#WrestleIstanbul

U17 World Championships entries

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Türkiye (July 24) — Young stars will assemble in Istanbul beginning next week for the U17 World Championships, the first of the five in different age-groups.

Monday will see Greco-Roman action and it will be on Iran to lose the team title which they won in Rome, Italy last year.

The US, team title winners in 2022, will look to continue its success in World Championships. It will be challenged by India, winners of 2021. Azerbaijan, which almost won the tittle last year, will be in focus as well along with Iran and AIN teams.

Japan is sending a strong women’s wrestling squad and like always will be the favorite to win the team gold.

It will be interesting to see if India, which has taking huge strides in women’s wrestling in recent times, will be able to challenge Japan or not like it does at the continental level.

The U17 World Championships will be live on uww.org and the UWW App with all the bouts, highlights, interviews, news and photos.

 

Freestyle

45kg
Agashirin AGASHERINOV (AIN)
Gor BUNIATYAN (ARM)
Jafar JAFAROV (AZE)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Dhanraj SHIRKE (IND)
Ahora Farhad KHATERI (IRI)
Atsuki MATSUURA (JPN)
Nurmukhamed TURDALY (KAZ)
Daniel NEGRU (MDA)
Buyanjargal BATMUNKH (MGL)
Frederick BACHMANN JR (PUR)
Azymberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Ebubekir GUR (TUR)
Ignacio VILLASENOR (USA)
Bobojon IBADULLAEV (UZB)

48kg
Ali SULTANOV (AIN)
Yahor MIKHAILAU (AIN)
Mihran SLOYAN (ARM)
Bashir VERDIYEV (AZE)
Gegi ONIANI (GEO)
RUPESH (IND)
Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI)
Lior SHMULKO (ISR)
Yamato FURUSAWA (JPN)
Yeraly ZHETPISSOV (KAZ)
Zakhidzhon MIRZAEV (KGZ)
Enkhkhuslen TUSHIGBAYAR (MGL)
Oliwier ORZECHOWSKI (POL)
Joseph BACHMANN (PUR)
Marian RUSU (ROU)
Dominick AOUN (RSA)
Efe KARATAS (TUR)
Paul KENNY (USA)
Abdumalik JALOLDINOV (UZB) 

51kg
Usman INDIRBAEV (AIN)
Sasha PETROSYAN (ARM)
Kristian CIKEL (AUT)
Sadraddin HASANOV (AZE)
Giorgi MAISURADZE (GEO)
ROHIT (IND)
Amirmohammad NAVAZI (IRI)
Yamato OGAWA (JPN)
Olzhas ZHAUYNBAYEV (KAZ)
Nurdoolot BEKBOLOTOV (KGZ)
Vladimir ICHIZLI (MDA)
Myanganbanzragch TUMENTOGTOKH (MGL)
Yandel MORALES (PUR)
Mokbel SAHLI (TUN)
Kahraman ESKI (TUR)
Christian CASTILLO (USA)
Abbos KUZIEV (UZB)

55kg
Akhmad MUSAKHADZHIEV (AIN)
Ilya KOSTSENICH (AIN)
Abdelghani AID (ALG)
Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Haji KARIMOV (AZE)
Oubayda ITAEV (FRA)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO)
Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)
ANKUSH (IND)
Amirreza TEYMORIZAD (IRI)
Ariya YOSHIDA (JPN)
Allan ORALBEK (KAZ)
Aktilek ZHOLDOSHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Inseong BAK (KOR)
Victor DRAGOMAN (MDA)
Naran BARKHAS (MGL)
Stefan STOJKOV (MKD)
Jaeden BROWN (NZL)
Jakub KESY (POL)
Derick MARTINEZ (PUR)
Roehan DU PLESSIS (RSA)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Haci ZADE (TUR)
Marcus BLAZE (USA)
Shohrukhbek SAPOEV (UZB)

