#WrestleSamokov

U20 World Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 5) -- The U20 World Championships will kick off in Samokov, Bulgaria from August 17 to 24, an eight-day tournament.

Around 650 are expected to compete in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman with Freestyle kicking off the tournament followed by Women's Wrestling. Greco-Roman will the World Championships on August 24.

The full schedule of the U20 World Championships can be found here.

The competition will be live on UWW+ and followed United World Wrestling on YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook.

Note: The entries are subject to change 72 hours before the draw of respective styles. For final draw, refer to UWW Arena.

UWW

Freestyle

57kg
Arman HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE)
Caio DUARTE ARON (BRA)
Esad BOZALI (BUL)
Chengtao WANG (CHN)
Nika ZANGALADZE (GEO)
Karoly BARATH (HUN)
Sumit MALIK (IND)
Arshia HADDADI (IRI)
Riccardo BONANNO (ITA)
Irie JACKSON (JAM)
Rin SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ)
Baiaman KERIMBEKOV (KGZ)
Inseong BAK (KOR)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Ion BULGARU (MDA)
Hayden ANCHETA (PHI)
Ethan RIVERA (PUR)
Nurettin KAPAL (TUR)
Mykola BRATOV (UKR)
Anthony KNOX (USA)
Herbert AKAPIAN (UWW)
Magomed OZDAMIROV (UWW)

61kg
Sargis BEGOYAN (ARM)
Farhad HAJIYEV (AZE)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Karson BROWN (CAN)
Anchao LU (CHN)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Saba GAMBASHIDZE (GEO)
Ajay KAPADE (IND)
Ahora KHATERI (IRI)
Pasquale LIUZZI (ITA)
Takuto OSEDO (JPN)
Allan ORALBEK (KAZ)
Askat TOKTOMATOV (KGZ)
Vasili LAZAREV (MDA)
Stefan STOJKOV (MKD)
Ivan OKSIUK (POL)
Omar AYOUB (PUR)
Sandro HUNGERBUEHLER (SUI)
Robert MESZAROS (SVK)
Haci ZADE (TUR)
Andrii SHOKALIUK (UKR)
Marcus BLAZE (USA)
Adlan SAITIEV (UWW)
Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (UWW)
Abdulloh KHABIBULLAEV (UZB)

65kg
Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM)
Agha GASIMOV (AZE)
Denis NAIM (BUL)
Khalin RADEV (CAN)
Duxi GANG (CHN)
Janar LIPS (EST)
Lazare GUJARAIDZE (GEO)
Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)
Mozes LASZLO (HUN)
ASHWANI (IND)
Aliasghar TATHASHTIKEH (IRI)
Alessandro NINI (ITA)
Reiji UCHIDA (JPN)
Yeraly ZHENISSOV (KAZ)
Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ)
Ion BERGHI (MDA)
Janchivdorj TUVDUU (MGL)
Kaige BROWN (NZL)
Benjamin BOEJTHE (ROU)
Samilj DADAJEV (SRB)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Viktor BOROHAN (UKR)
Luke STANICH (USA)
Amal DZHANDUBAEV (UWW)
Sanjarbek RUSTAMBEKOV (UZB)

70kg
Artavazd HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Kade BROWN (CAN)
Tao WEI (CHN)
Tristan FORSMAN MENDEZ (CRC)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
SAGAR (IND)
Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI)
Daniele GUBBIOTTI (ITA)
Kairi ITO (JPN)
Sungkar SEIDAKHMET (KAZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Oleg KNISEVSKIJ (LTU)
Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)
Gabriel SANCHEZ (MEX)
Dominik JAGUSZ (POL)
Eduard LENARD (ROU)
Umut USLU (TUR)
Prokip KRALIA (UKR)
PJ DUKE (USA)
Islam KAZHAROV (UWW)

74kg
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Stiliyan DZHOROV (BUL)
Nicholas HOOPER (CAN)
Tao SHEN (CHN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Saba KOBAKHIDZE (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Parvinder SINGH (IND)
Mahdi MAMIVAND (IRI)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ)
Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Titas PIJORAITIS (LTU)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Andrew BARBOSA (MEX)
Tolui MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Vatan ANNAORAZOV (TKM)
Aslan OZTURK (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)
Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)
Aliaksandr VIARBITSKI (UWW)
Ismail KHANIEV (UWW)
Umarkhon MUYDINOV (UZB)

