#WrestleAmman

U17 World Championships 2024 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

AMMAN, Jordan (August 15) -- A week after the 2024 Paris Olympics, the focus shifts to the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The first World Championships of this season will be held from August 19 to 25 in the Jordanian capital.

The competition will see 576 wrestlers compete in 30 weight classes in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman. In a two-day format, the tournament will begin with Greco-Roman followed by Women's Wrestling and finish with Freestyle.

All the bouts will be live on uww.org and UWW+ App.

Freestyle

45kg
Kiryl NIKITSIK (AIN)
Dzhamal BAKAEV (AIN)
Mher HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Fagan FATIYEV (AZE)
Levan NOZADZE (GEO)
SHIVAM (IND)
Amirabbas RAMEZANI (IRI)
Omar  MUSLEH (JOR)
Taku SHIBA (JPN)
Bekzat AMANGELDY (KAZ)
Sadyr KAIYPBEKOV (KGZ)
Ochirkhuu BADARCH (MGL)
Leon MANOV (MKD)
Bugra KAVAK (TUR)
Mykhailo DIDOSHAK (UKR)
Samuel SANCHEZ (USA)
Jurabek RAKHMONOV (UZB)

48kg
Tsimur SELACHNIK (AIN)
Chingis SARYGLAR (AIN)
Abderrezak CHENINI (ALG)
Armen PAPIKYAN    (ARM)
Hajihuseyn AHMADZADA (AZE)
Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO)
HARSH (IND)
Amirabbas ALIZADEH (IRI)
Yuki MAEDA (JPN)
Damir KALI (KAZ)
Erbol BOLOTOV (KGZ)
Daniel NEGRU (MDA)
Amartuvshin TSETSEGEE (MGL)
Andre HUARCAYA (PER)
Eren YALCIN (TUR)
Vladyslav KAIDAKOV (UKR)
Henry ASLIKYAN (USA)
Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB)

51kg
Uladzislau LISITSA (AIN)
Akhmed ATANGERIEV (AIN)
MOUADH CHIBANI (ALG)
Makaya KATENDI (ANG)
Ashot GYULNAZARYAN (ARM)
Muhammad ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Jianhao LIU (CHN)
Zeyad HASSANEINN (EGY)
Guga MACHARASHVILI (GEO)
KARTIK (IND)
Sam ARSHAD (IRI)
Jinnosuke OKONOGI (JPN)
Ibrahim YSKAKBEK (KAZ)
Marlen ABDRAIMOV (KGZ)
Anar ODBAYAR (MGL)
Frederick BACHMANN (PUR)
Kevin BIRCHLER (SUI)
Daghan GUVANCHMYRADOV (TKM)
Tugrul DEMIRCI (TUR)
Daniil CHASOVSKYI (UKR)
Domenic MUNARETTO (USA)
Ozodbek ALIJONOV (UZB)

55kg
Artsiom PAULIUCHENKA (AIN)
Tundzhai VERDIEV (AIN)
Abdelghani AID (ALG)
Gagik GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Huseyn HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Shata Er YUSHAN (CHN)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Jaiveer SINGH (IND)
Arian MEHRALIZADEH (IRI)
Mohammad MUSLEH (JOR)
Yukiya KITADE (JPN)
Yeraly ASKERBEK (KAZ)
Kursantbek ISAKOV (KGZ)
Jon RAMADANI (KOS)
Catalin CURECHERI (MDA)
Ryenchinpeljee BAVUUDORJ (MGL)
Joseph BACHMANN (PUR)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Mokbel SAHLI (TUN)
Efe KARATAS (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)
Keanu DILLARD (USA)