60kg
Iasin BERSANUKAEV (AIN)
Uladzislau VARABYOU (AIN)
Aren HAYRAPETYAN (ARM)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Daniel GURBOVIC (CZE)
Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA)
Tengiz BARBAKADZE (GEO)
Nick ECKENBERGER (GER)
TUSHAR (IND)
Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI)
Akito MAEHARA (JPN)
Yeraly ZHENISSOV (KAZ)
Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ)
Cristi CEBAN (MDA)
Gabriel SANCHEZ (MEX)
Zandanbat BATSAIKHAN (MGL)
Adrian SIKORA (POL)
Yandro SOTO RIVERA (PUR)
Bernardo SZILAGYI (ROU)
Petrus VAN DER WALT (RSA)
Bekjan RUSLANOV (TKM)
Vahid YILMAZ (TUR)
Benjamin DAVINO (USA)
Shamsiddin JUMABOEV (UZB)

65kg
Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (AIN)
Aliaksandr KAMBAYEU (AIN)
Miguel ANTONIO (ANG)
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Mirzaagha AKHUNDOV (AZE)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Lukas BRANDL (CZE)
Fares ELSAWY (EGY)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Zurab ABALAKI (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Vasileios KESIDIS (GRE)
SOURABH (IND)
Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI)
Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN)
Almas SABYR (KAZ)
Nursadyk NURDINOV (KGZ)
Juyoung KIM (KOR)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Ankh Erdene ALTANGEREL (MGL)
Antoni MAJCHRZAK (POL)
Elvis SOLIS (PUR)
Justin RAFFIN (SUI)
Samuel SEDLAK (SVK)
Arslan MAMISHOV (TKM)
Remzi TEMUR (TUR)
Brock MANTANONA (USA)
Zafarbek KAMOLOV (UZB)

71kg
Islam KAZHAROV (AIN)
Mohamed CHIBIKH (ALG)
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RAHIMLI (AZE)
Stiliyan DZHOROV (BUL)
Ondrej KOCMANEK (CZE)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Nodar TEVZADZE (GEO)
Felix SCHMITT (GER)
Avraam MOUSTOPOULOS (GRE)
NARENDER (IND)
Seyedabolfazl HOSSEINI (IRI)
Reuven RABINSKY (ISR)
Tatsuki KAMIYA (JPN)
Nurdaulet SEILBEKOV (KAZ)
Raatbek RAKHAT UULU (KGZ)
Piotr CARADJOV (MDA)
Bilguundalai PUREVDAGVA (MGL)
Gracjan MATYJASEK (POL)
Victor SOTO RIVERA (PUR)
Alp BEGENJOV (TKM)
Ferhat YIGIT (TUR)
Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)
Asadbek FAYZULLAEV (UZB)

80kg
Magomed IDRISOV (AIN)
Maksim RYHOSIK (AIN)
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Ismayil ASADLI (AZE)
Grigor CHERNAKOV (BUL)
Vladislav RJABTSEV (EST)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Theofilos KESIDIS (GRE)
Adam MIZSEI (HUN)
Saurabh YADAV (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Daniel SIMONIAN (ISR)
Natsura OKAZAWA (JPN)
Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Byambadorj ENKHBAT (MGL)
Omer MEMEDI (MKD)
Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Nick SCHERRER (SUI)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Huseyin KABAKTAS (TUR)
Zackary D RYDER (USA)
Mukhammadali RAKHIMOV (UZB)

92kg
Alimirza ABDULKADIROV (AIN)
Aliaksei KULAKOU (AIN)
Varuzhan HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)
Erwin PLUSCHNIK (GER)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Bence VERESS (HUN)
VINAY (IND)
Toohid NOORY (IRI)
Genki HOKI (JPN)
Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Demuul ARIUNTUYA (MGL)
Ilija ATANASOV (MKD)
Pieter Lafras UYS (NAM)
Balazs LORINCZ (ROU)
Suleyman MUSAGULYYEV (TKM)
Eyyup CETIN (TUR)
Aeoden SINCLAIR (USA)
Isomjon ISLAMOV (UZB)

