#JapanWrestling

Ozaki, Tanabe take special wrestling trip to Iran

Monday, April 28, 2025 - 12:22 By Vinay Siwach

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TEHRAN, Iran (April 28) — While most Paris Olympic medalist from Japan are preparing for June’s Meiji Cup at their base universities in Japan, world champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) and Asian champion Kaisei TANABE (JPN) have managed to squeeze in a educational trip to Iran despite their busy training schedule.

Ozaki, who won bronze medal at the Paris Olympics at 68kg, returned to international competition recently won a silver medal at 62kg at the Asian Championships in March. She is expected to compete at the Meiji Cup which will be held in Tokyo from June 19 to 22.

“I am in Iran right now,” Ozaki told UWW. “It’s a place I always wanted to visit. I am really happy.”

Ozaki visited Tehran as part of her education trip and exchanged wrestling notes with few of the Iranian wrestlers who are part of the team.

“Iran has many world and Olympic champions and I wanted to study wrestling here,” she said. “I stayed for a week and this experience will help me learn me about wrestling.”

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), left, and Kaisei TANABE (JPN), third from left, in Iran. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Tanabe won the gold medal at the Asian Championships at 65kg and also attended the training camp with Iran wrestlers.

The Nippon Sports Science University wrestler is also expected to compete at the Meiji Cup and if he wins, he will book his ticket to the World Championships in September where he can meet Paris Olympic silver medalist Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) who was present at the training camp in Tehran.

Amouzad lost the 65kg final in Paris to Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) who is a teammate of Tanabe at NSSU.

#BeachWrestling

Youth Olympic quotas in focus as Katerini hosts U17, U20 BW Worlds

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 08:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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KATERINI, Greece (September 23) -- Thirty countries, close to 300 wrestlers, a global glory and a Youth Olympic dream.

Over two days this week, on September 25 and 26, the world’s best age-group beach wrestlers descend upon the scenic Katerini Beach, where the sun sets behind the imposing Mount Olympus. In this postcard-perfect surroundings, they will hope to write their scripts at the U17 and U20 World Championships.

The tournament will be live on the YouTube channel of United World Wrestling's Beach Wrestling channel.

The championships will be taken into consideration for quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games qualifier, adding another layer of significance to the U17 event.

United World Wrestling has received a request for quotas from more than 100 National Olympic Committees with a total of 300 male and 269 female wrestlers. Currently, there are 48 quotas per gender. In this context, the World Championships in Katerini will add excitement to the race for the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Dakar.

The U17 and U20 World Championships will be held across eight weight classes each in men’s and women’s categories. Last year, Ukraine and the United States reigned supreme in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, of the U17 World Championships. This year, too, they will be among the favorites to lift the team titles.

Once again, this year, Ukraine has entered a jumbo team with eight wrestlers in the U17 men’s competition. Only hosts Greece (12), Georgia (11), and Moldova (9) have a contingent bigger than theirs. On the women’s side, the USA has fielded the largest delegation among the 24 teams, with 9 wrestlers. In Beach Wrestling, a country can register a maximum of 3 athletes per weight category.

It won’t be so straightforward for both teams to retain their titles, with challengers emerging from other nations, particularly hosts Greece, who would hope to put on a good show in front of their home crowd. Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Iran will remain strong contenders despite Ukraine's legacy in the competition, especially the women's.

Earlier this month, the U15, U17 and U20 African Beach Wrestling Championships were held in Casablanca, where Algeria bagged the U17 men’s and women’s titles. The serene Ain Diab beach in the Moroccan capital hosted the age-group tournaments before the Beach Wrestling World Series, marking the first time the event was held in an African city.

Soon after the U17 and U20 Beach World Championships, the Katerini Beach will host the World Series on September 27 and 28. The penultimate stop of the event is set to be the biggest of the 2025 season so far in terms of participation. There have been a record number of entries, underlining the sport’s continued global growth.

The World Series will return to Africa in October for its final instalment of this season, when the tournament will be held in Alexandria, Egypt, on October 18 and 19.