Tynybekova and Mensah Inch Closer to Locking up Top Seed at Olympics

Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:12 By Eric Olanowski

*The highest number of potential points a wrestler can earn if he/she wins gold in a bracket with 20+ competitors at the continental championships (22 points) and Poland Open (18 points) is 40 points.

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (January 30) --- Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) inched closer to locking up top seeds at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after medalling at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series tournament this month in Rome.

Because the highest number of Rankings Series points a wrestler can earn the rest of the year is 40 (22 at continental championships and 18 at the Poland Open) defending world champions Tynybekova (62kg) and Mensah (68kg) are on the cusp of locking in their top seeds in Tokyo. The 2020 Games will be the first time wrestlers are eligible for a top-four seed seeding at an Olympics.

Tynybekova, who took gold at the Matteo Pellicone, has amassed a comfortable 36-point lead over No. 2 Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) and will earn the No. 1 seed at 62kg in Tokyo if she earns four points at the Asian Championships February 18-23 in Delhi. Tynybekova is the defending Asian champion.

Mensah-Stock finds herself in a similar situation heading into the Pan-American Championships March 6-9 in Ottawa.

Mensah-Stock (74 points) earned 60 with her gold at the world championships last September and added another 14 after taking silver at the Matteo Pellicone. She has a 34-point advantage over Jenny FRANSSON (SWE) and can put her out of striking distance -- and become the No. 1 seeded 68kg woman at the Olympic Games -- if she scores six points at the Pan-American Championships.

Vinesh and Adekuoroye Sneak up to No. 2 Spot
VINESH Phogat (IND) and Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) claimed gold the Matteo Pellicone and slipped into the second spot of the rankings at 53kg and 57kg, respectively.

Vinesh moved one-point ahead of Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and four points ahead of PANG Qianyu (CHN) with her 4-0 shutout win over Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) in the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series finals. The Indian star positioned herself to take over the No. 1 spot with a potential 20-point gold-medal finish at the Asian Championships.

Vinesh, Mukaida and Pang are all entered into the 53kg bracket in New Delhi, but the weight will be missing reigning world champion Yong Mi PAK (PRK).

Vinesh is the lone top-four wrestler with enough points to overthrow Pak with a win at the continental championships. She'd control the one-point advantage over Pak heading into the final Ranking Series event.

Adekuoroye jumped RONG Ningning (CHN) and is now the lone woman from Africa in the top two of the rankings. The Nigerian superstar trails three-time world champion and 2016 Olympic champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) by 17 points.

Alina VUC (ROU) trails Mariya STADNIK (AZE) by six points heading into the European Championships. (Kadir Caliskan)

Vuc Closes Gap with Matteo Pellicone Silver; Hildebrandt Debuts at 50kg
Alina VUC (ROU) claimed a silver medal at the Matteo Pellicone, closing the gap between her and top-ranked Mariya STADNIK (AZE). Vuc trailed Stadnik by 20 points heading into to the Matteo Pellicone but closed the Azeri’s lead to just six points after taking silver to Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) in a back-and-forth finals.

Hildebrandt, who last year was briefly top-ranked at 53kg, answered a lot of questions about her move to 50kg with her 4-2 victory in the gold medal finals of the Matteo Pellicone. The win moved Hildebrandt into No. 10 slot at 50kg with 16 points.

Epp Mäe (EST) dropped to seventh in the 76kg rankings after three wrestlers moved into the top-five with Matteo Pellicone podium finishes. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Mäe Slips to Seventh after Top-Heavy Changes at 76kg
Epp Mäe (EST) slipped three spots in the rankings after failing to reach the podium in Rome. ZHOU Qian (CHN), Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) and Erica WIEBE (CAN) finished in the top-five to move ahead of Mäe in 76kg rankings.

Mäe's costly loss in the quarterfinals in Rome moved her down to seventh while Zhou, Sydykova and Wiebe moved into the No. 4 to No. 6 spots, respectively.

The next Ranking Series tournaments will be the continental championships held in February and early March. Gold medal winners are eligible for 12 points plus a bonus based on the number of entries in their weight category.

Please go to UnitedWorldWrestling.org for the updated competition calendar and guidelines for accumulating points during the Ranking Series.