79kg
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Muradkhan OMAROV (AZE)
Leandro ARAUJO (BRA)
Ivan ANDONOV (BUL)
Loki BIGRAS (CAN)
Bolati NA ERTAI (CHN)
David KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Tristan ALEKSANDROV (EST)
Davit TCHETCHELASHVILI (GEO)
Marat KARDANOV (GER)
Avraam MOUSTOPOULOS (GRE)
AMIT (IND)
Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI)
Daniel SIMONIAN (ISR)
Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN)
Yerkhan ABIL (KAZ)
Maksat TABYLDYEV (KGZ)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Gan BAATARKHUU (MGL)
Antoni MAJCHRZAK (POL)
David TARTAN (ROU)
Alp Arslan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Suleyman SANLI (TUR)
Bohdan OLEKSIIENKO (UKR)
William HENCKEL (USA)
Muslim MAKHMUDAU (UWW)
Said SAIDULOV (UWW)

86kg
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Tabriz BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Grigor CHERNAKOV (BUL)
Rohit BAL (CAN)
Yuanchong YANG (CHN)
Ali UMKHADJIEV (FRA)
Dachi PAPINASHVILI (GEO)
Panagiotis POLYCHRONIDIS (GRE)
Mukul DAHIYA (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Tomer DROZHNIAK (ISR)
Ryogo ASANO (JPN)
Kassymzhomart ALIN (KAZ)
Elnur AKYBAEV (KGZ)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Nick SCHERRER (SUI)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR)
Pavlo VASKOVSKYI (UKR)
Maxwell MCENELLY (USA)
Bozigit ISLAMGEREEV (UWW)

92kg
Narek IKILIKYAN (ARM)
Anar JAFARLI (AZE)
Nikola STEFANOV (BUL)
Michealjeet Singh GREWAL (CAN)
Zixu YUAN (CHN)
Teimuraz KOCHKIANI (GEO)
Grigorios SARIDIS (GRE)
Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN)
SACHIN (IND)
Toohid NOORY (IRI)
Sorato KANAZAWA (JPN)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Serghei VIZII (MDA)
Omer MEMEDI (MKD)
Orazmuhammet HOJALYYEV (TKM)
Hamza KUCUK (TUR)
Yehor HOROKH (UKR)
Connor MIRASOLA (USA)
Aliaksei KULAKOU (UWW)
Gadzhimurad GADZHIBATYROV (UWW)
Sherzod POYONOV (UZB)

97kg
Ravan MUSAYEV (AZE)
Andriyan VALKANOV (BUL)
Tejvir Singh DHINSA (CAN)
Jiawei LI (CHN)
Aabdelrahman SHEYATAN (EGY)
Ashab DADAEV (FRA)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Peter ZSIVNOVSZKI (HUN)
VISHAL (IND)
Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI)
Noah LEIBOWITZ (JPN)
Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ)
Aitenir MAKSATOV (KGZ)
Otgonbayar LUVSANDORJ (MGL)
Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR)
Kostiantyn ZADOIANCHUK (UKR)
Justin RADEMACHER (USA)
Aliaksei KHADUNOU (UWW)
Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW)

125kg
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Dian MANEV (BUL)
Chanjot KANG (CAN)
Ruijie LI (CHN)
Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Jaspoorn SINGH (IND)
Abolfazl NEZHAD (IRI)
Hosei FUJITA (JPN)
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
Zhargalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Baejoon JANG (KOR)
Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL)
Sertac AKSOY (TUR)
Ivan MYROSHNYCHENKO (UKR)
Cole MIRASOLA (USA)
Inal GAGLOEV (UWW)

Sakura ONISHI (JPN)Defending and senior Asian champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN) will be in Samokov at 59kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Kamryn MASON (CAN)
Na HU (CHN)
Juliette LESCURE (FRA)
Josephine WRENSCH (GER)
Laura FATH (HUN)
SHRUTI (IND)
Rinka OGAWA (JPN)
Meiramgul AKHMETZHAN (KAZ)
Dilnaz ABDYKADYROVA (KGZ)
Lonisa REKA (KOS)
Adriana DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Olivia VAN KLEUNEN (NED)
Anna YATSKEVYCH (POL)
Reka HEGEDUS (SVK)
Songul KAVAK (TUR)
Diana RYSOVA (UKR)
Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)
Sviatlana KATENKA (UWW)
Violetta BIRIUKOVA (UWW)
Nilufar NURMUKHAMMADOVA (UZB)

