#WrestlePontevedra

U20 World Championships 2024 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (August 26) -- The U20 World Championships begin September 2 in Pontevedra, Spain. Close to 700 wrestlers will be participating in 30 weight classes with Greco-Roman kicking off proceedings followed by Women's Wrestling and finishing with Freestyle.

The action will be live on uww.org and the UWW app from September 2.

Freestyle

57kg
Herbert AKAPIAN (AIN)
Lev PAVLOV (AIN)
Hayko GASPARYAN (AZE)
Vasif BAGHIROV (ARM)
Caio DUARTE ARON (BRA)
Alessandro IEMMA PLAZA (ESP)
Rassoul GALBOURAEV (FRA)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Leon FERNANDES ZINSER (GER)
ANKUSH (IND)
Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
Shotaro MATSUMURA (JPN)
Myktybek UKIMETULY (KAZ)
Baiaman KERIMBEKOV (KGZ)
Marcel ANDRONACHE (MDA)
Roberto MARTINEZ (MEX)
Kabe MATJANOV (TKM)
Bekir KESER (TUR)
Artem MARTIUSHEV (UKR)
Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

61kg
Andrei MIDLOVETS (AIN)
Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Benjamin SOUZA ZUCKERMAN (BRA)
Blayne HELOU (CAN)
DENGBURILE (CHN)
Abdelrahman MAHMOUD (EGY)
Marc ARIAS ALVAREZ (ESP)
Tornike ASABASHVILI (GEO)
BHUVANESH (IND)
Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)
Danny LUBRANO (ITA)
Masanosuke ONO (JPN)
Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ)
Azat SHARSHENALIEV (KGZ)
Dohyung KIM (KOR)
Vasili LAZAREV (MDA)
Enrique OLVERA RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Jacob BRUNNER (PUR)
Sandro HUNGERBUEHLER (SUI)
Robert MESZAROS (SVK)
Amir HAMAYUN (TKM)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Viktor BOROHAN (UKR)
Marcus BLAZE (USA)

65kg
Dzmitry SHVARTS (AIN)
Adam ARKHIEV (AIN)
Miguel ANTONIO (ANG)
Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM)
Luca HARTMANN (AUT)
Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE)
Xin WANG (CHN)
Felipe FERRUSOLA MILLA (ESP)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Nikoloz BESHIDZE (GEO)
Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN)
Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND)
Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)
Alessandro NINI (ITA)
Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN)
Shattyk ALAIDAR (KAZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Ion BERGHI (MDA)
Diego PERAZA AGUILAR (MEX)
Kaige BROWN (NZL)
Dominik JAGUSZ (POL)
Rafael GARCIA MORALES (PUR)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Valentyn HRYHORYSHYN (UKR)
Bowen BASSETT (USA)

70kg
Aliaksandr KAMBAYEU (AIN)
Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN)
Abderrahmane BENHAMADI (ALG)
Manaceu NGONDA (ANG)
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Alexander SEIWALD (AUT)
Ramik HEYBATOV (AZE)
Sehajpal SIDHU (CAN)
Youhua LIN (CHN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Rostislav LEICHT (GER)
Georgios IOAKEIMIDIS (GRE)
Alex GOMBOS (HUN)
Nilesh NADIPARWALE (IND)
Ali KARAMPOUR (IRI)
Daniel KORKIN (ISR)
Daniele GUBBIOTTI (ITA)
Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN)
Aikyn BOLATULY (KAZ)
Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ)
Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)
Gabriel SANCHEZ ZEPEDA (MEX)
Ankh Erdene ALTANGEREL (MGL)
Zelimkhan MUTSUKHAEV (POL)
Umut ERDOGAN (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)
Peter DUKE (USA)

74kg
Muslim MAKHMUDAU (AIN)
Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN)
Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Trent JAEGGI (AUS)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Paulo GONCALVES (BRA)
Nicholas HOOPER (CAN)
Ning WANG (CHN)
Khaled MOHAMED (EGY)
Fabricio REYES (ESP)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Giorgi RIGVAVA (GEO)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
GAURAV (IND)
Ali Abbas REZAEI (IRI)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Shingo ANDO (JPN)
Yegor ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
Baitemir TULEBERDIEV (KGZ)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Tolui MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Antoni MAJCHRZAK (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Kakamyrat ASHYROV (TKM)
Yi Jie LIN (TPE)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Rostyslav PRUS (UKR)
Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)