110kg
Rakhman MALAKHMEDOV (AIN)
Yaraslau KOKHAN (AIN)
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Marwan MOHAMED (EGY)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Balint FABIAN (HUN)
Singh JASPOORAN (IND)
Abolfazl NEZHAD (IRI)
Hosei FUJITA (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL)
Balazs CSIPKES (ROU)
Rusen GULER (TUR)
Sampson STILLWELL (USA)
Eldorbek KHASANOV (UZB) 

Women’s Wrestling

40kg
Raniia RAKHMANOVA (AIN)
Nurana ASADLI (AIN)
Klara WINKLER (GER)
RACHANA (IND)
Koharu AKUTSU (JPN)
Anel BURKUTBAYEVA (KAZ)
Ainaz ABDYKADYROVA (KGZ)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA)
Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB)

43kg
Aleksandra BEREZOVSKAIA (AIN)
Alina MAZHAROUSKAYA (AIN)
Saadat GULIYEVA (AZE)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
PARVEEN (IND)
Mona EZAKA (JPN)
Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ)
Kinga JARONIEK (POL)
Diana VOICULESCU (ROU)
Yagmur KARABACAK (TUR)
Morgan TURNER (USA)
Nilufar NURMUKHAMMADOVA (UZB)

46kg
Diana RYBCHENKO (AIN)
Valeryia TSITOVA (AIN)
Dounia ZITOUNI (ALG)
Vicky LEON (ECU)
Josephine WRENSCH (GER)
MUSKAN (IND)
Natsumi MASUDA (JPN)
Meiramgul AKHMETZHAN (KAZ)
Aidana ABDYKERIM KYZY (KGZ)
Lonisa REKA (KOS)
Daniella HOSSEIN BEKY (NOR)
Dominika KONKEL (POL)
Wan Yi HUANG (TPE)
Hava KONCA (TUR)
Rianne MURPHY (USA)

49kg
Tana TIULIUSH (AIN)
Sviatlana KATENKA (AIN)
Eleni ZAGLIVERI (GER)
Anna KOEBLO (HUN)
DRISHTI (IND)
Rinka OGAWA (JPN)
Arina ABDULLINA (KAZ)
Diana AMANTUROVA (KGZ)
Eunhye OH (KOR)
Chuluun Erdene BATTOGTOKH (MGL)
Lucja KORCZ (POL)
Chloe BREWIS (RSA)
Wei Ting CHEN (TPE)
Nil AKTAS (TUR)
Heather CRULL (USA)

53kg
Olga OVCHINNIKOVA (AIN)
Valeryia MIKITSICH (AIN)
Fatima BOUCHIBI (ALG)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
RAJNITA (IND)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Elmira SAPARBEKOVA (KAZ)
Aziza SHUMKAROVA (KGZ)
Bayasgalan MONGOLKHUU (MGL)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Anja EPP (SUI)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Yi Hsuan TSENG (TPE)
Ozlem GURSOY (TUR)
Karlee BROOKS (USA)
Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB)

57kg
Mariia BELIASOVA (AIN)
Alina KOZHYNA (AIN)
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Viktoria BOYNOVA (BUL)
Sabah KHAMIS (EGY)
Rosa MOLINA RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
NEHA (IND)
Denise PIRODDU (ITA)
Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)
Zhasmin ISKANDAROVA (KAZ)
Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ)
Yeo Jin MIN (KOR)
Enkhdangina DEJINBEE (MGL)
Mirijam HANSEN (NOR)
Nikola PIECHOCKA (POL)
Eliana WHITE (PUR)
Kai Yi LI (TPE)
Eylem ENGIN (TUR)
Everest LEYDECKER (USA)
Durdona SAIDOVA (UZB)

61kg
Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (AIN)
Aliautsina SHKURATAVA (AIN)
Gloria NIYONKURU (BDI)
Maram ALY (EGY)
Ainara PORTILLO (ESP)
Nella HONKANIEMI (FIN)
Leana SIERRA (FRA)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Loukia KARAGIANNI (GRE)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
SAVITA (IND)
Konami ONO (JPN)
Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ)
Akylai CHYNYBAEVA (KGZ)
Paulina PAVILIONYTE (LTU)
Munkhchimeg URJIN (MGL)
Leah SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Emilia SWIERCZEWSKA (POL)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Haylie JAFFEE (USA)