53kg
Nikol ALEKSANDROVA (BUL)
Brooklyn GLASGOW (CAN)
Tianyu SUN (CHN)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
SAARIKA (IND)
Angela CRAPIO CASAROLA (ITA)
Natsumi MASUDA (JPN)
Dorentina NEZAJ (KOS)
Ilona VALCHUK (POL)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Ya Hsin CHEN (TPE)
Sevval CAYIR (TUR)
Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR)
Abigale COOPER (USA)
Ekaterina CHIKANOVA (UWW)
Kseniya KOSTSENICH (UWW)

55kg
Nesrin SYULEYMANOVA (BUL)
Madisyn GROF (CAN)
Jing HONG (CHN)
Pau GIMENO FRANCO (ESP)
Lilya COHEN (FRA)
Evdoxia PAPADOPOULOU (GRE)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
REENA (IND)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
So TSUTSUI (JPN)
Aliana MAKHAMBETOVA (KAZ)
Khaliun BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Alexandra VOICULESCU (ROU)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Diana KOTVYTSKA (UKR)
Everest LEYDECKER (USA)
Kira SOLOBCHUK (UWW)

57kg
Agnia KRAKOVSKA (CAN)
RIXIWANGMU (CHN)
Romaissa EL KHARROUBI (FRA)
Anna KOEBLO (HUN)
TAPSYA (IND)
Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN)
Anna STRATAN (KAZ)
Eunso CHO (KOR)
Inna ALIMOVA (LTU)
Csilla VAN OS (NED)
Felicitas DOMAJEVA (NOR)
Tindra DALMYR (SWE)
Busra CENGIZ (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Carissa QURESHI (USA)
Darya ILYASEVICH (UWW)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (UWW)
Sandugash DJENBAEVA (UZB)

59kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Viktoria BOYNOVA (BUL)
Ella FINDING (CAN)
Yifan ZHU (CHN)
Rahma BEDIWY (EGY)
Rosa MOLINA (ESP)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
NEHA (IND)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Anel SHOKAYEVA (KAZ)
Anna TIELIEGINA (LTU)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Erdenebolor LKHAGVASUREN (MGL)
Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE)
Kai Yi LI (TPE)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Mariia MIZIURKO (UKR)
Aubre KRAZER (USA)
Elena KUROVA (UWW)
Marta HETMANAVA (UWW)

62kg
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Ivena BLIZNAKOVA (BUL)
Annika FINES (CAN)
YANGZHEN (CHN)
Nella HONKANIEMI (FIN)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Mairi MANI (GRE)
ANJLI (IND)
Shirin TAKEMOTO (JPN)
Aidana SHORAYEVA (KAZ)
Gabriela RUDOI (MDA)
Neevis RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Tzu Ling WU (TPE)
Busra EFE (TUR)
Anna KARBOVSKA (UKR)
Haylie JAFFEE (USA)
Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (UWW)
Karyna FISHCHUK (UWW)
Nigina SABIROVA (UZB)

65kg
Mackenzie CAYER (CAN)
Zaixue RUI (CHN)
Mouda HAMDOUN (EGY)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
Mansi BHADANA (IND)
Momoko KITADE (JPN)
Kyzzhibek ZHARKYNBAYEVA (KAZ)
Asema ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Narkhajid NYAMSUREN (MGL)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Saga SVENSSON (SWE)
Kang Yu CHIANG (TPE)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Iryna BORYSIUK (UKR)
Daniella NUGENT (USA)
Aliautsina SHKURATAVA (UWW)
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (UWW)
Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB)

