2026 U17 World Championships

U17 World Championships 2026 Entries: Wrestling's Young Stars in Baku

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 11) -- The U17 Wrestling World Championships will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from July 27 to August 2 at the National Gymnastics Arena.

The competition will kick off with Greco-Roman, then move to Women's Wrestling and finish with Freestyle.

Note: The entries are subject to change

UWW+

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Gulkhanim SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Rohini DEVBA (IND)
Natsumi SASAKI (JPN)
Aiaru ILIYAS (KAZ)
Aruuke NURBEKOVA (KGZ)
Azzaya BATTULGA (MGL)
Fidan MAMEDOVA (RUS)
Tasmin ATHIMNI (TUN)
Sirin ASKARA (TUR)
Mariia DREBOT (UKR)
Sophia VALDEZ (USA)
Zaytuna SAPAROVA (UZB)

43kg
Vafa ORUJOVA (AZE)
Anastasiya LAZARCHYK (BLR)
Kristin ILIYNA (BUL)
Maya NAICKER (CAN)
Finja STRAUCH (GER)
DIKSHA (IND)
Sera FURUICHI (JPN)
Danara DAIRBEKOVA (KAZ)
Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ)
Rusalina PORTARU (MDA)
Tola RUDNIK (POL)
Valia HARSAN (ROU)
Daria MASLENNIKOVA (RUS)
Aysemin KACAN (TUR)
Valeriia YATSKIV (UKR)
Suzannah LUNDY (USA)
Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB)

46kg
Nuray JAFARLI (AZE)
Anastasiya NIAKLIAYEVA (BLR)
Frederika GROSSE (GER)
Vivien SZENTPAL (HUN)
Sandhya VISHNOI (IND)
Kokona MAKINO (JPN)
Inzhu BAKKOZHA (KAZ)
Aiana NIIAZBEKOVA (KGZ)
Irina TERZI (MDA)
Mungunchimeg GAVAA (MGL)
Julia PALKA (POL)
Alina BARANOVA (RUS)
Elif Su AKSOY (TUR)
Kateryna HOZHELOVA (UKR)
Madison HEALEY (USA)
Gulnoza ZAKIRDJANOVA (UZB)

49kg
Khadija GURBANZADA (AZE)
Milana TSIKHANOVICH (BLR)
Isabelle CHEN (CAN)
Hilary SOTO SUAZA (COL)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Malak NAWWAR (EGY)
Madina BAYRAMOVA (GER)
Kamna BABAL (IND)
Saika UCHIDA (JPN)
Ayanat MEINAMBAY (KAZ)
Aiana ASYLBEKOVA (KGZ)
Mihaela BACOS (MDA)
Enerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Irina TSYDEEVA (RUS)
Pei Chin KO (TPE)
Evin DEMIR (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Isla Belle SILVA (USA)
Madina GAFUROVA (UZB)
Asia SANCHEZ (VEN)

53kg
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Anastasiya KEZHUN (BLR)
Valeria STANCHEVA (BUL)
Alejandra SERRANO (COL)
Lea LINGSCHEIDT (GER)
Mariia ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
AKSHARA (IND)
Sela ROZOV (ISR)
Rion OGAWA (JPN)
Arailym KOPZHASSAR (KAZ)
Aidemi ASANGAZIEVA (KGZ)
Ruslana CARAPETIANT (MDA)
Nomin SHINEBAYAR (MGL)
Zuzanna SOKOLOWSKA (POL)
Madalina PAVEL (ROU)
Sofiia AKCHURINA (RUS)
Miriam MISAKOVA (SVK)
Chi Yun YU (TPE)
Rahma REZGUI (TUN)
Ecrin SALIK (TUR)
Ivanna MAIDANSKA (UKR)
Marlee SOLOMON (USA)
Guzal ABDULLAEVA (UZB)

57kg
Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE)
Divine NKUNZIMANA (BDI)
Marharyta DANILEVICH (BLR)
Gurleen DHILLON (CAN)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Nadiia ZHOLTIKOVA (ESP)
Ana LABADZE (GEO)
Eleni GAVRINIOTI (GRE)
Janka SILLEI (HUN)
Nikita SEHRAWAT (IND)
Rion SUZUKI (JPN)
Arina KUANYSHOVA (KAZ)
Muslima BOLOTBEKOVA (KGZ)
Ana RACHITEANU (MDA)
Valentina PADRON TALAVERA (MEX)
Uranbayar BALJINNYAM (MGL)
Emilia REICH (POL)
Valeria FLOCEA (ROU)
Sofiia BELOVA (RUS)
Delia GISLER (SUI)
I Jou WANG (TPE)
Emna HAMMAMI (TUN)
Su SOYALP (TUR)
Mariia POLTORAK (UKR)
Epenesa ELISON (USA)
Dilnura AVEZOVA (UZB)

