#WrestleWarsaw European C'ship Entries

Wednesday, April 14, 2021 - 17:24 By Eric Olanowski

WARSAW, Poland (April 14) --- All eyes will be on Warsaw, Poland next week (April 19-25) as 444 athletes from 37 countries will compete for continental gold at the European Championship. Greco-Roman leads the tournament entries with 77 athletes while there will be 156 freestyle competitors and 111 women's wrestlers.

Freestyle wrestling kicks off the competition next Monday (April 19). The spotlight turns to women's wrestling on Wednesday, while Greco-Roman takes center-stage starting on Friday.

*Please note that these entries were pulled on Wednesday (April 14) and are subject to change.

57kg
Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE)
Aryan TSIUTRYN (BLR)
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Ioannis MARTIDIS (GRE)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA)
Razvan Marian KOVACS (ROU)
Nachyn MONGUSH (RUS)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)

61kg
Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV (AZE)
Dzimchyk RYNCHYNAU (BLR)
Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL)
Arman Norik ELOYAN (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Viktor Viktorowitsch LYZEN (GER)
Richard VILHELM (HUN)
Daniel POPOV (ISR)
Simone Vincenzo PIRODDU (ITA)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Ivan GUIDEA (ROU)
Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR (SRB)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)

65kg
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Gabriel JANATSCH (AUT)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Andrei BEKRENEU (BLR)
Ruhan Hyusnyu RASIM (BUL)
Quentin Jean-René STICKER (FRA)
George Anthony RAMM (GBR)
Shmagi TODUA (GEO)
Niklas Dietmar DORN (GER)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Zagir SHAKHIEV (RUS)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Andrii SVYRYD (UKR)

70kg
Orges LILA (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Dzianis SALAVEI (BLR)
Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR)
Davit TLASHADZE (GEO)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Artem AUGA (LTU)
Mihail SAVA (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)
Israil KASUMOV (RUS)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Davud ALIZALAU (BLR)
Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Charlie James BOWLING (GBR)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Daniel SARTAKOV (GER)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Valentin BORZIN (MDA)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Tajmuraz Mairbekovic SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Semen RADULOV (UKR)

79kg
Osman HAJDARI (ALB)
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Rashad YUSIFLI (AZE)
Andrei KARPACH (BLR)
Oktay Ruzhdi HASAN (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Eduard TATARINOV (GER)
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL)
Malik SHAVAEV (RUS)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)

86kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE)
Ali SHABANAU (BLR)
Dzhemal Rushen ALI (BUL)|
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua Philipp David MORODION(GER)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Edgaras VOITECHOVSKIS (LTU)
Gheorghi PASCALOV (MDA)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Artur NAIFONOV (RUS)
Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR)
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mraz DZHAFARIAN (UKR)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Hajy RAJABAU (BLR)
Akhmed Adamovitch MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Irakli MTSITURI (GEO)
Robin Michael FERDINAND (GER)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWICZ (POL)
Magomed Guseynovitch KURBANOV (RUS)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
AndriI VLASOV (UKR)

97kg
Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR)
Ahmed Sultanovich BATAEV (BUL)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji Omardibirovich NUROV (MKD)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Albert SARITOV (ROU)
Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS)
Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR)
Islam Timurovich ADIZOV (BUL)
Jere Tapani HEINO (FIN)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Samhan JABRAILOV (MDA)
Kamil Tomasz KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)

Riza KAYAALP (TUR) is on a quest to win his tenth European title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman
55kg
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Artsiom KATSAR (BLR)
Nedyalko Petrov PETROV (BUL)
Mattias Tero Alarik POUTANEN (FIN)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Fabian Bernhard SCHMITT (GER)
Andre Ricardo CARDOSO OLIVEIRA SILVA (POR)
Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
Viktor VEDERNIKOV (RUS)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR (SRB)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Mykhaylo STUPIN (UKR)

60kg
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Murad BAZAROV (AZE)
Hleb MAKARANKA (BLR)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)
Jozsef ANDRASI (HUN)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Nicolai BURGHILA (MDA)
Michal Jacek TRACZ (POL)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Antonio MARTINS CABRAL (POR)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Sergey EMELIN (RUS)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Soslan DAUROV (BLR)
Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL)
Yasin OZAY (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Andrej GINC (GER)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Mateusz Radoslaw SZEWCZUK (POL)
Julinho Benjamim CORREIA DJU (POR)
Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)
Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)
Niklas Jan Olov Pontus OEHLEN (SWE)
Abdurrahman ALTAN (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)

67kg
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Namaz RUSTAMOV (AZE)
Maksim NEHODA (BLR)
Ivo Krasimirov ILIEV (BUL)
Fredrik Holmquist BJERREHUUS (DEN)
Stefan Roger CLEMENT (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
Mate KRASZNAI (HUN)
Zaur KABALOEV (ITA)
Edgaras VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Mateusz Lucjan BERNATEK (POL)
Artem SURKOV (RUS)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Aker AL OBAIDI (UWW)

72kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Christoph BURGER (AUT)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Anton KORABAU (BLR)
Alen FODOR (CRO)
Mikko Petteri PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed Hassan GHANEM (FRA)
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)|
Frank STAEBLER (GER)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Juan Sebastian AAK (NOR)
Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)
Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS)
Aleksandar MAKSIMOVIC (SRB)
Leos DRMOLA (SVK)
Daniel Mattias SOINI (SWE)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR)

77kg
Varuzhan GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Tsimur BERDYIEU (BLR)
Stoyan Stoychev KUBATOV (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Waltteri Harri Kristian LATVALA (FIN)
Johnny Just BUR (FRA)
Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
Michael Felix WIDMAYER (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
Roman ZHERNOVETSKI (ISR)
Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Mantas Kazimieras SINKEVICIUS (LTU)
Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Iwan NYLYPIUK (POL)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
Aleksa ERSKI (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Bogdan KOURINNOI (SWE)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR)

82kg
Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
Tunjay VAZIRZADE (AZE)
Radzik KULIYEU (BLR)
Rosian Ognyanov DERMANSKI (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Rajbek Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Mikko Tapani LYTTINEN (FIN)
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Laszlo SZABO (HUN)
Igor PETRISHIN (ISR)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Edgar BABAYAN (POL)
Adlan AKIEV (RUS)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Alex Michel BJURBERG KESSIDIS (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)

87kg
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR)
Svetoslav Nikolaev NIKOLOV (BUL)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Turpan Ali Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO)
Denis Maksymilian KUDLA (GER)
Dimitrios PAPADOPOULOS (GRE)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Viorel BURDUJA (MDA)
Arkadiusz Marcin KULYNYCZ (POL)
Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Oskar Alexander Patrick JOHANSSON (SWE)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)

97kg
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Zamir MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Mikalai STADUB (BLR)
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Balazs KISS (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Ibrahim TIGCI( TUR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)

130kg
Pavel RUDAKOU (BLR)
Marko KOSCEVIC (CRO)
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Konsta Johannes MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Eduard POPP (GER)
Alexandros PAPADATOS (GRE)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Rafal Andrzej KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)

Two-time world champion Mariya STADNIK (AZE) leads the women's wrestling entries. She's entered at 50kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Natallia VARAKINA (BLR)
Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Emilia CIRICU BUDEANU (MDA)
Ramona ERIKSEN (NOR)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)

53kg
Tatyana VARANSOVA (AZE)
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Kamile SERNAUSKAITE (LTU)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

55kg
Katsiaryna PICHKOUSKAYA (BLR)
Sezen Behchetova BELBEROVA (BUL)
Hilary Ysaline HONORINE (FRA)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Jessica Cornelia Francisca BLASZKA (NED)
Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS)
Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Khrystyna Zoryana DEMKO (UKR)

57kg
Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)

59kg
Krystsina SAZYKINA (BLR)
Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Jowita Maria WRZESIEN (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL)
Debora LAWNITZAK (GER)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Katarzyna MADROWSKA (POL)
Valeria KOBLOVA ZHOLOBOVA (RUS)
Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)

65kg
IrIna Petrovna NETREBA (AZE)
Tatsiana PAULAVA (BLR)
Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR)
Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Ilana KRATYSH (ISR)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
Tindra Linnea SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR)

72kg
Yuliana Vasileva YANEVA (BUL)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Natalia Iwona STRZALKA (POL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS)
Merve PUL (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Mariya Gerginova ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Epp MAEE (EST)
Cynthia Vanessa VESCAN (FRA)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)

#JapanWrestling

Kawai makes stunning move to 68kg in bid for Olympic repeat

Friday, May 19, 2023 - 06:19 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (May 16) -- In her bid for a second straight Olympic title, Yukako KAWAI has made a surprising and sudden move up two weight classes to the next Olympic division.