68kg
Joseth MAVUNGU (ANG)
Eduarda RODRIGUES BATISTA (BRA)
Ilinka STEFANOVA (BUL)
Lene MCCRACKIN (CAN)
Wenjin QIU (CHN)
Laura KOEHLER (GER)
Maja MUNK (HUN)
SRISHTI (IND)
Ray HOSHINO (JPN)
Sabina TOREY (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Yeonwoo SONG (KOR)
Lorena DURAJ (KOS)
Odzaya ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Dominika POCHOWSKA (POL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK)
Sheng Fang CAI (TPE)
Ayse ERKAN (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)
Jordyn FOUSE (USA)
Liliana KAZMINA (UWW)

72kg
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Emili APOSTOLOVA (BUL)
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Petra MUELLER (HUN)
KAJAL (IND)
Ai SAKAI (JPN)
Meiramgul MAKSOT (KAZ)
Kaiyrkul SHARSHEBAEVA (KGZ)
Auguste GENDVILAITE (LTU)
Karolina JAWORSKA (POL)
Elvira ERSSON (SWE)
Haticenur SARI (TUR)
Daria KONSTANTYNOVA (UKR)
Jasmine ROBINSON (USA)
Viktoryia ALISEYENKA (UWW)
Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW)

76kg
Rupinder JOHAL (CAN)
Cancan LIU (CHN)

Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
PRIYA (IND)
Ayano MORO (JPN)
Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ)
Aizharkyn ZHANYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Tuvshinjargal TARAV (MGL)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR)
Naomi SIMON (USA)
Diana TITOVA (UWW)
Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB)

Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW)Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW), the 63kg world U20 champion, will wrestle at 67kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Armen GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)
Yordan TOPALOV (BUL)
Huoying SHI (CHN)
Filip BARTOSIK (CZE)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Lenny WOERNER (GER)
Anil MOR (IND)
Payam AHMADI (IRI)
Daisuke MORISHITA (JPN)
Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ)
Omur YNTYMAK UULU (KGZ)
Abdallah DAHMANI (MAR)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Raducu BEDRIAGA (ROU)
Nuryagdy DOVRANOV (TKM)
Mehmet SARP (TUR)
Nazarii BABINSKYI (UKR)
Caleb NOBLE (USA)
Ivan SOLOMIN (UWW)
Rasim IBRAHIMAU (UWW)
Jonpulat TULKINBOEV (UZB)

60kg
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)
Pedro DE SOUZA (BRA)
Kristin PETROV (BUL)
Augusto VARGAS (CHI)
Yunlong HU (CHN)
Noa LJUBIC (CRO)
Ahmed SHABAN (EGY)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
SURAJ (IND)
Mohammadamin ABDEVALI (IRI)
Takuma NAKASHIMA (JPN)
Salamat MURATULY (KAZ)
Kubanych ARINOV (KGZ)
Sorin COSTIN (MDA)
Kacper SOBCZYK (POL)
Dragos DRAGA (ROU)
Adam SILVERIN (SWE)
Husniddin ULUGBEKOV (TKM)
Omer ALTAS (TUR)
Maksut SULTANOV (UKR)
Isaiah CORTEZ (USA)
Danila CHARAPENKA (UWW)
Papik DZHAVADIAN (UWW)
Khurshidbek NORMUKHAMMADOV (UZB)

63kg
Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Hao YANG (CHN)
Clisman CARRACEDO (ECU)
Al Bara CHOPALAEV (EST)
Tsotne BUKIA (GEO)
Lukas BENZING (GER)
Bende OLASZ (HUN)
GAURAV (IND)
Javad ABOUTALEBI (IRI)
Manato NAKAMURA (JPN)
Damir IBRASHOV (KAZ)
Emirlan DUISHENALIEV (KGZ)
Dumitru RAPESCO (MDA)
Ilias LAAOUINA (NED)
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
William EKEROT (SWE)
Murat ARIKOGLU (TUR)
Vadym MATROS (UKR)
Landon DRURY (USA)
Igor PUNCHENKO (UWW)
Yauheni SHVED (UWW)
Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)

