#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships entry list

By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 6) -- The final World Championships of the season is here. The U23 World Championships will be staged in Spain's eastern coastal city of Pontevedra from October 17 to 23.

The field consists of 15 senior world medalists and includes eight senior world champions.

As is always the case, Japan is sending a strong women's contingent headed by Olympic and world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) along with fellow 2022 world champs, Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) and Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN).

Amit ELOR (USA), the recently crowned world champion in Belgrade, will be aiming to win her third world title of the year having already won the U20 and senior titles.

The Greco-Roman field also has former world champion as Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) leads his nation into the tournament. He won a bronze medal in Belgrade.

Iran will be led by the 2021 world champion at 130kg Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI). The team also has Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) and Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) among others.

The team will be keen on reinstating some of the pride for Iran which had a disastrous senior World Championships with no gold medals.

The freestyle competition will see strong teams entered by the USA, Iran, India, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) will look to defend his 61kg title. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Freestyle

57kg
Tadeu De DEUS (ANG)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Tofig ALIYEV (AZE)
Logan SLOAN (CAN)
Diego ZULUAGA CUEVAS (COL)
Adrian LOPEZ GOMEZ (ESP)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Aman SEHRAWAT (IND)
Ahmad MOHAMMADNEZHADJAVAN (IRI)
Toshiya ABE (JPN)
Daulet TEMIRZHANOV (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Demian LIUTCANOV (MDA)
Munkh BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Rodrigo GANEGODAGE (SRI)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Vitali ARUJAU (USA)

61kg
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Intigam VALIZADA (AZE)
Stilyan ILIEV (BUL)
Jason LUNEAU (CAN)
Elkin ESPANA SANTA (COL)
Yousef EISSA (EGY)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Akash DAHIYA (IND)
Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI)
Kodai OGAWA (JPN)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Matheesha SAMARADIVAKARA (SRI)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Aaron NAGAO (USA)

65kg
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Ivan BADAVROV (BUL)
Daniel COLES (CAN)
Felipe FERRUSOLA MILLA (ESP)
Said HOSSEINI (FIN)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Ross CONNELLY (GBR)
Gia UGRELIDZE (GEO)
Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Anuj KUMAR (IND)
Kian MAHMOUD (IRI)
Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Ganbayar NAMSRAI (MGL)
Samuel ALVAREZ (PUR)
Gunawardana KANKANAMLAGE (SRI)
Dominik LARITZ (SUI)
Gurbanmuhammet CHARYYEV (TKM)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
Cole MATTHEWS (USA)
Aseel AL MAKTARI (YEM)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN)
Jorge GATICA HINRICKSEN (CHI)
Ramon GERSAK PEREZ (ESP)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Parvinder NAIN (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Aliakbar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI)
Gianluca COLETTI (ITA)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Tugsjargal ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Waththa WADUGE (SRI)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Hojamuhammed IBRAGIMOV (TKM)
Omer CAYIR (TUR)
Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR)
Yahya THOMAS (USA)
Saddam ALHADA (YEM)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Dimitar ANGELOV (BUL)
Patrik LEDER (CAN)
Jhoan SERNA RODRIGUEZ (COL)
Mohamed EL KARCHOUCH (ESP)
Temuri BERUASHVILI (GEO)
Richard SCHROEDER (GER)
Christos CHRISTOFORIDIS (GRE)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Raul ZARBALIEV (ISR)
Luca FINIZIO (ITA)
Yuto FUKADA (JPN)
Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Alinur TAKIROV (KGZ)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Diego SANDOVAL (MEX)
Temuujin MENDBILEG (MGL)
Jean STE MARIE (MRI)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Palamure PALAMURE ARACHCHILAGE (SRI)
Atamyrat CHARLYYEV (TKM)
Ismet CIFTCI (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
David CARR (USA)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Oktay HASAN (BUL)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Zsombor NAGY (HUN)
CHANDERMOHAN (IND)
Sobhan YARI (IRI)
Ilan BONDAR (ISR)
Kosuke YAMAKURA (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Stanislav NOVAC (MDA)
Miguel ORNELAS (MEX)
Ernest DOROSZ (POL)
Tony NEGRON (PUR)
Divan ILANDARI PEDIGE (SRI)
Tanguy DARBELLAY (SUI)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Abdulvasi BALTA (TUR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Carter STAROCCI (USA)

86kg
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Hunter LEE (CAN)
Jaime GARCIA (ESP)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Cesar UBICO ESTRADA (GUA)
Jointy KUMAR (IND)
Sajjad GHOLAMI (IRI)
Chengiz SOLTANOV SOLTANLI (ISR)
Mattia NASELLO (ITA)
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN)
Maksat SATYBALDY (KAZ)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Cezary SADOWSKI (POL)
Jairo RIVERA (PUR)
Edward LESSING (RSA)
Emre CIFTCI (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Trent HIDLAY (USA)
Steven RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

92kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Ilia HRISTOV (BUL)
Tejvir BOAL (CAN)
Aimar ALZON (ESP)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Johannes MAYER (GER)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
Parveen KUMAR (IND)
Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Hikaru ABE (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Baisal KUBATOV (KGZ)
Osmans DZASEZEVS (LAT)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Machiel GROBLER (RSA)
Palliya GURUNNANSELAGE DON (SRI)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Jacob CARDENAS (USA)

97kg
Hovhannes MAGHAKYAN (ARM)
Thomas BARNS (AUS)
Islam ILYASOV (AZE)
Callum KNOX (CAN)
Riveri MTSITURI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Sahil AHLAWAT (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Hibiki ITO (JPN)
Yunus GAFUROV (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Mucahit CELIK (TUR)
Vasyl SOVA (UKR)
Tanner SLOAN (USA)

125kg
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Jackson SERNA (CAN)
Carlos ACEBRON (ESP)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Milan KORCSOG (HUN)
Anirudh KUMAR (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Lior ALTSHULER (ISR)
Kai SHUTTO (JPN)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR)
Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA)

Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI), a 2021 world champion, will lead the Iran Greco-Roman team. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
James CASTANO (ESP)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
LALIT (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Ken MATSUI (JPN)
Nurzat KABDYRAKHIMOV (KAZ)
Taalaibek BEISHENBEK UULU (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Abduvali RAHIMBAYEV (TKM)
Ahmet TASKINOGLU (TUR)
Mykola HAVRYCHKIN (UKR)
Camden RUSSELL (USA)

60kg
Tigran MINASYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Borislav KIRILOV (BUL)
Ronaldo SANCHEZ (COL)
Aser EBRO (ESP)
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Sumit DALAL (IND)
Omid ARAMI (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Kaito INABA (JPN)
Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Arslanbek ZAKIRBAYEV (TKM)
Jui HUANG (TPE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR)
Phillip MOOMEY (USA)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Ilia MUSTAKOV (BUL)
Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Andy JUAN (ESP)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
VINAY (IND)
Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Ryuto IKEDA (JPN)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Ermek KANYBEK UULU (KGZ)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)
Mason CARZINO HARTSHORN (USA)
Yonaiker MARTINEZ (VEN)

67kg
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Julian HORTA (COL)
Elmer MATTILA (FIN)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
ASHU (IND)
Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)
Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ)
Amanat SAMAT UULU (KGZ)
Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)
Alexei HAHLOVSCHI (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Begmyrat NOBATOV (TKM)
Ramazan AKTAS (TUR)
Dmytro MIROSHNYK (UKR)
Peyton OMANIA (USA)

72kg
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Randel UIBO (EST)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Jose VARELA (GUA)
VIKAS (IND)
Amir ABDI (IRI)
Daigo KOBAYASHI (JPN)
Yerassyl NURBOSSYNOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Eimantas VILIMAS (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Edsson OLMOS (MEX)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Miru OLSSON (SWE)
Muhammetnazar JUMAYEV (TKM)
Furkan ZIRIN (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)

77kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Edvin KIN (EST)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Davit SOLOGASHVILI (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Sajan BHANWALA (IND)
Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI)
David ZHYTOMYRSKY (ISR)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Rassul ZHUNIS (KAZ)
Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ)
Aistis LIAUGMINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Abdurrahman KALKAN (TUR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Britton HOLMES (USA)
Daniel BELLO (VEN)