Kawai, who won the Tokyo Olympic gold at 62kg in women's wrestling, is entered at 68kg for next month's Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, the Japan Wrestling Federation announced Wednesday.

The Meiji Cup on June 15-18 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym is the second of Japan's two domestic qualifiers for this year's World Championships, which will provide the first opportunity for qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The first domestic qualifier was the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held last December.

Kawai's older sister Risako (who now goes by her married name KINJO) has moved back down to 57kg, the weight class in which she won her second straight Olympic gold at the 2021 Tokyo Games. Risako had returned to competition at 59kg last fall after giving birth to her first child.

And the match-up that the wrestling world has been longing to see could finally become a reality at 53kg, where teen phenom and 2021 world champion Akari FUJINAMI and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Mayu SHIDOCHI are both entered.

Any wrestler who wins titles at both the Emperor's Cup and Meiji Cup automatically earns a ticket to Belgrade. If the champions in the Olympic weights are different, a playoff will be held between the two in July. In non-Olympic weights, the two champions and any wrestlers who finish second in an Olympic division are eligible to enter the playoff.

The competition to get to Belgrade in the Olympic weights is particularly fierce, given that the Japan federation has decreed that a wrestler who wins a medal there will automatically fill the Olympic berth that comes with it.

While no medal is a sure thing, it is worth noting that Japan's women medaled in five of the six Olympic weights at the 2019 World Championships, the first qualifier for Tokyo 2021. As such, the top wrestlers have funneled into the Olympic weights for the Meiji Cup, pitting current and past world and Olympic champions and medalists against each other.

Kawai failed to win the 62kg title at the Emperor's Cup, revealing later she had not fully recovered from a back injury. While there have been no reports of her reason, it appears she figured her best chance for getting to Paris would be take a chance at 68kg.

It will be no easy task. While the weight class has seen the retirement of 2016 Rio Olympic champion Sara DOSHO, the field includes world silver medalist Ami ISHII, world 65kg champion Miwa MORIKAWA, world 72kg bronze medalist Masako FURUCHI and 2021 world silver medalist Rin MIYAJI.

Ishii, coming off a gold-medal run at the Asian Championships last month in Astana, has the upper hand, having defeated Morikawa 5-2 in the Emperor's Cup final. Miyaji gave Ishii a tough fight in the second round when she come out on the short end of a 6-4 decision.

Kinjo won the Emperor's Cup title at 59kg, so for her to make it to Belgrade at 57kg, she needs to beat in-form Emperor's Cup champion Sae NANJO in the Meiji Cup and/or a playoff. Nanjo was also one of Japan's five women's champions in Astana.

Not to be counted out is two-time world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI, who suffered a last-second 5-4 loss to Nanjo in the Emperor's Cup final and will be gunning for revenge.

Fujinami heads into the Meiji Cup on a 119-match winning streak dating back to her junior high school days, which she extened by winning three international titles in three months -- Zagreb in February, Sofia in March and Astana in April.

The streak currently ties her with legendary three-time Olympic champion and fellow Mie Prefecture native Saori YOSHIDA. But she has long said the streak is secondnary to winning a gold in Paris. Fujinami moved closer by cruising to victory at the Emperor's Cup, where Shidochi was in the other bracket but failed to make the final.

Shidochi had taken time off after the Tokyo Olympics to get married, returning to action last year to win her third world title at 55kg. But moving back to 53kg at the Emperor's Cup, she lost in the semifinals to former two-time world champion Haruna OKUNO, whom she had beaten in nine previous matches.

Also entered at 53kg is Moe KIYOOKA, the Emperor's Cup champion at 55kg who captured a world U20-U23 double in 2022 and won this year's Zagreb Open.

