#Bishkek2018

Lei Denies Vinesh as Chinese Women Dominant

By Ken Marantz

LEI Chun (CHN) joined a long line of wrestlers who have denied India a first-ever gold medal in women's wrestling at the Asian Championships while leading a procession of Chinese onto the top step of the medal podium.

Lei scored the winning takedown with just under a minute to go to defeat Vinesh VINESH (IND) 3-2 in the 50kg final, the first of four gold medals won by China in the five weight classes contested on the third day of competition at the Kozhomkul Sports Palace.

"I felt very good for today's competition," Lei said. "The key factor for my victory came from my heart. I was quite confident today."

After teenager Saki IGARASHI (JPN) took the 55kg title in the only China-less final, Chinese wrestlers posted one-sided victories in the three remaining finals, only one of which went the distance.

RONG Ningning needed just 40 seconds to end her 59kg showdown with Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) with a 10-0 technical fall, and compatriot ZHOU Feng followed with a 10-0 technical fall of her own over Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL) at 68kg, although she took 5:36 to complete the rout.

The last final of the night was a direct showdown between China and Japan, which has sent a depleted team to Bishkek to give younger wrestlers experience and to save its big guns for the Women's World Cup which it will host in mid-March.

Japan, however, sent its top wrestler at 76kg. But Paris 2017 world bronze medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA (nee SUZUKI) couldn't breach the Great Wall of China and was overpowered by ZHOU Qian 7-2 to cap the day's competition.

Every Chinese came away with a medal, as LUO Lannuan crushed Amina ALIMBETOVA (UZB) for a 10-0 technical fall at 4:11 in a 55kg bronze-medal match. Luo had suffered the lone Chinese defeat of the day in the quarterfinals, and that was by a single point.

Lei was determined to make a good showing in her debut at the Asian Championships, after faring poorly at her only other major senior-level competition, the 2014 world championships.

"I couldn't compete in international events for many years because in China, there are so many good wrestlers," Lei said. "This was a very rare chance for me to show myself. So I seized the chance."

In the final, Lei scored the lone point of the first period when Vinesh was on the activity clock. The Indian took the lead early in the second with a takedown, but Lei went on the offensive and eventually broke through Vinesh's defenses for the decisive single-leg takedown.

"I knew about the Indian because she is very famous and a very strong opponent," Lei said. "It is the first time to face her. It's really hard to make an attack against her. But I used my own techniques."

With the defeat, India is now 0-13 in gold-medal matches at the Asian Championships dating back to the nation's first appearance at Ulaanbaatar 2001---and Vinesh now has three of the resulting silver medals.

Both of her two previous losses in finals came at the hands of Japanese, last year in New Delhi to eventual world champion Yui SUSAKI and in 2015 to Yuki IRIE. Vinesh avenged the 2015 defeat by beating Irie in the semifinals in Bishkek, but against Lei, could not come up with the big countermove she used to beat the Japanese.

Rong, a winner at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in January, turned in the most dominant performance of the Chinese champions, winning all three of her matches by technical falls in a combined time of just 4:37.

"When I came here, I just wanted to show what I learned in training," Rong said.

Against Esenbaeva, Rong went right into a roll as she scored a takedown, then reeled off three straight gut wrenches to bring the match to an early end.

Igarashi, a 2015 world cadet silver medalist, came up a winner in her international debut on the senior level. In the final, she scored with a step-out in the first period, then added two second-period takedowns to top Oh.

"Overall, I was able to move very well," Igarashi said. "It was good that I stayed on the attack. I was a little nervous, so I just thought to go all out."

Irie, meanwhile, came away with a bronze medal after KIM Hyungjoo (KOR) defaulted due to a knee injury with 1:56 left in their match and the Japanese ahead 8-0.

Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL) at 55kg won a second straight bronze medal and was one of three Mongolians to win third-place matches. Kazakhstan claimed two bronzes, while South Korea, host Kyrgyzstan, and India had one each.

Women's Wrestling
50kg (12 entries)
Gold - LEI Chun (CHN) df. Vinesh VINESH (IND), 3-2

Bronze –  Narangerel ERDENESUKH (MGL) df. Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB), 8-2
Bronze – Yuki IRIE (JPN) df. KIM Hyungjoo (KOR) by Def., 1:56 (8-0)

55kg (9 entries)
Gold - Saki IGARASHI (JPN) df. OH Hyemin (KOR), 5-0

Bronze –  Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL) df. Nazgul NURAKHAN (KAZ) by TF, 14-4, 0:32
Bronze – LUO Lannuan (CHN) df. Amina ALIMBETOVA (UZB) by TF, 10-0, 4:11

59kg (10 entries)
Gold - RONG Ningning (CHN) df. Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) by TF, 10-0, 5:20

Bronze –  Sangeeta SANGEETA (IND) df. UM Jieun (KOR), 9-4
Bronze – Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) df. Phimsuphak AINPHEN (THA) by TF, 10-0, 5:31

