#WrestleAlmaty

LIVE BLOG: Senior Asian Championships, Day Five

Saturday, April 17, 2021 - 05:16 By United World Wrestling Press

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The rivalries are back in action as freestyle actions begins in Almaty. Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) are the biggest superstars in action

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

1440 hrs: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)  and Ali Khalil SHABANIBENGAR (IRI) are the finalist at 97kg. 

1425 hrs: Ali Bakhtiar SAVADKOUHI (IRI) has done it. He will wrestle for gold at 79kg after beating defending champion USSERBAYEV (KAZ) 8-2 in semifinal. Byungmin GONG (KOR) pulls of thriller against Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND) 5-5

1410 hrs: Sirojiddin KHASANOV (UZB) will wrestle for a gold medal at 70kg against Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)

1355 hrs: We have a rematch! Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) will redo the final of 65kg after they did that in New Delhi last year. Otoguro came out on top last year

1340 hrs: Ravi KUMAR (IND) will defend his 57kg title as he makes it to the final with a 11-0 win over Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE). In his way, however, is Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI) who takes out Yuto TAKESHITA (JPN) 5-1

1315 hrs: Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND) will go up against Byungmin GONG (KOR) in the 79kg semifinal but it's the other one which should be a top match.  Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ) takes on Ali Bakhtiar SAVADKOUHI (IRI)

In the 97kg weight category, Altangerel CHINBAT (MGL) will be up against Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) while the other semifinal will see Ali Khalil SHABANIBENGAR (IRI) wrestling Satywart KADIAN (IND)

1310 hrs: We are moving closer to the the semifinals! At 57kg, Ravi KUMAR (IND) will wrestle Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE) while the second semifinal will see Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI) take on Yuto TAKESHITA (JPN)

65kg is set as Bajrang PUNIA (IND) goes against Bilguun SARMANDAKH (MGL). Defending champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) Morteza Hassanali GHIASI CHEKA (IRI)

1250 hrs: Two minutes and 10 seconds is all Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) needs to win 13-0 against Nodir RAKHIMOV (UZB) and move into the semifinal of his title defence at 65kg

1245 hrs: Bajrang PUNIA (IND) with a tactical 3-0 win at 65kg to reach the semifinal. Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) up next on Mat B

1235 hrs: Ravi KUMAR (IND) begins his title defence at 57kg with a dominant 9-2 win over Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB) in the quarterfinal

1230 hrs: Down go both silver medalists! Karan MOR (IND) beats Amirhossein Ali HOSSEINI (IRI) 3-1 while young Yuto TAKESHITA (JPN) does it against Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK)

1215 hrs:  Amirhossein Ali HOSSEINI (IRI) and Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK), both silver medalist in their respective weights in Delhi last year are on Mat B and Mat C respectively

1200 hrs: Defending champion at 79kg Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ) rallies back from 1-4 down to win his qualification round bout 13-4 against Gurbanmyrat OVEZBERDIYEV (TKM)

1145 hrs: 2020 silver medalist Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK), Yuto TAKESHITA (JPN) and Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI) all begin on a winning note 

1130 hrs: The whistle are off! Almaty is ready for men's freestyle action. Many star wrestlers to claim the five gold medals on offer

#WrestleLA

UWW announces new Olympic qualification process for LA 2028

Monday, February 2, 2026 - 12:14 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 2) -- United World Wrestling has overhauled the qualification process for the Olympic Games.

Beginning with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the 16 wrestlers who qualify per weight class will earn their spots through four routes: the World Championships, Continental Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the UWW Rankings.

The first phase of qualification will be the 2027 World Championships that will award 72 quotas for the Olympics. Each medalist [gold, silver, two bronzes] in the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn LA 2028 spots for their respective National Olympic Committees (NOC).

The second phase will be the UWW Rankings in which the first three wrestlers of the rankings, not qualified in the first phase, will obtain one quota place for their NOC for the LA28 Olympic Games. The UWW Rankings will include the seven main events organized before the LA28 Olympic Games:

- 2027 Senior Continental Championships*
- 2027 Ranking Series (3 events)
- 2027 Senior World Championships
- 2028 Ranking Series (1 event)
- 2028 Senior Continental Championships*

*UWW may include Continental Games for ranking but will only consider best two out of three continental results.

This means that 54 more wrestlers will earn Olympic quotas for their respective NOCs.

Phase three for qualifying will include the Continental Qualifiers -- Europe, Asia, Pan-America, and Africa & Oceania. These tournaments will award two quotas per weight class.

Top two wrestlers, the finalists, in each of the 18 Olympic weights will earn LA 2028 quotas for respective NOCs. A total of 144 wrestlers will be awarded at these continental events.

The fourth and final phase of qualification will be the World Olympic Qualifier which will offer 18 quotas. The gold medal winners in each of the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn the spot for their respective NOCs.

Only the countries that did not obtain a quota place during the previous three phases may participate in the World Olympic Qualifiers. The participating countries may only send two wrestlers across all styles at the World Qualifier.

For the LA 2028 qualifying cycle, UWW will award quotas at the following events:

4 quotas - 2027 World Championships
3 quotas - Ranking Series UWW Rankings
8 quotas - Continental Qualifiers (2 Europe, 2 Asia, 2 Pan-America, 2 Africa & Oceania)
1 quota - World Olympic Qualifier

Furthermore, the 2028 Continental Championships will be held before the Continental Qualifiers, ensuring that the three quotas via ranking are finalized before continental qualification events begin.

Ranking Series Participation Guidelines

Each country may enter a maximum of two wrestlers per weight class and a two-kilogram weight allowance will apply for Ranking Series events, but not for Continental or World Championships where standard weight rules apply.

The point allocation for these Ranking events will also be reviewed.

Seeding Changes

During the Olympic cycle, seeds will be assigned based on the following event tiers:

Four-seed events:
Continental Championships
Continental Qualifiers
World Qualifier

Eight-seed events:
Ranking Series
World Championships
Olympic Games

Seeding for the 2028 Olympic Games will be based on results from:

- Three 2027 Ranking Series events
- 2027 Continental Championships (or Continental Games, if applicable)
- 2027 World Championships
- One 2028 Ranking Series event
- 2028 Continental Championships

These same events will be used to seed wrestlers throughout the 2028 season, including the Ranking Series, Continental Championships and Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the Olympic Games.

For the 2027 Ranking Series events, 2027 Senior Continental Championships and the 2027 Senior World Championships, the results of 2026 Senior World Championships will also be considered to seed the athletes.

As is the rule, the ranking points obtained at the 2026 Senior World Championships will be removed after the 2027 Senior World Championships.

A key change is that at the Olympic Games, the seed belongs to the country, which keeps the seed even if it replaces the athlete who earned it. In all other events, the seed belongs to the wrestler, and a nation loses that seed if a different athlete competes.

For clarification regarding the new Olympic qualification process, all NFs and NOCs can contact sports@uww.org.