#WrestleTirana

U23 Worlds: Elor chases eighth world title in Tirana

Friday, October 20, 2023 - 10:57 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 20) -- In the last 12 months, Amit ELOR (USA) has racked up five world titles. That number is likely to become six as she travels to Tirana, Albania for yet another World Championships, her third in three months.

At just 19 years of age, Elor is a two-time senior, three-time U20, a U17 and a U23 world champion. When she won the gold medal at the U23 World Championships last year, she became the first wrestler from the United States to win every World Championships. Now she will aim to repeat the golden three-peat she did last year, wrestling at 72kg, a weight class in which she is the defending champion.

Elor won the U20 Worlds in August and the senior one in September in Belgrade. So before flying to the Balkan country, Elor spent some time training in California, her home.

"I prepare the same way that I've treated the U20 Worlds and senior Worlds," Elor says. "The only difference is because I've already competed at two World Championships each month, I just am making sure to let my body rest and make sure that I'm ready.

"Sometimes when you have three big competitions in a row, your performance and how you feel physically, it starts to go down a little bit. That's something that my coaches told me as well, just to keep training, but also know that I'm ready because in some ways U20 and Senior were a huge preparation for this."

If those two tournaments are anything to go by, Elor should win the gold medal comfortably. In Amman, she did not give a point and won the final 11-0 over Bukrenaz SERT (TUR). While she did not maintain a clean slate in Belgrade, Elor never looked in any trouble of losing her title. She would go on to win her second world gold medal with an 8-2 win over Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL).

In Tirana, Elor will face a few familiar opponents in Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN) who she defeated at the '21 U17 Worlds, silver medalist from last year's U23 competition Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL), her opponents in the '22 U20 world final Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ) and Sert who is also coming to Tirana.

Apart from them, 72kg will see the experienced Marina SUROVTSEVA (AIN), Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) and U20 European champ Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR) as some of the contenders.

"It doesn't blow me, just wrestling no matter who it is," Elor says about wrestling at a U23 competition after senior level. "I think that's a really good thing because you never underestimate your opponents. If you have somebody who is extremely good and has many titles under their name, that also won't scare you as much. I think that mindset really helps me. I just go into that competition telling myself to perform as best as I can."

Elor has always possessed that mindset. Her losses to boys in school would frustrate her and push her to improve. As a result, Elor has managed to make herself unbeatable. Internationally, Elor has suffered one loss -- a semifinal 3-1 loss to Naka HONOKA (JPN) at the U17 World Championships in 2019.

"I've been wrestling since a young age and I've taken other losses on top of that," she says. "Almost every single loss and motivation and your desire to keep going. That loss was very good for me."

No more losses after that. 15 bouts at different World Championships and Elor remains the wrestler who doesn't even let her opponents come close to beating her.

Her continued dominance on the mat may have made some miss the fact that Elor switched to a new coach this season. Until last season, she trained with coach Valentin KALIKA but the U20 World Championships in Amman saw 2004 Olympic silver medalist Sara MCMANN in her corner. Elor seemed to have battled the change but accepted it as well.

"Going out and competing after that change in this season has been really difficult," she says. "I learn more and learn different techniques from them, different mindsets and strategies. I think it's been really good for me. I'm very excited to have her there. She's just such a great role model for me, a really, really strong, tough person."

So far, the change with McMann has worked and she will be in Tirana with both Elor and McMann hoping for the gold and ending the season on a high before the Olympic year.

Elor will have to move to an Olympic weight class, 68kg or 76kg, as 72kg is not in the Olympics. She hints that 68kg may be a better fit for her. Back in her U17 days, Elor wrestled at 69kg but moved up with age. She insists that reducing weight is not her way. But come next year, she will have to make the hard decision.

"I'm taking it one step at a time. I'm going to evaluate myself and see how I feel as I start to work toward health, slowly and healthy way to decrease my weight a little bit," she says.

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Tazhudinov leads star-studded Freestyle field

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - 10:54 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 15) -- Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) marked his return after the Paris Olympic Games with gold at the Grand Prix of Spain. If his opponents thought their will be any rust after the long break, they were mistaken. Tazhudinov won four bouts, all via technical superiority, without giving up a point.

