#WrestleSofia

#WrestleSofia U20 World Championships entry list

By Vinay Siwach

SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 4) -- Two weeks after the U17 World Championships, the U20 Worlds will be thrown open in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Close to 600 wrestlers will be in the Bulgarian capital eyeing the 30 world titles on offer with Iran and the USA hoping to defend their freestyle and women's wrestling team titles respectively.

Iran is led by two defending U20 world champions in Erfan ELAHI (IRI) and Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI). Elahi won the title at 70kg and will now be jumping up to 74kg while Friozpour, who has made his name at the senior level as well, will be moving from 86kg to 92kg.

Azerbaijan has two returning silver medalists in Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) at 70kg and 74kg.

At 86kg, Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) will try to win the gold he missed last time as he returns in the same weight class as the U20 European champion.

In women's wrestling, Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) at 62kg and Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) are the biggest names in the field. A few former and current U17 world champions are also entered.

Greco-Roman has none of the finalists returning but five bronze medalists are trying to better their medals from the previous edition.

The U20 World Championships begins August 15 in Sofia with all the action live on uww.org.

Freestyle 

57kg
Harutyun HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Abdelrahman MAHMOUD (EGY)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Harvey RIDINGS (GBR)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Andreas PAROTSIDIS (GRE)
Abhishek DHAKA (IND)
Ahmad MOHAMMADNEZHAD (IRI)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Kento YUMIYA (JPN)
Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Iukhan DOKTURBEK UULU (KGZ)
Dmitri CARASTOIANOV (MDA)
Munkh Od LKHAMBUZMAA (MGL)
Rafal SZEWC (POL)
Thomas FISCHER (SUI)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Heorhii KAZANZHY (UKR)
Jore VOLK (USA)
Azizbek NAIMOV (UZB)

61kg
Hayk ABRAHAMYAN (ARM)
Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE)
Ilyas ABDURASHIDOV (BEL)
Shehabeldin MOHAMED (EGY)
Akseli ERKKOLA (FIN)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO)
Dimitrios OFLIDIS (GRE)
Mohit KUMAR (IND)
Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI)
Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN)
Maiis ALIYEV (KAZ)
Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ)
Fatlum BRAKA (KOS)
Diego RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Daniel KULCZYNSKI (POL)
Mika LEHMKUEHL (RSA)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR)
Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA)
Arslan RAKHIMOV (UZB)

65kg
Abderrahmane BENAISSA (ALG)
Artur SARDARYAN (ARM)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Ismail POMAKOV (BUL)
Matias RAMIREZ (CHI)
Yehia HAFEZ (EGY)
Luka JANEZASHVILI (GEO)
Jonnathan PEREZ (GUA)
SUJEET (IND)
Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Olzhas OLZHAKANOV (KAZ)
Myrza ZHYRGALBEK UULU (KGZ)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Erick BAUTISTA (MEX)
Doru DINCA (ROU)
Hamza ZOPALI (TUR)
Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR)
Robert CORNELLA (USA)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Saad BOUGUERRA (ALG)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Stone LEWIS (CAN)
Said ELGAHSH (EGY)
Davit KUTCHUASHVILI (GEO)
Marcell NAGY (HUN)
Mulaym YADAV (IND)
Hossein MOHAMMAD (IRI)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Rodion ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
Kanat KERIMBEKOV (KGZ)
Pavel ANDRUSCA (MDA)
Alexandru MATEA (ROU)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Harun SOYLER (TUR)
Ivan SEMENOV (UKR)
Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA)
Begijon KULDASHEV (UZB)

74kg
Menua YARIBEKYAN (ARM)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Petar PETKOV (BUL)
Amaan Ali GULACHA (CAN)
Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Balint NEMES (HUN)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Erfan ELAHI (IRI)
Luca FINIZIO (ITA)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Iliyas YERBOLATOV (KAZ)
Nurbolot ADYL UULU (KGZ)
Gheorghi CARA (MDA)
Batbayar BATSUKH (MGL)
Kamil BARLOWSKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Arno VAN ZIJL (RSA)
Umar MAVLAEV (SUI)
Muhammed OZMUS (TUR)
Tymur HUDYMA (UKR)
Alexander FACUNDO (USA)
Jafar CHULIBOYEV (UZB)

79kg
Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Soslan TIGIYEV (AZE)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Connor CHURCH (CAN)
Gabriel RAMOS (ESP)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO)
DEEPAK (IND)
Sobhan YARI (IRI)
Daisuke SHIMIZU (JPN)
Shamsat TAIR (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Johannes HATTINGH (RSA)
Kimi KAEPPELI (SUI)
Bekir OVEC (TUR)
Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR)
Braydew THOMPSON (USA)

86kg
Gurgen SIMONYAN (ARM)
Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE)
Zhulien IVANOV (BUL)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Cesar ESTRADA (GUA)
Nandor HAJDUCH (HUN)
Jointy KUMAR (IND)
Aref RANJBARI (IRI)
Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA)
Fumiya IGARASHI (JPN)
Muslim ZHAKSYLYK (KAZ)
Aslan MAMASADYKOV (KGZ)
Pureun KIM (KOR)
Lilian BALAN (MDA)
Batbilguun NAADAMBAT (MGL)
Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR)
Nazar DOD (UKR)
Bennett BERGE (USA)

92kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Suray RUFAD (BUL)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Kiril KILDAU (GER)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
AKASH (IND)
Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Satoshi MIURA (JPN)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Kutman TEMIRBEKOV (KGZ)
Seohyun CHA (KOR)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Juan RUIZ (MEX)
Yildiray PALA (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Jaxon SMITH (USA)
Ravshanbek JUMABOEV (UZB)

97kg
Harutyun KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Mohamed SALAHELDIN (EGY)
Luka KHUTCHUA (GEO)
NIRAJ (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Toyoki HAMADA (JPN)
Zelimkhan MUSSIKHANOV (KAZ)
Joobin PARK (KOR)
Vilius MIKALAUSKAS (LTU)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Rifat GIDAK (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Benjamin KUETER (USA)

125kg
Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Roger LI (CAN)
Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO)
Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Ryusei FUJITA (JPN)
Bekzat TAZHI (KAZ)
Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)
Nicholas FELDMAN (USA)
Namoz ABDURASHIDOV (UZB)

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) is a senior world bronze and Asian champion. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE)
Emine OSMAN (BUL)
Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN)
Karolina MUELLEROVA (CZE)
Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND)
Umi ITO (JPN)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Imane BOUJNANE (MAR)
Munkhgerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Marija SPIRKOVSKA (MKD)
Natalia WALCZAK (POL)
Ana PIRVU (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Ellen OESTMAN (SWE)
Yung LIN (TPE)
Sevval CAYIR (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)

53kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Nazife TAIR (BUL)
Shaimaa MOHAMED (EGY)
Chadia AYACHI (FRA)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Vivien MATYI (HUN)
ANTIM (IND)
Ayaka KIMURA (JPN)
Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Patricia IURASCU (ROU)
Emine CAKMAK (TUR)
Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR)
Katie GOMEZ (USA)
Dilshoda MATNAZAROVA (UZB)

55kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Robbie PINGAL (CAN)
Antonia ARRIAGADA (CHI)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
MANJU (IND)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Ainur ASHIMOVA (KAZ)
Andrea BARRIENTOS (MEX)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Pei LIAO (TPE)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)
Adriana MARIN (USA)
Sarbinaz JIENBAEVA (UZB)

57kg
Gabriela CROSS (CAN)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Celeste SION (FRA)
Adrienn BERES (HUN)
SITO (IND)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Ruka NATAMI (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Bertha CHAVEZ (MEX)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Julia NOWICKA (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Sofia MACALUSO (USA)

59kg
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Mia FRIESEN (CAN)
Viktoria BORSOS (HUN)
Bhagyashree FAND (IND)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Madina AMAN (KAZ)
Hedda KVAALE (NOR)
Aleksandra WITOS (POL)
Kara LE ROUX (RSA)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR)
Savannah COSME (USA)

62kg
Mastoura SOUDANI (ALG)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Mima TANEVA (BUL)
Angelina TODDINGTON (CAN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Luisa SCHEEL (GER)
Yasmine SOLIMAN (HUN)
Sonam MALIK (IND)
Bianca CONTRAFATTO (ITA)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Tynys DUBEK (KAZ)
Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ)
Viktoria OEVERBY (NOR)
Wiktoria STANETA (POL)
Yu LO (TPE)
Busra EFE (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
Rushana ABDIRASULOVA (UZB)

65kg
Valentina KOZHUHAROVA (BUL)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
PRIYANKA (IND)
Veronica BRASCHI (ITA)
Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN)
Korlan AMANOVA (KAZ)
Dilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ)
Melanie VILLALBA (MEX)
Davaajargal ALTANSUKH (MGL)
Zofia POLOWCZYK (POL)
Nora SVENSSON (SWE)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Derya KARADUMAN (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Reese LARRAMENDY (USA)
Gulmira AITMURATOVA (UZB)

68kg
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Daniela BRASNAROVA (BUL)
Nicoll OSORIO (COL)
Menatalla BADRAN (EGY)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GER)
ARJU (IND)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Zhibekzhan SABYRZHANOVA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Sandra MENCHACA (MEX)
Patrycja SLOMSKA (POL)
Caroline KVIST (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Yevheniia SIEDYKH (UKR)
Destiny RODRIGUEZ (USA)
Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB)

72kg
Marziya SADIGOVA (AZE)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Nyla BURGESS (CAN)
Jennifer ROESLER (GER)
Zsofia VIRAG (HUN)
REETIKA (IND)
Sumire NIIKURA (JPN)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ)
Ximena RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Ping HUNG (TPE)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)

76kg
Ana SANTOS (BRA)
Vianne ROULEAU (CAN)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Eleni CHRYSIKAKI (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Priya MALIK (IND)
Ayano MORO (JPN)
Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Elena MARGAS (ROU)
Melisa SARITAC (TUR)
Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR)
Tristan KELLY (USA)

Emre MUTLU (TUR)Emre MUTLU (TUR) is a U23 European champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM)
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
Paolo MILKOV (BUL)
Abdalla SHAABAN (EGY)
luka JAVAKHADZE (GEO)
Ilias ZAIRAKIS (GRE)
Anup KUMAR (IND)
Seyedarash NEGAHDARI (IRI)
Taiga ONISHI (JPN)
Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)
Nuristan SUIORKULOV (KGZ)
Vilius ADOMAVICIUS (LTU)
Marco ALVAREZ (MEX)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Emre MUTLU (TUR)
Mykola HAVRYCHKIN (UKR)
Jonathan GURULE (USA)
Alisher GANIEV (UZB)

60kg
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Borislav KIRILOV (BUL)
Ronaldo RAMIREZ (COL)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
SUMIT (IND)
Saeid Morad ESMAEILI (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Koto GOMI (JPN)
Bakytzhan KABDYL (KAZ)
Adilet ABYKEEV (KGZ)
Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Aleksandar BERAROV (SRB)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Yong SU (TPE)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Volodymyr VOITOVYCH (UKR)
Maxwell BLACK (USA)
Akmal KHAMROEV (UZB)

63kg
Fayssal BENFREDJ (ALG)
Arman VARDANYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Ivan KOSTOV (BUL)
Matias RAMIREZ (CHI)
Domagoj CELICEK (CRO)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Ioannis PETKOS (GER)
David MANYIK (HUN)
UMESH (IND)
Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Chiezo MARUYAMA (JPN)
Dinislam SAGITZHAN (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Donatas RINDEIKIS (LTU)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Azat SARIYAR (TUR)
Oleh KHALILOV (UKR)
Haiden DRURY (USA)

67kg
Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE)
Angelo DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Radoslav DIMITROV (BUL)
Nestor TRUYOL (CHI)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Abdelrahman OMAR (EGY)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Yanis NIFRI (FRA)
Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Marco STOLL (GER)
Zsolt TAKACS (HUN)
Ankit GULIA (IND)
Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Steve MOMILIA (ITA)
Ryohma TOYOTA (JPN)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Erlan MARS UULU (KGZ)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Alexei HAHLOVSCHI (MDA)
Kasper OEVERBY (NOR)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Fritz REBER (SUI)
Onur YURTADA (TUR)
Marian HOLUBOVSKYI (UKR)
Robert PEREZ (USA)
Ilyosjon ABDINAZAROV (UZB)

72kg
Haithem ISSAAD (ALG)
Arman KHACHIKYAN (ARM)
Matthias HAUTHALER (AUT)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Dimitar STEFCHEV (BUL)
Niko KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Jakub SIMCIK (CZE)
Emad GHALY (EGY)
Junior ORTIZ (ESP)
Ekke LEITHAM (EST)
Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Alexandros BATZAKIDIS (GER)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Amir ABDI (IRI)
Ariell SOSUNOV (ISR)
Eito NISHIDA (JPN)
Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ)
Alibek BERDIEV (KGZ)
Minseo OH (KOR)
Rokas CEPAUSKAS (LTU)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Elsi ORDONEZ (MEX)
Magomed EDAEV (NOR)
Igor BOTEZ (ROU)
Daniel DU TOIT (RSA)
David LOHER (SUI)
Georgios BARBANOS (SWE)
Sheroz OCHILOV (TJK)
Omer DOGAN (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)
Richard FEDALEN (USA)

77kg
Henrik GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Guilherme DE ARRUDA (BRA)
Martin DIMITROV (BUL)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Omar OKIL (EGY)
Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Rajmund ZURAI (HUN)
SACHIN (IND)
Masoud GHAFI (IRI)
Isami HORIKITA (JPN)
Omar SATAYEV (KAZ)
Nurel DUISHONBEKOV (KGZ)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Diego TORRES (MEX)
Benjamin HANSEN (NOR)
Filip LOCH (POL)
Simon BORKENHAGEN (SWE)
Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR)
Ramazan PASHAIEV (UKR)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)
Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB)

82kg
Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Rauf ALIYEV (AZE)
Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL)
Marek VRBA (CZE)
Fares GHALY (EGY)
Olavi LAISARV (EST)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Odysseas ROUNGERIS (GRE)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Alireza MOHMADI (IRI)
Leon RIVALTA (ITA)
Renta YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Azimkhon ABDALIYEV (KAZ)
Artykbek ALYMBEK UULU (KGZ)
Mihai GUTU (MDA)
Christian NUNEZ (MEX)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
James HOLDER (RSA)
Milos PEROVIC (SRB)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Shan LIN (TPE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Adrian ARTSISHEUSKIY (USA)

87kg
Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Lachin VALIYEV (AZE)
Ivan MANOV (BUL)
Tomislav BRKAN (CRO)
Ondrej HAVELKA (CZE)
Kareem ELDESOUKY (EGY)
Robin USPENSKI (EST)
Aapo VIITALA (FIN)
Beka MELELASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Surjeet SINGH (IND)
Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI)
Tomofumi IWAI (JPN)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Nartu ABDURAKHMANOV (KGZ)
Donghyun YUN (KOR)
Damian MATVEIKO (LTU)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Algot KAELLMAN (SWE)
Furkan TAS (TUR)
Mykyta ALIEKSIEIEV (UKR)
Kodiak STEPHENS (USA)
Azamatjon ABDUBANNOBOV (UZB)

97kg
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Marko MILANOVIC (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Kote SITCHINAVA (GEO)
Connor SAMMET (GER)
Archontis XOURAS (GRE)
Narinder CHEEMA (IND)
Ali ABEDIDARZI (IRI) 
Riku NAKAHARA (JPN)
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)
Nurmanbet RAIMALY UULU (KGZ)
Joowan KIM (KOR)
Rostislav COVALI (MDA)
Mateusz IWANOWSKI (POL)
Ionut GOSA (ROU)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Maans KLOSTERMANN (SWE)
Oktay DEMIR (TUR)
Vladyslav DRAHANCHUK (UKR)
Christian CARROLL (USA)
Islomjon RAKHMATOV (UZB)

130kg
Albert VARDANYAN (ARM)
Artur SARKISJAN (CZE)
Fekry EISSA (EGY)
Eerik PANK (EST)
Mate GOKADZE (GEO)
Rafail GKIRNIS (GRE)
Adolf BAZSO (HUN)
PARVESH (IND)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Koei YAMADA (JPN)
Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ)
Junho PARK (KOR)
Dominik KRAWCZYK (POL)
Talip CIFTCI (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Aden ATTAO (USA)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleSofia

Gadzhiev wins U20 World gold; Iran defends team title

By Vinay Siwach

SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 17) -- When Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) lost the final at the U20 World Championships final, he wished he had attacked more in the final against Erfan ELAHI (IRI). The 6-5 scoreline pinched him for the next few months.

"I’ve been waiting for it for the whole year," Gadzhiev said. "I was expecting the Iran wrestler to reach the final."

Gadzhiev wanted to avenge his loss from Ufa against Elahi. But the U20 Asian champion lost his quarterfinal against Sagar JAGLAN (IND). Later, Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN) beat Jaglan in the semifinal.

While he did not get to settle scores with Elahi, Gadzhiev made sure he doesn't leave anything to chance this time.

Kamiya, who was wrestling in his first World Championships, initiated the first attack. After getting a hold of Gadzhiev's leg, Kamiya tried to lift but Gadzhiev managed to put the Japan wrestler's back on the mat and secured a fall.

Though his celebrations were subdued, Gadzhiev went berserk with his celebrations as he walked back to the warm-up hall. So much so that coach Jabrail HASANOV (AZE) had to calm his ward down.

"I am feeling great. This is a joint victory," he said. "Thanks a lot to all the coaches. It’s all about their hard work. Also, I want to send a huge thanks  to all my family, Azerbaijan and to my fellow villagers."

Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) controlling Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN) to seure the fall in the final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The 20-year-old's dream run in Sofia means Azerbaijan has a U20 world champion after four years and Gadzhiev now has two career world titles adding to his 2019 U17 gold which was, incidentally, won in Sofia.

"I was expecting another opponent, but the Japanese wrestler made it to the final," he said. "He is strong and you can see he attacked first.

"Anyways, we [Elahi and Gadzhiev] will wrestle each other in the future."

In the last year, Gadzhiev has won the U23 and U20 European titles and the Dan Kolov over teammate Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE). But he missed a chance to be on the senior team after suffering a loss to Bayramov at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series in June.

Gadzhiev reflected on that bout which had turned ugly in the final minute and hoped to be on the team next year.

"I have to work hard and listen to my coaches," he said.

Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN)Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) celebrates after scoring a late takedown to win the 61kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Despite Kamiya's loss, Japan had something to cheer about as former U17 world bronze medalist Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) won the 61kg over Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI), 5-3, in one of most clutch performances.

Nishiuchi, who is still in high school, trailed Habibzadeh 3-0 at the break but was undeterred by the scoreline. More so as he had to beat three college wrestlers out of his four wins at the Japan Junior Olympic Cup just to win the spot on the team.

"I wanted to get more points but the first period was hard," Nichiuchi said. "But my mind was under control and went to the second period and tried attacks and scored."

As the second period began Nishiuchi got the single leg but managed to score only a stepout. Habibzadeh was later called passive and during activity time, Nichiuchi scored another pushout. Habibzadeh led 3-3 on criteria but Nichiuchi got a takedown with just 15 seconds left and managed to keep it to win the gold.

"I practiced these situations during training," Nishiuchi said. "For example, if I fall behind in the first period, I trust the skills that I can score in the last 30 seconds or so."

While the final was a close affair, Nishiuchi's semifinal against Mohit KUMAR (IND) was a high-scoring bout that he won 16-8.

"In the semifinal, I was very tired," he said. "But in the last one minute, my body was moving automatically. I don't remember the exact moment how that happened."

Nishiuchi's gold kept Japan's record of winning at least one gold at U20 Worlds since 2018 when Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) ended a 36-year drought for a U20 title.

Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) won his second U20 world title. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran wins team title

Habibzadeh was one of the three finalists for Iran. While he lost, the two others dominated their way to gold medals.

Asian champion Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) won the gold medal at 92kg, thus making it two in a row as he won the gold medal at 86kg in Ufa as well.

Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) initiated all the attacks in the final but such was the defense from Firouzpour that he would end up countering them with exposure. he ultimately secured the gold medal with an 11-0 win.

Firouzpour is also a three-time age-group world champion with his U17 world title coming in Sofia in 2019.

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) won the 125kg gold after beating Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND) 13-2 in the final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The second gold for Iran was won by Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) as he defeated Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND) 13-2 in the 125kg final. For the second straight year, Masoumi has won a world title as he clinched the U17 gold in Budapest last year.

Masoumi, son of 2009 world silver medalist Fardin, unleashed his attacking style in Sofia and won all his bouts via technical superiority.

In the final, he opened with a huge lift before using a gut wrench to lead 6-0. Gaikwad tried a bear hug but managed only a takedown for two points. Masoumi hit a double leg for four before a stepout and takedown gave him the 13-2 win.

The gold medals for Iran helped it defend the team title won in Ufa. It finished with 159 points, 17 ahead of the USA which was the leader after the first day of the competition. India finished at the top for the first time in the history of U20 Worlds, claiming the third position with 112 points. It won seven medals with six bronze and one silver; the haul being the most for the nation in any edition.

Magamadov wins gold

He suffered a humiliating 10-0 loss to Firouzpour in the 86kg final in Ufa last year, but Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) made sure he did not slip up this year. The France wrestler won the gold medal in Sofia after beating Bennett BERGE (USA), 9-5, in a high-paced final.

Magamadov's gold was the first for France since 2014 and only the second ever in U20 Worlds history.

Like others, Magamadov was also a medalist in 2019 in Sofia and the city proved to be lucky for the France wrestler for the second time.

Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) upgraded his 2021 silver to gold in Sofia. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In the final, it seemed that Berge will stop Magamadov from winning the gold this year as he took a 4-1 lead at the break. But Magamadov hit a double and got the four points. He then scored exposure even though the attacks were initiated by Berge who struggled with his cardio in the second period.

"I love risks," Magamadov said. "I was attacking a lot, risking and it helped me to win the match."

Magamadov accepted that last year he was not at the level to win the gold but believed in himself to win the title this year.

"Last year I failed the final because I didn't have the necessary capabilities," he said. "But this time with continuous training and determination, I reached the final and won."

Umi ITO (JPN)Umi ITO (JPN) will wrestle for the 50kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Japan sweeps semis

Japan marked its return to the U20 World Championships with total domination of the women's competition, sending all five wrestlers into the finals on day one of women's wrestling.

The first to make the final was 2017 U17 world champion Umi ITO (JPN) at 50kg as she defeated Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND) in the semifinal. Using the lethal leg lace, Ito scored a 10-0 win in just 43 seconds.

She will now face Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) in the final. The former U17 world bronze medalist made it past Natalia WALCZAK (POL) with a fall despite Walczak leading 4-0.

At 55kg, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) used a double leg for four against Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN) before using a cradle to make it 8-0 and trying a fall. But Szenttamasi got the exposure and two points before giving up one herself. Kiyooki finished the bout 12-2 with 4:07 remaining on the clock.

Albina RILLIA (UKR)Albina RILLIA (UKR) pinned MANJU (IND) despite trailing in the 55kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Albina RILLIA (UKR) and MANJU (IND) traded stepouts with the latter leading 2-2 on criteria after two minutes. Manju added two more stepouts to lead 4-2 at the break. Another stepout in the second period saw her lead extend to 5-2. Rillia then hit a double leg for four points but gave two points for exposure before using an arm bar to pin Manju.

Ebru DAGBASI (TUR) had Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) in early trouble when she scored a go behind after Motoki let off the grip mistaking the whistle from the other mat as hers. She scored a takedown to lead 2-2 on criteria in the second period. For the final two minutes, Motoki held Dagbasi to that score to win 2-2.

Viktoria BORSOS (HUN)Viktoria BORSOS (HUN) scores the winning takedown against Madina AMAN (KAZ). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In the other semifinal, Madina AMAN (KAZ) latched on the opportunity to score a takedown when Viktoria BORSOS (HUN) lost her balance. Aman led 2-1 at the break but Borsos began the second period with a takedown to reclaim the lead 3-2 before adding a counter to make it 5-2.

Aman managed to pull one back to cut the lead to 5-4 but both wrestlers were running out of breath as the final minute approached. Aman used that to score her takedown but Borsos used a takedown in the final three seconds to win 7-6.

Ami ISHII (JPN)Ami ISHII (JPN) defeated Nesrin BAS (TUR) to reach the 68kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Japan's senior world team member Ami ISHII (JPN) was the fourth wrestler to reach the final as she defeated Nesrin BAS (TUR) in a close semifinal. Bas was called passive in the first period which gave Ishii the 1-0 lead at the break.

Bas took the 1-1 criteria lead when Ishii was warned for passivity in the second period. With a minute left, it looked like Bas will manage to keep her lead but Ishii proved too clutch and won 3-1.

Ishii will now have to beat Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) who defeated Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER) 6-3 in the other semifinal. Schaefle led 3-2 with over a minute left but Nurtaeva hit a four and secured the win.

Ayano MORO (JPN)Ayano MORO (JPN) defeated Daniela TKACHUK (POL) in the 76kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Ayano MORO (JPN) made it a clean sweep for Japan as she won by technical superiority over Daniela TKACHUK (POL). She built a 6-0 lead using a cradle and then used a takedown and lace to win 10-0.

Making the final from the other side of the bracket was two-time U17 world champion Priya MALIK (IND) as she used a late takedown to beat Veronika NYIKOS (HUN) 6-5.

Malik led 3-0 at the break but was called passive in the second period and when she tried to hit a double, Nyikos used a counter to hit a four. Malik finished the sequence with a reversal to make the score 5-4. With two points needed for the win, Malik got on a single and finished it with a takedown to lead 6-5 and defended it till the time expired.

 

df

RESULTS

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) df. Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI), 5-3 

BRONZE: Mohit KUMAR (IND) df. Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE), 7-0
BRONZE: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df. Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR), 5-3

74kg
GOLD: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df. Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN), via fall

BRONZE: Sagar JAGLAN (IND) df. Iliyas YERBOLATOV (KAZ), 10-0
BRONZE: Jafar CHULIBOYEV (UZB) df. Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) df. Bennett BERGE (USA), 9-5

BRONZE: Aref RANJBARI (IRI) df. Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE), 3-1
BRONZE: Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR) df. Nazar DOD (UKR), 11-1

92kg
GOLD: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO), 11-0

BRONZE: Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM) df. Jaxon SMITH (USA), 12-2
BRONZE: Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) df. Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN), 11-0

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND), 13-2

BRONZE: Adil MISIRCI (TUR) df. Namoz ABDURASHIDOV (UZB), 4-0
BRONZE: Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO) df. Nicholas FELDMAN (USA), via fall (7-8)

IranIran won the freestyle team title with the USA second and India finishing third. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

WW Semifinals

50kg
GOLD: Umi ITO (JPN) vs. Audrey JIMENEZ (USA)

SF 1: Umi ITO (JPN) df. Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND), 10-0
SF 2: Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) df. Natalia WALCZAK (POL), via fall (2-4)

55kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) vs. Albina RILLIA (UKR)

SF 1: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), 12-2
SF 2: Albina RILLIA (UKR) df. MANJU (IND), via fall (6-7)

59kg
GOLD: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) vs. Viktoria BORSOS (HUN)

SF 1: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) df. Ebru DAGBASI (TUR), 2-2 
SF 2: Viktoria BORSOS (HUN) df. Madina AMAN (KAZ), 7-6

68kg
GOLD: Ami ISHII (JPN) vs. Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)

SF 1: Ami ISHII (JPN) df. Nesrin BAS (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) df. Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER), 6-3

76kg
GOLD: Priya MALIK (IND) vs. Ayano MORO (JPN)

SF 1: Priya MALIK (IND) vs. Veronika NYIKOS (HUN), 6-5
SF 2: Ayano MORO (JPN) df. Daniela TKACHUK (POL), 10-0