61kg
Fidan BABAYEVA (AZE)
Maryia KHRUSHCHOVA (BLR)
Andrea NISEVA (BUL)
Kai PARE (CAN)
Graciela ENINGO (ESP)
Karol TAMSON (EST)
Surae ABBASSOY (FIN)
Ana TSERETELI (GEO)
Eleni NTOUNIA (GRE)
Mariama KABA (GUI)
Zea BALAZS (HUN)
AVANSHIKA (IND)
Marharyta OVCHARENKO (ISR)
Waka AWANO (JPN)
Aruzhan BAKYTNUR (KAZ)
Lidia UNGUREANU (MDA)
Anujin ERKHEMBAATAR (MGL)
Inga KUC (POL)
Marisa ITURRINO (PUR)
Oana DUMITRU (ROU)
Kamila TEMIRAEVA (RUS)
Zaineb NASRI (TUN)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Yuliia HOLHOVSKA (UKR)
Landri VON GONTEN (USA)
Siysagul SARSENBAEVA (UZB)

65kg
Rana NURIYEVA (AZE)
Palina BRAHINETS (BLR)
Annie NIEMANN (CAN)
Lana PEZIC (CRO)
Yolayni ROSADO (DOM)
Rokaia IBRAHIM (EGY)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Szonja VERES (HUN)
ANTRA (IND)
Haruka KANEMOTO (JPN)
Aisha ABDIMALIK (KAZ)
Alina DZHARKINBAEVA (KGZ)
Margarita LISITA (MDA)
Sylvia ESPINOSA (MEX)
Ariunzul BOLDBAATAR (MGL)
Mariia SHANINA (RUS)
Zaineb NASRI (TUN)
Melisa SARICICEK (TUR)
Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR)
Eve SKROCKI (USA)
Shahzoda AZIMOVA (UZB)

69kg
Simura ABDULLAYEVA (AZE)
Kamila RUDZIANKOVA (BLR)
Natalia TASEVA (BUL)
Khushleen JHALLI (CAN)
Nino SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
TANIYA (IND)
Hibiki IIDA (JPN)
Khadisha FLYUK (KAZ)
Aiana SAMAEVA (KGZ)
Maria PAZ (MEX)
Khuslen MUNKHBAYASGALAN (MGL)
Maja WEJCHAN (POL)
Sophia ANASTASE (ROU)
Polina EFIMOVA (RUS)
Kiymet TEZCAN (TUR)
Marusia HAIDAMANCHUK (UKR)
Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)
Shakhsanem TORENIYAZOVA (UZB)

73kg
Yeseniya SALADUN (BLR)
Kaillany MELO (BRA)
Asees BAINS (CAN)
Paula BENAIXA (ESP)
Lyra LEDERER (GER)
Bianka BARANY (HUN)
GARIMA (IND)
Tsukasa KOMADA (JPN)
Bagzhan KURMANBAY (KAZ)
Diana TURGUNBEKOVA (KGZ)
Namuuntsetseg BATBOLD (MGL)
Aisha WILLIAMS (PAN)
Karina MUZALEVSKAIA (RUS)
Xin Ping WEI (TPE)
Sude CAMOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia PETRIV (UKR)
Kaili MANUEL (USA)
Chamangul MUKHAMMATSALIEVA (UZB)

Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)Arseni KIKINIOU (USA), a medalist in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle in 2025, will make the run again in 2026. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Freestyle

45kg
Tunar HASANOV (AZE)
Aliaksandr HAMAU (BLR)
Radoslav VELIKOV (BUL)
Jude GARRUCHO (CAN)
Ahmed SALEH (EGY)
Luka DOTIASHVILI (GEO)
Hanumant JADHAV (IND)
Mahdi DAMERCHELI (IRI)
Aryn ZHANAT (KAZ)
Abdunazar BAATYRKANOV (KGZ)
Catalin COJOCARU (MDA)
Ariun Erdene ERDENETUGS (MGL)
Nelson VILLAFANE (PUR)
Aldar BADMAEV (RUS)
Baraa LAMOUCHI (TUN)
Utku SOGUTLU (TUR)
Marko KVASNIUK (UKR)
Rylen WAX (USA)
Mukhammad RAKHIMJONOV (UZB)

48kg
Huseyn RZAZADE (AZE)
Sayaan SKRABIN (BLR)
Emir DZHEVATOV (BUL)
Esneider AYALA (COL)
Zurab DOTIASHVILI (GEO)
Bogdan SAPOJNIC (GER)
AARYAN (IND)
Amirali RAGHEB (IRI)
Netanel RAHMISTOV (ISR)
Kanta NAGAO (JPN)
Bakdaulet AGABEK (KAZ)
Abdulla RYSBEKOV (KGZ)
Leonidas ZABRIAN (MDA)
Temuulen USUKHBAYAR (MGL)
Kirill KONDRASHOV (RUS)
Muslikhiddin KHODZHIEV (TJK)
Batin NANIS (TUR)
Volodymyr BOIKO (UKR)
Kooper DEPUTY (USA)
Farrukh MAKHMUDOV (UZB)