67kg
Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM)
Isa BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Lucas MARCIEL DA SILVA (BRA)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Zhaoyan LIU (CHN)
Martin CICHY (CZE)
Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY)
Ilian DOUBACH (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Kevin KARL (GER)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
ANUJ (IND)
Gholamreza ABDOVALI (IRI)
Takaku SUZUKI (JPN)
Alibek TURLYGAZY (KAZ)
Zhantoro MIRZALIEV (KGZ)
Mingun JEONG (KOR)
Vlad DANALACHI (MDA)
Jakub SUCHECKI (POL)
Pavel ALEXE (ROU)
Dejan BERKEC (SRB)
Saya BRUNNER (SUI)
Abdullah KESKIN (TUR)
Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)
Otto BLACK (USA)
Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW)
Ihar ZVARYKIN (UWW)
Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB)

72kg
Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM)
Seymur GASIMOV (AZE)
Sergey STOEV (BUL)
Xin CHEN (CHN)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Shaaban IBRAHIM (EGY)
Oliver PADA (FIN)
Aleksandre RUSITASHVILI (GEO)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Bendeguz FELKAI (HUN)
VINIT (IND)
Ahmadreza MOHAMADIAN (IRI)
Timur NADORGIN (ISR)
Daichi TSUTSUMI (JPN)
Yussuf ASHRAPOV (KAZ)
Kutman TEMIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Vladimir PASCARI (MDA)
Jorge GOMEZ (MEX)
Hubert SIDORUK (POL)
Ruben STRAAKEVED (SWE)
Ibrahim OZDEMIR (TUR)
Anatolii PASNAK (UKR)
Joel ADAMS (USA)
Rabil ASKEROV (UWW)
Ahmad KODIROV (UZB)

77kg
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Azis ATANASOV (BUL)
Renheng CEN (CHN)
Miro LEINONEN (FIN)
Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO)
Dominik BOTOS (HUN)
AMAN (IND)
Ahoura BOUVEIRI PIANI (IRI)
Ruslan NESTERENKO (ISR)
Naoki KADODE (JPN)
Akzhan YKYLASSOV (KAZ)
Raatbek PAIAZBEKOV (KGZ)
Constantin TASCA (MDA)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Yusuf TOSUN (TUR)
Petro SHAFRANSKYI (UKR)
Leister BOWLING (USA)
Kiryl VALEUSKI (UWW)
Zaur BESLEKOEV (UWW)
Amirshoh VAHOBOV (UZB)

82kg
Martik PETROSYAN (ARM)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL)
Shengsong WANG (CHN)
Mihael LUKAC (CRO)
Santeri KARPPINEN (FIN)
Anri DAVITADZE (GEO)
Dominic ARNOLD (GER)
Emmanouil NIKOLAIDIS (GRE)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
PRINCE (IND)
Hamed AZARSHAB (IRI)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ)
Yrisbek KALYEV (KGZ)
Oskar LUBERA (POL)
Antal VAMOS (SRB)
Omer ILDES (TUR)
Kyrylo SHNYROV (UKR)
Arvin KHOSRAVY (USA)
Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW)
Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB)

87kg
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Paul MAIER (AUT)
Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE)
Petyo ANGELOV (BUL)
Tianming ZHANG (CHN)
Antonio LUKAC (CRO)
Josef CERNY (CZE)
Elias LYYSKI (FIN)
Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
ROHIT (IND)
Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Itzhak NEMSADZE (ISR)
Isshin ONITSUKA (JPN)
Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ)
Adilet KENZHEBEKOV (KGZ)
Martin LJOSAAK (NOR)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Gabriel STAN (ROU)
Branko DUKIC (SRB)
Yasin CAKIR (TUR)
Pavlo TORIANYK (UKR)
Nicholas NOSLER (USA)
Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (UWW)

97kg
Grisha VOSKANYAN (ARM)
Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE)
Affan SMAJIC (BIH)
Yikai KAN (CHN)
Andrej RODIN (CRO)
Gor AYVAZYAN (GEO)
Darius KIEFER (GER)
Dimitrios PAPPAS (GRE)
Vendel VITAI (HUN)
NAMAN (IND)
Hadi SEYDI AVENDI (IRI)
Ryosei KATAMATSU (JPN)
Nurassyl AMANALY (KAZ)
Salakhidin AKNAZAROV (KGZ)
Jaeno CHOI (KOR)
Sebastian WARCHOL (POL)
Emir BOZBAG (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)
Soren HERZOG (USA)
Ilia KOMAROV (UWW)
Pavel SAVITSKI (UWW)
Amirkhon BERDIKULOV (UZB)