The most intense final could come at 62kg, where world 59kg bronze medalist Sakura MOTOKI will look to repeat her stunning triumph at the Emperor's Cup over world champion Nonoka OZAKI. That loss left Ozaki in tears and she will certainly be out for revenge.

Motoki, looking to join her father as an Olympian (Yasutoshi finished ninth at Greco 63kg at the 2000 Sydney Olympics), preceded her 4-2 victory in the final over Ozaki by crushing Kawai 9-2 in the semifinals. That gave the 21-year-old consecutive wins over the reigning Olympic and world champions.

At 50kg, standing in reigning world champion Yui SUSAKI's path to a possible second straight Olympic gold is longtime rival and 2021 world gold medalist Remina YOSHIMOTO. Susaki defeated Yoshimoto 8-0 in the Emperor's Cup final for her fourth win in four career meetings, but Yoshimoto always poses a threat for an upset.

The remaining Olympic weight class, 76kg, also presents a intriguing potential match-up. World U20 champion Ayano MORO, who just started her freshman year at Yamanashi Gakuin University, won the Emperor's Cup title when world bronze medalist Yuka KAGAMI wrestled injured and failed to make the final. It looks like a toss-up between those two.

Higuchi, Otoguro look to punch tickets to Belgrade

In men's freestyle, world 61kg champion Rei HIGUCHI will look to negotiate a tough field and earn the ticket to the worlds at 57kg, while Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO should have little problem locking up the spot at 65kg.

Higuchi, the 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist at 57kg who failed to make Japan's team for the Tokyo Games, has been in sizzling form of late. Last year, he won Asian and world golds at 61kg before taking the Emperor's Cup title at 57kg to put him halfway to Belgrade.

Trying to keep him from making that trip will be Asian bronze medalist Rikuto ARAI, 2021 world 61kg bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA, 2019 Asian bronze medalist Yudai FUJITA and 2019 world junior champion Toshiya ABE.

Otoguro, the 2018 world champion, has only competed once since his Olympic triumph, and that ended with his third Emperor's Cup title and first in three years. His main competition will likely be Asian bronze medalist Ryoma ANRAKU, whom he beat 4-0 in the Emperor's Cup final.

The most intriguing freestyle weight class is 86kg, with veteran Sohsuke TAKATANI returning in an attempt to qualify for his fourth Olympics. The 34-year-old Takatani has spent the past two years at 92kg, where last year he won his 12th consecutive national title over four weight classes, while becoming the head coach at his alma mater Takushoku University.

Looking to stop him will be Emperor's Cup champion and Asian bronze medalist Hayato ISHIGURO and world U23 champion Tatsuya SHIRAI, who sat out of the Emperor's Cup.

In Greco-Roman, the weight class to watch is 67kg and Taishi NARIKUNI's quest to become a world champion in both styles. Narikuni won the freestyle 70kg crown last year in Belgrade.

Narikuni, who prefers weight training to typical wrestling practice, entered both freestyle and Greco at the Emperor's Cup (a title double hasn't been done in 49 years), but had to withdraw because of a broken rib suffered in practice. This time, he is entered only in Greco.

As for the reason for his unusual crusade, Narikuni's mother was a two-time world champion, and instead of just matching her, he feels his accomplishment will stand out more if he also wins two titles but in different styles.

Standing in his way are Emperor's Cup champion and Asian silver medalist Kyotaro SOGABE, 2022 Asian bronze medalist Katsuaki ENDO and Taishi HORIE, the Emperor's Cup winner at 72kg who has moved down to the Olympic weight.

At 77kg, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Shohei YABIKU has a steep climb to get back to Paris, having lost in the second round at the Emperor's Cup to world U23 bronze medalist Nao KUSAKA. Kodai SAKURABA, a bronze medalist at the recent Asian Championships, beat Kusaka in the Emperor's Cup final, and the title battle looks to be between these three.

For Olympic 60kg silver medalist and former world champion Kenichi FUMITA, the ticket to Belgrade is his to lose. He is the favorite to follow up his Emperor's Cup triumph.

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Kawai makes stunning move to 68kg in bid for Olympic repeat