65kg
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (AIN)
Maryia MAKARCHANKA (AIN)
Mouda HAMDOUN (EGY)
Lise LANDOUZY (FRA)
Anna GODELASHVILI (GEO)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
SHIKSHA (IND)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Meiramgul MAKSOT (KAZ)
Aiana ASAMALIKOVA (KGZ)
Marina AKHAI (MGL)
Maja NOWAKOWSKA (POL)
Sabina PETRACHE (ROU)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Duygu GEN (TUR)
May PRADO (USA)
Mukhayyo RAKHIMJONOVA (UZB)

69kg
Liliana KAZMINA (AIN)
Karyna FISHCHUK (AIN)
Joseth MAVUNGU (ANG)
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Alexandra KOLLAR (HUN)
SRISHTI (IND)
Ai SAKAI (JPN)
Ingkar YERGALI (KAZ)
Nur SHARIPOVA (KGZ)
Viktorija IRKLE (LAT)
Azzaya ERDENEBILEG (MGL)
Paulina KUCHARCZYK (POL)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Hua Fang KO (TPE)
Elif KURT (TUR)
Jasmine ROBINSON (USA)
Nigina RAJABOVA (UZB)

73kg
Diana TITOVA (AIN)
Aliaksandra KAZLOVA (AIN)
Melissa BELAID (ALG)
Anabela RADOS (CRO)
Laia HORTA GALLARDO (ESP)
Ambre BOUZILLARD (FRA)
Lotta ENGLICH (GER)
Petra MUELLER (HUN)
KAJAL (IND)
Ako UCHIYAMA (JPN)
Meruyert NAZARBAYEVA (KAZ)
Akylai ABDRAKHMANOVA (KGZ)
Sarah RANDRIANANDRASANA (MAD)
Ionela COJOCARU (ROU)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Piper FOWLER (USA)
Asaloy AMANGELDIEVA (UZB) 

Greco-Roman

45kg
RUSTEM ABATSIEV (AIN)
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Nika TSETSKHLADZE (GEO)
Athanasios TSINIAS (GRE)
Pranjl KANGRA (IND)
Alireza AMIRIGHASRODDASHTI (IRI)
Kaisei YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Zharas SOVETOV (KAZ)
Kadyrbek ALMANBETOV (KGZ)
Igor CAZAC (MDA)
Zoltan BOTH (SVK)
Mehmet SARP (TUR)
Henry ASLIKYAN (USA)
Khojiakbar KUCHKAROV (UZB)

48kg
Murat KHATIT (AIN)
Maksim BRADZIAK (AIN)
Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM)
Elnar ZIYADOV (AZE)
Pedro DE SOUZA (BRA)
Karim ELEMARY (EGY)
Iuri CHAPIDZE (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Siddhanath PATIL (IND)
Payam AHMADI BALOOTAKI (IRI)
Haruku SHIINA (JPN)
Beknur MUKAN (KAZ)
Elmar ISHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
Maksat SEYTIYEV (TKM)
Abdulsamet UCAR (TUR)
Ezekiel  WITT (USA)
Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB)

51kg
Ilia KANDALIN (AIN)
Rasim IBRAHIMAU (AIN)
Artur BROYAN (ARM)
Ali SEYIDALILI (AZE)
Moises PERALTA (ECU)
Omar IBRAHIM (EGY)
Nolan PISSOCHER (FRA)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
Manu YADAV (IND)
Mohammad MOHMADI (IRI)
Haruya FUKASAWA (JPN)
Zhanbolat SAPARBEK (KAZ)
Cholponbek TOROBEKOV (KGZ)
Dragos DRAGA (ROU)
Husniddin ULUGBEKOV (TKM)
Omer ALTAS (TUR)
Hudson LOGES (USA)
Dostonbek ORIPOV (UZB)

55kg
Airat SALIKHOV (AIN)
Danila CHARAPENKA (AIN)
Yuri KARAPETYAN (ARM)
Daniel STRUZINJSKI (AUT)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Ahmed SHABAN (EGY)
Richard PAJUVIIDIK (EST)
Atte SUHONEN (FIN)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
SURAJ (IND)
Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI)
Mustafa AL SAEEDI (IRQ)
David ZILMAN SHEVCHENKO (ISR)
Shu TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)
Kuttubek RYSMATOV (KGZ)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Mario MARIUT (NOR)
Dawid SZTAJKOWSKI (POL)
Nodirjon SANGOV (TJK)
Bayramgeldi YAGMYROV (TKM)
Shu Wei CHUNG (TPE)
Halil CINAR (TUR)
Jordyn RANEY (USA)
AYTJAN KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)

60kg
Mingiian GORIAEV (AIN)
Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Roman KARIMOV (AZE)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Clisman CARRACEDO VELIZ (ECU)
Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY)
Nikita MURADOV (EST)
Saba SURMANIDZE (GEO)
Sokratis KONSTANTINIDIS (GRE)
VARUN (IND)
Ali Amir DEZFOOLINEZHAD (IRI)
Aviv VOLOCH (ISR)
Daichi SAKASHITA (JPN)
Yerdaulet LASSIM (KAZ)
Bekzhan ESENBEK (KGZ)
Eimantas ANDRIUSKA (LTU)
Alin MURARU (MDA)
Kajetan JAKUBOWSKI (POL)
Kemal KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Kemal SAHBAZ (TUR)
Samuel HERRING (USA)
Ogabek MUKIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN)
Ihar ANOSHKA (AIN)
Petros ASHKARYAN (ARM)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Antonio HRISTOV (BUL)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY)
Daniel JEREMEJEV (EST)
Giorgi TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Athanasios EFTHYMIADIS (GRE)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
Sachin KUMAR (IND)
Amir SAEIDI NAVA (IRI)
Ali AL TAIE (IRQ)
Amir RADZIBOB (ISR)
Tsubasa EGUCHI (JPN)
Alibek TURLYGAZY (KAZ)
Erjan AKYLBEK UULU (KGZ)
Taeyong KWON (KOR)
Octavian CERNETCHI (MDA)
Nelson CHANTACA (MEX)
Hubert WYSOCZANSKI (POL)
Constantin LUNGU (ROU)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Shatlyk YUNUSOV (TKM)
Ibrahim AYDEMIR (TUR)
William GREENWOOD (USA)
Islombek KARIMJONOV (UZB)

71kg
Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (AIN)
Ivan BIALIAYEU (AIN)
Gor KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Lars MATT (AUT)
Javad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Sergey STOEV (BUL)
Marko KLARIC (CRO)
Youssef BADAWY (EGY)
Nikita MEZOV (EST)
Severi MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Luka LOMADZE (GEO)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Dominik CZUCZOR (HUN)
Sohamraj MORE (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHAMADIAN (IRI)
Idrees JAF (IRQ)
Timur NADORGIN (ISR)
Shuya MIURA (JPN)
Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ)
Elkhan CHOENBEKOV (KGZ)
Seongmin JANG (KOR)
Minijus LEONAVICIUS (LTU)
Cristian RISCA (MDA)
Antoni TRETTER (POL)
Ognjen TODOSIJEVIC (SRB)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Isodzhon NURAKHMADOV (TJK)
Alkan AKAR (TUR)
Arvin KHOSRAVY (USA)
Temirbek ABDULLAEV (UZB)

80kg
Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)
Uladzislau DUBROUSKI (AIN)
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Paul MAIER (AUT)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Miguel VEGA SALAZAR (COL)
Marin ZOVKO (CRO)
Seef ABDALAZIZ (EGY)
Marcus UHTJAERV (EST)
Haik SARGSYAN (FRA)
Saba GAPRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
AMAN (IND)
Alireza ABBASI (IRI)
Itzhak NEMSADZE (ISR)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Beibarys SHYMYRBEK (KAZ)
Bakyt DZHAKUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Alexandr PLESCAN (MDA)
Mohammed K T ELNAGAR (PLE)
Stanislaw FUSSY (POL)
Dusan STOKIC (SRB)
Emir DAYAL (TUR)
Adam WATERS (USA)
Bekmurod RUSTAMOV (UZB)

92kg
Saipula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (AIN)
Pavel SAVITSKI (AIN)
Grisha VOSKANYAN (ARM)
Mikayil ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Radostin VASILEV (BUL)
Andrej RODIN (CRO)
Abdelfattah ABDELZAHER (EGY)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Ole STERNING (GER)
Dimitrios PAPPAS (GRE)
Vendel Roland VITAI (HUN)
RAMANDEEP (IND)
Aliakbar ASGHARIVALADI (IRI)
Rondo KODAMA (JPN)
Maxim UKRAINTSEV (KAZ)
Nurbolot SYRGABAI UULU (KGZ)
Dorian TREJO (MEX)
Pieter UYS (NAM)
Gabriel STAN (ROU)
Stevan KOJIC (SRB)
Alihan BEREKET (TUR)
Aiden COOLEY (USA)
Sardorbek RUSTAMOV (UZB)

110kg
Eldar EMIROV (AIN)
Tsimafei LAZAR (AIN)
Mahir GURBANLI (AZE)
Iliyan DIMITROV (BUL)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Renar JOONAS (EST)
Tomas RUSI (FIN)
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel SZILAGYI (HUN)
RONAK (IND)
Amirhossein ABDEVALI (IRI)
Ryosei KATAMATSU (JPN)
Bekzhan ISMAGULOV (KAZ)
Talasbek BOOBEKOV (KGZ)
Danila ZUBCOV (MDA)
Pawel JANZEN (POL)
Andreas KERN (SVK)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Nicholas SAHAKIAN (USA)
Jaloliddin SAYFIDDINOV (UZB)

#WrestleIstanbul

#WrestleIstanbul: Burroughs Takes 79kg Gold; Turkey Wins Team Title

By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 27) -- Istanbul couldn't have asked for a better ending at the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event -- even after a long day of wrestling, the best was yet to come. 

Turkey and Iran had a pair of gold-medal winners out of the eight contested weights on Sunday.

Five-time world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) claimed his third Ranking Series gold medal after an All-USA final at 79kg, while his teammate James GREEN (USA) ended with silver after Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) scored an 8-2 win at 70kg.

The Russian Wrestling Federation got their heir-apparent to world champion Gazdhimurad RASHIDOV (RWF) as junior world champion Shamil MAMEDOV (RWF) defeated Oslo gold winner Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF) in the 65kg final.

Wrestlers from Kyrgyzstan and India won the 57kg and 61kg gold medals, respectively.

Burroughs' rise to the top of the podium four months after he won his fifth world title in Oslo was a testimony to the longevity and high-class wrestling that he still possesses. After overcoming Chance MARSTELLER (USA), 8-0, in the final, Burroughs said that he never felt better, thanks to not reducing weight to wrestle at 74kg.

"Yes, 79kg is comfortable for me," Burroughs said. "I am going to stay here until 2024 when I make my way down to 74kg to make the US Olympic team.

"People don't take it [79kg] seriously because it's not an Olympic weight. It's given me some rejuvenation late in my career. I'm 33-years-old and will be 34 in four months. I don't have to cut [too much weight]. I get to eat the things I want and training is more fun for me."

But come the '24 Paris Games, Burroughs will be back to his most successful weight, 74kg, in an attempt to win a second Olympic gold after the '12 London Games.

"I am going to be moving down," he said. "I cannot promise that I will make the [USA] team, but you know that I am going to give my best. It's effort, attitude and a warrior-like spirit. I am going to do my best to make the team. It's going to be a tough cut for me, but I'm committed."

Burroughs' stellar career began in Istanbul when he won his first-ever world gold medal in 2011. Reminiscing the memories, he said it is always great to be back.

"I didn't know what to expect in Istanbul 11 years ago, wow," he said. "The blessing was that I was young and naive and knew what I had. Denis TSARGUSH (RWF) was a reigning world champion at the weight class, and I had not wrestled him before. I had him in the second round.