60kg
Andrei KUZNIATSOU (AIN)
Adlan SAITIEV (AIN)
Hayk AVANESYAN (ARM)
Huseyn ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Ryan DAHCHA (CAN)
Jiansheng LU (CHN)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Akaki MAZMISHVILI (GEO)
Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)
Sitender SITENDER (IND)
Ahora KHATERI (IRI)
Abdelrahman MARAFI (JOR)
Itsuki YONASHIRO (JPN)
Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ)
Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ)
Inseong BAK (KOR)
Purevbaatar BAASANKHUU (MGL)
Jaden PEREZ (PUR)
Gabriel MIHALCEA (ROU)
Stefan GOUWS (RSA)
Bilal INCE (TUR)
Ivan ZALISKO (UKR)
Jordyn RANEY (USA)
Khudoberdi TURGUNOV (UZB)

65kg
Artsiom HOHINASHVILI (AIN)
Ramazan ABDULKADYROV (AIN)
Yeghishe MOSESYAN (ARM)
Mobin ZAREI (AUS)
Isa YUSIBOV (AZE)
Liam GORTON (CAN)
Keze LI (CHN)
Tristan FORSMAN (CRC)
Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO)
Ahmad ARSZUNKAEV (HUN)
SAGAR (IND)
Yasin TAYEBI (IRI)
Riccardo BONANNO (ITA)
Kira YOSHIDA (JPN)
Bakdaulet AKIMZHAN (KAZ)
Rustamzhan KAKHAROV (KGZ)
Cristi CEBAN (MDA)
Khangaibayar GANBOLD (MGL)
Yandro SOTO RIVERA (PUR)
David BOICEA (ROU)
Markus LE ROUX (RSA)
Umut USLU (TUR)
Roman PRONAK (UKR)
Nathaniel ASKEW (USA)
Doniyor IBRAGIMOV (UZB)

71kg
Artsiom BOLSUN (AIN)
Zavur GADZHIMURADOV (AIN)
Vahe SAGHYAN (ARM)
Gazanfar KAZIMLI (AZE)
Loki BIGRAS (CAN)
Yuchen LIU (CHN)
Yahia ELIWA (EGY)
Luka TATIASHVILI (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Mark LAPOSA (HUN)
Nishant RUHIL (IND)
Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Declan BLIGH (IRL)
Huthaifa ABUBAKER (JOR)
Kairi ITO (JPN)
Amir ORAZBAYEV (KAZ)
Nursadyk NURDINOV (KGZ)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Byambaragchaa TAMIR (MGL)
Kawayran VAZQUEZ JR (PUR)
Alirizo BAKHROMOV (TJK)
Fatih AYDIN (TUR)
Samir IBISHOV (UKR)
Melvin MILLER (USA)

80kg
Aliaksei KURYLA (AIN)
Aldat KESAEV (AIN)
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Mahammad ABASZADA (AZE)
Yesikeer NUERHEISHA (CHN)
Ondrej KOCMANEK (CZE)
Nikoloz MAISURADZE (GEO)
Felix SCHMITT (GER)
VEVIK (IND)
Reza AFSHAR (IRI)
Hamza JAFAR (JOR)
Takeharu NISHIHARA (JPN)
Beibarys YERGALI (KAZ)
Samidullo ALIMZHANOV (KGZ)
Ganbat TSERENPUNTSAG (MGL)
Omer MEMEDI (MKD)
Darius SAS (ROU)
Mohamed FERCHICHI (TUN)
Selahattin CAN (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)
Emmitt SHERLOCK (USA)
Bunyod RUFATOV (UZB)

92kg
Aliaksei KHADUNOU (AIN)
Rodion SANAKOEV (AIN)
Kamel HARIZI (ALG)
Hrachik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Farhad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Michealjeet GREWAL (CAN)
Zixu YUAN (CHN)
Mahmoud ELSAKKA (EGY)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Youssef SOLIMAN (HUN)
SUNNY (IND)
Amir Reza ALI POUR (IRI)
Noriyuki ASANO (JPN)
Raim MAULETOV (KAZ)
Farukh MOMUNZHANOV (KGZ)
David Adrian METEA (ROU)
Bilal ZORBA (TUR)
Dmytro POSTOVYI (UKR)
Elijah DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
Asadbek ERKINJONOV (UZB)

