UWW's 25-Under-25: No. 16-No. 20

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 - 07:35 By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 15) -- United World Wrestling looked at 25 wrestlers who will undoubtedly keep wrestling fans at the edge of their seats throughout '22 and beyond.

With three short years left until the Paris Games, we're redirecting our attention to the sport's brightest young stars who are entering the prime of their careers. It's time to whisk in the next generation of talent that'll shoulder the weight of the sport into the '24 Olympics and beyond.

The question you asked, and we answered: "Who are the Top 25 Under 25?"

Here's UWW's second segment -- No. 16 through No. 20 -- of the Top 25 Under 25 to keep an eye on.

UWW 25-Under-25: No. 21-No. 25
No. 25 - Alina AKOBIYA (UKR), 23-years-old
No. 24 - Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 24-years-old
No. 23 - Artur SARGSYAN (RWF), 24-years-old
No. 22 - TUMUR OCHIR Tulga (MGL), 24-year-old
No. 21 - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 22-years-old

No. 20 Anshu MALIK (IND), 20-years-old (August 5, 2001)

Instagram: anshumalik57___

After a remarkable '21 season, Malik inserted herself into the discussion as one of India's women's wrestling greats. She earned her seat at the table with fellow trailblazers like Sakshi MALIK (IND), Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) and Pooja DHANDA (IND), among many others, after she strung together a '21 campaign that ended in a history-making world finals berth.

Last year, Malik entered five competitions and finished with at least a silver medal on three of those occasions. However, she started the season on a slow note, finishing in fifth place at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event. After that, she pushed the pressure aside and qualified India for the Olympic Games with a second-place finish at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Almaty before finishing top-ten at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

But the highlight of her year came in Oslo at the World Championships, where she became the first Indian woman ever to reach the world finals. In Norway, she outscored her first three opponents 31-6 – including 11-0 semifinals win over '20 European finalist Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) – before dropping her gold-medal match against three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Helen MAROULIS (USA).

No. 19 Irinia RINGACI (MDA), 21-years-old (August 23, 2001)

Instagram: i.r.i.n.e.l.l.001

Heading into '21, Ringaci set the seemingly unrealistic goal of winning world titles at the junior, U23 and senior levels.

The only thing that stopped her from winning the trifecta was how the calendar fell with the U23 World Championships coming after the Senior World Championships.

In August, Ringaci ran through the competition at the Junior World Championships, proving how far ahead of the competition she really is. She dominated each of her five opponents by a combined score of 49-10 but saved her most impressive performance in Ufa, Russia for the 65kg finals, where she stomped India's BHATERI, 12-2, en route to the gold medal.

Two months later, she shocked the world by becoming Moldova's first-ever women's wrestling world champion. She did so in a stacked 65kg bracket that featured the likes of two-time U23 world champ Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), world finalist Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) and world bronze-medal finishers Malin MATTSSON (SWE), Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) and Forrest MOLINARI (USA).

Although she would have loved to win a trio of world titles in the same year, after winning gold in Ufa and in Oslo, Ringaci and the Moldovan coaching staff felt that she had proved everything she set out to prove in '21 and elected to forgo the U23 World Championships.

No. 18 Zagir SHAKHIEV (RUS), 23-years-old (April 15, 1999)

Instagram: shakhiev65

There's no secret that the top guy for the Russian Federation at 65kg is world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS). But, after winning world and European gold in '21, rising star Shakhiev added his name to the shortlist of guys Coach Tedeev trusts with giving the starting nod.

Shakhiev debuted in the Russian Wrestling Federation's lineup at the European Championships in Poland in mid-'21 and quickly showed why he's trusted to hold such a coveted spot in the lineup.

In Warsaw, Shakiev opened up the competition with back-to-back technical superiority wins before earning his finals berth with an 8-5 decision over '18 U23 world runner-up Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE). Then, in the finals, the Russian Federation wrestler cruised past Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL), 13-2, earning his first senior-level continental medal.

Fast forward six months and Shakhiev was in a familiar situation as he ended the World Championships atop the podium.

In Oslo, Shakhiev kicked off his senior world debut with a close 5-4 win over Rohit ROHIT (IND) but followed that up with three massive wins to establish himself as the world's best wrestler at 65kg.

He thrashed two-time European medalist Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR), 10-0, and edged Olympian Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), 4-4, which set up a showdown with fan-favorite Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI).

Shakhiev made quick work of Yazdanicherati in the finals of Oslo. The match was scoreless in the first period, but the 23-year-old put up 14 points in less than a minute to grab gold with the 14-4 technical superiority win.

No. 17 Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 23 years old (March 30, 1999)

Instagram: aiperi_medet_kyzy

Over the last 24 months, wrestling fans have witnessed the emergence of a women's wrestling powerhouse in Kyrgyzstan with Medet Kyzy being one of the core members of the Central Asian nation's "Big Three."

When you think about Kyrgyzstan's meteoric rise in the women's wrestling standings over the last two years, you think of Medet Kyzy standing arm-to-arm alongside Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ).

The former junior world champion took her licks in one of wrestling's most challenging weight classes, 76kg, before building the confidence and courage to compete with the best-of-the-best. The turning point for the 23-year-old -- validation, if you will -- came at the beginning of '21 when she pinned Olympic champion Erica WIEBE (CAN) to reach the finals of the International Ukrainian Tournament.

