#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone Entries

By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (January 4) -- The road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games officially kicks off January 15-18 in Rome, Italy at the first Ranking Series event of the year, the Matteo Pellicone. And though entries are not official until 24 hours before the tournament begins, there are seven reigning world champions and 33 world medal holders from the 2019 World Championships that are expected to compete in Rome. 

Freestyle

57kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR)
Joseph Daniel COLON (USA)
Daton Duain FIX (USA)
Thomas Patrick GILMAN (USA)
Pedro Jesus MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

61kg
Zhandos ISMAILOV (KAZ)

65kg
Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Zhenguang TIAN (CHN)
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
Behnam Eshagh EHSANPOOR (IRI)
Abdellatif MANSOUR (ITA)
Jose Javier RODRIGUEZ COLON (PUR)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Selim KOZAN (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
Gor OGANNESYAN (UKR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
Jordan Michael OLIVER (USA)
Zain Allen RETHERFORD (USA)
Joseph Christopher MC KENNA (USA)

70kg
No entries

Kyle DAKE (USA), the reigning two-time 79kg world champion, will be making his debut at the Olympic weight class of 74kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

74kg
Azamat NURYKAU (BLR)
Jasmit Singh PHULKA (CAN)
Adanabasier ADANABASIER (CHN)
Yin LUO (CHN)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Jitender JITENDER (IND)
Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR)
Sheng Yu LI (TPE)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Enes USLU (TUR)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Denys PAVLOV (UKR)
James Malcolm GREEN (USA)
Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA)
Jason Michael NOLF (USA)

79kg
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Carmelo LUMIA (ITA)
Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (RUS)

86kg
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Ethan Adrian RAMOS (PUR)
Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR)
Alexander David DIERINGER (USA)
James Patrick DOWNEY III (USA)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Rashid KURBANOV (UZB)
Pedro Francisco CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN)

92kg
William RAFFI(ITA)

Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA), the two-time world and Olympic champion, headlines the entries at 97kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

97kg
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR)
Jordan STEEN (CAN)
Chaoqiang YANG (CHN)
Georg Gabriel STARK SEREGELYI (GER)
Erik Sven THIELE (GER)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Pavel OLEJNYIK (HUN)
Ravi RAVI (IND)
Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Evan Amadour RAMOS (PUR)
Fatih YASARLI (TUR)
Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR)
Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Hayden Nicholas ZILLMER (USA)
Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA)
Bo Dean NICKAL (USA)
Jose Daniel DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN)

125kg
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Er SONGBU (CHN)
Nick MATUHIN (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Charles Zachary MERRILL (PUR)
Bilial MAKHOV (RUS)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
Gable Dan STEVESON (USA)
Anthony Robert NELSON (USA)
Luis Felipe VIVENES URBANEJA (VEN)

United World Wrestling's Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) begins his quest for Olympic gold at the Matteo Pellicone, where he'll compete at 87kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Dogus AYAZCI (TUR)
Serif KILIC (TUR)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)
Max Emiliano NOWRY (USA)

60kg 
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Erbatu TUO (CHN)
Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Manish MANISH (IND)
Sachin RANA (IND)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
Firuz TUKHTAEV (UZB)

63kg
Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Christopher Josef KRAEMER (GER)
Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Dmytro TSYMBALIUK (UKR)

U23 world champion Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY) headlines the entries at 67kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

67kg
Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA)
Qiye TIAN (CHN)
Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
Abouhalima Mohamed Elsaid ABOUHALIMA (EGY)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Xavier Tramain JOHNSON (USA)
Jamel Rasheed JOHNSON (USA)
Peyton Louis OMANIA (USA)
Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)
Anthony Javier PALENCIA PUENTES (VEN)

72kg
Gaoquan ZHANG (CHN)
Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR)
Raymond Anthony BUNKER III (USA)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

77kg
Angelo Rafael MARQUES MOREIRA (BRA)
Bin YANG (CHN)
Ridong ZHANG (CHN)
Wael Hamdy Mohamed ABDELRAHMAN (EGY)
Sajan SAJAN (IND)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Fatih CENGIZ (TUR)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Emrah KUS (TUR)
Patrick Harrison SMITH (USA)
Kamal Ameer BEY (USA)
Ravaughn Richard Ravelle PERKINS (USA)
Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB)
Wuileixis de Jesus RIVAS ESPINOZA (VEN)

Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB), a 77kg world bronze medalist, will be moving up to 82kg for the Matteo Pellicone (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

82kg
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Florian NEUMAIER (GER)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Zotlan LEVAI (HUN)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Bing Hong LIN (TPE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Salih AYDIN (TUR)
Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR)
John Walter STEFANOWICZ JR (USA)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

87kg
Ronisson BRANDAO SANTIAGO (BRA)
Junjie NA (CHN)
Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Abdall METWALLY (EGY)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Josef Patrick RAU (USA)
Patrick Anthony MARTINEZ (USA)
Luis Eduardo AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)

