#WrestleBelgrade

Live Blog U23 World Championships Day 3: WW 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg, 76kg

Wednesday, November 3, 2021 - 09:09 By United World Wrestling Press

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BELGRADE, Serbia (November 3) -- Day three of the U23 World Championships will see women's wrestling with five weights. Wrestlers from 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg and 76kg will be on the mat. The first two days saw Greco-Roman stars put up a show and if you missed any action, here's the recap.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

1300: Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) closes out the session with a 12-0 win over FRISKE (USA) and that will do for the morning session! We will be back at 1645 hours local time for the semifinals

1250: What a bout we had! Alexandra HEDRICK (USA) lead 6-6 on criteria against ANJU (IND) with 30 seconds to go. Anju pulls off a beautiful double leg and a four-point throw! There is reverse exposure for 2 but the time finishes and Anju wins 11-8

1240: Another fall! Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) makes it looks easy with a big throw and pins junior world silver BIPASHA (IND). She moves into the semifinals.

1232: A fall for Kylie WELKER (USA)! She locks the arms of Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU) and holds her back on the mat to secure the fall. On Mat C, Somolia VYNNYK (UKR) was in a an intense battle with Krystsina SAZYKINA (BLR) but she holds on for a 8-6 win

1230: Returning bronze medalist Anhelina LYSAK (POL) humbles junior world champion Annastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (RUS) via fall in the quarterfinals of 59kg. A strong statement from the senior Euros silver medalist

1225: A takedown and two front lifts give six points to Pawar and she leads Profatilova 11-6. A single leg takedown to finish the bout 13-6. She reaches the 50kg semifinals

1220: Anna SZEL (HUN), a silver medalist from the junior Euros, moves into the 59kg semifinals with a 6-2 win over Ebru DAGBASI (TUR). On Mat C, Shivani PAWAR (IND) trails Tetiana PROFATILOVA (UKR) 6-5

1210: Emily SHILSON (USA) with the fall! Stefania PRICEPUTU (ROU) is the victim of an arm-trap and Shilson gets her on her back. It took some time but Shilson moves on to the semifinals

1200: The quarterfinals are underway. Mariia TIUMENKOVA (RUS) is up against Samantha ROMANO (CAN). Tiumenkova with a series of takedowns to lead 6-0 at the break. In the second period she finishes it 10-0 with ease

1145: World bronze medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) does not spend much time on the mat and pins Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) to get herself going

1130: On Mat C, Kylie WELKER (USA) and Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS) battled it out but it is the junior world champ from USA who holds on for a 6-5 win

1120: An upset on Mat B! Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) against now against junior European champion Somolia VYNNYK (UKR). The scores are tied 4-4 with Vynnyk holding criteria. Nichita works hard for exposure but no points.

1100: Junior world champion Emily SHILSON (USA) is on Mat A. She is wrestling Lisa ERSEL (GER) at 50kg. She starts with a takedown and then adds a double leg to lead 4-0. Ersel attempts but Shilson goes behind. A gut and lace finishes it 10-0 for Shilson

1045: What a start we have! Shivani PAWAR (IND) was down 0-9 against U23 Euro silver Anastasiya YANOTAVA (BLR) but gets a big throw and a pin to survive and advance

1030: Welcome to day three of the U23 World Championships in Belgrade. After the highs of Greco-Roman, women's wrestlers are ready to put on a show. Keep an eye on junior world champion Emily SHILSON (USA), European champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), junior world champion Kylie WELKER (USA)

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Ozaki, Morikawa Mark Golden Return to Olympic Weights

Saturday, February 7, 2026 - 00:43 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 7) -- Just four months ago, Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) came to Zagreb as a training partner with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at the World Championships.

While Morikawa won the gold medal, Ozaki cheered for her close friend, even writing messages for her on a small bandage that Morikawa put on her cheek.

Back then, Ozaki wished she could compete and become world champions together.

Not the World Championships, but Ozaki and Morikawa won gold medals at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event on Friday. Ozaki completed a dominant run to win the 62kg title while Morikawa had a bumpy ride to the 68kg gold medal, a weight class above 65kg in which she won the world gold.

"We managed to win gold with the star of Physical Asia," Morikawa wrote on social media referring to a Netflix show in which Ozaki participated.

The two do not train at the same university in Japan but the closeness of their weight classes has allowed them to practice together whenever they get a chance, including being on international tours together.

They were two of the four Japanese wrestlers who won gold medals in Women's Wrestling, joining Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) at 59kg and Nana IKEHATA (JPN) at 65kg.

Greco-Roman also kicked off at the Zagreb Open, the season-opening Ranking Series event, and the world champion at 63kg Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) showed that he has adjusted to the Olympic weight class 67kg, winning gold.

Iran won gold at 63kg after Erfan JARKANI (IRI) defeated CHETAN (IND) in the final.

Ozaki began her day by securing a fall over Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) after building a 12-2 lead, and then pinned Eniko ELEKES (HUN) in the second bout to book a spot in the semifinal.