79kg
Dzmitry LUKASHUK (AIN)
Said SAIDULOV (AIN)
Houssem OUCIF (ALG)
Aren ISRAYELYAN (ARM)
Mukhammad INSHAPIEV (AUT)
Emin GOJAYEV (AZE)
Bogdan DJANDIGOV (BEL)
Leandro ARAUJO (BRA)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Jinju LI (CHN)
Moises BELLO ALVAREZ (ESP)
Adam KAKHRIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Gregor EIGENBRODT (GER)
AMIT (IND)
Mahdi YOUSEFIHA (IRI)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Youmin JANG (KOR)
Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Kevin OLAVARRIA (PUR)
Alp BEGENJOV (TKM)
Bekir OVEC (TUR)
Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR)
Zackary RYDER (USA)

86kg
Aliaksei KULAKOU (AIN)
Ibragim KADIEV (AIN)
Sadig MUSTAFAZADE (AZE)
Rohit BAL (CAN)
Pengcheng WANG (CHN)
Matteo MONTEIRO (CPV)
Azael GARCIA (ESP)
Vladislav RJABTSEV (EST)
Mohammad UMKHADJIEV (FRA)
Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
Peter ZSIVNOVSZKI (HUN)
SACHIN (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA)
Ryogo ASANO (JPN)
Navruz AKHMEDKHANOV (KAZ)
Akhmat ZHAPPUEV (KGZ)
Ho Yeon HWANG (KOR)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Batbilguun NAADAMBAT (MGL)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR)
Illia PLAKHTYR (UKR)
Joshua BARR (USA)

92kg
Vadzim BANDARKOU (AIN)
Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN)
Hamza KACEDI (ALG)
Anar JAFARLI (AZE)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Kai QIU (CHN)
Mykola TOLMACHOV (ESP)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Grigorios SARIDIS (GRE)
Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN)
Amit SINGH (IND)
Amirreza DALIRI (IRI)
Nikita GOUBARETS (ISR)
Sorato KANAZAWA (JPN)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Iakov CHAPLIN (KGZ)
Grigori TOMAILI (MDA)
Delgerdalai DEMBEREL (MGL)
David JAKSIK (SVK)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR)
Oleh KUZMENKO (UKR)
Connor MIRASOLA (USA)

97kg
Shakhman NUKHAEV (AIN)
Miles DALY (AUS)
Ravan MUSAYEV (AZE)
Tejvir DHINSA (CAN)
Tuxige TUXIGE (CHN)
Enrique JIMENEZ (ESP)
Ramini GULITASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Bence VERESS (HUN)
Sahil JAGLAN (IND)
Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)
Genki HOKI (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Aitenir MAKSATOV (KGZ)
Constantin BUZA (MDA)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Rifat GIDAK (TUR)
Kostiantyn ZADOIANCHUK (UKR)
Justin RADEMACHER (USA)

125kg
Stsiapan MANDRYK (AIN)
Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (AIN)
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Omogbai ASEKOMHE (CAN)
Yiwei ZHUANG (CHN)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Jaspooran SINGH (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Hosei FUJITA (JPN)
Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ)
Baejoon JANG (KOR)
Ralfs LUKINS (LAT)
Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA)
Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL)
Ethan VERGARA (PUR)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Ivan MYROSHNYCHENKO (UKR)
Benjamin KUETER (USA)

Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN) will make her U20 debut in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Sviatlana KATENKA (AIN)
Violetta BIRIUKOVA (AIN)
Aysel MAMMADZADA (AZE)
Shahreen GULACHA (CAN)
Yu ZHANG (CHN)
Maria CAZALLA (ESP)
MUSKAN (IND)
Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Yorlenis MORAN (PAN)
Joanna SAMSONOWICZ (POL)
Nipuni WASANA (SRI)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Fatma KIZMAZ (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Anaya FALCON (USA)