110kg
Yaraslau KOKHAN (AIN)
Ali BAIRAMUKOV (AIN)
Andranik JAGHETYAN (ARM)
Mukhamad GANTEMIROV (AZE)
Jagroop Singh DHINSA (CAN)
Rui GAO (CHN)
Gigia LUKUNIDZE (GEO)
Gyoergy JUHASZ (HUN)
Jaspooran SINGH (IND)
Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI)
Kareem SHEIKH YASIN (JOR)
Yuki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Jaehyuk LEE (KOR)
Ugur IRTEGUN (TUR)
Kyrylo TERNOVYI (UKR)
Michael MOCCO (USA)

Piper FOWLER (USA)Defending champion Piper FOWLER (USA), blue, and Lotta ENGLICH (GER), red, are entered at 73kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Aleksandra FEDOROVA (AIN)
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Iraabir SOOCH (CAN)
Polina TIMSINA (EST)
Vivien SZENTPAL (HUN)
Raj BALA (IND)
Monaka UMEKAWA (JPN)
Zhasmina BAKOYEVA (KAZ)
Indra JIMENEZ (MEX)
Liva CELIK (TUR)
Kamila KUCHMA (UKR)
Francesca GUSFA (USA)

43kg
Nurana ASADLI (AIN)
Aleksandra BEREZOVSKAIA (AIN)
Xin HUANG (CHN)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Mareim ABDELAAL (EGY)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Aditi KUMARI (IND)
Kokoha OBARA (JPN)
Anel BURKUTBAYEVA (KAZ)
Gabriela PALACIOS (MEX)
Yagmur KARABACAK (TUR)
Karolina SHPERYK (UKR)
Hailey DELGADO (USA)

46kg
Elvira BAHIRAVA (AIN)
Diana RYBCHENKO (AIN)
Jessica TUOMINEN (FIN)
Halilja AZIMOV (GER)
Shrutika PATIL (IND)
Yuu KATSUME (JPN)
Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ)
Akak MAMBETSADYKOVA (KGZ)
Daniella HOSSEIN BEKY (NOR)
Viktoria IGRENYI (SVK)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Yevheniia DRUZENKO (UKR)
Morgan TURNER (USA)

49kg
Kseniya KOSTSENICH (AIN)
Polina BOCHKAREVA (AIN)
Dounia ZITOUNI (ALG)
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Na HU (CHN)
Fiona GASSER (GER)
Szonja NEMETH (HUN)
Utaha YUI (JPN)
Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ)
Feruza AKMATBEKOVA (KGZ)
Lonisa REKA (KOS)
Amar AMGALANTUGS (MGL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Islem HEMLI (TUN)
Nil AKTAS (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Epenesa ELISON (USA)

53kg
Maryia KHRUSHCHOVA (AIN)
Olesia MALAKHOVA (AIN)
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Kaura COLES (CAN)
Jinzi EMU (CHN)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Manar ELMASRY (EGY)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Lisa SHAVADZE (GEO)
Josefine WIDMANN (GER)
Anna KOEBLO (HUN)
MUSKAN (IND)
Layal Ayman Rebhi SUKKAR (JOR)
Nana KOZUKA (JPN)
Madkhiya USMANOVA (KAZ)
Diana AMANTUROVA (KGZ)
Angelica PLASCENCIA ACEVES (MEX)
Myagmarbayar UURTUYA (MGL)
Csilla VAN OS (NED)
Chloe BREWIS (RSA)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Yi Hsuan TSENG (TPE)
Hava KONCA (TUR)
Ivanna LUKIANENKO (UKR)
Isabella GONZALES (USA)

57kg
Palina BRAHINETS (AIN)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (AIN)
Fidan BABAYEVA (AZE)
Meng LIN (CHN)
Ainara PORTILLO GARCIA (ESP)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Feenja HERMANN (GER)
Mairi MANI (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
NEHA (IND)
Maya QUTASHAT (JOR)
So TSUTSUI (JPN)
Anna STRATAN (KAZ)
Kamila KUMUSHBEKOVA (KGZ)
Arvinbayar GALBADRAKH (MGL)
Kai Yi LI (TPE)
Ozlem GURSOY (TUR)
Anastasiia NYKYFOROVA (UKR)
Everest LEYDECKER (USA)