From that point on, Medet Kyzy's confidence and popularity skyrocketed. She punched Kyrgyzstan's ticket to the Olympic Games by winning the Asian Olympic Qualifiers, then followed that up with a silver medal at the Asian Championships.

In Tokyo, Medet Kyzy fell one match short of an Olympic medal. She dropped her bronze-medal match in Tokyo to former world champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) and finished in fifth place.

Medet Kyzy closed out the year with two remarkable world-level competition performances. First, in Oslo at the Senior World Championships, she fell to rival Epp MAEE (EST) before bolting past Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR), 12-1, to win her first world medal on the senior circuit.

Then, Medet Kyzy closed out the year by winning 76kg gold at the U23 World Championships. However, her most impressive competition win came in the semifinals, where she shut out America's '21 junior world champion Kylie WELKER (USA), 8-0.

No. 16 Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 23 years old (January 19, 1999)

Instagram: leriabuladze14

Abuladze is the lone Georgian holding a spot on the Top 25 Under 25 list.

Despite only having nine senior-level competitions under his belt, Abuladze has proved to be one of the best 63kg wrestlers on the world and continental level. On the continental stage, his lone loss last season came against Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RWF) in the European championship semifinals. He bounced back for bronze after a win over former European champion Mihai MIHUT (ROU).

In Oslo, Abuladze took out Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ), Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN) and Erik TORBA (HUN) before running into the Iranian buzzsaw Meysam DALKHANI in the gold-medal match.

#WrestleTirana

Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion

Sunday, April 26, 2026 - 23:12 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 26) -- Zavur UGUEV (UWW) became a two-time European champion in Tirana on Sunday. His gold medal run may have gone under that radar given the return and dominance of Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), who won his sixth European gold on Saturday and first in six years.

However, if there was an award for the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament, Uguev would handsomely beat all others wrestlers to it.

On Sunday, Uguev defended his 61kg gold medal in Tirana with rather ease after defeating former world champion and home-favorite Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB). The 4-0 win over Abakarov consisted one activity clock, one stepout and a two-point takedown from Uguev.

Even the low-scoring final was a masterclass from Uguev, one of the few who still mixes the art of defense and positioning to win bouts.

At one point, Abakarov would keep trying the two-on-one on Uguev's arm and instead of panicking, Uguev would casually block Abakarov using his head. After the two-minute mark in the match, Abakarov had a similar grip and Uguev was blocking using his head and grip one of Abakarov's wrist.

Abakarov moved to a position from which he could either whizzer or wrist snap Uguev. However, as soon as Abakarov moved sideways, Uguev placed his foot behind Abakarov and let go off his grip, quickly switching to a leg-attack. He scored a stepout to lead 2-0 after one activity period point.

Uguev set up his takedown in the second period when Abakarov took a shot from space and Uguev blocked it using a chest wrap. Instead of scoring exposure from front, Uguev jumped behind and locked Abakarov who tried to break the grip. But Uguev scored a takedown on the edge to lead 4-0, his winning score.

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) pins Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) in the 61kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was in the semifinals against Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), Uguev fell behind 3-2 but he brought down Harutyunyan in danger for two points before holding the Armenian in such a grip that he failed to move despite having split hands. Eventually, he gave up to Uguev's pressure who won via fall.

"The final is always a tough contest, both last and this year," Uguev said. "Last year it was Harutyunyan, a four-time European champion, and this year it’s Abakarov, the world champion. It’s a real pleasure to compete against them. I’ve come here solely to compete against them."

Two months ago, Uguev was in Tirana and he put on a wrestling masterclass, winning the 61kg gold medal. However, it was in Tirana that he lost to phenom Masanosuke ONO (JPN) and Vitali ARUJAU (USA) and finished fifth at the World Championships.

"I was here at the start of February for the ranking tournament, and I suppose I had some thoughts about it [losing World Championships in Tirana]," he said. "But I managed to win that tournament, and I came here with the sole intention of winning. The first attempt [2024 World Championships] didn’t go to plan."

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) after winning the 61kg gold medal in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The three-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist at 57kg has been competing at 61kg for three years now. While he will eventually move to 57kg for a run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Uguev says he is enjoying wrestling at a higher weight and not dieting during competitions.

"I’ll be wrestling in 65kg soon. I’m joking, of course," he said. "I’ll probably be dropping down to 57kg. I’ll probably compete for another year or so [at 61kg], and then I’ll keep dropping down. I’m not actually that heavy to begin with, and I reckon anyone competing at 57kg is roughly the same weight as me. For now, I don’t see the point in cutting weight, and I think it’s better to stay as I am for the time being, compete for another year or so. I think that this year, or early next year, we’ll start thinking about which weight class to move to.

"Now that I’ve moved up to 61kg, I’m really enjoying the competition. When I was competing at 57kg, I struggled so much. Now, when I watch the wrestlers like Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW), for example, I’m reminded of my own days on the mat. It’s just that when you’re on a diet, you don’t want to think about anything else. All you can think about is food. Now I feel comfortable. I’m not dieting; I enjoy wrestling and I’m managing to do well at it."

UWW's 25-Under-25: No. 16-No. 20

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Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion