#WrestleTirana

U23 World Championships entries released

By Eric Olanowski

TIRANA, Albania (October 9) — The final World Championship of the season is set to kick off October 23-29 in Albania's capital city, Tirana, featuring 587 wrestlers from 58 countries.

The entry field is highlighted by ten wrestlers aiming to defend their 2022 U23 world crowns. Freestyle and Greco-Roman will both feature four reigning gold medalists, while women's wrestling will have a pair of 2022 title holders.

The four biggest freestyle stars in action are Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN), Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI).

At 79kg, Gamkrelidze is the unquestionable favorite to win gold. The young Georgian is fresh off a runner-up finish at the Belgrade World Championships, where he went 4-1, falling to Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) in the final.

The crown holder at 86kg, Shirai will be chased by 2022 U23 world bronze-medal winners Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA) and Aaron BROOKS (USA).

Azarpira, who represented Iran at 92kg in Belgrade, will move up to 97kg for the U23 World Championships. He went 1-1 after stepping in for the injured Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) on short notice. His biggest challenger in Tirana will be Azerbaijan's U23 world bronze medalist Islam ILYASOV (AZE).

For Iran to maintain its stronghold on the super freestyle heavyweight class, Valadi will have to get past Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) for a second consecutive year.

On the Greco-Roman side of the competition, the four headliners are Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI), Danial SOHRABI (IRI), Istvan TAKACS (HUN), and Alex SZOKE (HUN).

At 63kg, Mohammadi will share the bracket with the man he defeated to win the 2022 U23 world gold, Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO).

Sohrabi won bronze at the Asian Games at 67kg after bumping up to 72kg for the World Championships. In Belgrade, Sohrabi won his first bout against Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) before falling on criteria against returning world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB).

Sohrabi will be at 67kg in Tirana with his most notable opponents being Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) and Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), the silver and bronze medalists, respectively, at the 2022 U23 World Championships.

Hungarian hammers Takacs and Szoke will try to defend their 87kg and 97kg titles, respectively.

Takacs' biggest threat will be Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL), a bronze medalist at last year's U23 World Championships.

For Szoke to win a second straight U23 world title, he'll likely have to defeat U23 world bronze medalist NITESH (UWW).

In women's wrestling, Nesrin BAS (TUR) and Amit ELOR (USA) will be looking to add another U23 world title to their resumes.

Bas, who represented Turkiye at 72kg at the World Championships, will return to 68kg for the U23 World Championships. Bas was eliminated from the Belgrade competition after falling to '22 senior world champions Elor and Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN).

In Albania, Bas will have a shot at becoming the first Turkish woman to win a pair of U23 world titles. She'll have to get through Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR), a bronze medalist a year ago.

Elor, who just won her second senior world title, is on a quest to win her ninth overall world title since 2019. Thus far, she has two U17, three U20, two senior and a U23 world title.

Elor will share the 72kg bracket with Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL), the woman she defeated to win gold a year ago. 

Outside of the ten returning champions, here are the other 578 wrestlers who will be participating in the 2023 U23 World Championships:

GEOSenior world silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) will compete at 79kg, with hopes of repeating as U23 world champion. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (AIN)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Rahman IMANOV (AZE)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
Tatsuya TSUKAOKA (JPN)
Yerassyl MUKHTARULY (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Anton VLAS (MDA)
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Vasyl ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Jacob MORAN (PUR)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Khalil BARKOUTI (TUN)
Yusuf DEMIR (TUR)
Heorhii KAZANZHY (UKR)
Cooper FLYNN (USA)
SHUBHAM (UWW)

61kg
Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN)
Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN)
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE)
Kostadin GUTSEV (BUL)
Garette SAUNDERS (CAN)
Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO)
Shahdad KHOSRAVI (IRI)
Kaito MORITA (JPN)
Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Vasile MARCU (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Antonio MARGIOTTA (PHI)
Dylan SHAWVER (PUR)
Emre KURAL (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Julian CHLEBOVE (USA)
Akash DAHIYA (UWW)

65kg
Islam GUSEINOV (AIN)
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN)
Klevisi PRECI (ALB)
Andranik AVETISYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Jason LUNEAU (CAN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI)
Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Samuel ALVAREZ (PUR)
Frederik NORTJE (RSA)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Artem KRYVENKO (UKR)
Brock HARDY (USA)
Mohit KUMAR (UWW)