It was in this bout that Ozaki faced her first struggles of the day against Macey KILTY (USA). Though she ultimately secured a 5-2 win, Ozaki gave up positions against the American wrestler. She would later admit that it was not easy to keep herself calm during the bout.

In the final against Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), a silver medalist from the European Championships, Ozaki scored four different takedowns and looked in complete control. With the 8-0 win, Ozaki won her first Ranking Series gold medal.

Ozaki won the world title at 65kg in 2023 but was a phenom at 62kg when she emerged on the international scene in 2022. But after a slump in form both in Japan and internationally, she missed out on making the Japan team for the 2023 World Championships at 62kg.

However, with Ami ISHII (JPN) qualifying Japan for the 2024 Paris Games without winning a medal opened a door for Ozaki to be at the Olympics.

Ozaki set out on a daunting task of moving to 68kg and not only did she defeat Ishii while being underweight, she managed to win a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Soon after, she decided to move back to 62kg but suffered two back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and failed to make the 2025 world team.

It turned around at the Emperor's Cup in December 2025 as Ozaki avenged her loss to Motoki and earned the right to participate in the Zagreb Open and Asian Championships in April.

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) scores a takedown on Nesrin BAS (TUR) during the 68kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Morikawa, who also moved to 68kg after winning gold at 65kg at the World Championships in 2025, had a hiccup in the final, but managed to get the gold medal against Nesrin BAS (TUR).

The two-time world champion captured her third Ranking Series gold medal and first since 2018 but not before having a tough time on the mat. She began with an 11-0 win over Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) and then a 10-0 technical superiority over Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW).

While the fall over Aleah NICKEL (CAN) in the semifinals was dominant, Morikawa did show some signs of discomfort. That showed up in the final against Bas as Morikawa fell behind 2-0 in the first period. She managed to score a point before the break and cut the lead to 2-1.

Morikawa found a way to score two takedowns in the second period to take a 5-2 lead to capture the gold medal at 68kg.

Bas, who was at the Paris Olympics at 62kg but won world silver medal in 2025 at 72kg, was another wrestler trying to adjust to a new weight class. Her biggest test came in the semifinal against Olympic silver medalist Kennedy BLADES (USA).

Blades led 1-0 at the end of the first period but  Bas seemed unfazed. The American was put on the shot clock in the second period and after 30-second activity time exchanged, Bas took a 1-1 criteria lead. Bas also got a point for stepout to make it 2-1.

 

She then defended the lead until the end of the time to claim a victory over Blades and a spot in the final against Morikawa. Bas is likely to continue at the weight and the silver medal in Zagreb will be a huge boost for her going forward.

Khalmakhanov adjusts to 67kg

Another star wrestler shifting to an Olympic weight class was 63kg world champion Khalmakhanov and he performed strongly at 67kg. His first battle came in the semifinal when he faced Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN).

But an arm-throw and turn gave him a 6-0 lead against Sogabe who got a few stepouts in the bout. Khalmakhanov scored two correct throws to add four more points in the bout and got one point for a lost challenge to win 11-5.

From the other side of the bracket, Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) made it to the final after beating Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 11-3, in the semifinals.

For the gold medal, Khalmakhanov and Chkhikvadze were matched evenly. While the scoreline points to a low-scoring bout, both wrestlers left it all on the mat.

Chkhikvadze was the first to get par terre but he failed to score any more points from the position and led 1-0 at the break. Khalmakhanov also got a point for the par terre position in the second period but Chkhikvadze held criteria.

The Georgian managed to score a stepout to extend his lead to a clear 2-1 score. But as the bout grew in intensity, it was Chkhikvadze who suffered, giving up a stepout with less than 30 seconds left.

With the score at 2-2, Khalmakhanov held criteria for the last point scored. He managed to hold his lead and won the gold medal in Zagreb, thus making a smooth transition to the Olympic weight class, three months after winning bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games at 67kg.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

59kg
GOLD: Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) df. Alexis JANIAK (USA), 10-0

BRONZE: Elena BRUGGER (GER) df. Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), via fall (7-0)
BRONZE: Abigail NETTE (USA) df. Iris SLATKA (CRO), via fall (10-0)

62kg
GOLD: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 8-0

BRONZE: Macey KILTY (USA) df. Eniko ELEKES (HUN), via fall
BRONZE: ANJLI (IND) df. Bhagyashree FAND (IND), 5-4

65kg
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA (JPN)
SILVER: PULKIT (IND)
BRONZE: Kriszta INCZE (ROU)

68kg
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Nesrin BAS (TUR), 5-2

BRONZE: NISHA (IND) df. Kennedy BLADES (USA), via inj. def. 
BRONZE: Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) df. Aleah NICKEL (CAN), 9-0

Greco-Roman

63kg
GOLD:  Erfan JARKANI (IRI) df. CHETAN (IND), 8-4

BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Khusniddin OLIMBOEV (UZB), 6-1
BRONZE: Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) df. Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ), 8-0

67kg
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 2-2

BRONZE: Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) df. Valentin PETIC (MDA), 5-0
BRONZE: Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) df. Mahmoud KAMALI (IRI), 3-2