61kg
Varvara ALISEYENKA (AIN)
Zalina TOTROVA (AIN)
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
RAJNITA (IND)
Maya ISHAKAT (JOR)
Sae NOGUCHI (JPN)
Zhaidar MUKAT (KAZ)
Orsolja HABI (SRB)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Anhelina BONDARENKO (UKR)
Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)

65kg
Anastasiya KOMANAVA (AIN)
Daria FROLOVA (AIN)
Ling CAI (CHN)
Maram ALY (EGY)
Selma PIHLAJA (FIN)
Ayla SAHIN (GER)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
PULKIT (IND)
Juliana CATANZARO (ITA)
Tala ABUKHEIT (JOR)
Ayano KUSUNOKI (JPN)
Uldana TILEUKHAN (KAZ)
Anujin ERKHEMBAATAR (MGL)
Kang Yu CHIANG (TPE)
Isslem NASRI (TUN)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Konstantsiia SARBAIEVA (UKR)
Bella WILLIAMS (USA)

69kg
Ulyana LAPANIK (AIN)
Zukhra KAZULAEVA (AIN)
Joseth MAVUNGU (ANG)
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Khushleen JHALLI (CAN)
Chenyingzi SUN (CHN)
Rahma BEDIWY (EGY)
Tamara CSEH (HUN)
KAJAL (IND)
Maryam ABUHAMADA (JOR)
Ako UCHIYAMA (JPN)
Kyzzhibek ZHARKYNBAYEVA (KAZ)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Ana MARIOARA (ROU)
Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK)
Asma AMMOURI (TUN)
Ilayda CIN (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)
Kaili MANUEL (USA)

73kg
Hanna PIRSKAYA (AIN)
Diana TITOVA (AIN)
Melissa BELAID (ALG)
Julia DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA)
Saihan AO (CHN)
Lotta ENGLICH (GER)
Mansi LATHER (IND)
Makia KIMURA (JPN)
Akbota KADIR (KAZ)
Aisanat KALMAMATOVA (KGZ)
Viktorija IRKLE (LAT)
Malak SABRY (MAR)
Zeynep SUCU (TUR)
Khrystyna DEMCHUK (UKR)
Piper FOWLER (USA)

Ilia KANDALIN (AIN)Ilia KANDALIN (AIN), champion at 51kg, moving to 55kg which has 2023 champion Jayden RANEY (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN)
Badr MAHDAOUI (ALG)
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Shahid NABIYEV (AZE)
Mohamed ELTAYEB (EGY)
Gigi PAKSADZE (GEO)
Kedar KAMBLE (IND)
Ahmad BADRADDINI (IRI)
Sanad NAGHOUJ (JOR)
Toi NISHIMURA (JPN)
Damir ABILDA (KAZ)
Bekzhan BEISHEMBAEV (KGZ)
Marian FIRANTA (ROU)  
Yusuf KAYA (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)  
Isaiah WEBBER (USA)
Umidjon KAROMOV (UZB)

48kg
Nikolai KRISTOV (AIN)
Martin MANJIKYAN (ARM)
Amrah AMRAHOV (AZE)
Yuri LANDIM RIBEIRO (BRA)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN)
Bikash KACHHAP (IND)
Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Amro ABU RMILAH (JOR)
Kai KOGASAKO (JPN)
Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ)
Barsbek OZUBEKOV (KGZ)
Patrick MOCAN CROITORU (ROU)
Yavuz AKGUN (TUR)
Bohdan MAKAROVETS (UKR)
Hayden SCHWAB (USA)
Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB)