53kg
Valeryia MIKITSICH (AIN)
Olga OVCHINNIKOVA (AIN)
Fatima BOUCHIBI (ALG)
Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE)
Nikol KRUMOVA (BUL)
Jin ZHANG (CHN)
Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
JYOTI (IND)
Saki YUMIYA (JPN)
Yengilik KABYLBEK (KAZ)
Yusneiry AGRAZAL (PAN)
Ilona VALCHUK (POL)
Shammilka MIRANDA (PUR)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Reka HEGEDUS (SVK)
Ya Hsin CHEN (TPE)
Hava KONCA (TUR)
Sofiia MARCHENKO (UKR)
Brianna GONZALEZ (USA)

55kg
Aliaksandra BULAVA (AIN)
Ekaterina CHIKANOVA (AIN)
Nargiz SAMADOVA (AZE)
Madisyn GROF (CAN)
Liuxuan CHEN (CHN)
Pau GIMENO FRANCO (ESP)
Dhanshri FAND (IND)
Karina HONDA (JPN)
Aliana MAKHAMBETOVA (KAZ)
Josefina RAMIREZ (MEX)
Khaliun BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Yu Syun CHEN (TPE)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Diana KOTVYTSKA (UKR)
Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA)

57kg
Marta HETMANAVA (AIN)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (AIN)
Annika FINES (CAN)
Xinyue LU (CHN)
Ainara PORTILLO GARCIA (ESP)
Romaissa EL KHARROUBI (FRA)
Marie TRAYER (GER)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
NEHA (IND)
Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Yubeen LEE (KOR)
Bertha ROJAS (MEX)
Nomin Erdene MYAGMARSUREN (MGL)
Nikola WISNIEWSKA (POL)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Pei Ying LIAO (TPE)
Gulsum BINGOL (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Carissa QURESHI (USA)

59kg
Uladzislava KUDZIN (AIN)
Elena KUROVA (AIN)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Yifan ZHU (CHN)
Rosa MOLINA RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Luna ROTHENBERGER (GER)
Viktoria BORSOS (HUN)
KOMAL (IND)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Angelina PERVUKHINA (KAZ)
Aitolkun MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Anna TIELIEGINA (LTU)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Nicola WASILEWSKA (POL)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Anna KARBOVSKA (UKR)
Alexis JANIAK (USA)

62kg
Marharyta KOUSH (AIN)
Olga IATSENKO (AIN)
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Bronwyn MACGREGOR (CAN)
Shuang HAN (CHN)
Tereza MRACKOVA (CZE)
Farah HUSSEIN (EGY)
Candela CASTRO GREDIAGA (ESP)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Anna FOTIADOU (GRE)
NITIKA (IND)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Nagisa ITO (JPN)
Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ)
Tancholpon KYBALBEKOVA (KGZ)
Seoyeon BAE (KOR)
Melanie JIMENEZ (MEX)
Khulan BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Nicola WASILEWSKA (POL)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE)
Yen Yi LI (TPE)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Cadence DIDUCH (USA)

65kg
Aliaksandra ZHUK (AIN)
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (AIN)
Sofia VEMBA (ANG)
Zaixue RUI (CHN)
Mouda HAMDOUN (EGY)
Elvira MARTINEZ-BARQUERO (ESP)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
SARIKA (IND)
Nana IKEHATA (JPN)
Korlan AMANOVA (KAZ)
Michelle OLEA RUIZ (MEX)
Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR)
Reese LARRAMENDY (USA)

68kg
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN)
Alina SHEVCHENKO (AIN)
Vanessa KEEFE (CAN)
Maria CIVANTOS VILCHEZ (ESP)
SRISHTI (IND)
Seia MOCHINAGA (JPN)
Beibit SEIDUALY (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Karolina DOMASZUK (POL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Yan Ju JIANG (TPE)
Ayse ERKAN (TUR)
Anna POSHTAR (UKR)
Caitlyn DAVIS (USA)

72kg
Krystsina KURKINA (AIN)
Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (AIN)
Tehani BLAIS (CAN)
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Gia KASTELAN (CRO)
Yasmin ALONSO EZ ZAHIR (ESP)
Noemi OSVATH NAGY (HUN)
MANJU (IND)
Ai SAKAI (JPN)
Zhibekzhan SABYRZHANOVA (KAZ)
Kaiyrkul SHARSHEBAEVA (KGZ)
Edna JIMENEZ (MEX)
Tselmuun OTGONBAT (MGL)
Karolina JAWORSKA (POL)
Elvira ERSSON (SWE)
Haticenur SARI (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Jasmine ROBINSON (USA)

