#WrestleBelgrade

#WrestleBelgrade World Championships entry list

By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (August 24) -- More than 800 wrestlers will arrive in Belgrade to compete at the World Championships beginning September 10 at the Stark Arena.

The tournament will kick off with Greco-Roman as Iran looks to win the team title it missed in Oslo. The field includes stars from Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) is returning to competition since his silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

In freestyle, the team race can end up being a thriller between Iran and the USA. Iran finished third in Oslo, six points behind the USA. A few rivalries may also see a new chapter added to them in Belgrade.

In women's wrestling, Japan will be the favorite to win the team title with the USA once again trying to challenge them for the top spot. The return of China to the World Championships after three years will interesting as they hope for a podium finish as well.

The tournament will see four Greco-Roman weight classes on Saturday before four more on Sunday. September 12 will have two women's and two Greco-Roman weight classes. Tuesday and Wednesday will be about women's wrestling with four weights on the mat each day. Freestyle competition begins with four weights on Friday, three on Saturday and three on Sunday, the final day of the tournament.

All the live action and highlights from the World Championships will be on uww.org

* This is a provisional entry list. The NFs have the right to change a wrestler 24 hours before the draw of the respective style.

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI), red, will look to defend his 125kg title in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

Freestyle

57kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Georgii OKOROKOV (AUS)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Rabby KILANDI (COD)
Oscar TIGREROS (COL)
Reineri ORTEGA (CUB)
Levan VARTANOV (ESP)
Valentin DAMOUR (FRA)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Edwin SEGURA GUERRA (GUA)
Ravi KUMAR (IND)
Alireza SARLAK (IRI)
Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Roberto BLANCO (MEX)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Jakobo TAU (RSA)
Stevan MICIC (SRB)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Thomas GILMAN (USA)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

61kg
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Jason LUNEAU (CAN)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Jordan KABONGO (COD)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Pankaj MALIK (IND)
Reza ATRI (IRI)
Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Igor CHICHIOI (MDA)
Narankhuu NARMANDAKH (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Ali ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Seth GROSS (USA)
Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB)

65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Haji ALI (BRN)
Vladimir DUBOV (BUL)
Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN)
Raby BAPELEKIA (CGO)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Norva BUKASA (COD)
Alejandro VALDES (CUB)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Bajrang PUNIA (IND)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Adil OSPANOV (KAZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Vitalie BUNICI (MDA)
Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Cavit ACAR (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Vincent DE MARINIS (CAN)
Elie DJEKOUNDAKOM DJERAYOM (CHA)
Nuerlanbieke WURENIBAI (CHN)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Bacar NDUM (GBS)
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Kevin HENKEL (GER)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Naveen MALIK (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN)
Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Yongseok JEONG (KOR)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Servet COSKUN (TUR)
Oleksii BORUTA (UKR)
Zain RETHERFORD (USA)
Nodir RAKHIMOV (UZB)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Cesar ALVAN (BRA)
Miroslav KIROV (BUL)
Jasmit PHULKA (CAN)
MENGHEJIGAN (CHN)
Redy MUPOMPA (COD)
Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Giorgi SULAVA (GEO)
Enrique PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Daichi TAKATANI (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Seungbong LEE (KOR)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Diego SANDOVAL (MEX)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Jean STE MARIE (MRI)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Franklin GOMEZ (PUR)
Maxim VASILIOGLO (ROU)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Zielimkhan TOHUZOV (UKR)
Kyle DAKE (USA)
Asomiddin HASANOV (UZB)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Shengsong XIA (CHN)
Assane BALLO (CIV)
Andy MUKENDI (COD)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Deepak MIRKA (IND)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
Dan TSESARSKY (ISR)
Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Bumgue SEO (KOR)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Kornelijus STULGINSKAS (LTU)
Stefan CANTIR (MDA)
Dulguun ALTANZUL (MGL)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Shuhrat BOZOROV (TJK)
Sahergeldi SAPARMYRADOV (TKM)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB)

86kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Alexander MOORE (CAN)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD)
Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB)
Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Sanjeet KUNDU (IND)
Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Shota SHIRAI (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Noel TORRES (MEX)
Bat BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
Khasan ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
David TAYLOR (USA)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN)
Yuxiang BI (CHN)
Aron MBO (COD)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Johannes MAYER (GER)
Vicky HOODA (IND)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN)
Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ)
Jinmyeong KIM (KOR)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWICZ (POL)
Johan MOSTERT (RSA)
Strahinja DESPIC (SRB)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Jden COX (USA)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
Ulrich MANOUAN (CIV)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Viky CHAHAR (IND)
Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Samhan JABRAILOV (MDA)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Mucahit CELIK (TUR)
Mahamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)

125kg
Catriel MURIEL (ARG)
Aydin AHMADOV (AZE)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
Youssif HEMIDA (EGY)
Jere HEINO (FIN)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Dinesh DHANKAR (IND)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)
Yeihyun JUNG (KOR)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB)
Abdullah KARIM (SYR)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
Hayden ZILLMER (USA)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)

Helen MAROULIS (USA)Helen MAROULIS (USA) is the defending world champion at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's wrestling

50kg
Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG)
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Neelam SIROHI (IND)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Rita ROJAS (MEX)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Mercy GENESIS (NGR)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

53kg
Leyla GURBANOVA (AZE)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Yuhong ZHONG (CHN)
Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV)
Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB)
Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Tatiana SALAH (FRA)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)
Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Karla ACOSTA (MEX)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)
Thi KIEU (VIE)

55kg
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Mengyu XIE (CHN)
Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sushma SHOKEEN (IND)
Mayu SHIDOCHI MUKAIDA (JPN)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Sarita MOR (IND)
Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Hyungjoo KIM (KOR)
Alma VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX)
Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)
Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (UZB)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Mansi AHLAWAT (IND)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Abigail NETTE (USA)

62kg
Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE)
Lais DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Xiaojuan LUO (CHN)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
Sonam MALIK (IND)
Nataliia SHAFIR (ISR)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB)
Thi NGUYEN (VIE)

65kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
SHAFALI (IND)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Purevsuren ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)
Mallory VELTE (USA)
Dinora RUSTAMOVA (UZB)

68kg
Grabriela DA ROCHA (BRA)
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Rosie TABORA (COD)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Noemi SZABADOS (HUN)
Nisha DAHIYA (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Sujin PARK (KOR)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Ambar GARNICA (MEX)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Patricia ELNOUR (SUD)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA)
Dieu LAI (VIE)

72kg
Shauna KUEBECK (CAN)
QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
REETIKA (IND)
Masako FURUICHI (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Amy YOUIN (CIV)
Tatiana RENTERIA (COL)
Milaimys POTRILLE (CUB)
Genesis VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAE (EST)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Jemima NYARKO OFORI (GHA)
PRIYANKA (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
Thi DANG (VIE)

Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)Olympic champion Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) is returning to competition in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)
Jiahao LIU (CHN)
Rabby KILANDI (COD)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Fabian SCHMITT (GER)
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Mostafa ALQADE (JOR)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Hyeokjin JEON (KOR)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Max NOWRY (USA)
Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB)

60kg
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Simeon MABIALA (COD)
Dicther TORO CASTANEDA (COL)
Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB)
Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Gyanender DAHIYA (IND)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Alexandru TRANDAFIR (ROU)
Ardit FAZLJIJA (SWE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB)

63kg
Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Nikolay VICHEV (BUL)
Cristobal TORRES (CHI)
Erbatu TUO (CHN)
Jordan KABONGO (COD)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Abdolmohammad PAPI (GER)
Emerson FELIPE ORDONEZ (GUA)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
NEERAJ (IND)
Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI)
Ryuto IKEDA (JPN)
Galym KABDUNASSAROV (KAZ)
Tynar SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Jinseub SONG (KOR)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Jose RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
Samuel JONES (USA)
Aker AL OBAIDI (UWW)
Turabek TIRKASHEV (UZB)