51kg
Youcef BOUKHALFA (ALG)
Ibrahim HASANOV (AZE)
Hristiyan LAZAROV (BUL)
Guarav BAHI (CAN)
Giorgi NARIMANIDZE (GEO)
Dariusz DRZYZGA (GER)
GOVIND (IND)
Benyamin ASHOFTEH (IRI)
Tamir SHIRMAMEDOV (ISR)
Masamune USHIMADO (JPN)
Sabyrzhan RAKHATOV (KAZ)
Nurdan BODONOEV (KGZ)
Dionisie NEGRU (MDA)
Munkhtuvshin BOLOR ERDENE (MGL)
William SOTO (PUR)
Zaiden BOTHA (RSA)
Islam KURAKHMAEV (RUS)
Attila HEGEDUS (SVK)
Said NABIEV (TJK)
Yigit EGEMEN (TUR)
Volodymyr YATEL (UKR)
Evan RESTIVO (USA)
Dostonbek YULDASHOV (UZB)

55kg
Aymene ZAGHDANE (ALG)
Abbas SHAFIYEV (AZE)
Nabi ISMAYIL (BLR)
Mert MUSTAFOV (BUL)
Jovanni TOVAR (COL)
Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO)
Adrian AIRICH (GER)
Kyryl SHUMEIKO (HUN)
Prathmesh PATIL (IND)
Arman ELAHI (IRI)
Kyosuke IKEDA (JPN)
Temirlan MURAT (KAZ)
Mukhammadiasin IZZATILLAEV (KGZ)
Valentin DELEANU (MDA)
Edgar  BOCANEGRA (MEX)
Khusel Erdene PUREVBAATAR (MGL)
Przemyslaw MROZEK (POL)
Mustafa BERSANUKAEV (RUS)
Patrik VETRAK (SVK)
Yusuf KOCAK (TUR)
Kiril NAHIRNYI (UKR)
Chase KARENBAUER (USA)
Jakhongir TULKUNOV (UZB)

60kg
Santiago CHRISJOHN (ARG)
Eljan HASANOV (AZE)
Andrei KHARUZHY (BLR)
Mustafa FAHEL (CAN)
Adrian CANALES (ESA)
Davit MDZEVASHVILI (GEO)
Balazs HIDEG (HUN)
SITENDER (IND)
Mohammadtaha GANJEH (IRI)
Shai Beni SABAG (ISR)
Stefano GARCIA (ITA)
Shota FUJIWARA (JPN)
Mardan ORYNBASSAR (KAZ)
Mirlan NURMAMATOV (KGZ)
Victor VDOVII (MDA)
Arvinkhuslen ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Sufjan SINANI (MKD)
Witold PAWLIK (POL)
Andrew GOMEZ (PUR)
Stefan PUSCAS (ROU)
Sergei KARMRIAN (RUS)
Sami ODABASI (TUR)
Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR)
Joseph BURKE (USA)
Bekzodbek IBROHIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Ihab BERGHOUCHE (ALG)
Rashid NAZAROV (AZE)
Artsiom KAROTKI (BLR)
Alisson GONCALVES (BRA)
Petko SARAKOSTOV (BUL)
Ignacio FIGUEROA (CHI)
Dylan FERNANDEZ (ESA)
Sacha AUBERT (FRA)
Bidzina JINTCHARADZE (GEO)
Theodoros TSIRIPOV (GRE)
Vince LANG (HUN)
KRISHAN (IND)
Sam ARSHADGH (IRI)
Nikita KOZICH (ISR)
Minato WATATANI (JPN)
Zamir DANIYAR (KAZ)
Azamat AZYRANKULOV (KGZ)
Victor VEVERITA (MDA)
Enkhmunkh SAINKHUU (MGL)
Jovani SOLIS (PUR)
Istvan NAGY (ROU)
Janco BEZUIDENHOUT (RSA)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (RUS)
Dario STADELMANN (SUI)
Kevin PETOCZ (SVK)
Abdumuqit NABIEV (TJK)
Noker GUVANJOV (TKM)
Beytullah BILGEN (TUR)
Tymur ABUMISLIMOV (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Shokhiddin ALIEV (UZB)

71kg
Benjamin CASAS (ARG)
Yusuf BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Tunar GULIYEV (AZE)
Vitali HARDZEI (BLR)
Nikolay ILIEV (BUL)
Mohamed HAFEZ (EGY)
Ibrahim BULGUCHEV (GBR)
Bohdan KVANTALIANI (GEO)
Ka Sing CHAN (HKG)
Matyas DERCSAR (HUN)
ANUJ (IND)
Reza SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)
Orel BENOGUEV (ISR)
Koichiro NAGAI (JPN)
Adilet RYSBAY (KAZ)
Abdumalik BAIZHIGITOV (KGZ)
Pavel MAVRODI (MDA)
Narantulga ENKHBAATAR (MGL)
Igor KACZMAREK (POL)
Joab CARRILLO (PUR)
Mokhmad BAISULTANOV (RUS)
Gergo BOTH (SVK)
Idris BAKHROMOV (TJK)
Mekan HUDAYBERENOV (TKM)
Cemal PURCU (TUR)
Dmytro KURSENKO (UKR)
Camryn HOWARD (USA)
Jaloliddin DJALALOV (UZB)