76kg
Diana TITOVA (AIN)
Meile ZHANG (CHN)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Jyoti BERWAL (IND)
Chisato YOSHIDA (JPN)
Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ)
Tuvshinjargal TARAV (MGL)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR)
Naomi SIMON (USA)

Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) will look to defend his 87kg gold in Greco-Roman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Alibek AMIROV (AIN)
Adel FEGAS (ALG)
Armen GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Rahim HASANOV (AZE)
Huoying SHI (CHN)
Filip BARTOSIK (CZE)
James CASTANO ARTEAGA (ESP)
Giorgi KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
Panteleimon PISSAKIS (GRE)
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
Anil MOR (IND)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Daisuke MORISHITA (JPN)
Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ)
Barsbek ASANKOZHOEV (KGZ)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Servan CINAR (TUR)
Ivan STEFANSKYI (UKR)
Isaiah CORTEZ (USA)

60kg
Papik DZHAVADIAN (AIN)
Armen SUKIASYAN (ARM)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Yunlong HU (CHN)
Ahmed SHABAN (EGY)
David DIAZ SANCHEZ (ESP)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Tamazi GLONTI (GEO)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Edmond DOMOKOS (HUN)
Mohit NARWAL (IND)
Mohammadmehdi GHOLAMPOUR (IRI)
Kohaku KANAZAWA (JPN)
Ongdassyn KHAMITOV (KAZ)
Said TURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Alin MURARU (MDA)
Daniel GUEVARA PIMENTEL (MEX)
Dominik PARTYKA (POL)
Eli KIRK (PUR)
Adam SILVERIN (SWE)
Servet ANGI (TUR)
Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR)
Cory LAND (USA)

63kg
Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN)
Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM)
Mahammad SHUKURZADE (AZE)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Zhiyu WANG (CHN)
Matej REBIC (CRO)
Matous JANKOVIC (CZE)
Adham ELSAYED (EGY)
Mario TRUJILLO CORDERO (ESP)
Ilian AINAOUI (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
NISHANT (IND)
Erfan JARKANI (IRI)
Shina YASUMI (JPN)
Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ)
Emirlan DUISHENALIEV (KGZ)
Byeonggi SEO (KOR)
Pavel DENISENCO (MDA)
Zachary MARRERO (PUR)
Dejan BERKEC (SRB)
Mathias MARTINETTI (SUI)
William EKEROT (SWE)
Enes ULKU (TUR)
Maksym CHUHUIEV (UKR)
Otto BLACK (USA)

67kg
Grair OGANESIAN (AIN)
Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM)
Isa BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Tavakgul HAZIYEV (AZE)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Kang ZHEN (CHN)
Daniel CAMPOS PEREZ (ESP)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
Sachin SACHIN (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI)
Kojiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Yussuf ASHRAPOV (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Kipras PUIKIS (LTU)
Vladimir PASCARI (MDA)
Piotr SKALIK (POL)
Iosif IONESCU (ROU)
Fritz REBER (SUI)
Tim EKLUND BERGFALK (SWE)
Sunat ABDULLOEV (TJK)
Ramazan Can AKTAS (TUR)
Imed KHUDZHADZE (UKR)
Joel ADAMS (USA)

72kg
Illia VALEUSKI (AIN)
Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN)
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Wenhao HU (CHN)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Dalgat MAGOMEDOV (CZE)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Gonzalo CAPARROS DIEGUEZ (ESP)
Max HRISTJUK (EST)
Luka KAJANNE (FIN)
Nika GLONTI (GEO)
Magomed KARTOJEV (GER)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Aakash PUNIA (IND)
Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI)
Hajime KIKUTA (JPN)
Alikhan DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Abdulaziz ASKARBEKOV (KGZ)
Gunhee LEE (KOR)
Rokas CEPAUSKAS (LTU)
Vasile ZABICA (MDA)
Hubert SIDORUK (POL)
Leonard IURASCU (ROU)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Denny CHJAN (SWE)
Muhammed Ali GOCMEN (TUR)
Petro SHAFRANSKYI (UKR)
Patrick Thomas BRACKETT (USA)