"I was little nervous to be honest. Going to that tournament gave me a lot of confidence going forward because after winning that with very little freestyle experience, I thought about what I can do if I really train full time. The body of work has been something I have been grateful for. There are not a lot of people from that tournament that are competing and winning."

In the final Sunday, he began with an ankle pick, then added a stepout. A two-on-one to takedown transition gave him a 5-0 lead going into the break. In the second period, Burroughs scored another stepout before closing out the match with a takedown. 

In his five bouts, Burroughs outscored his opponent 35-2. He got going with a 14-0 win over Meiir KOSHKINBAYEV (KAZ), then teched another Kazakhstan wrestler, Zhiger ZAKIROV (KAZ), 10-0. Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (RWF) pushed him a little more than the others, but Burroughs was happy to outscore him 4-1.

"It [the tournament] was good," he said. "I think I got progressively better throughout the day. It was a tough tournament. I haven't wrestled five matches in a day since like 2015. I feel good about the bodywork I put in and feel blessed I am sore."

But the real drama occurred in the semifinal against junior Asian champion Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI). The two were tied 1-1 with a minute remaining when Burroughs was put on the activity clock, meaning he had to score inside 30 seconds.

But midway after the clock began, the referee called Savadkouhi for a singlet-pull when Burroughs was in the middle of an attack, giving the USA wrestler a direct caution-and-one. Burroughs defended the final 10 seconds and won, 2-1.

"The semifinal was crazy," he said. "I've never wrestled him before. He's tough and I am sure I'll see him again in the future. He did a really good job of slowing me down."

"For me to get to guys that are intent on playing the shot clock passivity battle, I got to find a way to evolve on offense and find ways to score. The double wasn't there, and really no straight attacks. So getting angles and staying engaged with my hands and feet. "

Another Iran-USA bout of the day was the 70kg final in which Yazdani began with a slide-by to a gut for a 4-0 lead before Green hit a double-leg to make it 4-2 at the break.

The second period began with Yazdani being more aggressive and faking Green a few times before a single leg to a gut wrench gave him four more points. Leading 8-2, Yazdani brought the traditional Iranian underhook defense, and Green got no space to complete his attacks.

The gold ended a long drought for Yazdani, who had won four silver medals at different international tournaments in seven years.

"This is the first gold medal for me at any international tournament, and I cannot tell you how happy I am," Yazdani said. "I hope I made the Iranian fans happy."

Earlier, Green eliminated RWF national champion Rassadin with a 3-2 win. Rassadin's loss meant that world silver medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) returned home empty-handed.

"Green is a tough wrestler, but I was confident and had faith in my defense as well," Yazdani said.

Iran's second gold came at 92kg as Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) stopped Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) from winning a third Turkish gold of the night. He scored a couple of stepouts and a takedown for his four points, while Yaylaci scored only one takedown.

The RWF got their answer to who would represent them at 65kg at the senior European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, next month after Mammedov stunned world champion Shakhiev with a 23-second fall in the final.

The 21-year-old locked Shakhiev's hands and spun him on his head to get two points. In the same sequence, he managed to roll Shakhiev and put both shoulders to the mat for the pin.

"I am very happy with the way I wrestled the world champion and secured a fall," Mammedov said. "In the whole tournament, I was constantly improving and my confidence was increasing.

"Now we will have a mini-trial for European Championship, but this gold against Shakhiev has helped me a lot in confidence."

But making the Russian Wrestling Federation team is one thing. The 65kg weight class is stacked with prime wrestlers from across the world with Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), Tokyo silver medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE), bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and 2019 world champion and perhaps RWF's best 65kg wrestler Rashidov.

Mammedov said he's not afraid of any name in the lot and was looking to wrestle some of those guys in Istanbul.

"I was waiting for Punia here," he said. "Sad he did not wrestle, but now I have planned for every wrestler, and I am not afraid to wrestle anyone. It's just a matter of time before I beat them."

At 61kg, a rematch of the Poland Open Ranking Series final between Ravi KUMAR (IND) and Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) saw frantic back-and-forth action in which the former came out on top, 11-10.