67kg
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Kenedy MORAES PEDROSA (BRA)
Nestor ALMANZA TRUYOL (CHI)
Husiyuetu HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Norva BUKASA (COD)
Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
ASHU (IND)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Diego MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Pedro MORAIS (POR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL)
Arnaud MAMBOU (CGO)
Reangan NDOMBASI (COD)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Jose VARELA GARCIA (GUA)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
VIKAS (IND)
Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI)
Taishi HORIE (JPN)
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ)
Jiyeon LEE (KOR)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Andrii KULYK (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

77kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Rohan KALISCH (AUS)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Redy MUPOMPA (COD)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
David CHOC HUOC (GUA)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
SACHIN (IND)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Shohei YABIKU (JPN)
Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Per KURE (NOR)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Yasaf ZEINALOV (UKR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

82kg
Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL)
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Andy MUKENDI (COD)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Harpreet SINGH (IND)
Pejman POSHTAM (IRI)
David ZHYTOMYRSKY (ISR)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Sultan EID (JOR)
Yuya OKAJIMA (JPN)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Sejin YANG (KOR)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Daniel VICENTE (MEX)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Ronisson BRANDAO SANTIAGO (BRA)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ)
Jinhyeok KIM (KOR)
Viorel BURDUJA (MDA)
Alfonso LEYVA (MEX)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Andrii ANTONIUK (UKR)
Alan GARCIA (USA)
Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (USA)

97kg
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Yan LIU (CHN)
Aron MBO (COD)
Juan CONDE IBANEZ (CUB)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Deepanshu AHLAWAT (IND)
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN)
Islam UMAYEV (KAZ)
Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Seyeol LEE (KOR)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Metehan BASAR (TUR)
Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR)
Braxton AMOS (USA)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
SATISH (IND)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Arata SONODA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Delian ALISHAHI (SUI)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)
Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

#JapanWrestling

Incoming OSU prospect Sakamoto wins 1st All-Japan title

By Ken Marantz

Rin SAKAMOTO works to turn Daito KATSUME after scoring the lone takedown of the freestyle 57kg final. (Photo: Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

TOKYO (December 22) -- Aside from occasional moves that are ineffective in freestyle, Rin SAKAMOTO was able to make enough of a transition back from American folkstyle to capture his first senior national title in his homeland.

Sakamoto, who has taken the rare path among Japanese wrestlers of heading overseas for college, defeated Daito KATSUME 4-0 in the freestyle 57kg final at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Sunday in Tokyo.

"I've been practicing in America up to now and only doing folkstyle," Sakamoto said. "It was tough adjusting back to freestyle. I couldn't do my wrestling, so I'm not very satisfied."

The final day of the four-day tournament, which is serving as the first of two domestic qualifiers for next year's World Championships, also saw world 55kg champion Moe KIYOOKA make an early move down to the Olympic weight of 53kg, where she picked up a third straight title.

Rin SAKAMOTORin SAKAMOTO became the first U.S.-based wrestler to win an All-Japan title since 1995 with a victory at freestyle 57kg. (Photo: Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

The 19-year-old Sakamoto, a two-time Inter-High champion at Tokyo's Jiyugaoka Gakuen High School, has been training for the past fourth months at U.S. powerhouse Oklahoma State University, where next month he will officially enroll and be eligible to compete in matches for the Cowboys, who are now coached by former Olympic champion David Taylor.

Sakamoto is hoping to follow in the footsteps of legendary two-time Olympic champion Yojiro UETAKE, who won three NCAA titles from 1964-66 at Oklahoma State. More recently, Sanshiro ABE won an NCAA title at Penn State in 1996, and was the last U.S.-based wrestler to win the All-Japan, in 1995.

"I think it fits my style of wrestling," Sakamoto said of American folkstyle, which puts more emphasis on control, particularly in its version of par terre or when exposing the opponent's back. "I've always liked the American style. If I make the adjustment, either style is alright for me."

The first sign of difference between the two styles came when Sakamoto stepped onto the mat wearing a headgear, an extremely rare sight in Japan. He explained that at OSU, "we have to wear a headgear all of the time, even in practice. So it's not to get me used to wearing one, but because I'm already used to it."

In his opening match, which he went on to win 15-6, he had been taken down and, instead of just lying flat and resisting being turned, he got up to his knees and grabbed the opponent's wrist -- in folkstyle, the wrestler on bottom must try to escape or reverse.

The referee on Sunday was having none of it, commanding he release the wrist. "I kept getting warned," he said. "I have to work harder to make the change."

He also twice used a counter lift in defending a takedown that put him to his own back, which gave his opponent 2 points before getting 2 for himself. In folkstyle, there would have been no points for his own exposure.

But takedowns and sprawling are pretty much universal, and his cat-like reflexes and natural speed carried him into the semifinals, where he forged out a 10-4 win over two-time Asian bronze medalist Rikuto ARAI.

The final against Katsume, who was hampered by a left knee injury that had him hobbling onto and off the mat, lacked the flamboyance of the first two matches, with Sakamoto limited to an activity point and a stepout in the first period, and a defensive takedown in the second.

"I left too much in the tank and did not dictate the match," Sakamoto lamented. "It became a really boring match."

The two were already acquainted, having split two matches while in high school. Katsume, now a sophomore at Yamanashi Gakuin University, beat Sakamoto 8-0 in the semifinals of the 2021 Inter-High championship, but a year later, Sakamoto gained revenge with a 6-2 victory in the final.

Sakamoto said he will return to the U.S. on January 11, two days before the new OSU semester starts in Stillwater, Oklahoma. From then, it will be full-time folkstyle in a wrestling room where he will face stiff competition to make the lineup at 125 pounds (56.7 kilograms).

"There are quite a few in the lighter weights, and I feel like I'm having to catch up in folkstyle," Sakamoto said. "I'm aiming for [the] Los Angeles [Olympics], but for the next two years, I'll focus on freestyle. One goal is to become a NCAA champion."

Sakamoto will, however, return to Japan in the spring for the Meiji Cup All-Japan Championships, the second of the two qualifiers for the World Championships. To help him make the adjustment back to freestyle, he will likely enter the JOC Junior Olympic Cup in April, an U20 tournament in which he placed third this year.

Sakamoto is not the only member of his family with an adventurous streak. Older sister Yu, the world U23 champion at 53kg, is currently a member of the Northern Michigan University team.

Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)Moe KIYOOKA defends against a takedown attempt in the women's 53kg final against Saki YUMIYA. (Photo: Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

Kiyooka gets early start in filling 53kg hole

Four years out from the Los Angeles Olympics, Japanese star and Paris Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI made a not-so-unexpected announcement that she was moving up to 57kg, starting a scramble to fill the hole at 53kg that she left behind.

Perhaps no one was more affected by the news than Kiyooka, who took no time in staking her claim when she rolled to a 9-0 victory in the 53kg final over Saki YUMIYA on Sunday.

Kiyooka, the younger sister of Paris freestyle 65kg gold medalist Kotaro KIYOOKA, had won the All-Japan title at 55kg the past two years, and mulled over whether it was too early to begin the quest to make Los Angeles at 53kg.

"I considered entering at 55kg right up to the last moment," Kiyooka said. "But consulting with my coach, we decided that because I had won the gold at the World Championships at 55kg, I needed to start thinking about things related to the next Olympics, like cutting weight. It's important to become accustomed to doing that. So I set the goal of winning the title at 53kg here."

She knows she will have plenty of competition ahead, notwithstanding speculation that Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Yui SUSAKI might move up from 50kg to 53kg.

"Including the opponents here, there will be even more strong wrestlers," Kiyooka said. "I need to train to get better so I can be confident when I face them and come out on top."