97kg
Yan LIU (CHN)
Yanan CHEN (CHN)
Noureldin Hany Mohamed Gomaa HASSAN (EGY)
Matti Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Mélonin NOUMONVI (FRA)
Ramsin AZIZSIR (GER)
Jan ZIRN (GER)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO( HON)
Hardeep HARDEEP (IND)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Suleyman DEMIRCI (TUR)
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR)
Daniel Collett MILLER (USA)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)
Muhammadali SHAMSIDDINOV (UZB)
Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB)
Temur Mirzo MAMAJANOV (UZB)
Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN)

130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Di XIAO (CHN)
Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Tuomas Heikki Juhani LAHTI (FIN)
Konsta Johannes MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND) 
Luca GODINO (ITA)
Samuele VARICELLI (ITA)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)
Vladyslav VORONYI (UKR)
Adam Jacob COON (USA)
Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
Moises Salvador PEREZ HELLBURG (VEN)

The list of women's wrestling entries is highlighted by five-time world champion Adeline Maria GRAY (USA). (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Kseniya STANKEVICH (BLR)
Viyaleta REBIKAVA CHYRYK (BLR)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Jessica Anne Marie MACDONALD (CAN)
Yanan SUN (CHN)
Jacqueline Del Rocio MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Nada Medani Ashour Abdalla MOHAMED (EGY)
Ana Maria TORRES RUBIO (ESP)
Oihane VALLEZ PEREZ (ESP)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Tabatha Helene Laurence GRUNEWALD (FRA)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Veronika GURSKAYA (RUS)
Milana DADASHEVA (RUS)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA)
Whitney CONDER (USA)
Victoria Lacey ANTHONY (USA)

53kg
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Lannuan LUO (CHN)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Aintzane GORRIA GONI (ESP)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Pinki PINKI (IND)
Vinesh VINESH (IND)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Yuliia KHAVALDZHY BLAHINYA (UKR)
Katherine Grace SHAI (USA)
Areana Louise VILLAESCUSA (USA)
Betzabeth Angelica ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)

55kg
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Iryna HUSYAK (UKR)

Canada's 59kg world champion Linda MORAIS will make her debut down at 57kg at the Matteo Pellicone. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Ningning RONG (CHN)
Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
Eman Essam Guda EBRAHIM (EGY)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Elena Heike BRUGGER (GER)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Laura MERTENS (GER)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Pooja DHANDA (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Marina SIMONYAN (RUS)
Iryna CHYKHRADZE KHARIV (UKR)
Alina AKOBIIA (UKR)
Allison Mackenzie RAGAN (USA)
Jenna Rose BURKERT (USA)
Betzabeth Rebeca SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN)

59kg
Krystsina SAZYKINA (BLR)
Andrea GRASRUCK (GER)
Anhelina LYSAK (UKR)

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) will compete for the first time since becoming the first wrestler from Kyrgyzstan to win a senior-level world title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Michelle Christina FAZZARI (CAN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Maria Victoria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)
Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS)
Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Macey Ellen KILTY (USA)
Mallory Maxine VELTE (USA)
Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA)
Nathaly Josefina GRIMAN HERRERA (VEN)

65kg
Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN)
Gabriella SLEISZ (HUN)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Oksana KUKHTA HERHEL (UKR)

68kg
Luz Clara VAZQUEZ (ARG)
Yauheniya ANDREICHYKAVA (BLR)
Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR)
Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Xiaoqian WANG (CHN)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR)
Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR)
Victoria Christine FRANCIS (USA)
Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA)
Maria Jose ACOSTA ACOSTA (VEN)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
Nadine WEINAUGE (GER)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)

London Olympic champion and reigning 72kg world champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) will be bumping up to 76kg with hope of adding a third consecutive Olympic medal to her resume. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Kseniya DZIBUK (BLR)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Qian ZHOU (CHN)
Paliha PALIHA (CHN)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAEE (EST)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS)
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Adeline Maria GRAY (USA)
Andrimar Daniela LAZARO DIAZ (VEN)

#WrestleHangzhou

In comeback, Mun makes Asian Games golden for DPR Korea

By Vinay Siwach

LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 6) -- After two heartbreaking losses to Japan in the finals of Women's Wrestling, DPR Korea finally got the better of arguably the best wrestlers in the world.

Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) stunned world champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) with a comeback victory in the 62kg in the final at the Asian Games to make sure that her country finished Women's Wrestling with at least a gold medal.

A day before, wrestlers from the country suffered final-second losses to Japanese wrestlers. In the 50kg final, Son Hyang KIM (PRK) lost 5-4 to Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) while In Sun JONG (PRK) fell to world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) 7-6.

But Mun changed the script, giving DPR Korea something to cheer about on their comeback after four years. The country has not wrestled globally since the 2019 World Military Games.

In the 62kg final, Mun, down 6-0 at the break, came alive in the second period. She scored a counter exposure to make it 6-2 before an arm-lock throw in the final minute saw Ozaki, who wrestled like a world champion till then, fall on her back.

Though Ozaki kept her one shoulder from touching the mat, Mun was happy to hold her in danger for the remainder of the clock to win 6-6 as she had a four-point move over Ozaki's two-pointers.

A stunned Ozaki took her own time to get up from the mat while Mun jumped around in joy and finished her celebrations with a somersault.

Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK)Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) in action against Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) in the 62kg final. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

"I was in a situation where I didn't know anything about the DPR Korean wrestler," Ozaki said after the final. "In that context, the biggest thing is the mentality. I felt that I was prepared. After I beat Tynybekova, I knew that the job wasn't finished. I got my mind focused on the final. I wasn't feeling overconfident. I didn't think about being defensive. The problem was that I didn't get off to a good start that I wanted to."

This is not the first time Mun has troubled a Japanese wrestler. Back in 2019 at the Asian Championships in Xi'an, Mun led 4-3 against Yukako KAWAI (JPN) in the semifinal and with 12 seconds left, she tried a headlock throw which Kawai defended and scored a takedown. Mun would go on to lose that semifinal 5-4.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) defeated Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) 3-1 in the 62kg quarterfinals. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

While the 20-year-old Ozaki could not win her first Asian Games gold, she did have a mini-achievement in Hangzhou. Ozaki defeated Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) 3-1 in the quarterfinals, their fifth career meeting in two years. A takedown from Ozaki in the second remained the difference between the two wrestlers after passivity points. Ozaki now leads the head-to-head 3-2. The two exchanged titles in 2021 and 2022 and Asian titles in 2022 and 2023.

Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) scores a takedown against Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) in the 76kg final. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

 

While Tynybekova, the Asian Games champion from 2018, could not defend her title, bronze medalist from Jakarta Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) improved to gold after beating the Asian champion at 72kg Zhamila BAKBERGENOV (KAZ) in the 76kg final.

Medet Kyzy had injured her knee in the final of the World Championships in Belgrade two weeks ago but showed little signs of injury winning the final 7-4. Not only was her offense on point, but the Kyrzgy wrestler was up to the mark in defense as well. 

"After the World Championships, my goal was this tournament," Medet Kyzy said. "After Belgrade, I thought that I would not wrestle in the Asian Games but we discussed with the coaches and they said you can win the Games with one leg and decided to wrestle."

Feng ZHOU (CHN)Feng ZHOU (CHN) defended her Asian Games title at 68kg. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

The third gold medal in Women's Wrestling was captured by home favorite and defending champion Feng ZHOU (CHN) at 68kg. After Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling, Zhou was the only wrestler to defend the title from Jakarta.

Zhou was up against a surprise finalist in Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) who defeated world silver medalist Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) in the semifinal. The former Asian champion launched a barrage of high gut wrenches to beat Nurtaeva 13-2.

"I feel quite emotional right now," Zhou said. "I did better in the second round. I was quite nervous in the first and was a big tight. But I was able to let things go from there. I took my chance and successfully extended the gap."

The gold medal is Zhou's third of the Asian Games as she won the title in 2014 as well at 75kg as only four weight classes were included in the Games back then.

"I never thought about the two previous Asian Games gold. I just took it one bout at a time," she said. "I overcame myself. I didn't do well at the World Championships just before the Asian Games. To b able to recover from that, pick myself up and regain confidence, wasn't that easy to do."

The 30-year-old two-time world medalist was wrestling at home for the first time in a while and expressed that the cheers from the crowd was the extra motivation she needed.

"It's definitely more motivation," she said. "It's so different competing at home. I hear everyone cheering for me and that helps drive me. It's so much nicer to compete at home."

Tynybekova wins bronze

World champion Tnynbekvoa returned to win the bronze medal at 62kg, beating Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) 2-1. The three-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist relied on her strong defense to see off Kuznetsova.

"I weighed around 60kg as I fell sick when I came here," Tynybekova said. "I have not eaten in three days. I am a little tired and I think I need a holiday."

The other bronze medal went to SONAM who defeated the world silver medalist from 2022 Jia LONG (CHN) 7-5 with a takedown in the last 30 seconds.

At 68kg, Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) completed a fall over KANHA CHEA (CAM) to win the medal while Enkhsaikhan pinned 2010 Asian Games champion Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ) after an action-packed bout in which Enkhsaikhan led 10-6 before getting the fall.

The bronze medals at 76kg went to KIRAN who managed to beat Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL), 6-3, and Juan WANG (CHN) who won 6-0 against Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE).

RESULTS

62kg
GOLD: Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) df. Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), 6-6

BRONZE: SONAM df. Jia LONG (CHN), 7-5
BRONZE: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ), 2-1

68kg
GOLD: Feng ZHOU (CHN) df. Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ), 13-2

BRONZE: Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) df. KANHA CHEA (CAM), via fall
BRONZE: Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) df. Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ), via fall

76kg
GOLD: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), 7-4

BRONZE: KIRAN df. Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL), 6-3
BRONZE: Juan WANG (CHN) df. Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE), 6-0