#WrestleUfa

#WrestleUfa Begins with 23 Age-Group World Medalists in Action

Sunday, August 15, 2021 - 17:48 By Vinay Siwach

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UFA, Russia (August 15) -- When the first whistles blow Monday at the Ufa Arena, it will mark the beginning a junior World Championships after gap of 729 days owing to the pandemic. But more than 500 wrestlers are ready to lay their claim for 120 medals that will be on offer during the August 16-22 tournament.

Situated in western Russia and almost 1500 kilometers from Moscow, Ufa will see freestyle wrestling kickoff things on day one of the Junior World Championships. Women's wrestling and Greco-Roman will be the next two styles of wrestling.

A host of former age-group world medalists will be in action at the Ufa Arena which will see spectators for the first time since the 2020 Asian Championships in Delhi. Spectators who wish to enter the arena need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or or need to provide a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result.

Russia will look to win the the team title at home under the guidance of head coach, former world champion Abdulsalam GADISOV. But a number former world medalists will in their way.

In freestyle, Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) will be one of the biggest names to look forward to. The two-time age-group world champion is returning from the Tokyo Olympics just a week ago and will wrestle at the 74kg weight class. He will be looking to add to his four medals from age-group Worlds.

But he will face challenge from Taner GARIP (TUR). The two can set up a rematch of the 2021 European Championships final which Bayramov won in Dortmund.

One of the toughest weight class in the freestyle will be 79kg as three former world medalists including a world champion from 2018 in Bagrati GAGNIDZE (GEO) are entered. He won a junior World Championships silver as well and an exciting match-up can be seen if Gourav BALIYAN (IND) wrestles him. The two wrestled each other in the 2018 cadet Worlds final and Gagnidze scored a final second takedown to defeat the Indian.

Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) will also be a big threat to the title as he is coming after winning the U23 World Championships silver medal in 2019.

Another category which will see three world medalists is 125kg. Giorgi CHIKHRADZE (GEO), Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM) and Anirudh KUMAR (IND) are medalist from the 2019 Cadet World Championships. Chikhradze was the silver medalist while the other two won bronze. From the same tournament, Bekzat TAZHI (KAZ) won a bronze at 92kg and making his move up to 125kg.

Wrestlers at 61kg will in a stacked field with two-time world champion Rahman Mousa AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI) eyeing his third title at the age-group level. But he will be challenged by another world champion Fedor BALTUEV (RUS) who won the title in 2017. Abulfaz NASIROV (AZE) and RAVINDER (IND) will also be in the same field. The two are bronze medalists from the Cadet World Championships.

Another former world champion entered is Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) and he will be wrestling at 70kg. He won the cadet world title at 65kg in 2019. Recently, he did a double by winning the 2021 European Junior and U23 Championships. Erfan Mohammad ELAHI (IRI) will try to win his first world title after falling short and collecting a silver at 60kg back in 2019. Another cadet world medalist, JAIDEEP (IND) will try to improve. He won a bronze medalist at the 2021 Worlds in Budapest last month.

Amirhossein Biglar FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI) will try to capture his second world title as he is entered at 86kg. He won a gold medal at 80kg at the 2019 World Championships at the cadet level.

57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg wrestlers will be in action Monday and freestyle action will continue Tuesday with the remaining five weight classes.

#JapanWrestling

I Want to Win Second Olympic Gold at LA 2028: Higuchi

Friday, May 22, 2026 - 10:59 By United World Wrestling Press

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TOKYO (May 22) -- Paris Olympic champion at 57kg Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) returned to competition for the 2026 Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in Tokyo. After reaching the 61kg final on Saturday, Higuchi defeated Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN), 3-0, in the gold medal bout.

Normally, the two should have wrestle off to earn a spot on the Japan team for the 2026 World Championships. However, Higuchi withdrew from the play-off to everyone's surprise. He later talked to the press. Excerpts:

UWW Plus

-- On withdrawing from World Championships wrestle-off against Hasegawa

Higuchi: In December, the qualifying process at 57kg starts for [the 2028] Los Angeles [Olympics]. There is the World Championships, but all I am thinking of is a second straight title in Los Angeles. Strategically speaking, I have six months from now to get my body ready and drop to 57kg, and I want to give that priority. That's how I came to this decision."

-- On his performance at the Meiji Cup

Higuchi: I tried various new takedowns, and I was able to apply pressure in the clinch as well. I think it went pretty well, more or less. There was one throw I felt I could have executed better, and there were a few other areas where I wanted to finish things off more decisively. I guess there’s a mix of things to reflect on and things that went well. It feels like a bit of a mixed bag. 

-- On his return after 21 months since 2024 Paris Olympics

Higuchi: It was definitely fun. It was my first match in a long time, so I was really excited and nervous, but I’m not the type to feel too much pressure. Even as an Olympic champion, how should I put it?, I’m sure there were people hoping for an upset, but whether I win or lose, the fact that I’m an Olympic gold medalist doesn’t change. So in that sense, I was able to let go of the pressure and really enjoy the wrestling.

-- On his physical health

Higuchi: In the first match, I definitely felt like my legs were really heavy. It had been a while since my last match, and it had been a while since I’d reduce weight too. There were moments where I wondered, “Is this really okay?” But by the second match, the semifinal, I was gradually finding my rhythm and moving well. I really feel it was great that I was able to compete once six months ago, rather than starting all of a sudden this December.

-- On any improvements for future

Higuchi: First of all, I need to build a body that’s properly suited for the 57kg weight class. It’s been a while since I’ve competed, so I didn’t perform as well as I’d hoped. I think if I refocus and tighten up my game, I’ll be able to deliver an even better performance. I really want to get back to training soon. It was so much fun. It’s been a while, but I feel like I can pull off all sorts of new moves and do so much more, so I’m eager to get back to training. 

-- On motivation for LA 2028

Higuchi: There’s only one person in the history of Japanese wrestling [Freestyle] who has won back-to-back Olympic gold medals. My goal is to become the strongest wrestler in the history of Japanese wrestling. In terms of records. There are many great predecessors, but I want to break their records. I want to become the kind of figure where people say, “Rei Higuchi was the strongest in Japanese wrestling history.”

I want to wrap things up by winning two consecutive gold medals in Los Angeles.