82kg
Jones MABUNGU (ANG)
Gagik HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Jose ESTEVEZ (ESP)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Beka GURULI (GEO)
Erik LOESER (GER)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Tesshin HIGUCHI (JPN)
Temirkhan BAIGANIN (KAZ)
Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ)
Semion BREKKELI (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Mats AHLGREN (SWE)
Toyly ORAZOV (TKM)
Ali HUNC (TUR)
Madamin MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Tyler CUNNINGHAM (USA)

87kg
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Lachin VALIYEV (AZE)
Zahari ZASHEV (BUL)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Beka MELELASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI)
Satoki MUKAI (JPN)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Daniel VELIZ (MEX)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Christian ZEMP (SUI)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Vitalii ANDRIIOVYCH (UKR)
Michial FOY (USA)

97kg
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Igor ALVES (BRA)
Sami SAMRA (EGY)
Jose FERRANDIZ (ESP)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Anton VIEWEG (GER)
Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
NITESH (IND)
Ali ABEDIDARZI (IRI)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Islam UMAYEV (KAZ)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Ionut GOSA (ROU)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM)
Mustafa OLGUN (TUR)
Valentyn SHKLIARENKO (UKR)
Nicholas BOYKIN (USA)

130kg
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Geronimo CAMARA (ESP)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
PARVESH (IND)
Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)
Marin NISHIMURA (JPN)
Damir ZUPAROV (KAZ)
Paul MORALES (MEX)
Tomasz WAWRZYNCZYK (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Fatih BOZKURT (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will be wrestling at her first U23 World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Women’s Wrestling 

50kg
Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
Samantha ROMANO (CAN)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Maria CAZALLA (ESP)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Ankush PANGHAL (IND)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Maral TANGIRBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Jekaterina JERMALONOKA (LAT)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Munkhgerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Stefania PRICEPUTU (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Yung LIN (TPE)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Nyla VALENCIA (USA)

53kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Taylor MCPHERSON (CAN)
Javiera ORTEGA (CHI)
Lucia YEPEZ (ECU)
Carla JAUME (ESP)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Aikaterini VEKRI (GRE)
Antim PANGHAL (IND)
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA (KAZ)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Keshani MADURAVALAGE (SRI)
Meng HSIEH (TPE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Felicity TAYLOR (USA)
Mariana ROJAS (VEN)

55kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Virginie KAZE GASCON (CAN)
Tatiana HURTADO (COL)
Laura GOMEZ (ESP)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
AARTI (IND)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Otgontuya BAYANMUNKH (MGL)
Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Fernando PORUTHOTAGE (SRI)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Alisha HOWK (USA)

57kg
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL)
Kirti SAXENA (CAN)
Maria BAEZ (ESP)
Celeste SION (FRA)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
SITO (IND)
Sae NANJO (JPN)
Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ)
Susana LOZANO (MEX)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)
Alexandra HEDRICK (USA)

59kg
Welvina VEMBA (ANG)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Katherine RENTERIA (COL)
Maria RAMOS (ESP)
Gaelle RUIZ (FRA)
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Mansi AHLAWAT (IND)
Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Ramina MAMEDOVA (LAT)
Ameyalli JESSEL (MEX)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Karoline ORTIZ (PUR)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Lexie BASHAM (USA)

62kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
SHAFALI (IND)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Hsin PAI (TPE)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Alexandria LILES (USA)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

65kg
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Nerea PAMPIN (ESP)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
BHATERI (IND)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Dariga ABEN (KAZ)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)

68kg
Meiriele CHARAMBA SANTOS HORA (BRA)
Katie MULKAY (CAN)
Marta OJEDA (ESP)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
ARJU (IND)
Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ)
Zuzanna WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Sienna RAMIREZ (USA)

72kg
Brianna FRASER (CAN)
Maria CEBALLOS (COL)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Reetika HOODA (IND)
Sumire NIIKURA (JPN)
Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Maria NITU (ROU)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)

76kg
Amelia FRISBEE (CAN)
Tatiana RENTERIA (COL)
Carla LERA (ESP)
PRIYANKA (IND)
Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Inkara ZHANATAYEVA (KAZ)
Luz HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Sarnai BAYARBAATAR (MGL)
Marion BYE (NOR)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Hui CHANG (TPE)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)

#WrestleAmman

U20 stars gear up for Japan test in Women's Wrestling

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 10) -- Among the 663 wrestlers competing at the U20 World Championships in Amman next week, 187 are women. But wrestling fans around the world will be looking up to 10 women wrestlers who are expected to not only win a medal, but gold.

Japan will be entering the U20 World Championships as the defending team champion, a title it has won 10 times out of 11. The only time Japan did not win was when it skipped the 2021 edition of the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, Japan won eight gold and two bronze medals and two of the eight gold medalists, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) and Ayano MORO (JPN) are returning to defend their titles.

China, among the best in Women's Wrestling, will be returning to the U20 Worlds after four years as it missed the 2021 and 2022 editions citing travel restrictions during the pandemic.

The only other country to win the women's team title ever in 2021, the United States is sending a strong squad led by senior world champion Amit ELOR (USA) who is also a two-time defending champion.

India, a team that has shown constant progress, will look to improve on its performance from Sofia where it won one gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

Women's wrestling will begin August 16 and all action will be live on uww.org and the UWW App.

Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) is a returning silver medalist at 50kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

50kg
The lightest weight class will see returning silver medalist Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) lead the challenge for the U.S. Jimenez has participated in two senior-level international tours this year and won a medal in both. She would like to make amends after losing in the final to Umi ITO (JPN) last year.

Taking Ito's place is Miruko SAKANE (JPN), an 18-year-old on her first international trip. In the selection trials in Japan, she won four bouts.

Among the continental champions, 17-year-old Yu ZHANG (CHN) won the U17 and U20 Asian Championships and will be looking to make her mark at the world level along with Viktoriia SLOBODENIUK (UKR) who won the U20 European Championships.

For India, Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND) will hope to win back-to-back medals after finishing with a bronze medal last year. But challenges include Sviatlana KATENKA (AIN) who won a silver medal at the U17 World Championships last week and also the U17 European champion, 2021 U17 Worlds bronze medalist Elvina KARIMZADA (AZE) and fellow U20 Asian bronze medalist Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ).

53kg
Perhaps one of the few weight classes in which a Japanese may not be the favorite on paper. Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR), an internationally unbeaten wrestler in seven competitions and a two-time champion at the U20 European, U17 World, U17 European and U15 European Championships makes her the top contender for gold.

At last year's U17 World Championships, she defeated Sakura ONISHI (JPN) who won the gold last year without surrendering a point. Yefremova also won the U20 European gold without giving up a point in four bouts.

But winning the gold in Amman will not be easy. Nagisa HARADA (JPN) was dominant in Japan's selection trials with three technical superiority wins. Harada is also a 2019 U17 world champ and won a silver medal at the 2023 Klippan Lady's Open, losing European champion Jonna MALMGREN (SWE).

ANTIM (IND)ANTIM (IND) won the gold medal at the 2022 U20 World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

And also in the fray is defending champion ANTIM (IND), the first women's U20 world champion from the country. A silver medalist at the senior Asian Championships this year, Antim will aim to defend her title from Sofia.

The U.S. will be banking on returning bronze medalist and 2021 U17 world champ Katie GOMEZ (USA). She suffered a fall in the quarterfinals last year to Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ) who is also returning for another run for the gold medal. At the U20 Asian Championships, Shagayeva finished with a bronze medal after a close 5-4 loss to the eventual champ Liuxuan CHEN (CHN). The Chinese wrestler will be in Amman to try and win a world title.

Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), who won a silver medal at the 2022 U23 World Championships, would like to win a medal in Amman after missing it last year as she suffered a loss in the quarterfinal.

A darkhorse will at 53kg will be Polina LUKINA (AIN) who won the 2021 U20 Worlds silver medal and also has a silver medal from the Istanbul Ranking Series in 2022. U20 European silver medalist Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE) and Emine CAKMAK (TUR), a former U20 Worlds bronze medalist, would like to make their mark as well.

Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) is a U20 and U23 world champion at 55kg. (Photo: UWW /Kostandin Andonov) 

55kg
Defending champion Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) will be the hot favorite to repeat. She won four of her bouts via technical superiorities last year and added a U23 world gold in November. In February this year, the former U17 world champion won the Zagreg Open Ranking Series and finished second to Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) in Japan's selection trials for the senior World Championships.

Hoping to upset Kiyooka will be returning silver Albina RILLIA (UKR) after she suffered a 10-0 loss in the final to Kiyooka. Rillia, however, will have to be careful as U20 European champ and returning bronze medalist Tuba DEMIR (TUR) is waiting to avenge her quarterfinals loss from Sofia.

Demir will be tested by another returning bronze medalist Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), who lost to Demir via fall at the U20 European Championships. Georgiana LIRCA (ROU), who will be in Amman, lost to Demir in the final.

Representing India will be JYOTI (IND) who won a silver medal at the U20 Asian Championships but forfeited her final. She is also joined by U20 Asian bronze medalist Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) who wrestled at 57kg last year and finished fifth.

Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR), the U20 European champion, will be one of the favorites at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostandin Andonov)

57kg
Since 57kg has been included in the U20 Worlds program, Japan has won all gold medals barring one. In 2021, when Japan skipped the tournament, Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ) won the gold medal in a historic final against Aurora RUSSO (ITA). Amman may present an opportunity for a non-Japanese wrestler to win the gold.

Ichika ARAI (JPN) will be on her first international trip after winning the Junior Queen's Cup in Japan. To keep the gold at home which Ruka NATAMI (JPN) won last year, Arai will have to go through some tough wrestlers including U20 Asian and European champions.

REENA (IND) won the gold in Amman last month and she will fancy her chances to go all the way at 57kg. European champ Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) has the caliber to win the title along with Gerda TEREK (HUN) who finished second to her in the continent. Terek also has silver from the 2022 U17 Worlds.

Joining them in a bid to win gold is U17 Asian champion Jin ZHANG (CHN), two-time U20 African champion Louji YASSIN (EGY), U20 Pan-Am silver medalist Bertha ROJAS (MEX), U20 European bronze Sevval CAYIR (TUR), former U17 world silver medalist Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA), who lost to Kiyooka in 2019 and Ulmeken ESENBAEVA (UZB) who won bronze at U20 Asia and is a 2022 U17 world bronze medalist.

Aurora RUSSO (ITA)Can Aurora RUSSO (ITA) become Italy's first world champion in Women's Wrestling. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

59kg
All four continental champions are entered at 59kg along with a former U20 world champ. In 2021, Alesia HETMANAVA (AIN) had a dream run and won the 55kg gold at the U20 World Championships as a 17-year-old. She will be back to win another U20 title, this time 59kg. 

Trying to stop her are U20 Pan-Am champ Camila AMARILLA (ARG), U20 African champ Farah HUSSEIN (EGY), U20 Asia champ NITIKA (IND) and U20 European champ Russo who won silver at 57kg in the same World Championships.

Japan will be sending 18-year-old Kanami YAMANOUCHI (JPN) who won the U15 Asia gold in 2019. In the selection trials, she won three bouts to clinch the spot. Madina AMAN (KAZ) is a returning bronze medalist and will look to improve. She won her bronze after beating Aleksandra WITOS (POL) who also returns.

Klippan Lady's Open and U20 European silver medalist Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI) will be a wrestler to keep an eye on after her run at the continent tour in which won three bouts before losing the final to Russo.

Both U20 Euro bronze medalists Sevim AKBAS (TUR) and Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR) are entered along with U20 Asia silver medalist Sarbinaz JIENBAEVA (UZB).

SAVITA (IND)Suzu SASAKI (JPN) will look to avenge her U17 World Championships loss against SAVITA (IND). (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

62kg
Suzu SASAKI (JPN) had to mount a comeback after trailing 6-0 in the final of the Junior Queen's Cup to seal her spot for the U20 World Championships. While winning the gold medal is her top priority, she also wants to avenge her 2022 U17 World Championships loss to eventual champion SAVITA (IND).

Savita, who won defended her U17 Worlds gold at 61kg last week in Istanbul, will be looking to add to her U20 Asia title but has to deal with Sasaki, who won the Klippan Lady's Open earlier this year, along with a host of other stars who will try to win the gold.

The biggest names include returning bronze and U20 and U23 European champion Iryna BONDAR (UKR) who lost to Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) last year. She later went on to win a silver at the U23 World Championships as well, once again losing to Ozaki in the final.

But Bondar will be one of the top prospects to win the gold even as Savita and Sasaki renew their rivalry. The other returning bronze medalist Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA) too will try to find a way to the final.

Two-time U20 Pan-Am champion Melanie JIMENEZ (MEX), silver to her Mayara RAMOS (BRA), U20 European silver medalist Iris THIEBAUX (FRA) and U23 Worlds bronze medalist Astrid MONTERO (VEN) can cause upsets.

Eniko ELEKES (HUN)Eniko ELEKES (HUN) will be looking for her first U20 world title. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

65kg
Eniko ELEKES (HUN) suffered a first-round loss last year in Sofia but could have been a one-off. She was the 2021 U17 world champ and is now a U20 European champion going into the U20 Worlds in Amman. A medal looks like a big possibility for Elekes at 65kg.

Alicja NOWOSAD (POL) was second to Elekes in Europe and will be in Amman with a medal and revenge on her mind. She will be joined by U20 Euro bronze medalists Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE) (68kg) and Maria PANTIRU (ROU).

Returning bronze medalist and senior African champ Khadija JLASSI (TUN) will look to become the first Tunisian wrestler to reach the final at the age-group World Championships.

Duygu GEN (TUR), who won the U17 Europeans, will turn up in Amman, 10 days after winning a silver medal at the U17 Worlds in Istanbul. A medal in Amman will be a huge success for the youngster.

U20 Asian silver medalist ANTIM (IND) and U20 Pan-Am silver medalist Gleymaris BERIA (VEN) are also entered.

68kg
She was not able to do it last year at 65kg but Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) will look to win the title this year at 68kg. A three-time U20 European champ Skobelska, who won a bronze at the U23 Worlds as well, will be one of the favorites at 68kg. Returning bronze medalist Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER) who lost to Skobelska in the final, will try to reverse the result on the world stage.

All three U20 Asian medalists in silver medalist Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ) and two bronze medalists Zhibekzhan SABYRZHANOVA (KAZ) and ARJU (IND), who finished fifth last year in Sofia, will be in Amman.

The U.S. is sending Isabella MIR (USA) who won the Spain Grand Prix this year and will be a trouble for other wrestlers. She is the daughter of Frank MIR.

Amit ELOR (USA)Amit ELOR (USA) is the U20, U23 and senior world champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

72kg
We'll take Amit ELOR (USA)!

Ayano MORO (JPN)Ayano MORO (JPN), blue, and PRIYA (IND) finished first and second respectively at the last U20 World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

76kg
Amman will see the return of the phenomenal Kennedy BLADES (USA) who won the U20 world title in 2021 at 72kg. This year, she has already won the Alexandria Ranking Series at the senior level and finished second in the U.S. world team trials.

She will be joined by three returning medalists including champion Ayano MORO (JPN), silver medalist  Priya MALIK (IND) and bronze medalist Veronika NYIKOS (HUN).

Moro will defend her title after she dominated the Japan selection trials, winning both bouts 10-0. She will be tested by two-time U17 world champ Malik who lost 3-1 in the final last year. Malik won the U20 Asian gold in Amman in July.

U20 European champ Nyikos will hope to reach the final which she missed last year after a close loss to Malik in the semifinals, her second to the Indian.

Laura KUEHN (GER), however, will look to avenge her U20 Euro final loss to Nyikos while Yuqi LIU (CHN) hopes to do the same against Malik who won against the Chinese wrestler twice at the U20 Asia.

Myah PHILLIPS (CAN) is the U20 Pan-Am silver medalist while Daniela TKACHUK (POL) will have her last opportunity to win a medal after finishing fifth at the last two U20 Worlds.