#Trnava2018

World Champs Susaki, Larroque Lead #Trnava2018 Field

Sunday, September 2, 2018 - 13:54 By Eric Olanowski

TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 2) - The final women's wrestling entries for the #Trnava2018 World Championships have been submitted and the most surprising entry comes from reigning senior-level world champion, Yui SUSAKI (JPN).

Susaki, Japan's 19-year-old superstar won three straight Cadet World Championships before heading to Paris last year to claim her first senior-level World Championship, defeating current world No.1 Alina VUC (ROU), 14-4.

The 2018 Junior World Championships will be Susaki's first junior-level competition ever.

Another surprising entry comes from France's U23 world champion and 2017 world bronze medalist, Koumba LARROQUE. Larroque enters her first junior-level competition since winning the 2016 Junior World Championship gold medal.

Reigning champions Sae NANJO (JPN) and Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) also make their return to the Junior World Championships with hopes of winning back-to-back gold medals.

ROSTERS
AZE
50kg - Yasaman MAJIDLI
53kg - Tatyana VARANSOVA
65kg - Jeyla NAGHIZADE

BLR
50kg - Viktoryia APALONIK
53kg - Yuliya ZHAUNERYK
55kg - Darya SINKAVETS
59kg - Maryia HULIDA
62kg - Krystsina SAZYKINA
65kg - Hanna SADCHANKA
68kg - Yauheniya ANDREICHYKAVA
72kg - Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA

BRA
72kg - Thais DE LUCAS DE OLIVEIRA

BUL
50kg - Raymyal ZIBEROVA
53kg - Kremena PETROVA
55kg - Sezen BELBEROVA
57kg - Aleksandrina KASHINOVA
62kg - Yuliana YANEVA
68kg - Siyka IVANOVA

CAN
50kg - Samantha ROMANO
53kg - Jayd DAVIS
57kg - Hannah TAYLOR
59kg - Sara BRINKAC
62kg - Xiao LIU
65kg - Megan FENDELET
68kg - Dejah SLATER

CHN
50kg - Yumei ZHONGCHN
53kg - Yuhong ZHONG
55kg - Jiajing HOU
57kg - Qi ZHANG
59kg - Xiuyun CHEN
62kg - Xinyuan SUN
65kg - Yue ZHANG
68kg - Man ZHANG
76kg - Yuanyuan HUANG

EGY
50kg - Nada MOHAMED
65kg - Mona AHMED

France's U23 World Champion, Koumba LARROQUE. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne.)

FRA
72kg - Koumba LARROQUE

GER
50kg - Ellen RIESTERER
55kg - Anne NUERNBERGER
57kg - Serena BOELKE
59kg - Debora LAWNITZAK
62kg - Janny SOMMERMEYER
65kg - Eyleen SEWINA

HUN
55kg - Szimonetta SZEKER
57kg - Tamara DOLLAK
59kg - Erika BOGNAR
62kg - Viktoria FELHO
76kg - Bernadett NAGY

IND
50kg - Shivani PAWAR
53kg - Swati SHINDE
55kg - Reena REENA
57kg - Mansi MANSI
59kg - Sangeeta SANGEETA
62kg - Anshu ANSHU
65kg - Tina TINA
68kg - Divya KAKRAN
72kg - Sonika HOODA
76kg - Karuna KARUNA

ITA
50kg - Emanuela LIUZZI
53kg - Carmen DI DIO
55kg - Teresa LUMIA
59kg - Morena DE VITA
62kg - Aurora CAMPAGNA
65kg - Elena ESPOSITO
72kg - Enrica RINALDI
76kg - Eleni PJOLLAJ

Reigning Junior World Champion, Sae NANJO (JPN). (Photo by Marion Stein)

JPN
50kg - Yui SUSAKI
53kg - Umi IMAI
55kg - Saki IGARASHI
57kg - Andoriahanako SAWA
59kg - Sae NANJO
62kg - Rin KONDO
62kg - Atena KODAMA
65kg - Miyu IMAI
68kg - Miwa MORIKAWA
72kg - Naruha MATSUYUKI
76kg - Yasuha MATSUYUKI

KAZ
50kg - Marina ZAKSHEVSKAYA
53kg - Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA
55kg - Aigerim IBRASHEVA
57kg - Zhanerke ASSANOVA
59kg - Yekaterina FIRSTOVA
62kg - Irina KUZNETSOVA
65kg - Albina KAIRGELDINOVA
68kg - Valeriya GONCHAROVA
72kg - Gulnaz ZHAPPAROVA
76kg - Inkara ZHANATAYEVA

KOR
50kg - Miran CHEON
53kg - Haeyeong IM
55kg - Eunyoung PARK
57kg - Jeongae BARK
59kg - Hwa Young SUNG
62kg - Ohyoung HA
65kg - Hyerim YUN
68kg - Hyeonyeong PARK
72kg - Jisu KIM

LTU
72kg - Kamile GAUCAITE

Anastasia NICHITA, 2018 Junior European Champion. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

MDA
53kg - Mariana DRAGUTAN
59kg - Anastasia NICHITA

MGL
50kg - Anudari NANDINTSETSEG
53kg - Enkhtsetseg BATBAATAR
55kg - Khaliunaa BAYARAA
57kg - Enkhtuvshin BALJINNYAM
65kg - Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN
68kg - Davaanasan ENKH AMAR
72kg - Namuunzaya BATBOLD
76kg - Ariunjargal GANBAT

NOR
59kg - Laura AAK
62kg - Hedda STRAND

POL
50kg - Magdalena MAJOS
53kg - Alicja CZYZOWICZ
55kg - Patrycja GIL
57kg - Magdalena GLODEK
65kg - Wiktoria CHOLUJ
72kg - Kamila KULWICKA

PUR
55kg - Gabriela RAMOS DIAZ
59kg - Andribeth RIVERA BELLIARD

ROU
50kg - Stefania PRICEPUTU
53kg - Andreea ANA
72kg - Maria NITU

Reigning Junior World Champion, Khanum VELIEVA (RUS). (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

RUS
50kg - Veronika GURSKAYA
53kg - Mariia TIUMEREKOVA
55kg - Aleksandra NITSENKO
57kg - Viktoriia VAULINA
59kg - Alina KAZYMOVA
62kg - Daria BOBRULKO
65kg - Alena TIMOFEEVA
68kg - Khanum VELIEVA
72kg - Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO
76kg - Elmira KHALAEVA

SVK
53kg - Nina KOLLAROVA
59kg - Reka BACSFAIOVA
62kg - Kristina OROSZOVA
72kg - Zsuzsanna MOLNAR

SWE
57kg - Sara LINDBORG
62kg - Linnea SVENSSON
68kg - Tindra SJOEBERG
76kg - Denise MAKOTA STROEM

TPE
50kg - Meng HSIEH
53kg - Ya Ling PENG
59kg - Yu Han CHENG
72kg - Hui Tsz CHANG

TUN
50kg - Sarra HAMDI
55kg - Siwar BOUSETTA
57kg - Khouloud EL OUNI
62kg - Fatma INOUBLI
68kg - Rihem AYARI

TUR
50kg - Aynur ERGE
53kg - Zeynep YETGIL
55kg - Nurife DUMAN
57kg - Ozge FINDIKCI
59kg - Sule KABAK
62kg - Gamze Nur ADAKAN
65kg - Asli DEMIR
68kg - Kadriye AKSOY
72kg - Tugba KILIC
76kg - Aysegul OZBEGE

UKR
50kg - Mariia VYNNYK
53kg - Veronika RYABOVOLOVA
55kg - Khrystyna Zoryana DEMKO
57kg - Alina AKOBIIA
59kg - Tetiana RIZHKO
62kg - Anhelina LYSAK
65kg - Iryna KOLIADENKO
68kg - Alina RUDNYTSKA LEVYTSKA
72kg - Romana VOVCHAK
76kg - Anna TISLICHENKO

Reigning Cadet World Champion, Macey KILTY (USA). (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

USA
50kg - Alleida MARTINEZ
53kg - Alisha HOWK
55kg - Ronna HEATON
57kg - Alexandra HEDRICK
59kg - Brenda REYNA
62kg - Alexandria LILES
65kg - Jayden LAURENT
68kg - Macey KILTY
72kg - Alyvia FISKE

UZB
50kg - Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA
55kg - Khodicha NAJIMOVA
59kg - Nabira ESENBAEVA
65kg - Bakhtigul BALTANIYAZOVA

2026 Muhamet Malo

'Important Gold’: Sadulaev Relishes Successful 97kg Return

Thursday, February 26, 2026 - 21:58 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (February 26) -- World champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) could have challenged him. Up-and-coming Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) could have caused trouble. Or maybe Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) would have caused an upset.

None of that happened. A calm and composed Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) marked his return to the mat with yet another gold medal, winning the 97kg weight class at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event on Thursday in Tirana, Albania.

It has become increasingly rare to see Sadulaev wrestle internationally, but when he does, the results tend to be a foregone conclusion. Sadulaev last wrestled at a global event at the same Feti Borova Arena in Tirana in October 2024 when he claimed his sixth world title, stunningly dropping to 92kg.

After 15 months, he was back -- at 97kg and, the top of the podium.

"Thank you to everyone who supported me, those in the arena and those watching on TV and smartphones," Sadulaev said. "Everyone who cheered, worried, and prayed for me. I want to say a huge, heartfelt thank you to all of you."

When Sadulaev stepped on the mat on Thursday, he rolled back the years. Right hand on his opponent's forehand, circling while standing tall. He would throw himself back if someone tried to attack his legs and then get a front headlock to score.

A true throwback in Tirana would have been a Sadulaev and Snyder clash but Khaniev decided to postpone that for now by beating the United States wrestler in the quarterfinals. Sadulaev got Khaniev in the final.

He was the first on board with a double-leg attack which gave him four points. He then made Khaniev toil to find an opening and when he did, Sadulaev defended like a rock. Khaniev was able to score only through stepouts -- managing four points from it while Sadulaev added three more takedowns to finish the final 10-4.

While the gold medal was a satisfactory result for Sadulaev, there was an added incentive that he was chasing.

"For me, this gold means qualifying for the European Championships, which will take place here in this same arena in two months, in April. It was very important for me to qualify there," he said.

Sadulaev, if he competes, will be at the European Championships after six years having last competed at the tournament in 2020. He won gold medal at 97kg in Rome.

Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) scores on Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) in the 97kg final in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The final against Khaniev was a virtual wrestle-off to win the spot for the continental championships, to be held from April 20 to 26. And despite beating Khaniev, Sadulaev was all praise for the youngster.

"Khaniev is young and promising," he said. "I thought we might meet before the final, but [because of the bracket] we faced each other only in the final.

"I know him well, we train in the same region, we’ve been at training camps together and worked side by side. He’s very tough, with a really good stamina. He hasn’t gained that much experience yet, but I believe he has everything ahead of him."

Khaniev, making his debut at 97kg internationally, sprung a surprise when he defeated Snyder 10-4, using some crafty counters in the second period. He also defeated Magomedov in the semifinals.

Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) completes a fireman's carry move. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

However, Sadulaev isn't reading much into Snyder's loss as the U.S. wrestler had lost to Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) in Tirana but went on to win the world gold in September.

"At tournaments like this, he [Snyder] usually doesn’t come in at peak form the way he does for the World Championships or the Olympic Games, where he’s been in his best shape," Sadulaev said. "So this loss doesn’t really say much. Maybe he will win the next World Championships."

The World Championships in Manama, Bahrain is scheduled in October and there is a good chance that both Sadulaev and Snyder will be there. But Sadulaev is hoping for a more decorated field.

"If everything goes well and I make it for the World Championships, four Olympic champions could compete in this weight class [in Bahrain] -- Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), Kyle [SNYDER] and Ahmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and myself, and other medalists," he said. "I think it will be the most competitive and exciting weight category."

Sadulaev, in his subtle humor, would go on.

"It’s hot enough there [Bahrain], but I think at the World Championships, it will be even hotter."

World Champs Susaki, Larroque Lead #Trnava2018 Field

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'Important Gold’: Sadulaev Relishes Successful 97kg Return