Top-Ten Women's Wrestling Rankings

50kg
1. Mariya STADNIK (AZE) - 60
2. Emilia Alina VUC (ROU) - 54
3. Oksana LIVACH (UKR) - 32
4. Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ) - 25
5. Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS) - 25
6. Yanan SUN (CHN) - 20
7. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) - 18
8. Yuki IRIE (JPN) - 16
9. Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) - 16
10. Ellen RIESTERER (GER) - 14

53kg
1. Yong Mi PAK (PRK) - 60
2. Vinesh VINESH (IND) - 41
3. Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) - 40
4. Qianyu PANG (CHN) - 37
5. Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) - 32
6. Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) - 20
7. Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL) - 20
8. Lianna de la Caridad MONTERO HERRERA (CUB) - 16
9. Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) - 14
10. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) - 12

55kg
1. Jacarra Gwenisha WINCHESTER (USA) - 58
2. Nanami IRIE (JPN) - 38
3. Iryna HUSYAK (UKR) - 28
4. Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) - 23
5. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) - 23
6. Bediha GUN TUR) - 18
7. Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ) - 18
8. Anna LUKASIAK (POL) - 14
9. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) - 14
10. Annika WENDLE (GER) - 12

57kg
1. Risako KAWAI (JPN) - 60
2. Odunayo folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR) - 43
3. Ningning RONG (CHN) - 40
4. Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) - 25
5. Jowita Maria WRZESIEN (POL) - 20
6. Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) - 20
7. Marina SIMONYAN (RUS) - 18
8. Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) - 16
9. Anshu ANSHU (IND) - 16
10. In Sun JONG (PRK) - 14

59kg
1. Linda MORAIS (CAN) - 58
2. Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS) - 38
3. Anhelina LYSAK (UKR) - 32
4. Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) - 23
5. Xingru PEI (CHN) - 23
6. Pooja DHANDA (IND) - 18
7. Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE) - 16
8. Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) - 14
9. Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER) - 12
10. Yuliya PISARENKA (BLR) - 12

62kg
1. Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) - 76
2. Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL) - 40
3. Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) - 30|
4. Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA) - 26
5. Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE) - 25
6. Yukako KAWAI (JPN) - 25
7. Marianna SASTIN (HUN) - 20
8. Jong Sim RIM (PRK) - 20
9. Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU) - 14
10. Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS) - 14

65kg
1. Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS) - 72
2. Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) - 38
3. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) - 23
4. Xiaoqian WANG (CHN) - 23
5. Yuliana Vasileva YANEVA (BUL) - 18
6. Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA) - 18
7. Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ) - 16
8. Kadriye AKSOY (TUR) - 14
9. Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE) - 12
10. Oksana KUKHTA HERHEL (UKR) - 12

68kg
1. Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA) - 74
2. Anna Jenny Eva Maria FRANSSON (SWE) - 40
3. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) - 30
4. Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN) - 26
5. Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER) - 25
6. Battsetseg SORONZONBOLD (MGL) - 25
7. Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) - 20
8. Sara DOSHO (JPN) - 20
9. Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK KORDUS (POL) - 16
10. Feng ZHOU (CHN) - 16

72kg
1. Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) - 58
2. Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR) - 38
3. Paliha PALIHA (CHN) - 23
4. Masako FURUICHI (JPN) - 23
5. Victoria Christine FRANCIS (USA) - 18
6. Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) - 18
7. Beste ALTUG (TUR) - 16
8. Alexandra Nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU) - 14
9. Maria SELMAIER (GER) - 14
10. Komal Bhagwan GOLE (IND) - 12

76kg
1. Adeline Maria GRAY (USA) - 60
2. Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) - 40
3. Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) - 37
4. Qian ZHOU (CHN) - 34
5. Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) - 30
6. Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN) - 30
7. Epp Mäe (EST) - 25
8. Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE) - 18
9. Alla BELINSKA (UKR) - 16
10. Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU) - 12

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Ozaki, Morikawa Mark Golden Return to Olympic Weights

Saturday, February 7, 2026 - 00:43 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 7) -- Just four months ago, Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) came to Zagreb as a training partner with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at the World Championships.

While Morikawa won the gold medal, Ozaki cheered for her close friend, even writing messages for her on a small bandage that Morikawa put on her cheek.

Back then, Ozaki wished she could compete and become world champions together.

Not the World Championships, but Ozaki and Morikawa won gold medals at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event on Friday. Ozaki completed a dominant run to win the 62kg title while Morikawa had a bumpy ride to the 68kg gold medal, a weight class above 65kg in which she won the world gold.

"We managed to win gold with the star of Physical Asia," Morikawa wrote on social media referring to a Netflix show in which Ozaki participated.

The two do not train at the same university in Japan but the closeness of their weight classes has allowed them to practice together whenever they get a chance, including being on international tours together.

They were two of the four Japanese wrestlers who won gold medals in Women's Wrestling, joining Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) at 59kg and Nana IKEHATA (JPN) at 65kg.

Greco-Roman also kicked off at the Zagreb Open, the season-opening Ranking Series event, and the world champion at 63kg Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) showed that he has adjusted to the Olympic weight class 67kg, winning gold.

Iran won gold at 63kg after Erfan JARKANI (IRI) defeated CHETAN (IND) in the final.

Ozaki began her day by securing a fall over Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) after building a 12-2 lead, and then pinned Eniko ELEKES (HUN) in the second bout to book a spot in the semifinal.

It was in this bout that Ozaki faced her first struggles of the day against Macey KILTY (USA). Though she ultimately secured a 5-2 win, Ozaki gave up positions against the American wrestler. She would later admit that it was not easy to keep herself calm during the bout.