80kg
Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Mikhail CHAPAK (BLR)
Cassiano ZUSE PICOLOTTO (BRA)
Koen HURLBERT (CAN)
Yassin EZZAT (EGY)
Arshavir DARAKHSHANIFARA (FIN)
Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO)
Zeteny TUGYI (HUN)
Deepanshu KHOKHAR (IND)
Amirali FERASATI (IRI)
Takahiro HAGINO (JPN)
Adilbek YERBOLATOV (KAZ)
Alii ZAKIRZHANOV (KGZ)
David PANFILI (MDA)
Layden ACEVEDO (PUR)
Kantemir ELMESOV (RUS)
Martin MOKRAS (SVK)
Ayubjon BOZORZODA (TJK)
Shaapbas ESGEROV (TKM)
Hsing Yu WANG (TPE)
Volkan BILGIN (TUR)
Salakhuddin ABDULAIEV (UKR)
Jayden OFARRILL (USA)
Abdukodir SARSENBAEV (UZB)

92kg
Johnson TSAKIRAKIS (AUS)
Elgun KARIMLI (AZE)
Anatoli TAMAROVICH (BLR)
Tyler LANGFORD (CAN)
Ali DADAEV (FRA)
Marshall EVERETT (GBR)
Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO)
Sahibdeep SINGH (HKG)
Zsombor SIMON (HUN)
SAKSHAM (IND)
Reza ISAZADEH (IRI)
Shu YOSHIDA (JPN)
Nurislam AITUGAN (KAZ)
Kamil ONDURUSHOV (KGZ)
Arnas JOKIMCIUS (LTU)
Eugen DOHOTER (MDA)
Jose ESPARZA (MEX)
Khuslen TSERMAA (MGL)
Maciej SLOWIANSKI (POL)
Alan GARCIA (PUR)
Abdurazak SHABANOV (RUS)
Emomali SAFARALIZODA (TJK)
Yasin ERTURK (TUR)
Artem ZALVOVSKYI (UKR)
Salah TSARNI (USA)
Amirbek FAZLITDINOV (UZB)

110kg
Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE)
Daniil ZHYVULA (BLR)
Stefan STEFANOV (BUL)
Udaypartap BILLEN (CAN)
Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO)
Sergko CHOUTSISVILI (GRE)
Arush RANA (IND)
Amirhossein ESMALI (IRI)
Hanto HAYASHI (JPN)
Sagyndyk TEMIRGALY (KAZ)
Ilias TAKIROV (KGZ)
Ernests STABINS (LAT)
Skomantas RIMKUS (LTU)
Alexei USANOV (MDA)
Serjbudee PUREVJAV (MGL)
Magomed OMAROV (RUS)
Adam KOSC (SVK)
Yigit AKTAS (TUR)
Valerii PICHUHIN (UKR)
Peter MOCCO (USA)
Behruz ASHIROV (UZB)

Bunyod HASANOV (UZB)2025 world champion at 48kg Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) will be at 51kg in Baku. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Ali JAVADLI (AZE)
Ognyan BURGAZOV (BUL)
Luka BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Sachin SHIROLE (IND)
Armin ESMAEILI (IRI)
Ryunosuke TANAKA (JPN)
Nurislam PAKHITZHAN (KAZ)
Baizhigit BAKIEV (KGZ)
Nelson VILLAFANE (PUR)
Arsan ALIEV (RUS)
Kerem DERMAN (TUR)
Rodion SVIRIDENKO (UKR)
Rylen WAX (USA)
Afruzbek IBRAGIMOV (UZB)

48kg
Houssem BOUHA (ALG)
Omar SALMANOV (AZE)
Tzvetan NIKOLOV (BUL)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Benedek TOMBOR (HUN)
Avinash CHETAKE (IND)
Ali ESMAEILI (IRI)
Ichia INAOKA (JPN)
Ali ALMAS (KAZ)
Abdyshukur DURUSALYEV (KGZ)
Hector AGUILAR (MEX)
Soltan IUSUPOV (RUS)
Mustafa KARAKOSE (TUR)
Tymur MAHARRAMOV (UKR)
Arav PANDEY (USA)
Javokhir SHARIFBOEV (UZB)

51kg
Lyes BOUMAZA (ALG)
Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE)
Boris KRUMOV (BUL)
Jan BERAN (CZE)
Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO)
Georgios CHONDRONASIOS (GRE)
Sandor KURDI (HUN)
Dhiraj DAPHALE (IND)
Ahmad BADRADDINI (IRI)
Eito SATO (JPN)
Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ)
Azhybek MANAPOV (KGZ)
Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA)
Artem TKACHENKO (RUS)
Ali IPEK (TUR)
Denys KIRYK (UKR)
Wyatt DANNEGGER (USA)
Bunyod HASANOV (UZB)