Kiyooka never has to look far for motivation to seek Olympic glory. She was in Paris as a training partner for Ikuei University teammate Tsugumi SAKURAI, who went on to win the 57kg gold.

"I was glad I could help, but there was also the pain of not being in the Olympics," she said. "But seeing people so close to me succeed has shown me that it's not impossible, which has given me strong motivation."

One shortcoming of her wrestling that she addressed on Sunday was her tendency to be a slow starter. She came firing out in her opening match, winning 10-0.

"As I always say, I never move well in the first match," Kiyooka said. "To overcome that, I concentrated on the opening match. As the matches continued, I got used to it and the final was my most solid match of the day."

In the final, Kiyooka scored two takedowns in each period in outclassing Yumiya, a world U20 bronze medalist this year.

Sara NATAMI (JPN)Sara NATAMI became a three-time national champion by winning the women's 57kg title, her first at an Olympic weight. (Photo: Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

Natami catches up to younger sister with 57kg title

Sara NATAMI has quite a sibling rivalry going on, and Sunday she finally caught up to younger sister Ruka when it comes to competing in an Olympic weight class.

Natami, the 2023 world U23 champion, dominated Ichika ARAI 10-2 in the 57kg final to add to two previous All-Japan titles at 59kg.

"At the Meiji Cup [last June], my younger sister won this weight class," said Natami, who had to skip that tournament due to a knee injury. "I was determined to win the next one and that led to this win.

"I had never won [a national title] at an Olympic weight. My sister beat me to it, and that was frustrating. That was the feeling as I prepared for this."

Natami said the two, an alumni and current student at Shigakkan University, respectively, sometimes practice together, "but it ends up becoming a fight."

Natami's biggest win, however, came in the semifinals, when she stuck two-time reigning champion Sae NANJO for a fall that marked her first-ever victory over her fellow Shigakkan alum and avenged a loss in the same round last year.

"We've faced each other since elementary school and I had never beaten her," Natami said. "Beating Sae was among my goals."

Last year, Natami was leading 5-0 when Nanjo, a two-time world U23 champion, suddenly turned the tide and scored a fall in the final minute.

Kaito INABA (JPN)Kaito INABA celebrates after successfully defending his Greco 60kg title. (Photo: Takeo YABUKI / JWF)

In the other final of the day, Asian silver medalist Kaito INABA successfully defended his Greco 60kg title, scoring a victory by fall with the first scoring move of the final against Yu SHIOTANI.

Shiotani, a world 55kg bronze medalist in 2022, attempted a spinning arm throw that ended with him on his back and Inaba's arm wrapped around his throat. The mat referee was not in a position to see what might be construed as a choke hold and called the fall at 1:24.

Day 4 Results

Freestyle

57kg (24 entries)
GOLD -- Rin SAKAMOTO df. Daito KATSUME, 4-0
BRONZE -- Rikuto ARAI df. Isami TAKATA by TF, 10-0, 1:47
BRONZE -- Kento YUMIYA df. Taketo NINOMIYA, 9-7

Greco-Roman

60kg (14 entries)
GOLD -- Kaito INABA df. Yu SHIOTANI by Fall, 1:24 (3-0)
BRONZE -- Koto GOMI df. Kosei TAKESHITA by TF, 11-1, 4:02
BRONZE -- Keijiro SONE df. Yasuhito MORI, 5-3

Women's Wrestling

53kg (9 entries)
GOLD -- Moe KIYOOKA df. Saki YUMIYA, 9-0
BRONZE -- Haruna MORIKAWA df. Miwa MAGARA, 3-1
BRONZE -- Narumi NAKAMURA df. Mihoko TAKEUCHI, 7-5

57kg (9 entries)
GOLD -- Sara NATAMI df. Ichika ARAI, 10-2
BRONZE -- Ibuki TAMURA df. Iroha FUJIYAMA by Inj. Def., :01
BRONZE -- Sae NANJO df. Miuna KIMURA by Fall, 5:50 (7-4)