51kg
Zuber ABDOKOV (AIN)
Makaya KATENDI (ANG)
Sargis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)
Radovan SNAJDR (CZE)
Iuri CHAPIDZE (GEO)
Sotirios NTONTOS (GRE)
Sainath PARDHI (IND)
Abolfazl KARAMIEGAEI (IRI)
Adam ABU FARE (JOR)
Kiichi OI (JPN)
Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ)
Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ)
Luis VLAD (ROU)
Levin MEIER (SUI)
Mehmet SARP (TUR)
Maksut SULTANOV (UKR)
Domenic MUNARETTO (USA)
Khojiakbar KUCHKAROV (UZB)

55kg
Dzmitry DUDUK (AIN)
Ilia KANDALIN (AIN)
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Ali NAZAROV (AZE)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Maoxian LIAO (CHN)
Nikolas DOUPOVEC (CZE)
Amr ELSHAER (EGY)
Davit GABEDAVA (GEO)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Samarth MHAKAVE (IND)
Amirali HEYDARI (IRI)
Ibraheem NAGOJ (JOR)
Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN)
Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)
Emir EMILOV (KGZ)
Alexandru LUNGU (ROU)
Abdulsamet UCAR (TUR)
Denys SEREDIN (UKR)
Jayden RANEY (USA)
Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB)

60kg
Mikita TSITOU (AIN)
Marat MARGIEV (AIN)
Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM)
Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)
Ziming DING (CHN)
Tin TURKOVIC (CRO)
Mohamed MOHAMED (EGY)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Bende OLASZ (HUN)
GAURAV (IND)
Abolfazl Ali SHIRI (IRI)
Ali ABUNASEER (JOR)
Yuto ITO (JPN)
Dosbol SHAMIL (KAZ)
Nurbek DZHUMABAEV (KGZ)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Ilias LAAOUINA (NED)
Ioan IORDACHITA (ROU)
Enes KAMAL (TUR)
Vadym MATROS (UKR)
Jordyn RANEY (USA)
Farrukh YULDOSHEV (UZB)

65kg
Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN)
Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM)
Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE)
Zhengye HAN (CHN)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Zdenek KUBALA (CZE)
Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Kevin KARL (GER)
Rego TORDA (HUN)
ANUJ (IND)
Amir SAEIDI NAVA (IRI)
Zaid NAGHOUJ (JOR)
Riku TANAKA (JPN)
Daniyar KANAGATBEK (KAZ)
Nursultan ADYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Arsenie CAISIN (MDA)
Borgil TUVSHINBAATAR (MGL)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Omer SEZER (TUR)
Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)
Colton WEILER (USA)
Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB)

71kg
Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)
Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN)
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Sergey STOEV (BUL)
Jinhao WU (CHN)
Bruno HANZEL (CZE)
Giorgi ALADASHVILI (GEO)
Sotirios BOUZAS (GRE)
Imre KOLOMPAR (HUN)
Sachin KUMAR (IND)
Mohammad KAZEMI (IRI)
Ahmad HAMAIDEH (JOR)
Tsubasa EGUCHI (JPN)
Marlan BAKAYEV (KAZ)
Ilgis KANYBEKOV (KGZ)
Isodzhon NURAKHMADOV (TJK)
Kuzey ILDEM (TUR)
Kyrylo UHRIK (UKR)
Joseph JETER (USA)
Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB)

80kg
Uladzislau KURDZIUK (AIN)  
Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)  
Mohamed ABADI (ALG)  
Arame ARAKELYAN (ARM)  
Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE)  
Guilherme LANDIM SALLES (BRA)  
Dinko NEYKOV (BUL)  
Zheying SONG (CHN)  
Petr ZAK (CZE)
Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO)  
Daniel JAKAB (HUN)
Nishant PHOGAT (IND)
Emad MOHSENNEJAD (IRI)
Daichi AKIHO (JPN)
Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ)
Zhoomart ASHIMOV (KGZ)
Marius ZAJAUSKAS (LTU)
Nichita APOSTOL (MDA)
Dusan STOKIC (SRB)
Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK)  
Yigit SARI (TUR)  
Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR)  
Emmitt SHERLOCK (USA)
Shokhjakhon SHOVKATOV (UZB)

92kg
Kanstantsin KASYAN (AIN)
Ramzan SADULAEV (AIN)
Lotfi MECHOUCHE (ALG)  
Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM)  
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)  
Raphael RODRIGUES (BRA)  
Radostin VASILEV (BUL)  
Mengyang ZHANG (CHN)  
Patrik BUDOR (CRO)  
Zeyad MOHAMED (EGY)  
Vladimer MINADZE (GEO)  
Ole STERNING (GER)  
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)  
Andras BUDAI (HUN)  
LUCKY (IND)
Danial IZADI (IRI)
Koki MATSUMOTO (JPN)
Adilet TOISHY (KAZ)
Asek ZAIIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Seunguk BAK (KOR)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Daniel HUTANU (ROU)
Migael PIENAAR (RSA)
Serkan BAKIR (TUR)
Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR)
Evan MCGUIRE (USA)
Fakhrikamol KOMILJONOV (UZB)

110kg
Daniil MASLAKOU (AIN)
Artur MANVELIAN (AIN)
Aymen AOUIDAT (ALG)
Seyran KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Abdullah HASANOV (AZE)
Mihail KRALEV (BUL)
Haorui WANG (CHN)
Dominik KOCMAN (CZE)
Luka SHAVADZE (GEO)
Zoltan CZAKO (HUN)
RONAK (IND)
Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI)
Tenga ABE (JPN)
Ulankandas OTEGENOV (KAZ)
Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR)
Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)
Trayvn BOGER (USA)
Sayidamir NEMATOV (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Olympic Champs Fumita, Higuchi Emerge Unscathed on Return Since Paris 2024

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (May 21) -- They both were returning to the mat for the first time since winning gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and both moved up a weight class, for now, with the next Olympic qualifiers still far off.

And each was watched and cheered on for the first time by their most precious fan.

Kenichiro FUMITA and Rei HIGUCHI shook off the rust and emerged unscathed on Thursday to advance to their respective finals at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

Fumita, the Paris gold medalist at Greco 60kg, handily won two matches to secure a spot in the 63kg final on Friday, where he will face 2025 world team member Manato NAKAMURA in a bid for his first Meiji Cup title since 2022 and fifth overall.

Higuchi, who struck gold in Paris at freestyle 57kg, needed three wins to set up a showdown in the 61kg final with defending champion and former world bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA.

Arash YOSHIDA, coming off winning a second straight freestyle 97kg gold at the Asian Championships, also advanced to the finals on the opening day of the four-day Meiji Cup, which is serving as the second of two domestic qualifiers for both this year's World Championships and, in the Olympic weight classes, the Asian Games that will be hosted by Japan.

Winners from the first qualifier, the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held in December, can clinch a spot with a victory at the Meiji Cup; if the two champions are different, a playoff will be held at the end of the day.

Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) hits a four-point throw in his round one bout. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

Fumita, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion, had planned to return to competition at the Emperor's Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

As for the move up to 63kg, he said, "Looking at the competitions and my own personal objectives, and my current physical ability, I decided to enter at 63kg. I've really on been on edge up to this point leading up to the competition. It's quite a few years since I've had a match at Komazawa. But I feel great, and was able to enjoy myself."

The return from a long layoff can be as testing mentally as it is physically, and Fumita used the experiences of others to guide him through it.

"I thought I would feel more pressure," said Fumita, who advanced to the final with a 7-1 victory over Kensho NATAMI in the semifinals. "After Paris, I watched [fellow gold medalists] Kotaro [KIYOOKA] and Nao [KUSAKA] up close before their [comeback] matches, and both said they were very nervous.

"Having seen that, it gave me an image of what to expect. I stayed calm and, staying aware of what was going on around me, I felt I was able to control the matches."

Helping calm his nerves was the lilty voice of a child clearly heard amid the sparse crowd on the opening day as she yelled, "Papa, ganbatte (fight hard)!" For the first time, the oldest of his two
daughters, now 3, was old enough to see him compete and understand what he was doing.