And if you missed watching the Grand Prix, Tazhudinov continues his return in Budapest at the Ranking Series, the last before the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Women's Wrestling Preview | Greco-Roman Preview

Tazhudinov has been on an eight-tournament gold-medal winning streak dating back to 2023 Asian Championships. The only international loss he suffered was in 2023 at the Ibrahim Mustafa Ranking Series. But Tazhudinov now is perhaps the best wrestler walking on the planet right now.

The 97kg weight class in Budapest will see Tazhudinov take on the likes of Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK), Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO), Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), Jay AIELLO (USA), Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW) among others.

But no name on that list seems a threat to Tazhudinov, who is likely to put on another masterclass.

Tazhudinov is not the only start landing in Budapest. Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW), Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE), Islam DUDAEV (ALB), Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) and Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) to name a few others.

European silver medalist Kadzimahamedau will be at 86kg, his weight class since the start of this season as he tries to be at his third Olympics in 2028. But the bracket in Budapest will be a testing one as Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI), Boris MAKOEV (SVK) and Osman GOCEN (TUR) are some of the big names.

Savadkouhi is leading a small Iran team that made it to Budapest. While he will be at 86kg, Abbas EBRAHIMZADEH (IRI) and Sina KHALILI (IRI) are entered at 70kg. Fariborz BABAEI (IRI) will be at 79kg for Iran.

Khalili and Ebrahimzadeh are potentially trying to be on the Iran team for Zagreb. A win in Budapest will at least guarantee the winner a domestic playoff of chance if Iran decides that way.

But a gold medal won't be easy. European medalist Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM), Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE), world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) and world silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) are all going for gold.

Aoyagi, who will be Japan's representative in Zagreb as well, will be the favorite given his crafty style and technique. Muszukajev has not looked the same as he did while winning the 2023 world gold in Belgrade.

For Babaei at 79kg, the challenge will come from Asian medalist Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN), European silver medalist Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA), world silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), European Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), former world U20 silver Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN).

Kougiomtsidis is competing for the first time since the Paris Games in which he lost in first round. But at 79kg, Kougiomtsidis can be a real threat for his opponent.

Gamkrelidze, a force at 79kg, is dropping from 86kg after an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for Paris and even at April's European Championships. Kamiya won the Meiji Cup recently and will be Japan's representative at 79kg in Zagreb.

In one of the highly contested weight classes, 74kg can see a few surprises. Azerbaijan is sending Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), undoubtedly its best talents at this weight class.

Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN), the world U23 champion, and returning after injury will be keen on proving himself at the senior level. Asian silver medalist Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ), European bronze Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and United States' star David CARR (USA) are also in the field.

Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO), Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) and JAIDEEP (IND) will hope to finish on the podium at 74kg.

At 92kg also, Azerbaijan has Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), perhaps in a bid to finalize their selection for Zagreb. 

But it will be European champion Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) who will be the favorite to win the gold medal in Budapest. World silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) needs to find his confidence back before World Championships, and medal in Budapest will do exactly that.

The 57kg weight class has world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) who will be at his first Ranking Series and it will be big test for him. He has the likes of Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), Luka GVINJILIA (GEO), Aryan TSIUTRYN (UWW), RAHUL (IND) and Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) who have senior level experience.

A gold medal in Budapest can give a big boost to Lilledahl as he tries to make the senior team in the U.S. in the coming years. He lost to Spencer LEE (USA) in the domestic playoffs for World Championships.

Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN), who won in Tirana, will be at 61kg and so will be his opponent UDIT (IND), who lost to Suda in the final in Amman.

Add to the mix Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR), who recently won the Yasar Dogu. Incidentally, he also beat Udit in the final in Turkiye. Former world silver medalist Seth GROSS (USA) has also entered at 61kg. 

Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB) missed the European Championships due to an injury but he is returning to international competition. He may face stiff challenge from Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), SUJEET (IND) and Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK).

European champion at 125kg Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) has a chance to earn more ranking points before the World Championships with a gold medal in Budapest. 

While he starts as the favorite, he is likely to face Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) who lost to him in the final seconds of the European final to finish with silver. The Georgian will be keen to avenge that loss. Matcharashvili, European champion at 97kg, will also be at 125kg perhaps to not reduce weight before the World Championships.

European U23 champions Georgi IVANOV (BUL) and Alen KHUBULOV (BUL, , Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN) and Robert BARAN (POL) are also contenders to finish on the podium.