55kg
Gurban MAJNUNOV (AZE)
Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (BLR)
Lavozier WADIK (BRA)
Danimir YORDANOV (BUL)
Timo MARCENKOV (CZE)
Abdullah AHMED (EGY)
Giorgi KEDELIDZE (GEO)
Samuel PUSCAS (GER)
Nikolaos ZINISA (GRE)
Keve KOVACS (HUN)
HARIOM (IND)
Vahid ASHIRI (IRI)
Hiroki TAZAWA (JPN)
Diyar AMANALI (KAZ)
Alikhan MIINAZAROV (KGZ)
Domantas MERKELIS (LTU)
Andrei SOCHIRCA (MDA)
Daniel JACOBO (MEX)
Abu Bakar SAGA (NOR)
Vlad TRIP (ROU)
Edem PAIZIEV (RUS)
Umarjon MUKHTOROV (TJK)
Muhammet KARATEKIN (TUR)
Illia VANZHUL (UKR)
Corey BROWN (USA)
Asilbek KARIMOV (UZB)
Haniel RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

60kg
Elmir CHARKAZOV (AZE)
Raman SHARKOU (BLR)
Vladislav IVANOV (BUL)
Roko CURIC (CRO)
Simon SEBECEK (CZE)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Sultan KUSHT (FIN)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Christiano LIEBZEIT (GER)
Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE)
Milan BUDAI (HUN)
Darpan CHAUDHARI (IND)
Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI)
Andrea DE MARZIO (ITA)
Hinata HANAMORI (JPN)
Nurali ASKAR (KAZ)
Ulan DZHANALIEV (KGZ)
Ronaldas POGOZELSKIS (LTU)
Vlad DANILA (MDA)
Alexandru LUNGU (ROU)
Mikhail STEPANOV (RUS)
Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK)
Osman OZDEMIR (TUR)
Rakhman GAMIDOV (UKR)
Cooper MATHEWS (USA)
Sadriddin TULKINBOEV (UZB)

65kg
Orkhan HABIBLI (AZE)
Andrei MAYEUSKI (BLR)
Georgi MARKOV (BUL)
Lovro VIDOVIC (CRO)
Gaspar SANCHEZ (CZE)
Abdalla ABDELMAGEED (EGY)
Ramin Ram YOUSEFI (FIN)
Vasili LOMJARIA (GEO)
Dionysios BOULOUTIDIS (GRE)
Imre JUHASZ (HUN)
Kunal DAGAR (IND)
Armin GHOLI (IRI)
Tamirlan KHALIMOV (ISR)
Yuki UEDA (JPN)
Miras MAKHAMBET (KAZ)
Ramil BERDIKULOV (KGZ)
Mangirdas BRAZDZIUNAS (LTU)
Nicolae CERNOUS (MDA)
Raul CASTILLO MOLINA (MEX)
Raffaele HIGHT (NED)
Adam ELNAGAR (PLE)
Gabriel LUNGU (ROU)
Shamil LABAZANOV (RUS)
Bakhtovar PRIMQULOV (TJK)
Emirhan DOGAN (TUR)
Ibrahim NASIBOV (UKR)
Arseni KIKINIOU (USA)
Sardor MAKHMUDOV (UZB)

71kg
Houdaifa BOUTARFAYA (ALG)
Ali MAMMADOV (AZE)
Siarhei DOUHI (BLR)
Kristiyan KRASTEV (BUL)
Cristobal ALIAGA (CHI)
Luka SEVEREC (CRO)
Tanel LAISARV (EST)
Eeli OJALA (FIN)
Nikoloz KUTUBIDZE (GEO)
Dimitrios SARAPIS (GRE)
Ervin CZUCZOR (HUN)
Parnam SINGH (IND)
Esmaeil ZAHERDOUST (IRI)
Yehonatan NEMSADZE (ISR)
Nicolas DE GRECIS (ITA)
Soya AKASHI (JPN)
Alinur TOLEUGALI (KAZ)
Baiel NURALIEV (KGZ)
Dmitrijus PETROVICEVAS (LTU)
Bogdan TALMACI (MDA)
Martin LETVIK (NOR)
Julian IWASZKO (POL)
David MALDONADO (PUR)
Albert DEACU (ROU)
Ivan SHULKO (RUS)
Luka ZELIC (SRB)
Mahdi AZIZBOEV (TJK)
Resit YURUK (TUR)
Roman IVANYK (UKR)
Aiden ARNETT (USA)
Kodirjon FOZILOV (UZB)

80kg
Isfahan HASANOV (AZE)
Yaraslau BLOTSKI (BLR)
Stoyan ZEBEKOV (BUL)
Toma JELENC (CRO)
Jalo KETONEN (FIN)
Luka BUIGLISHVILI (GEO)
Suraj SHARMA (IND)
Alireza REZAEI (IRI)
Yonatan LEONTYEV (ISR)
Koan VALENTINI (ITA)
Ryohei MARUYAMA (JPN)
Alikhan KUSHEV (KAZ)
Nurluutan KUBATOV (KGZ)
Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU)
Vitalii MADJAR (MDA)
Szymon TREDER (POL)
Layden ACEVEDO (PUR)
Ilias GADABORSHEV (RUS)
Arijan ALIJA (SRB)
Sheroz GHANIJONI (TJK)
Abdulhalik BAL (TUR)
Danyil MELNYCHUK (UKR)
Ivan IVANOV (USA)
Abdulaziz KHOLMIRZAEV (UZB)