68kg (9 entries)
Gold - ZHOU Feng (CHN) df. Tumentsetseg SH.RKHUU (MGL) by TF, 10-0, 0:24

Bronze –  Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ) df. PARK Sujin (KOR), 8-2
Bronze –  Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Divya KAKRAN (IND), 12-6

76kg (9 entries)
Gold - ZHOU Qian (CHN) df. Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN), 7-2

Bronze –  Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) def. Chantsalnyamaa AMGALANBAATAR (MGL) by TF, 11-1, 3:09
Bronze – HWANG Eunju (KOR) df. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) by Fall, 1:02 (12-0)

#WrestleBudapest

Budapest Ranking Series 2025 Entries: Greco-Roman

By United World Wrestling Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 27) -- The Greco-Roman competition at the Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial Ranking Series will see around 200 wrestlers participate in 10 weight classes.

It will be a highly competitive style with numerous Olympic and world medalists entered in what will be the final Ranking Series event of the year.

Greco-Roman will be held on July 19 and 20, the last two days of the tournament. For full schedule of the Budapest Ranking Series 2025, click here.

FREESTYLE ENTRIES | WOMEN'S WRESTLING ENTRIES

Note: The entries are preliminary and subject to change 72 hours before the draw of respective styles. For final brackets and entries, please click here.

World Championships Tickets

Greco-Roman

55kg
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
Anil MOR (IND)
Alpamys DASTANBEK (KAZ)
Marlan MUKASHEV (KAZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Jayden RANEY (USA)
Brady KOONTZ (USA)
Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW)
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB)
Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB)

60kg
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Ilkin GURBANOV (AZE)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
SUMIT (IND)
Galym KABDUNASSAROV (KAZ)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Dahyun KIM (KOR)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Maxwell BLACK (USA)
Dylan KOONTZ (USA)
Sadyk LALAEV (UWW)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (UWW)
Mehroj BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
Alisher GANIEV (UZB)

63kg
Karen ASLANYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Yerkebulan ARDAKOV (KAZ)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Ellis E COLEMAN (USA)
Dinislam BAMMATOV (UWW)
Sergey EMELIN (UWW)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
AYTJAN KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)

67kg
Farid KHALILOV (AZE)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
David MANYIK (HUN)
NEERAJ (IND)
Damir IBRASHOV (KAZ)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Din  KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Yeongwoo JEONG (KOR)
Minseong KWON (KOR)
Byeonggi SEO (KOR)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Alston NUTTER (USA)
Otto BLACK (USA)
Ruslan BICHURIN (UWW)
Daniial AGAEV (UWW)
Maksim NOVICHIKHIN (UWW)
Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB)

72kg
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Petar GORNYASHKI (BUL)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Ankit GULIA (IND)
Daniyar KALENOV (KAZ)
Madiyar MAULITKANOV (KAZ)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Mustafa SAHIN (TUR)
Furkan YILDIZ (TUR)
Aliaksandr KIKINIOU (USA)
Danil GRIGOREV (UWW)
Narek OGANIAN (UWW)
Abdullo ALIEV (UZB)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

77kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Calebe CORREA (BRA)
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Nishant PHOGAT (IND)
Yeldos KAMELOV (KAZ)
Bakdaulet AKIMZHAN (KAZ)
Boseong KANG (KOR)
Hyeonjin KANG (KOR)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Sergei STEPANOV (UWW)
Sergei KUTUZOV (UWW)
Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

82kg
Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ)
Almir TOLEBAYEV (KAZ)
Jihyeok SONG (KOR)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Shahin BADAGHI (QAT)
Uros LECIC (SRB)
Antal VAMOS (SRB)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Beka MELELASHVILI (USA)
Adlet TIULIUBAEV (UWW)
Islam ALIEV (UWW)
Rafael IUNUSOV (UWW)
Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Kauan FERREIRA (BRA)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Karan KAMBOJ (IND)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ)
Sanghyeok PARK (KOR)
Seunghwan LEE (KOR)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Milos PEROVIC (SRB)
Andrija MIHAJLOVIC (SRB)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)
Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW)
Alan OSTAEV (UWW)
Aues GONIBOV (UWW)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

97kg
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Vendel VITAI (HUN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
NITESH (IND)
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Minho LEE (KOR)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Uros KRSTIN (SRB)
Abdul CEBI (TUR)
Michial FOY (USA)
Artur SARGSIAN (UWW)
Adlan AMRIEV (UWW)
Magomed MURTAZALIEV (UWW)
Abdikodir JALILOV (UZB)

130kg
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Darius VITEK (HUN)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Assylbek ABDIKALYK (KAZ)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Seungchan LEE (KOR)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Hamza BAKIR (TUR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)
Aden ATTAO (USA)
Courtney FREEMAN (USA)
Marat KAMPAROV (UWW)