130kg
Davit BAGHRAMYAN (ARM)
Leonhard JUNGER (AUT)
Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE)
Yeersheng YEERGEN (CHN)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Dionysios ZOUGRIS (GRE)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Uttam RANA (IND)
Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)
Kosei MIYAKE (JPN)
Kuanysh AMANGELDI (KAZ)
Talasbek BOOBEKOV (KGZ)
Seunggyu MIN (KOR)
Mateusz BIENCZAK (POL)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)
Shilo JONES (USA)
Ali ILIASOV (UWW)
Viachaslau FEDARYNA (UWW)

#wrestlebishkek

Sharshenbekov cruises to 3rd straight Asian gold; Japanese pair stuns Iranians

By Ken Marantz

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 16) -- Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) also had to contend with a Japanese opponent in the final but never came close to suffering the same fate as his famous compatriot. A pair of Iranians were not so fortunate.

Sharshenbekov achieved a three-peat of Asian Championships titles with an 11-0 victory over Kaito INABA (JPN) in the Greco 60kg final on Tuesday in Bishkek, as the host nation ended a well-attended and organized tournament with four golds overall.

"First of all, I dedicate this victory to all the fans, coaches, and family," Sharshenbekov said. "This is not just my victory, it belongs to everyone. I really wanted to give the joy of victory to my country wrestling at home."

Shingo HARADA (JPN) at 72kg and teenager Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) at 82kg won over the hearts of the crowd with stunning victories over Iranian opponents, which they capped by donning traditional Kyrgyz caps as part of their victory celebrations.

Iran, which put four wrestlers into the final, won the other golds at stake, with former world champion and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) completely dominating at 97kg, and young Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) winning his first Asian title at 67kg.

Iran won four golds overall and easily won the team title for the third straight year with 200 points. Kyrgyzstan, with one champion, finished second with 144, just two points ahead of third-place Japan and its three gold medalists.

Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) celebrates after winning the 60kg gold medal in Bishkek. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Sharshebekov thrilled a home crowd still buzzing from the loss the previous night in the 77kg final by national hero Akzhol MAKHMODOV (KGZ) as both wrestlers begin their final preparations for a run at elusive gold medals at the Paris Olympics.

The defending champion was taken into the second period for the first time in four matches on the day, but the outcome was still the same as he fended off a determined but overmatched Inaba.

Sharshenbekov got the scoring started by limp-arming out of a whizzer for a takedown, to which a fleeing point was tacked on. That became significant, as it put Sharshenbekov on top of par terre, from which he scored a 2-point throw. He added a driving takedown to take a 7-0 lead into the second period.

Inaba, desperate for points as the clock winded down, secured a front headlock from standing, but Sharshenbekov showed what separates the best from the rest when he quickly squirmed out and secured a bear hug himself, then slammed Inaba down for 4 to end the match with 32 seconds left.

It was a testament to Sharshenbekov's high-tempo style that he was not assessed a passivity point in the second period, as would typically be the case for a wrestler nursing a lead.

"He built up a lead, but I thought in terms of response that it was still within a range in which I could catch up," Inaba said. "In the end, I lost by technical [superiority]. There are still many areas where I am lacking and need to improve on."

Inaba, who was seventh at the 2023 world U23, earned the trip to Bishkek by winning his first national title last December in the absence of Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN), one of his training partners in the group of current and past Nippon Sports Science University wrestlers.

Fumita, the losing finalist to Sharshenbekov at last year's World Championships, opted to skip the Asian Championships as he preps for a potential rematch in Paris.

Sharshenbekov also earned his fifth Asian medal overall, having lost in the 2018 final to Shota TANOKURA (JPN) and again in 2020 to Fumita. Shashenbekov also has world silver medals from 2019 and 2021.

"It’s been my fourth time wrestling with a Japanese wrestler, they’re very strong," Sharshenbekov said. "There are no weak wrestlers there, everyone is world-level strong."

Asked about competing in the wake of Makhmudov's shocking loss in the 77kg final the day before to Nao KUSAKA (JPN), Sharshenbekov said it is just part of the sport.

"I think maybe Akzhol was sick or something, only God knows the reason," he said. "This is a big sport, it is impossible to never lose. Sometimes you win, another day you lose. I believe fans shall support him at these kinds of moments. Sometimes athletes can lose. With God’s help, I think he will show his best at the Olympics."

Shingo HARADA (JPN)Shingo HARADA (JPN) donned a traditional Kyrgyz hat during his celebration after winning the 72kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 72kg, the unheralded Harada rallied from a five-point deficit to defeat 2019 world U20 bronze medalist Mohammadreza ROSTAMI (IRI) 9-5 for an unlikely gold.

Rostami, getting the first chance at par terre, used a front headlock for a pair of rolls to go up 5- 0, although Harada delivered a psychological hit when he rolled Rostami with a whizzer for 2 with two seconds left in the first period.

Harada then went ahead on criteria 5-5 when, on top in par terre, he missed a reverse body lift, but was successful with a second attempt. A second exposure was waved off on challenge because his hands went to the legs.

But Rostami had little in the tank and it was Harada who picked up points, padding his lead with a takedown and a tilt.

"I didn't expect it, but it seemed that he was running out of steam," Harada said. "I thought I had probably put in more time training."

Harada was not a totally unknown quantity, having opened eyes by making the semifinals at last year's World Championships in Belgrade and eventually finishing a commendable fifth. He said he takes something away with each overseas outing.

"I always train with Japanese, so there are actions and dynamic movements that I can't anticipate from people from overseas," Harada said. "You don't see them very much in Japan, so it is a learning experience."

After his victory, Harada was handed a Japanese flag as well as an "ak-kalpak," the elongated wool Kyrgyz hat, which he put on for his victory lap to the delight of the crowd.

"I also fought against a Kyrgyz wrestler [in the quarterfinals], but I was happy because in the end they still supported me," Harada said.

Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) scores upon Rasoul GARMSIRI (IRI) in the 82kg final during the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari) 

The 17-year-old Yoshida's remarkable accomplishment at 82kg came as he was making his international senior debut as the first male high schooler to represent Japan at the Asian Championships since 1989, and the first-ever in Greco.

The reigning world U17 champion, Yoshida looked like a seasoned pro by combining power, technique and composure in toppling Rasoul GARMSIRI (IRI) 9-0 in the final, blissfully unaware his opponent was the 2022 champion.

"Last year I won the U17, so I had the experience of being in a final and the atmosphere of the venue," Yoshida said. "I wasn't very nervous and I was able to stay relaxed."

Yoshida got a bit of a break in the first period when he was reversed while in par terre, but Garmsiri was instead tagged with a 2-point leg-blocking penalty. Leading 3-0 in the second period, it was Yoshida who was the aggressor, and he scored 4 with a reverse body lock throw. He then stopped a front headlock roll attempt for 2 to end the match at 5:31.

"I was the challenger and I didn't know anything about my opponent," Yoshida said. "When I heard he was the champion from two years ago, I was surprised."

Yoshida, who won the national high school title at freestyle 80kg in his most recent tournament before coming to Bishkek, said Kusaka's momentous victory over Makhmudov inspired him.

The two share a special relationship beyond being teammates in Bishkek -- Yoshida is currently a student at Kusaka's alma mater of Takamatsu Kita High School in western Japan.

"Yesterday, my 'senpai' Kusaka won the title by beating Makhmudov, and I thought he was so cool," Yoshida said. He added that roommates Harada and Inaba encouraged him. "Even though I am a high school student, my elder teammates were saying 'you're gonna win it.' That made me determined to win the championship."

In restoring some pride for Iran after the two defeats, Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) showed the might of the top tier of wrestlers from the Middle East powerhouse when he overwhelmed Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) 9-0 in the 97kg final.

Saravi, a world bronze medalist the past two years after winning the gold in 2021, put together a pair of gut wrenches from par terre, then executed a takedown-roll combination to put away 2022 world U20 silver medalist Matsiyev in just under two minutes.

Saravi has now medaled in 16 consecutive international tournaments dating back to 2019, all of which ended with victories -- 11 golds and five bronzes. His most recent triumphs include last October's Asian Games and the Yasar Dogu tournament in Turkiye in March.

Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI)Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) defeated Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) in the 67kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Earlier, 2022 world U20 champion Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) denied the host country a gold when he edged Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) 3-1 in the 67kg final.

The 21-year-old Esmaeili Leivesi held out while on the bottom of par terre in the first period, then scored 2 in the second period with a good second effort when he was on top.

With the silver, Beishekeev improved on the bronze he won last year. He was also a bronze medalist at the Asian Games.

Liguo CAO (CHN)World bronze medalist Liguo CAO (CHN) earned a bronze medal at 60kg at the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

China chalks up 4 bronze medals

China came away with four bronze medals, including one captured by Houzhi HAO (CHN) at 97kg when he defeated Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) 5-3 and prevented him from joining his more famous younger brother Akzhol as a medalist in their home tournament.

Hao gave up a passivity point and roll in the first period, but went ahead with a roll of his own when put on top in par terre. He added a late counter takedown to win 5-3.

Liguo CAO (CHN) got the ball rolling for China when he added to his expansive collection of bronze medals with a 7-3 victory over Galym KABDUNASSAROV (KAZ) at 60kg. Cao, a world bronze medalist, scored six points in the second period to secure his second straight Asian bronze.

At 67kg, Lei LI (CHN) spoiled Turkmenistan's hopes of a first Asian medal since 2018, scoring a stepout and takedown in the second period for a 4-2 victory over a fatigued Rovshen ATDAYEV (TKM).

Ji LENG (CHN) earned the first major medal of his career when he got a roll from par terre and a stepout in the second period for a 4-2 victory over Adilkhan SATAYEV (KAZ) for a 72kg bronze.

Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), the silver medalist at 60kg last year, moved up to two divisions and took the other bronze at 67kg by edging Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ) 1-1 on last-point criteria after both wrestlers received a passivity point.

Chung had to endure a second turn on the bottom of par terre a second time, but Amanbek was unable to take advantage.

Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI), the lone Iranian to fail to make the final, assured he would not leave empty-handed when he stormed to a 9-0 victory at 60kg over former champion Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB).

Dehbozorgi, the world U20 bronze medalist, put the Uzbek away in his first chance at par terre, scoring a roll, a 4-point throw and a second roll to end it in just under two minutes.

At 72kg, Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) struck with a slick 2-point throw soon after the opening whistle and made that hold up in a 2-2 criteria victory over Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ), who was denied a third straight Asian bronze. Nurlanbekov had a chance in the second period, but his throw from par terre yielded only a stepout point.

Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ) added a bronze medal to the home team's tally that made the difference in the team race with a 3-1 victory over Sejin YANG (KOR) at 82kg, scoring with a somewhat unorthodox front roll off par terre in the first period.

Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) posted a nearly identical victory over Rohit DAHIYA (IND) for the other 82kg bronze, getting a more conventional gut wrench to also win 3-1.

Jeongyul KWON (KOR) won the other bronze at 97kg, scoring a 2-point exposure in the first period and holding on for a 2-2 victory on big-point criteria over Badamdorj BALTMUNKH (MGL). Mongolia has yet to win an Asian medal in Greco.

df

Day 5 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Kaito INABA (JPN) by TF, 11-0, 5:28

BRONZE: Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI) df. Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) by TF, 9-0, 1:57
BRONZE: Liguo CAO (CHN) df. Galym KABDUNASSAROV (KAZ), 7-3

67kg (15 entries)
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) df. Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ), 3-1

BRONZE: Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) df. Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ) 1-1
BRONZE: Lei LI (CHN) df. Rovshen ATDAYEV (TKM), 4-2

72kg (11 entries)
GOLD: Shingo HARADA (JPN) df. Mohammadreza ROSTAMI (IRI), 9-5

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ) 2-2
BRONZE: Ji LENG (CHN) df. Adilkhan SATAYEV (KAZ), 4-2

82kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Rasoul GARMSIRI (IRI) by TF, 9-0, 5:31

BRONZE: Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) df. Rohit DAHIYA (IND), 3-1
BRONZE: Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ) df. Sejin YANG (KOR), 3-1

97kg (10 entries)
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) by TF, 9-0, 1:59

BRONZE: Jeongyul KWON (KOR) df. Badamdorj BALTMUNKH (MGL), 2-2
BRONZE: Houzhi HAO (CHN) df. Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) 5-3