70kg
Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN)
Daniil AMELYANCHYK (AIN)
Tigran GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Ibragim VELIEV (BEL)
Stone LEWIS (CAN)
Matias MUNOZ (CHI)
Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Mohammad BAKHSHISHIRKOLAEI (IRI)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Rodion ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Mateusz LUSZCZYNSKI (POL)
Noah CASTILLO (PUR)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Farouk JELASSI (TUN)
Burak SININ (TUR)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR)
Douglas ZAPF (USA)
Abhimanyou ABHIMANYOU (UWW)

74kg
Imam GANISHOV (AIN)
Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (AIN)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Nikolay DIMITROV (BUL)
Patrik LEDER (CAN)
Nasser SAYED (EGY)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Stas WOLF (GER)
Christos CHRISTOFORIDIS (GRE)
Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Hikaru TAKATA (JPN)
Yerbarys SATYBALDY (KAZ)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Diego SANDOVAL (MEX)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Mohamed Ali ZORGUI (TUN)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
Keegan OTOOLE (USA)
NAVEEN (UWW)
Harry DUNO (VEN)

79kg
Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN)
Dzmitry DZENISENIA (AIN)
Menua YARIBEKYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Connor CHURCH (CAN)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Joona VUOTI (FIN)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Lucas KAHNT (GER)
Shoban YARI (IRI)
Raffaele MATRULLO (ITA)
Masaki SATO (JPN)
Shamsat TAIR (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Daniels BENDIKS (LAT)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Jose SANCHEZ (PUR)
Somonjon IKROMOV (TJK)
Okan TAHTACI (TUR)
Vladyslav BODORIAK (UKR)
Dustin PLOTT (USA)
Sagar JAGLAN (UWW)

86kg
Arslan BAGAEV (AIN)
Ilya KHAMTSOU (AIN)
Altin GANCI (ALB)
Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Owen MARTIN (CAN)
Charalampos CHOIRAS (CYP)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Ali MANSOURI (IRI)
Erzo ISAKOV (JOR)
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN)
Nurdaulet KUANYSHBAY (KAZ)
Sofiane PADIOU BELMIR (MAR)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Adam MODOSJAN (MKD)
Igor SZUCKI (POL)
Edward LESSING (RSA)
Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR)
Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR)
Aaron BROOKS (USA)
DEEPAK (UWW)

92kg
Alan BAGAEV (AIN)
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (AIN)
Arjan DANAJ (ALB)
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Samuel PEREIRA (CAN)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI)
Abdul ABUIDAIJ (JOR)
Satoshi MIURA (JPN)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Kanybek ABDULKHAIROV (KGZ)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Jairo RIVERA VAZQUEZ (PUR)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Jacob CARDENAS (USA)
Pruthviraj PATIL (UWW)

97kg
Sergei KOZYREV (AIN)
Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN)
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Thomas BARNS (AUS)
Aiden STEVENSON (CAN)
Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Hibiki ITO (JPN)
Yunus GAFUROV (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Oktay CIFTCI (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Isaac TRUMBLE (USA)
SAHIL (UWW)

125kg
Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN)
Aliaksei PARKHOMENKA (AIN)
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi VELEV (BUL)
Karanveer MAHIL (CAN)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Kai SHUTTO (JPN)
Omarkhan NADIROV (KAZ)
Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA)
Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)
Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA)
Anirudh KUMAR (UWW)

IRISeyed SOHRABI (IRI) will look to win a second straight 67kg U23 world title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Vladimir ZABEIVOROTA (AIN)
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Farid SADIKHLI (AZE)
Denis DEMIROV (BUL)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Mahdi AHADI (IRI)
Shoya ITO (JPN)
Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Leonid MOROZ (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Adem UZUN (TUR)
Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR)
Camden RUSSELL (USA)
Laishram MEITEI (UWW)

60kg
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Ergi UKU (ALB)
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Omid ARAMI (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Kosei TAKESHITA (JPN)
Aibek SABYRBEKOV (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Angel SEGURA (MEX)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Adrian ANTON (ROU)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)
Phillip MOOMEY (USA)
SUMIT (UWW)
Yonaiker MARTINEZ (VEN)

63kg
Rakhman TAVMURZAEV (AIN)
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Andi DYSHNIKU (ALB)
Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Chiezo MARUYAMA (JPN)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Jonas Urs MUELLER (SUI)
Ismail CULFA (TUR)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)
Jordan HAMDAN (USA)
PRAVESH (UWW)

67kg
Muslim IMADAEV (AIN)
Illia VALEUSKI (AIN)
Ardit ZENELI (ALB)
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Steve MOMILIA (ITA)
HARUTO YABE (JPN)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Ermek KANYBEK UULU (KGZ)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Alexandr GURALI (MDA)
Irving SALAZAR (MEX)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR)
Oleh KHALILOV (UKR)
Robert PEREZ (USA)
UMESH (UWW)

72kg
Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN)
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Joni KOMPPA (FIN)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Georgios SOTIRIADIS (GRE)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Amir Ali ABDI (IRI)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Tetsuto KANUKA (JPN)
Yeldos KAMELOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Mesfer ALSUBAIE (KSA)
Eimantas VILIMAS (LTU)
Alexis VARGAS (MEX)
Piotr STOLARCZYK (POL)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Miru Jerry OLSSON (SWE)
Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Justus SCOTT (USA)
ANIL (UWW)

77kg
Ismail BARAKHOEV (AIN)
Dzmitry NAVITSKI (AIN)
Ardit NDOJ (ALB)
Henrik GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Edvin KIN (EST)
Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI)
Shu YAMADA (JPN)
Omar SATAYEV (KAZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Hassan BARNAWI (KSA)
Aistis LIAUGMINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Jose SANCHEZ (PUR)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Simon BORKENHAGEN (SWE)
Omer DOGAN (TUR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)
Deepak PUNIA (UWW)

82kg
Aues GONIBOV (AIN)
Uladzislau SLABADZINSKI (AIN)
Kelsi NELAJ (ALB)
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Eljan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Otto KETONEN (FIN)
Saba MAMALADZE (GEO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Yasin YAZDI (IRI)
Daizo TANIZAKI (JPN)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Tyler EISCHENS (USA)
RAHUL (UWW)
Daniel BELLO (VEN)

87kg
Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN)
Vasili BUHLAK (AIN)
Julijan SHEHU (ALB)
Samvel SARGSYAN (ARM)
Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Ivan MANOV (BUL)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Alireza MOHAMMADIPIANI (IRI)
Kaito MIYAMOTO (JPN)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Christian ZEMP (SUI)
Hamza SERTCANLI (SWE)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Mykyta ALIEKSIEIEV (UKR)
Michael ALTOMER (USA)
Manoj KUMAR (UWW)

97kg
Artur ARZUMANIAN (AIN)
Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Vahid DADKHAH GHASEM (IRI)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Islam UMAYEV (KAZ)
Arkyt OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Roman BALCHIVSCHII (MDA)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Jakub ANTOSZEWSKI (POL)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Mustafa OLGUN (TUR)
Valentyn SHKLIARENKO (UKR)
Cade LAUTT (USA)
NITESH (UWW)
Juan DIAZ (VEN)

130kg
Mikhail LAPTEV (AIN)
Mikita KAVALSKI (AIN)
Razmik KURDYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Fekry EISSA (EGY)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Patrick NEUMAIER (GER)
Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ)
Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Kaleb REEVES (USA)
PARVESH (UWW)

TURNesrin BAS (TUR) is one of two returning champions in women's wrestling. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (AIN)
Anastasiya YANOTAVA (AIN)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Kelyn YOUNG (CAN)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Ana TORRES (ESP)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Umi ITO (JPN)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Ana PIRVU (ROU)
Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)
NEELAM (UWW)

53kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Viktoryia VOLK (AIN)
Esmeralda NELA (ALB)
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (FRA)
Mako OONO (JPN)
Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Katie GOMEZ (USA)
ISHIKA (UWW)

55kg
Venera NAFIKOVA (AIN)
Aryna MARTYNAVA (AIN)
Nazife TAIR (BUL)
Virginie KAZE GASCON (CAN)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Umi IMAI (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Nova BERGMAN (SWE)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Alisha HOWK (USA)
Neha SHARMA (UWW)

57kg
Mariia BUZAROVA (AIN)
Alesia HETMANAVA (AIN)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Mia FRIESEN (CAN)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Sara NATAMI (JPN)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ)
Angelika MYTKOWSKA (POL)
Karoline ORTIZ (PUR)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Xochitl MOTA PETTIS (USA)
REENA (UWW)

59kg
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN)
Nadzeya BULANAYA (AIN)
Michaela RANKIN (CAN)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN)
Guldana BEKESH (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Ramina MAMEDOVA (LAT)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Wiktoria KARWOWSKA (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Nichole MOORE (USA)
NITIKA (UWW)

62kg
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Yana TRETSIAK (AIN)
Kleona SHABANI (ALB)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Aleah Noelle NICKEL (CAN)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Morena VITA (ITA)
Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Ameyali JESSEL (MEX)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
Bhagyashree FAND (UWW)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

65kg
Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Kseniya TSIARENIA (AIN)
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Samantha ADAMS (CAN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Marta OJEDA NAVARRO (ESP)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Rin TERAMOTO (JPN)
Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Busra EFE (TUR)
Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR)
Macey KILTY (USA)
MONIKA (UWW)
Gilbery GARCIA (VEN)

68kg
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Alina SHAUCHUK (AIN)
Vanessa KEEFE (CAN)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Beibit SEIDUALY (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nour JELJELI (TUN)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Katerina LANGE (USA)
VARSHA (UWW)

72kg
Marina SUROVTSEVA (AIN)
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN)
Marziya SADIGOVA (AZE)
Nyla Raeleen BURGESS (CAN)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Misaki WACHI (JPN)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ)
Emilia CRECIUN (MDA)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Bukrenaz SERT (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)
Jyoti BERWAL (UWW)

76kg
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Vianne ROULEAU (CAN)
Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Inkara ZHANATAYEVA (KAZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Patrycja SLOMSKA (POL)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Anna BRAUN (SWE)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Kennedy BLADES (USA)
REETIKA (UWW)

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Azizli wins record fourth title, leads Azerbaijan's golden run

By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 29) -- In leading a golden night for Azerbaijan, Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) became the country's most successful wrestler on the world stage.

Azizli won his fourth consecutive world title at Greco 55kg, one of three golds won by Azerbaijan on the first night of finals at the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Tuesday in Tirana.

Azerbaijan also got golds from Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) at 63kg and Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) at 72kg, while Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) took the other Greco title at stake at 82kg to claim an elusive world gold after having previously settled for three bronzes.

In the 55kg final, Azizli defeated 2023 bronze medalist Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) for the fourth time in four career meetings, but this one was the closest as he won 1-1 on last-point criteria after each received a passivity point.

"I have met the Iran wrestler before and we know each other well," Azizli said. "That is why it was close. I have beaten him four times and but this time it was closer."

It was an ironic defeat for Dad Marz, who had been on the winning end of the same scoreline in his two previous matches. In their most recent encounter at the Budapest Ranking Series in June, Azizli had bested the Iranian 6-1.

By winning his fourth world title, the 32-year-old Azizli eclipsed the national record of three held by freestyle great Haji ALIYEV (AZE), who won golds in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Aliyev also has two Olympic medals, a prize that Azizli is unable to attain on the current Olympic program.

Looking ahead, Azizli said he would like to win his fifth world Greco gold, a milestone reached by 16 wrestlers, topped by the 12 of Russian legend Aleksandr KARELIN (RUS).

"I don't know what the future holds, but I would like to win five world gold medals," he said. "I will not be at the Europeans [next year], but I will try to win a fifth world title and finish my career."

In a battle of reigning continental champions, Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) took advantage of some impatience on the part of Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ), scoring twice by stopping throw attempts for a 6-1 victory in the 63kg final.

After keeping Asian champion Zharlykassyn from scoring from par terre in the first period, Mammadli, the European 60kg champion, went ahead by stuffing a back suplex attempt, adding a roll to go ahead 4-1.

When Zharlykassyn tried a front headlock throw at the edge, Mammadli pressed forward and sent him tumbling back for another 2 to put the match out of reach.

At 72kg, Ganizade kept the Azeri juggernaut going and improved on his silver medal from 2022 by dethroning defending champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) 3-2.

Ganizade had won a 7-7 nail-biter over Ghanem in the final at the 2023 European Championships, and Tuesday's clash was just as tense. Ganizade was put on the bottom of par terre in the first period, but grabbed Ghanem's head and stopped a roll attempt for a 2-point exposure.

Ghanem received a second passivity point in the second period to make it 2-2, but remained behind on criteria. Perhaps learning a lesson from the first period, he chose to remain standing instead of taking another shot at par terre.

In the end, he could not break down the defenses of Ganizade, who gained a third point when Ghanem unsuccessfully challenged for what he claimed was a grabbed singlet.

In the 82kg final, Geraei was not to be denied in his first chance at world gold, as he stormed to a 9-0 victory over a shell-shocked Erik SZILVASSY (HUN).

"After eight years, I finally got to experience the world finals," Geraei said. "I’m truly happy from the bottom of my heart because I could make my fans and family happy, especially my dear wife 
who stood by me in tough times and understood me, as well as my parents and all my fans.

"I'm grateful to them; they have always been there for me and supported me, and I dedicate this medal to them."

Geraei, normally a 77kg wrestler who was competing at the heaviest weight of his career, encountered no problems handling the extra bulk against Szilvassy, a winner of international tournaments this year in Zagreb and Budapest.

After a quick stepout, Geraei stopped an attempted throw by Szilvassy for a takedown, then transitioned immediately to a gut wrench. An unsuccessful challenge by the Hungary side padded Geraei's lead to 6-0 just a minute into the match.

Geraei, who finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics but missed the Paris Games due to a suspension, then completed a snap-down, go-behind takedown to finish the match in 1:35 and add the world gold to the bronzes he won at 71kg in 2017 and at 77kg in 2019 and 2021.

"I thought this competition would be really tough, but thank God it ended up being easy," Geraei said. "These past two or three years have been difficult for me, and due to certain circumstances, I couldn't participate in the Olympics and missed out on it. But I hope with this medal I won, I can pave my way to the [next] Olympics and achieve the best medal and my dream."

Serbia's Arsalan takes bronze in 30-point thriller

In the bronze-medal matches, Iranian-born Ali ARSALAN (SRB) picked up his third straight world medal, and he certainly earned it when he rallied to a wild 16-14 win over Hayk MELIKYAN (ARM) at 72kg.

In a thriller filled with big throws and slick counters, Arsalan fell behind 10-5 in the first period. But the 2021 world champion came back in the second with a pair of 4-pointers, the second with 12 seconds to go that was enough for the victory even after Melikyan reversed him for 2.

The other 72kg match was not as high-scoring but was just as entertaining, as Otar ABULADZE (GEO) connected on a pair of 4-point headlock hip throws to defeat Asian bronze medalist Ji LENG (CHN) 9-5 for his first major medal since winning a world cadet bronze in 2017.

Two-time European bronze medalist Denis MIHAI (ROU) added a world bronze by holding on to defeat Haifeng ZHANG (CHN) 8-5 at 55kg. Mihai scored two stepouts and two rolls from par terre for a 7-0 lead, then survived a second-period surge from the Chinese.

Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN), a silver medalist in 2021, picked up the other 55kg bronze after scoring six points in the first period and holding on for a 7-5 victory over European bronze medalist Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM).

At 63kg, Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) sent Abu AMAEV (BUL) flying all over the mat before he knew what hit him, throwing him four times with a front headlock for an 8-0 victory in 30 seconds. A challenge negated one throw but revised two others to 4-pointers to produce the same result.

Aslanyan, who defeated reigning champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) and newly crowned world U23 champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) before losing to Mammadli in the semifinals, had seen little international action since placing ninth at 67kg at the Tokyo Olympics. But now he has a world bronze to go with three European ones he won from 2018 to 2020.

Sadyk LALAEV (AIN), a European bronze medalist at 60kg, took home the other 63kg bronze without a fight as Stefan CLEMENT (FRA) was forced to default due to injury.

At 82kg, Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) prevented Azerbaijan from medaling in every weight class, denying two-time European U23 champion Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) a senior world bronze with a solid 8-1 victory.

Yilmaz, who normally competes at 77kg, started off with three stepouts before clinching the deal with a classic 4-point throw from par terre for his first major medal on any level.

European bronze medalist Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) gave Japanese teenager and senior Asian champion Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) a lesson on the big stage, rolling to a 10-2 victory for the other 82kg bronze.

Yoshida, the 2023 world U17 champion, got an opening takedown, but could offer little resistance when Bolkvadze got behind for a takedown and added a gut wrench. The Georgian then used an arm drag for another takedown, and two gut wrenches ended the match at 2:40.

Greco-Roman Results

55kg (16 entries)
GOLD: Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) df. Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), 1-1

BRONZE: Denis MIHAI (ROU) df. Haifeng ZHANG (CHN), 8-5
BRONZE: Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 7-5

63kg (21 entries)
GOLD: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ), 6-1

BRONZE: Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) df. Abu AMAEV (BUL) by TF, 8-0, :30
BRONZE: Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) df. Stefan CLEMENT (FRA) by Inj. Def.

72kg (28 entries)
GOLD: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 3-2

BRONZE: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) df. Hayk MELIKYAN (ARM), 16-14
BRONZE: Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. Ji LENG (CHN), 9-5

82kg (28 entries)
GOLD: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df. Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) by TF, 8-0, 1:35

BRONZE: Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) df. Gurban GURBANOV (AZE), 8-1
BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) by TF, 10-2, 2:40