Abdullaev outclassed Kumar in Warsaw last year, and it looked like Sunday would be a similar story. The Uzbek scored early with a duck under, but as the bout progressed, Kumar upped the pressure and scored from double-leg attacks twice to lead 4-2 at the break.

A kip over to a high-crotch made it 4-4 for Abdullaev, and in the same sequence, he exposed Kumar on the edge to extend the lead 6-4.

Kumar then hit a four using a cradle to lead 8-6. But once again, Abdullaev came back and scored two points, and at the end of the scramble, the referees gave two for both guys, bringing the score to 10-8. Uzbekistan challenged and it was back to 8-8 with Kumar leading.

Kumar looked to take a clean lead when he shot for Abdullaev's leg but got countered and gave up two points with 22 seconds remaining.

As Abdalluev tried to catch his breath after a stunningly high-paced bout, Kumar used that as an opportunity and blasted a double-leg to make the score 10-10, taking the criteria advantage. A lost challenge from Uzbekistan made it 11-10.

"I had wrestled him in Ranking Series in Warsaw and lost," Kumar said. "But this time, it was better, and I was able to beat him. The bout was stopped several times, which I think worked against me because that gave him [Abdullaev] a lot of rest, and he was visibly tired."

Kumar has now wrestled at two tournaments this year. Apart from the Yasar Dogu, he won a silver medal at the Dan Kolov tournament in Bulgaria last week.

"I am coming after Tokyo, and it feels that I am in good shape," he said. "This final also helped me assess myself. Now the focus is on Asian Championships."

Turkey's two champions came in the role of veteran Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) at 74kg and Osman GOCEN (TUR) at 86kg.

Demitras defeated Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR), 11-0, in the final. The two exchanged ties early, but Demitras came out with a takedown and leg lace to lead, 7-0.  He added another takedown after the break to increase it to 9-0, the final score of the bout.

The 86kg home stars Gocen and Fatih ERDIN (TUR) slugged it out with the latter getting put on the activity clock. After giving up that point, he quickly scored a takedown to take a 2-1 lead, but a scramble resulted in Erdin's 4-2 lead at the break.

The second period saw more action as Gocen mounted a comeback. He scored two, bringing Erdin down in reverse, then gave up a point for reversal as the score changed to 5-4. Erdin scored another takedown and exposure to finish the bout 8-5.

At 57kg, Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) brought home gold after Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) conceded a walkover via injury default in the final.

United World Wrestling's action will now move onto the U23 European Championships that will begin March 7 to 13 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) df Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO), via injury default
BRONZE: Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR) df Saban KIZILTAS (TUR), 7-0
BRONZE: AMAN (IND) df Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL), 10-5

61kg
GOLD: Ravi KUMAR (IND) df Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), 11-10
BRONZE: Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df Recep TOPAL (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Nicholas MEGALUDIS (USA) df Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI (IRI), 6-4

65kg
GOLD: Shamil MAMEDOV (RWF) df Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF), via fall
BRONZE: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), 5-4
BRONZE: Joseph MCKENNA (USA) df Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ), via forfeit

70kg
GOLD: Amirmohammad  YAZDANI (IRI) df James GREEN (USA), 10-2
BRONZE: Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) df Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO), 2-1
BRONZE: Viktor RASSADIN (RWF) df Aliakbar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI), via fall

74kg
GOLD: Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) df Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR), 9-0
BRONZE: Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) df Mohmmad FIROUZPOUR (IRI), via injury default
BRONZE: Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ) df PRITAM (IND), 11-0

79kg
GOLD: Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) df Chance MARSTELLER (USA), 8-0
BRONZE: Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) df Nuri TEMUR (TUR), via injury default
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (RWF), 5-4

86kg
GOLD: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df Fatih ERDIN (TUR), 8-5
BRONZE: Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE) df Lars SCHAEFLE (GER), 7-0
BRONZE: Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA), 4-4

92kg
GOLD: Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) df Erhan YAYLACI (TUR), 4-1
BRONZE: Deepak PUNIA (IND) df Elkhan ASSADOV (KAZ), 7-1
BRONZE: Ahmet BILICI (TUR) df Guram CHERTKOEV (RWF), via fall