92kg
Zohrab SAFAROV (AZE)
Mark KOT (BLR)
Filip DUREV (BUL)
Niko VIDOVIC (CRO)
Ahmed ELGENDI (EGY)
Shota TABATADZE (GEO)
Sascha SCHWAB (GER)
Polykarpos SERVETAS (GRE)
Sandor ANTALY (HUN)
Rajvardhan PATIL (IND)
Amirreza MEHRITALARPOSHTI (IRI)
Sagi MIREL (ISR)
Sarito KAMENAGA (JPN)
Ali BEKENGAZY (KAZ)
Sanjar STALBEKOV (KGZ)
Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA)
Jose ESPARZA (MEX)
Tomasz MITAL (POL)
Ionut PATRU (ROU)
Aslan KARDANOV (RUS)
Todor AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Matti EICHMANN (SUI)
Cheng En WU (TPE)
Yusuf AKSU (TUR)
Hlib YEVSIEIEV (UKR)
William ETU (USA)
Mirjalol SHOVKATOV (UZB)

110kg
Mahammad MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Yahor SAVICH (BLR)
Luiz PINHEIRO (BRA)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Petr GRUBER (CZE)
Mohamed ELSAFY (EGY)
Osma TURUNEN (FIN)
Saba TAKIDZE (GEO)
Harsh DALAL (IND)
Aliakbar AKOO (IRI)
Mitsuyoshi URUSHIMA (JPN)
Arystan TEMERGALI (KAZ)
Elbek TURGUNOV (KGZ)
Viesturs KILKENS (LAT)
Mateusz TOMELKA (POL)
Eugen Florin POPA (ROU)
Fedor SUKHAREV (RUS)
Andrej SIMIC (SRB)
Kaan DONERTAS (TUR)
Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR)
Bruno PALLONE (USA)
Shokhjakhon ILKHOMOV (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Narikuni achieves first Greco-Freestyle double in 52 years

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 20) -- Before stepping down from the mat after his historic victory, Taishi NARIKUNI posed for the cameras with the fingers of one hand spread out in a "5", and the other in a vee for "2".

"I wasn't sure anyone would pick up on what that meant," he acknowledged.

For those who knew, it signified that Narikuni had achieved a seemingly impossible feat, becoming the first wrestler in 52 years to win titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the same Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships.

Narikuni captured the freestyle 70kg gold on Saturday with a 7-2 victory over Yuma TOMIYAMA, a day after taking the Greco 72kg title.

Both weight classes had among the largest fields in the tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym and, as non-Olympic weights, were competed in a single day. That meant Narikuni had to get through a gauntlet of four matches a day on consecutive days.

"I didn't have any concerns about making weight, but after the first day was over, I had to start again from the beginning the next day," the 28-year-old Narikuni said. "It was difficult to get back into the mode. It wasn't the physical aspect. Mentally, it was a tougher two days than I had thought it would be.

"I won collegiate titles in both styles, and I tried to approach this tournament from the same mentality, but it was completely different. I was a bit naive."

The four-day tournament is also serving as Japan's qualifier for the Asian Championships in April, and as one of two qualifiers for both the World Championships and Asian Games in the fall. The Olympic weights use the same format as the worlds and are contested over two days.

In other finals on Day 3, world bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA stormed to his third straight title at freestyle 97kg, while veteran Sohsuke TAKATANI turned back the clock and triumphed at freestyle 86kg for his first title since 2022, when he won the last of 12 straight over four weight classes.

Taishi NARIKUNITaishi NARIKUNI shows off his two medals, one in freestyle and other in Greco. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Narikuni's quest for double glory has its roots in his mother, a two-time world champion who runs the kids club in Tokyo where he got his start. To exceed mom, he set a target of also winning two world golds -- but adding a twist by making it one each in freestyle and Greco.

He accomplished half of his goal in 2022, when he captured the freestyle 70kg gold in Belgrade. But his chance to complete the crusade this year fell flat when he lost his first-round match at the worlds in Zagreb.

Narikuni said he will focus on Greco at the second world qualifier, the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in the spring, to assure his place on the team to the 2026 worlds. The world gold in Greco now tops his list of holy grails.

"Of course I am aiming for the Olympics," Narikuni said. "But at this time, my main target is to become a world champion in Greco. This is just a point to be passed along the way. I feel I got over one hurdle."

In the final, Narikuni earned an activity point and steoput to take a 2-0 lead into the break. In the second period, he countered a tackle attempt for a 2-point exposure.

When Tomiyama then got in deep on a double-leg, Narikuni went over the top to grab the legs from the back. Tomiyama rose up and dumped Narikuni to the mat and got behind for 2, but never had solid control and Narikuni quickly reversed, then transitioned immediately into a gut wrench to go up 7-2.

Taishi NARIKUNITaishi NARIKUNI counters a takedown attempt by Yuma TOMIYAMA for a 2-point exposure in the second period of the freestyle 70kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

The thought that this might be his last opportunity served as strong motivation for Narikuni, overcoming any doubts and pain.

"I thought that this might be my only chance," he said. "If I had put it off, it might not come again. And that influenced my freestyle wrestling today. Instead of the full-out attack that I rely on, I went into a defensive shell. In the end, the result was good, but it wasn't done very well."

Narikuni became the first wrestler to complete the double since Mitsuo YOSHIDA won the 100kg titles in both styles in 1973. Ironically, Kaisei TANABE also had a chance to achieve the feat this week, but after winning the Greco 63kg title on Thursday, he lost in the semifinals at freestyle 65kg on Saturday.

Narikuni has long been a bit of a maverick in the wrestling world, often opting for weight training over live practice sessions. His desire to compete in both styles may have been an act of defiance against the common wisdom of specializing in one.

"People around me said that I had to specialize in one style, but that didn't sit well with me," Narikuni said. "Maybe I had a strong feeling of wanting to show them it could be done, and that's what makes this result so good."

As with Tanabe, there has been an increase in wrestlers doing both styles even up to the college level, a trend that Narikuni finds quite pleasing.

"That really makes me happy," he said. "When it is first tried, they will hear that it will degrade how people see them or that it won't be easy. Of course it isn't easy. Up to now, there was no format for doing both styles. To take up both with its own rules is something to be proud of, and I'm happy that there are wrestlers trying to emulate me."

Arash YoshidaArash YOSHIDA dumps Noah LEIBOWITZ to his back for a 4-point takedown in the freestyle 97kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At 97kg, Yoshida continues to establish himself as the preeminent Japanese wrestler in the heavy weights, easily dismantling high schooler Noah LEIBOWITZ with an 11-0 technical fall in 1:13. That was a repeat of last spring's Meiji Cup final.

Yoshida showed the power that once gave him a victory over world champion Kyle SNYDER by starting off with four straight stepouts, with a fleeing point tacked onto the last. He then bulled Liebowitz over for a 4-point takedown, then used a lace lock to finish off the victory.

"It's a relief," Yoshida said. "A friend told me to go for crushing victories, and in the end, I won without giving up a point, so I think I cleared the level that my friend wanted. I was able to do what I do best from the start by pushing out, and that was a good way to pile up points."

Snyder avenged his earlier loss to Yoshida in the semifinals in Zagreb en route to the gold medal, but Yoshida views that as a positive. He feels that Snyder was not in prime condition when they met in February in Tirana.

"I lost to this year's world champion, but it was good that I faced him," he said. "I will prepare so that I can win at the Meiji Cup and get back to the World Championships."

Sohsuke TAKATANISohsuke TAKATANI couldn't finish off this takedown against Yudai TAKAHASHI, but it was good enough to run out the clock for victory in the 86kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

In the freestyle 86kg final, the 36-year-old Takatani added another gold to his bulging collection with a 2-2 victory over 2023 world U23 bronze medalist Yudai TAKAHASHI.

Takahashi scored a relatively easy takedown off a single-leg early in the first period, which was compounded when Takatani suffered a twisted ankle. But the veteran kept his nerves and when the opening came, he grabbed it. In the second period, he responded to a takedown attempt with well-timed counter roll to go up 2-2 on criteria.

In the final seconds, it was Takatani who went on the attack and got in on a single, even getting Takahashi's leg into the air. Although Takahashi squirmed out, it proved just as effective as a scoring move because time ran out.

"When he got the single leg at the beginning, I twisted my ankle and I couldn't put pressure on it," Takatani said. "After that, the opponent stopped pressing, so I thought as long it was only two points [difference], I could come back and I carried on with the match calmly. That's something that gets acquired with age."

Takatani is currently the head coach at his alma mater of Takushoku University, and is also a graduate student at Tsukuba University working on his doctorate.

He said that before his match, he received a message from the university for confirmation regarding the doctoral dissertation he had submitted.

He said he replied, "I have the final now, I'll check it when it's over." A message in response read: "Definitely win the title," so "I have good news for them."

Takatani, a three-time Olympian and a 2014 world silver medalist at 74kg, said his immediate goal is to get to the Asian Games, a competition that he has never experienced and which will be hosted by Japan.

He was unaware that the victory in the Emperor's Cup earned him a ticket to the Asian Championships, to be held in Kyrgyzstan. "But I have my work, and that's a time when there are a lot of tests. It might be hard to work it in. I will ask around."

Koto GOMIKoto GOMI works to turn Yu SHIOTANI in the Greco 60kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

In other finals, world U23 and national collegiate champion Koto GOMI pulled off an impressive 8-0 victory over former world bronze medalist Yu SHIOTANI in the Greco 60kg final.

Gomi opened with a nifty 4-point arm throw, maintained control and added a 2-point exposure, then finished off the match with an arm lock roll in 1:46.

"Up to now, I had won on the collegiate level, but at the All-Japan I never even got close to the final," Gomi said. "I'm really happy to win the title."

Gomi and Shiotani had clashed twice previously this year, with Shiotani winning by technical fall at the Meiji Cup and Gomi turning the table with a victory by fall a month ago at the National Games.

At the All-Japan, the weight class was missing two-time defending champion Kaito INABA and Paris Olympic champion Kenichiro FUMITA, who was entered at 63kg but is expected to eventually return to the Olympic weight in the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Both pulled out of the tournament due to injuries.

"Those are rivals I don't think I can beat yet," Gomi said. "It's more than just practicing harder, I have to think hard about how to train so that I can win again at the All-Japan."

For now, Gomi can look forward to making his international debut on the senior level at the Asian Championships.

"Going to that will not change what I have to do," he said. "I will be alright by sticking to my firm attacking style of wrestling."

In the women's 53kg final, Moe KIYOOKA won her fourth straight national championship and second in a row at that weight with a 4-0 victory over Umi IMAI.

Kiyooka, who won back-to-back titles at 55kg in 2022 and 2023 as well as the 2024 world gold, took a 3-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and activity point, then added a stepout in the second.

Day 3 Results

Freestyle

65kg (15 entries)
SF 1: Kotaro KIYOOKA df. Kaiji OGINO, 3-2
SF 2: Takara SUDA df. Kaisei TANABE, 5-4

70kg (21 entries)
GOLD: Taishi NARIKUNI df. Yuma TOMIYAMA, 7-2

BRONZE: Taishin HONNA df. Takeru KOZUKA, 7-6
BRONZE: Ariya YOSHIDA df. Kaito MORITA by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Taishi NARIKUNI df. Taishin HONNA, 10-2
SF 2: Yuma TOMIYAMA df. Kaito MORITA by TF, 10-0, :37

74kg (11 entries)
SF 1: Kota TAKAHASHI df. Toki OGAWA by TF, 11-0, 3:49
SF 2: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI df. Hikaru TAKATA, 7-1

86kg (10 entries)
GOLD: Sohsuke TAKATANI df. Kodai TAKAHASHI, 2-2

BRONZE: Natsura OKAZAWA df. Daichi AKIHO by TF, 11-1, 4:00
BRONZE: Tatsuya SHIRAI df. Ryonosuke KAMIYA, 5-1

97kg (8 entries)
GOLD: Arash YOSHIDA df. Noah LEIBOWITZ by TF, 11-0, 1:13

BRONZE: Toyoki HAMADA, no opponent
BRONZE: Ryusei TAKAHASHI df. Keita KOBAYASHI, 4-0

Greco-Roman

60kg (16 entries)
GOLD: Koto GOMI df. Yu SHIOTANI by TF, 8-0, 1:46

BRONZE: Keijiro SONE df. Takuma NAKASHIMA, 6-4
BRONZE: Ayata SUZUKI df. Maito KAWANA, 9-5

67kg (13 entries)
SF 1: Kyotaro SOGABE df. Kensuke SHIMIZU, 8-1
SF 2: Katsuaki ENDO df. Kojiro HASEGAWA, 4-0

77kg (13 entries)
SF 1: Nao KUSAKA df. Naoki KADODE by TF, 11-0, 1:41
SF 2: Isami HORIKITA df. Kodai SAKURABA, 6-1

82kg (16 entries)
GOLD: Tatsuya FUJII df. Reon KAKEGAWA, 6-6

BRONZE: Tesshin HIGUCHI df. Hisashi KONISHI, 8-6
BRONZE: Daizo TANIZAKI df. Yudai KOBORI by TF, 11-1, 4:51

SF 1: Reon KAKEGAWA df. Tesshin HIGUCHI by TF, 8-0, :28
SF 2: Tatsuya FUJII df. Daizo TANIZAKI by TF, 11-3, 4:43

130kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Yuta NARA df. Shion OBATA, 6-1

BRONZE: Kosei YAMADA df. Ayumu IWASAWA by TF, 9-0, 2:16
BRONZE: Sota OKUMURA df. Kosei MIYAKE by TF, 8-0, 1:47

Women's Wrestling

50kg (17 entries)
SF 1: Yui SUSAKI df. Mako ONO by TF, 10-0, 2:48
SF 2: Haruna MORIKAWA df. Rinka OGAWA by Fall, 4:47 (3-1)

53kg (10 entries)
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA df. Umi IMAI, 4-0

BRONZE: Mayu SHIDOCHI df. Miwa MAGARA by TF, 10-0, 2:53
BRONZE: Saki YUMIYA df. Futaba UCHINO, 9-0

55kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Sowaka UCHIDA df. Nagisa HARADA, 2-0

BRONZE: Nana KOZUKA df. Natsumi MASUDA, 10-6
BRONZE: Karina HONDA df. Yuna SAWATANI, 6-5

SF 1: Sowaka UCHIDA df. Nana KOZUKA, 11-10
SF 2: Nagisa HARADA df. Yuna SAWATANI, 4-2

57kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Himeka TOKUHARA df. Rin KINOSHITA by TF, 10-0, 1:48
SF 2: Akari FUJINAMI df. Sara NATAMI, 7-4

62kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Sakura MOTOKI df. Yuzuka INAGAKI, 8-2
SF 2: Nonoka OZAKI df. Sakura ONISHI, 4-1