILVER: Danial BOLAT (KAZ)
BRONZE: Mayank PAL (IND)

71kg
GOLD: Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ) df. Alonso AGUILAR (PHI), 3-2

77kg
GOLD: Ilyas SAIDULLAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Aldiyar KARIMOV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Viet Bao BUI (VIE)

84kg
GOLD: Aktilek MARSHALKHAN (KAZ) df. Arlan TAKTAMUSSOV (KAZ), via submission (0-2)

92kg
GOLD: Ilyas ABDULLAYEV (KAZ) df. Ngoc HUYNH (VIE), via submission (3-2)

100kg
GOLD: Yestemir KENZHEGALI (KAZ) df. Ikram YERSAIYN (KAZ), via submission

U20 Women's Grappling

90kg
GOLD: Lily HOUBEN (NZL) df. Kavita CHAUHAN (IND), 15-0

U17 Men's Grappling

54kg
GOLD: Akram TOLEUKHAN (KAZ) df. Muhammad MOHAMED MEERA (MAS), 5-2

58kg
GOLD: Aimurat ONGGARBAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Nathaniel NAMA (PHI)
BRONZE: Zun Sin OW (SGP)

63kg
GOLD: Danial BOLAT (KAZ)
SILVER: Zenya SAM (MAS)
BRONZE: Gia Bao BUI (VIE)

69kg
GOLD: Alim ALMATOV (KAZ)
SILVER: Van Toan DOAN (VIE)
BRONZE: Zhen Hoong TAN (MAS)

76kg
GOLD: Shynggyskhan SEIDAKHMET (KAZ)
SILVER: Hassan ALI (PAK)
BRONZE: Angelo SALUD (PHI)

110kg
GOLD: Taylor ROTA (NZL) df. Jie Jun YOU(TPE), via submission (6-5)

U17 Women's Grappling

56kg
GOLD: Charlie RATCLIFF (PHI) df. Thi Ngoc Mai VU (VIE), via submission (11-4)

65kg
GOLD: Thi Loan HOANG (VIE) df. Ruby TAYLOR (NZL), via submission (9-0)

90kg
GOLD: Adel KOMBATUROVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Duong PHAM (PHI)
BRONZE: Zere SYRYMKYZY (KAZ)

#JapanWrestling

Ozaki denies Onishi in 62kg semis, sets up clash with Motoki

Saturday, December 20, 2025 - 08:01 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (December 20) -- Nonoka OZAKI gave Sakura ONISHI a less-than-cordial welcome to the women’s 62kg weight class.

Ozaki, a two-time former world champion who has hit a wall of late amid Japan’s incredible depth in women’s wrestling, defeated world 59kg champion Onishi 4-1 in the semifinals at 62kg at the Emperor’s Cup All-Japan Championships on Saturday.

That earned Ozaki yet another shot at reigning world and Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI, who advanced with an 8-2 victory over Yuzuka INAGAKI.

The Olympic weight classes are being contested over two days, and organizers saved a bevy of world and Olympic champions and medalists for the third day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo’s Komazawa Gym.

In other semifinals, a clash of champions from this year’s World Championships in Zagreb was set up at freestyle 74kg, in which reigning champion Kota TAKAHASHI will square off with Yoshinosuke AOYAGI, the victor at 70kg who has moved up to the Olympic division.

Takahashi easily disposed of Toki OGAWA by 11-0 technical fall, while Aoyagi posted a 7-1 victory over Hikaru TAKATA.

Meanwhile, Paris Olympic champions Akari FUJINAMI, Kotaro KIYOOKA and Nao KUSAKA all advanced to their respective finals with varying degrees of ease or difficulty, along with Paris bronze medalist Yui SUSAKI.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI will wrestle Sakura MOTOKI in the 62kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Ozaki had been forced to watch the World Championships from the sidelines after losing out Motoki at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, which, along with Emperor’s Cup, serves as a domestic qualifier for major international competitions.

The last thing Ozaki needed was another interloper in the weight class, and she determinedly fended off the challenge from the 19-year-old Onishi.

“It was my first time facing her,” Ozaki said. “She’s a young, upcoming wrestler who hasn’t yet experienced the Olympics, just like I had been. But this is not a weight class that can be taken lightly.”

After giving up an activity point, Ozaki scored a late takedown in the first period, then added another in the second to earn a spot in Sunday’s final.

“There are many videos of her out there that I have watched, so I had an image of how she wrestles in mind,” Ozaki said. “I had to think of what form my wrestling should take.”

Asked if she has come up with a strategy to handle Motoki, Ozaki said, “I’ve faced her twice now, and I watched her at the World Championships. There is a ‘Motoki way’ of wrestling, and that’s implanted in my mind.”

Takara SUDA (JPN)Takara SUDA, left, works for a takedown in the first period against Kaisei TANABE during their 65kg semifinal. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Suda spoils Tanabe’s bid for two-style double

The stacked freestyle 65kg division saw the match of the day, in which Takara SUDA spoiled Kaisei TANABE’s bid for a historic Greco-freestyle title double with dramatic last-second takedown in their semifinal.

Suda had taken the lead with a takedown with 1:10 left, only to see Tanabe come back with a takedown of his own with five seconds left. But Suda shot for all he’s
worth and managed to score in time for a 5-4 victory.

“There was still five seconds left and I just kept calm,” Suda said. “I thought if I kept cool, I could score.”

Tanabe had won the Greco 63kg gold on Thursday, and was aiming to become the first to double in two styles at the same tournament since 1973.

“I had lost to him twice before, both by technical fall,” Suda said. “This time I just wanted to avoid losing by technical fall. But those matches were two years ago, and I think I’ve gotten better over these two years.”

Suda’s victory earns him a shot at Paris gold medalist Kiyooka, who managed to hold on for a 3-2 victory over Kaiji OGINO that ended with a wild scramble in
the final 15 seconds.

“He’s an opponent on another level,” Suda said of Kiyooka. “I’ll have to keep moving and give everything I got."

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI throws Mako ONO en route to a technical fall in their 50kg semifinal. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Susaki stormed into the women’s 50kg final with three straight technical falls without surrendering a point, the last one a 10-0 rout of Mako ONO. In the final, she will face world U23 53kg champion Haruna MORIKAWA.

Susaki’s path to a fourth national title and first since 2022 was made slightly easier by the absence of rival Remina YOSHIMOTO and the late withdrawal of
Umi ITO.

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI, left, squares off with Sara NATAMI in the 57kg semifinals. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Fujinami, the Paris champion at 53kg, continued her transition to 57kg with solid victories, although with all of her points being scored from her feet, save
for an activity point.

In the semifinal, she built up a 7-0 lead over defending champion Sara NATAMI before her opponent twice countered single-leg attempts to score exposures, leaving Fujinami with a 7-4 victory. She will face Himeka TOKUHARA in the final.

Kusaka was clearly the most dominant of the Olympians on the day, winning his two matches by 11-0 scores -- both topped off with 4-point throws. He will face
Isami HORIKITA in the final.