77kg
Magomed IARBILOV (AIN)
Mohamed MAMMERI (ALG)
Henrik GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Spartak VALENTINOV (BUL)
Jixin YU (CHN)
Mihael LUKAC (CRO)
Jose TESO SOBA (ESP)
Vikke TARKKIO (FIN)
Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Nishant PHOGAT (IND)
Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)
Yujin TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ)
Nurel DUISHONBEKOV (KGZ)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Ognjen JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Karl BAFF (SWE)
Erkan TUGCU (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Aydin MCELHINNEY (USA)

82kg
Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (AIN)
Dhiyaeddine REMMACHE (ALG)
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Shichang ZHENG (CHN)
Antonio LUKAC (CRO)
Jan DUSEK (CZE)
Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY)
Jesper HAERKAENEN (FIN)
Anri DAVITADZE (GEO)
Anton BUCHHOLZ (GER)
Odysseas ROUNGERIS (GRE)
Dominik CZUCZOR (HUN)
PRINCE (IND)
Mohammad ARJMAND (IRI)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Erlan MARS UULU (KGZ)
Sukmin YOON (KOR)
Mahmoud HAWSAWI (KSA)
Stanislaw FUSSY (POL)
Razvan PAVALASC (ROU)
Milos PEROVIC (SRB)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ramazan PASHAIEV (UKR)
Arian KHOSRAVY (USA)

87kg
Mansur SAITOV (AIN)
Roberto NSANGUA (ANG)
Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Joju SAMADOV (AZE)
Kauan FERREIRA GOMES (BRA)
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL)
Jie WANG (CHN)
Elias LYYSKI (FIN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
ROHIT (IND)
Mohammad Hadi SEYDI (IRI)
Reon KAKEGAWA (JPN)
Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Ruben VAN WYK (RSA)
Andrija MIHAJLOVIC (SRB)
Hamza SERTCANLI (SWE)
Emre BACAKSIZ (TUR)
Pavlo TORIANYK (UKR)
Ryder ROGOTZKE (USA)
Brian RUIZ MARIN (VEN)

97kg
Anatolii AVERIN (AIN)
Arshak GEGHAMYAN (ARM)
Mikayil ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Qianyi SUN (CHN)
Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
Rasmus LIISMA (EST)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Darius KIEFER (GER)
Christos CHATSATOUROV (GRE)
NAMAN (IND)
Hamidreza KESHTKAR (IRI)
Issa KIKUCHI (JPN)
Rakhat BERZHANOV (KAZ)
Bekzhan ZHUMABEKOV (KGZ)
Dorian TREJO OLGUIN (MEX)
Sebastian WARCHOL (POL)
Branko DUKIC (SRB)
Ahmet EREMEKTER (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)
Soren HERZOG (USA)

130kg
Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN)
Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Leonhard JUNGER (AUT)
Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE)
Alan DZABIEV (BUL)
Jorawar Singh DHINSA (CAN)
Shaoyi YANG (CHN)
Marko MILANOVIC (CRO)
Artur SARKISJAN (CZE)
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Rafail GKIRNIS (GRE)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
Uttam RANA (IND)
Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)
Kazushi IWASAKI (JPN)
Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ)
Samagan ORMONOV (KGZ)
Seunggyu MIN (KOR)
Ethan VERGARA (PUR)
Marko SUPIC (SRB)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Artur BOICHUK (UKR)
Aden ATTAO (USA)

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024 Day 4 Wrestling Preview: FS 57kg and 86kg; WW 57kg

By Vinay Siwach

PARIS (July 25) -- After the Tokyo Olympics high, a possible David TAYLOR (USA) vs Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) bout was the most anticipated one for the Paris Olympics. But Aaron BROOKS (USA) had other plans. He defeated Taylor in the Olympic trials in the United States to book his spot at 86kg for the U.S.

Now, Yazdani is the favorite to win the gold. He can also become the first Iran wrestler to win two Olympic golds.

PARIS 2024 SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 NEWS

The 86kg weight class on August 8 isn't the only one in which history can be created. Both the other two weight classes also have a chance to see some historic medals to be won.

The 57kg in Freestyle will have world champion Stevan MICIC (SRB) trying to win the first medal for Serbia in Freestyle at the Olympics. Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB), also a world champion, has the same task for Albania.

In women's 57kg, Rio 2016 champion Helen MAROULIS (USA) has a chance to win the third Olympic medal for the U.S. while she tries to knock off world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN). Maroulis is no stranger to beating Japanese world champions at the Olympics.

Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) has a great chance to make history for Moldova by winning a medal even as the bracket has Kexin HONG (CHN), ANSHU (IND), Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) and Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) among others.

FS 86kg: Over to Yazdani

Ever since his move to 86kg after winning the gold medal at 74kg in Rio, Yazdani has lost to only one wrestler -- Taylor. With the American not in Paris, Yazdani has his tail up.

Throughout the 2023 season, Yazdani wrestled with a shoulder injury and it became a headache for Iran when he underwent surgery. Iran contemplated having a wrestle-off between Yazdani and 92kg world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI). But then Brooks beat Taylor.

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) trains in Mazandaran, Iran. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Yazdani won the Budapest Ranking Series and reignited his hopes of winning the gold.

"I thank God that I was able to get on the mat in international competitions after seven months and 13 days," Yazdani had said in Budapest. "I had a little preparation and it was around 60 percent. I hadn’t wrestled for a long time. I have some weaknesses that I hope I can fix before the Olympics so that I can wrestle better than these competitions and get the gold medal. I hope that until the Olympics, I can eliminate my weaknesses so I can win the best medal for my country and our good people."

Yazdani was winning the Tokyo final when Taylor scored a takedown in the final moments to claim the gold. A furious Yazdani walked off the mat, hitting anything that came his way. But two months after that loss, he defeated Taylor at the Oslo World Championships, his only win over the American. Taylor would rebound to beat him at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.

Brooks, a four-time NCAA champion, defeated Taylor in a best-of-three series at the trials. Brooks has a U23 world title and is now the biggest threat to Yazdani's gold medal.

Aaron BROOKS (USA)Aaron BROOKS (USA) won the 2023 U23 world title in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Yazdani has a solid underhook and has improved his conditioning but Brooks' defense is top-notch as Taylor found out at the trials. A wait-and-watch counter-attacking bout can ensue if the two meet in Paris.

Brooks is unseeded and will be drawn at random in the 16-wrestler bracket which means he can face any of the top wrestlers in the first bout.

Myles AMINE (SMR), who won a historic bronze for San Marino in Tokyo, is returning, hoping to stand on the podium again. Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) is another master of defense and will be a tough case to crack for any wrestler. 

Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL), Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) and Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) are some other potential medal hopefuls in Paris.

FS 57kg: History on line

When Spencer LEE (USA) won the U.S. trials, he did not know if he was going to the Olympics. He still had to qualify the 57kg weight for the U.S. He did so at the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, in dominating fashion, barring one bout. Lee, a former U17 and U20 world champion, has now set his sights on the gold medal.

But at 57kg, the bracket is among the toughest in recent times. World champions Stevan MICIC (SRB), Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) and Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) are trying to achieve the same. Add to the list the European and Asian champions in Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE), Vladimir EGOROV (MKD), AMAN (IND) and Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB).

However, Lee has extra motivation to perform in France, his mother's native country.

"This is a big deal for me," Lee said in Istanbul. "My family lives in France. They live outside of Bordeaux. My grandmother has never seen me wrestle and it's a really big deal for me to compete in my mother's home country."

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) won the Budapest Ranking Series in June. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Higuchi, a silver medalist from Rio 2016, has dabbled with 65kg but returned to 57kg to make the Tokyo Olympics. He missed the weight at the qualifiers. But a strict diet, planned weight cut and experience have helped Higuchi return to the Olympics. However, he doesn't think too much about the loss against Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) in the final in Rio.

“I don't look back at my matches. I want to move on. Next match,” he told UWW last year. "I don't feel bad about missing the Tokyo Olympics. The day I lost the chance to represent at the Tokyo Games, I began preparing for Paris.”

In his preparation for Paris, Higuchi has taken to cooking special meals for himself to keep his weight under control, training with specific partners, and enjoying the journey. He also got married and has a kid.

But for Olympics, Higuchi's battle begins well before he steps on the mat as he reduces at least seven kilograms.

"The aim is to lose 2kg of body fat per month," Higuchi was quoted as saying by Yahoo. "In my case, it takes about three months to bring weight to 59kg, and then I think the best way to lose the last 2kg is to cut out water and lose it before the match. When losing weight, start with a low-fat diet, and when you can't lose any more weight, switch to a ketogenic diet [restricting carbohydrates and consuming fat]. Repeat this process. And it's important to consume carbohydrates from a low-fat diet before a match."

Another wrestler heading to Paris with a weight cut on his mind is the reigning world champion Stevan MICIC (SRB), who defeated Higuchi in a thrilling 57kg final in Belgrade. Micic is the first Serbian world champion in Freestyle and will look to add a historic Olympic medal.

Micic, however, has only competed once since winning the World Championships. He won the gold medal at the Dan Kolov tournament at 61kg.

"First time competing since the World Championships, up at 61kg," Micic said on his YouTube channel. "I would give myself 9/10 this time. In my first match against Iran, he was young and motivated, any match against Iran is tough. At this kind of tournament, you are not supposed to be perfect. It's getting yourself that feeling of competition out of the way."

Stevan MICIC (SRB)Stevan MICIC (SRB) won the world title at 57kg in Belgrade in 2023. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Adonov)

In Paris, he wouldn't have to worry about an Iran wrestler though. Iran failed to qualify the 57kg weight class. However, it is yet to be seen if that will help Micic improve his 14th-place finish at Tokyo.

Also, Higuchi is hoping to avenge that loss in the final if the two meet in the final.

"I'll definitely pay them back in the real thing [Olympcis]," he said. "I know quite a bit about what technique my opponents will use and when. What are my weaknesses? I'm not that worried. I think that all I have to do is make small adjustments and corrections. I think I have to win the gold medal in Paris. After all, I love this sport and I've been doing it for a long time, so I have a strong desire not to lose."

Abakarov and Harutyunyan will look to end up on the podium as well. Harutyunyan had a high-scoring bout against Higuchi before going down in the World Championships semifinal. Abakarov, after suffering a loss to Micic, returned to win the bronze medal by beating Tokyo Olympic champion Zavur UGUEV (AIN). Then there are Asian hammers in Abdullaev and Aman. While Adbullaev is going to his second Olympics after finishing fifth in Tokyo, Aman will be making his debut.

WW 57kg: Three-way battle for supremacy

Will the 57kg Olympic gold medal stay with Japan? The country which has dominated women's wrestling ever since it was added to the Olympics is expected to continue it. It has won the 55-58kg gold medal at all editions. So can Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) keep it with Japan?

Sakurai, a three-time world champion, has a strong 2-on-1 attack to go with her defense. However, that did not work in the final of the Asian Championships this year as she lost 5-2 to Yongxin FENG (CHN). Fortunately for Sakurai, Feng is not the Chinese representative in Paris.

Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) executes a 2-on-1 attack. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Despite the loss and a wake-up call before Paris, Sakurai was composed in her assessment of the bout, saying that her opponents are coming in with plans against her,

"I think everyone knows my style of wrestling," Sakurai said after the Asian Championships. "I have to train so that even if I get stopped, I can still find a way to score points. No matter the tournament, my objective is always to win the title. When you lose, there has to be a reason for the loss. I will look at this as I'm glad it wasn't the Olympics, and I will practice hard up to August."

Undoubtedly, Hong too will be ready with her coaches to pull off an upset. Hong has been on a roll this year, winning the Zagreb Open and Budapest Ranking Series, apart from winning the Paris qualification in Bishkek. In Zagreb, she defeated Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) and then 59kg world champion and compatriot Qi ZHANG (CHN) in the final. She would once again beat Zhang in Budapest in the semifinal and win the gold with a win over ANSHU (IND).

But the world will be watching Maroulis, who made her third straight Olympics. She won the first-ever gold for the U.S. in Rio by beating the legendary Saori YOSHIDA (JPN). She won bronze in Tokyo after dropping the semifinal against Risako KINJO (JPN). And Maroulis looks good for a third medal at the Olympics.

She lost only to Sakurai at the World Championships but won the Pan-Am Championships and the Poland Open this year. Maroulis has the habit of peaking towards the second half of the season in which the World Championships or the Olympics are held.

Nichita, the world silver medalist, can surprise anyone on her day but a recent injury and her loss to Anshu in Budapest must have given her a wake-up call. Currently training in Italy, Nichita can create history by winning the first medal at Olympics in Women's Wrestling, given Irina RINGACI (MDA) doesn't to do on day one.