Fumita related the emotions he went through seeing fellow Nippon Sport Science University alumnus Shota TANOKURA being inspired by his son loudly yelling that set phrase as he ended his career at the Meiji Cup two years ago.

"I was very moved seeing how he responded," Fumita said. "To continue my career and win with my children with me is really a special feeling. Here, I am wholeheartedly determined to perform for them."

Fumita said there are still aspects of his job about which his daughter is blissfully oblivious.

"Sometimes I take [my daughter] to practice. For her, it is really a fun place. So she thinks I go to a fun place every day and I'm just someone who plays all the time," he said with a laugh.

Fumita already has a memento from his first competition in over two years -- a gash over his left eye that was treated with tape wrapped around his head.

"It happens a lot in practice and in matches," Fumita said. "I have many photos of me in the past with my head taped. It gave me a feeling of going back to my roots, which I thought was great."

Higuchi, who like Fumita is 30, an alumnus of NSSU and is sponsored by children's clothing giant Miki House, was wrestling for the first time in front of his 2-year-old daughter (and like Fumita, he has a second infant daughter).

"She kind of knows what's going on," said Higuchi, who defeated world U23 bronze medalist Akito MUKAIDA 12-1 in the semifinals.

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) reached the 61kg final at the Meiji Cup. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

For Higuchi, a battle with weight loss proved more daunting than any opponent he faced on the mat on Friday. He normally should have had no trouble making weight at 61kg, but said he didn't manage it correctly.

"It was my first competition in awhile, and my preparation did not go so well," he said. "There are parts that I have to work on. All went well in practice, but I need to do better at conditioning and cutting weight or I won't be able to win out in December [at the Emperor's Cup]."

A notoriously slow starter, Higuchi said he gradually began to find his groove, culminating in his one-sided win over Mukaida.

"My first match, my movement was not very good," he said. "The water loss as a I cut weight didn't go so well either, so the first and second matches were touch and go.

"During the second match, I was able to get in gear. In the third match in the semifinals, my opponent was third at the world U23, which normally should have been a close match. But I was able to put on a fairly good performance, which I give a grade of 80 [out of 100]."

Higuchi is looking forward to mixing it up with another high-level opponent, one he knows quite well. Hasegawa is yet another NSSU alumnus who still trains at the facility.

"From an emotional viewpoint, I was really excited about facing tough opponents," Higuchi said. "Tomorrow, Hasegawa is world-class wrestler. I don't know if I will win or lose, but I'm really happy to be able to have such a showdown on this big stage."

Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)Asian champion Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) returned to the final of Meiji Cup at 97kg. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi) 

At 97kg, defending champion Yoshida stormed to a pair of 10-0 victories, defeating Satoshi MIURA, a 2025 world U23 bronze medalist at 86kg, in the semifinals to advance to the final against teenager Noah LEIBOWITZ.

The final will be a repeat of the gold-medal match at the Emperor's Cup, which Yoshida won 11-0.

Leibowitz is now a freshman at Nihon University, from which Yoshida just graduated in March. Since then, he began living on his own for the first time.

"I have to prepare my own meals," Yoshida said on how his life has changed. "Instead of always being with a group, I am living a life on my own. My father brings over dinner every Friday, but other than that, I prepare it myself. My specialty is pork kimchi; actually that's all I can make."

Meanwhile, Taishi NARIKUNI, who attempted a rare freestyle-Greco double at the Asian Championships in Bishkek, advanced to the freestyle 70kg final, where he will face collegiate champion Yuma TOMIYAMA.

In women's action, world U20 bronze medalist Shirin TAKEMOTO pulled an upset of sorts at 72kg, knocking off Asian silver medalist Mahiro YOSHITAKE 11-6 in the semifinals. She will face Chisato YOSHIDA in the final.

At 65kg, Asian silver medalist Nana IKEHATA scored a takedown and stepout in the final 1:10 to edge Misuzu ENAMOTO 4-3 and set up a gold-medal clash with Hiyori MOTOKI, the younger sister of Paris Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI.