#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)

#WrestleBelgrade

Armenia in line for strong World C'ships with young stars

By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 1) – Soon after finishing with a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, talks of Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) moving away from the sport were ripe.

His last world title came in 2017 and his battles with injuries, along with the rise of Musa EVLOEV, denied him standing on top of the podium in two World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Fast forward one year to the World Championships in Belgrade, and Aleksanyan's return to the mat surprised quite a few in the wrestling world. After a 13-month hiatus from competition and a year of relentless rehabilitation, he emerged victorious, reclaiming his throne with a gold medal in the 97kg category.

"That’s my fourth world gold," Aleksanyan said in Belgrade. “For two years I couldn’t make it because of injuries. After the Olympic Games, I took a year break and treated them all."

In two weeks' time, the 31-year-old will be in Belgrade again, hoping to defend his world title as he now prepares to reclaim his Olympic title in Paris next year.

But Aleksanyan isn't the only one hoping to raise the Armenian flag in Belgrade. A trio of Armenian wrestlers, each carrying their own dreams and determination, seek a world crown and Olympic qualification.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) is a returning bronze medalist from 77kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

European champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) is among the favorites to win the gold at 77kg while in Freestyle, Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) at 57kg and Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) at 65kg are aiming to give Armenia its first Freestyle world champion in a decade.

Amoyan won the world title in 2021 in Oslo but moved to the Olympic weight class 77kg next year, earning a bronze medal. Harutyunyan and Tevanyan both were at the Tokyo Olympics but returned empty-handed.

While Tevanyan rose to prominence before Tokyo by beating the likes of Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Iszamail MUSZUKAJAEV (HUN), Harutyunyan transformed himself after Toyko. He won his first world medal in Oslo and added another last year.

At the U23 level, he won back-to-back gold medals at the World Championships and earlier this year, he became the European champion at 61kg after beating 57kg world champion Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB).

Tevanyan, too, has won the European Championships and the U23 World Championships but is still searching for his first World Championships medal after finishing seventh last year.

Amoyan made a dream debut at 77kg, winning the European title in 2022 and defending it this year. He lost to Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) at the 2022 World Championships but won a bronze medal through repechage.

The three do not have the credentials Aleksanyan had at the age of 25 years but are among the best in their weight classes. Aleksanyan was an Olympic champion by then, only the second in Armenia's history, a two-time world champion, and already a superstar.

A lot of that has to do with where Aleksanyan was born -- Gyumri.

“Gyumri is not a big city but we have five Olympic champions who grew up here,” Aleksanyan says. “We have many worthy athletes in different sports.”

A historical city in north-west Armenia's Shirak province, Gyumri has given the country many sporting heroes, artists and scholars. It has been a center of the country since old times and is known by different names.

UWW's Athlete Commission's President Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), who won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a Gyumri native, explains the importance of the city for Armenia and its sports.

“It became a developing city in times of the Russian empire when Armenia was a part of it,” Julfalakyan said. “The city became host to large numbers of Armenian refugees fleeing the Armenian Genocide, in particular hosting 22,000 orphaned children in around 170 orphanage buildings. It was renamed Leninakan during the Soviet period and became a major industrial and textile center in Soviet Armenia.

“Exactly in that period began the popularization of sport in all of Armenia, and especially in Gyumri. That was the philosophy/policy of the country during that period. Not only sports, but also education, science, and culture became very important. Wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, and judo were the first sports most popular among the youth. And in wrestling, Greco-Roman style. That’s the reason nowadays in Gyumri most of the elite wrestlers are Greco Roman”

That popularity can be explained as the city was also the center of Armenia's traditional wrestling Kokh. The style is divided into two styles, Lori Kokh and Shirak Kokh. Shirak is the province in which Gyumri falls while Lori is the neighboring province bordering Georgia. Ironically, Shirak Kokh allowed wrestlers to grab the legs of the opponent. In Lori Kokh, a wrestler can only throw grabbing the costume of the opponent.

In 1988, Gyumri lost one-third of its population after a devastating earthquake. Yet, the city keeps producing sports champions apart from the various artists and scholars it has given.

“In Seoul Olympics 1988, Gyumri gave Armenia one gold in Greco-Roman (Levon JULFALAKYAN) and one silver in weightlifting,” he says. “Unfortunately, the devastating earthquake in 1988 ruined almost 80% of the city.”

Wrestlers like Aleksanyan, current Greco-Roman head coach and Armenia's first Olympic gold medalist Levon JULFALAKYAN (ARM), Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), Armen NAZARYAN (ARM), Aghasi MANUKYAN (ARM) among others grew up in those times with little to no facilities to train. Yet, they made it a wrestling powerhouse.

“Times were really vulnerable. Participating in sports and coaching was considered heroic. No salary, no heating and no hot water in sports halls. Sometimes even no light. But we resisted. How? Hard to say. I think it’s just in the nature of the nation with its ancient history.

“In the 2000s, many sports halls were built or reconstructed. But then the process was stopped and for sure it wasn’t enough. Right now, what we have in Gyumri and in Armenia is not enough and not close to the international level.”

Given Gyumri's history, Aleksanyan was bound to be a champion. In one of the many YouTube videos available about his wrestling career, Aleksanyan talks about the dilapidated training school he began his wrestling career. Photos of the training school and its dire condition went viral soon after Aleksanyan won the gold in Rio. Broken walls, missing equipment from the gym, and dirty toilets were making the news.

“Some people don't believe me when I say that I train there when I am in Gyumri,” Aleksanyan had told VNews four years ago. “It's sad but true. Training there makes me stronger as I grew up here.”

For 18 years, Aleksanyan sweated it out in that workaround training hall before moving to Yerevan. His family still stays in Gyumri.

Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) defeated world champion Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) to win the European Championships at 61kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Harutyunyan and Tevanyan were not born in Gyumri. They were raised in Ararat, a province in southeast Armenia, diagonally opposite Gyumri and the Freestyle center of Armenia's wrestling.

“From the beginning of developing sports in Gyumri, the main focus was on Greco-Roman. The coaches mostly were of that style,” Julfalakyan said. “And vice versa, in city Vanadzor (Kirovakan) or the cities of the Ararat valley mostly are concentrated in Freestyle. Another reason might be the plains in Ararat and the highlands in Gyumri. By the way, last few years freestyle wrestling in Armenia has grown very fast.”

The province has given Armenia some of the finest Freestyle wrestlers including Armenia's only Freestyle Olympic medalist Armen MKRTCHYAN (ARM), three-time world champion Arayik GEVORGYAN (ARM), Aram MARGARYAN (ARM) and Martin BERBERYAN (ARM).

Both Harutyunyan and Tevenyan will look to continue that tradition in Belgrade.

At 57kg, Harutyunyan will have to navigate a strong field that includes defending world champion Abakarov, 61kg world champion Rei HIGUCHI (JPN), Asian champion AMAN (IND), the United States's Zane RICHARDS (USA), European champion Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE), Wanhao ZOU (CHN), Suleyman ATLI (TUR) and Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) among the top names.

Higuchi defeated Harutyunyan at 61kg last year but Higuchi's struggles at 57kg have been well documented. Harutyunyan possesses the attacks to beat the best and can go into a shell to defend his lead as he did to beat Abakarov in Zagreb. But Aman, Abdullaev and Zou can be the surprise he does not want.

“I am the type of person who likes difficulties, I like to do what people think is impossible,” Harutyunyan said. “All wrestlers are strong and equal. On that day, whoever is well prepared, really wants to win, will win.”

Tevanyan also has a stacked field with defending world champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), Tulga TUMUR-OCHIR (MGL), Aliyev, Muszukajaev, Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), Nicholas LEE (USA), Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR), Alejandro VALDES (CUB) being some of the names entered.

Tevanyan blew hot and cold last year but won the Ibrahim Mustafa Ranking Series and the European title this year. With wins over most of the names at 65kg, Tevanyan will fancy his chances. His sturdy build along with the strength he brings should be enough to go past many in the field.

If Amoyan wants to join Aleksanyan on the podium, he will have to dig deep as the 77kg weight is arguably the best. World champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) leads the field along with Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), Yunus EMRE (TUR), Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), Viktor NEMES (SRB), Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI), Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) and Kamal BEY (USA).

Though he has suffered losses to both Makhmudov and Levai, Amoyan will back himself as Levai's form has dropped significantly and Makhmudov has lost twice since becoming the world champion. His incredible run for the 72kg gold in Oslo saw Amoyan dominate his opponents and a year since his bronze in Belgrade, Amoyan should have the strength as well to wrestle heavier wrestlers.

Apart from the three youngsters, Aleksanyan will be the favorite to bring home the gold medal. The returning world champion is going for his fourth Olympic cycle which only adds pressure.

In Belgrade, Aleksanyan will have to face a strong 97kg field which includes former world champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), Artur SARGASIAN (AIN), Kiril MILOV (BUL), Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE) and even veteran Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB).

Aleksanyan will start as the favorite even in such a tough field. No doubt it will be a challenge for his body to wrestle three consecutive barn-burners, especially when the White Bear is a month away from his 32nd birthday.

“My motivation is hearing the Armenian national anthem and raising the Armenian flag one more time during the Olympic Games,” he said. “This cycle is different from my first Olympic experience which took place in London in a way that I have three Olympic medals and am more experienced.”

With experience, youth and will on their side, the Armenian stars, unless things go completely haywire in Belgrade, would dream of podium finishes and book their spots for the Paris Olympics where Armenia is looking to end a 28-year wait for a Freestyle medal.

And the first seeds of that dream would be sowed in Belgrade through Harutyunuan and Tevanyan.

“Our boys prepare very well,” Harutyunyan says. “Malkhas is a very knowledgeable and hardworking athlete. I believe that he can become the world champion this year. Artur is the pride of our nation and we all take an example. He has proved very tirelessly that he is the best and I am sure that he will prove himself the champion.”