In the final against Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), a silver medalist from the European Championships, Ozaki scored four different takedowns and looked in complete control. With the 8-0 win, Ozaki won her first Ranking Series gold medal.

Ozaki won the world title at 65kg in 2023 but was a phenom at 62kg when she emerged on the international scene in 2022. But after a slump in form both in Japan and internationally, she missed out on making the Japan team for the 2023 World Championships at 62kg.

However, with Ami ISHII (JPN) qualifying Japan for the 2024 Paris Games without winning a medal opened a door for Ozaki to be at the Olympics.

Ozaki set out on a daunting task of moving to 68kg and not only did she defeat Ishii while being underweight, she managed to win a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Soon after, she decided to move back to 62kg but suffered two back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and failed to make the 2025 world team.

It turned around at the Emperor's Cup in December 2025 as Ozaki avenged her loss to Motoki and earned the right to participate in the Zagreb Open and Asian Championships in April.

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) scores a takedown on Nesrin BAS (TUR) during the 68kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Morikawa, who also moved to 68kg after winning gold at 65kg at the World Championships in 2025, had a hiccup in the final, but managed to get the gold medal against Nesrin BAS (TUR).

The two-time world champion captured her third Ranking Series gold medal and first since 2018 but not before having a tough time on the mat. She began with an 11-0 win over Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) and then a 10-0 technical superiority over Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW).

While the fall over Aleah NICKEL (CAN) in the semifinals was dominant, Morikawa did show some signs of discomfort. That showed up in the final against Bas as Morikawa fell behind 2-0 in the first period. She managed to score a point before the break and cut the lead to 2-1.

Morikawa found a way to score two takedowns in the second period to take a 5-2 lead to capture the gold medal at 68kg.

Bas, who was at the Paris Olympics at 62kg but won world silver medal in 2025 at 72kg, was another wrestler trying to adjust to a new weight class. Her biggest test came in the semifinal against Olympic silver medalist Kennedy BLADES (USA).

Blades led 1-0 at the end of the first period but Bas seemed unfazed. The American was put on the shot clock in the second period and after 30-second activity time exchanged, Bas took a 1-1 criteria lead. Bas also got a point for stepout to make it 2-1.

She then defended the lead until the end of the time to claim a victory over Blades and a spot in the final against Morikawa. Bas is likely to continue at the weight and the silver medal in Zagreb will be a huge boost for her going forward.

Khalmakhanov adjusts to 67kg

Another star wrestler shifting to an Olympic weight class was 63kg world champion Khalmakhanov and he performed strongly at 67kg. His first battle came in the semifinal when he faced Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN).

But an arm-throw and turn gave him a 6-0 lead against Sogabe who got a few stepouts in the bout. Khalmakhanov scored two correct throws to add four more points in the bout and got one point for a lost challenge to win 11-5.

From the other side of the bracket, Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) made it to the final after beating Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 11-3, in the semifinals.

For the gold medal, Khalmakhanov and Chkhikvadze were matched evenly. While the scoreline points to a low-scoring bout, both wrestlers left it all on the mat.

Chkhikvadze was the first to get par terre but he failed to score any more points from the position and led 1-0 at the break. Khalmakhanov also got a point for the par terre position in the second period but Chkhikvadze held criteria.

The Georgian managed to score a stepout to extend his lead to a clear 2-1 score. But as the bout grew in intensity, it was Chkhikvadze who suffered, giving up a stepout with less than 30 seconds left.

With the score at 2-2, Khalmakhanov held criteria for the last point scored. He managed to hold his lead and won the gold medal in Zagreb, thus making a smooth transition to the Olympic weight class, three months after winning bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games at 67kg.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

59kg
GOLD: Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) df. Alexis JANIAK (USA), 10-0

BRONZE: Elena BRUGGER (GER) df. Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), via fall (7-0)
BRONZE: Abigail NETTE (USA) df. Iris SLATKA (CRO), via fall (10-0)

62kg
GOLD: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 8-0

BRONZE: Macey KILTY (USA) df. Eniko ELEKES (HUN), via fall
BRONZE: ANJLI (IND) df. Bhagyashree FAND (IND), 5-4

65kg
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA (JPN)
SILVER: PULKIT (IND)
BRONZE: Kriszta INCZE (ROU)

68kg
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Nesrin BAS (TUR), 5-2

BRONZE: NISHA (IND) df. Kennedy BLADES (USA), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) df. Aleah NICKEL (CAN), 9-0

Greco-Roman

63kg
GOLD: Erfan JARKANI (IRI) df. CHETAN (IND), 8-4

BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Khusniddin OLIMBOEV (UZB), 6-1
BRONZE: Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) df. Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ), 8-0

67kg
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 2-2

BRONZE: Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) df. Valentin PETIC (MDA), 5-0
BRONZE: Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) df. Mahmoud KAMALI (IRI), 3-2

Tynybekova and Mensah Inch Closer to Locking up Top Seed at Olympics

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Zagreb Open: Ozaki, Morikawa Mark Golden Return to Olympic Weights