USA Wrestling FILA PREVIEW: Greco-...

FILA PREVIEW: Greco-Roman Worlds preview and final rankings

By Bill May | Sept. 03, 2014, 10:39 a.m. (ET)

Hamid SORYAN looks to lead Iran to a team world championship in 2014 while pursuing his seventh individual world title in Greco-Roman wrestling next week in Tashkent. (Borna Ghasemi, FILA-Wrestling.com)

Soryan, Lopez Seek Seventh World Titles at Greco-Roman World Championships

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan(September 3) – Two of the all-time greats in Greco-Roman will be gunning for their seventh world-level titles when the curtain goes up on wrestling in the classic style at the Wrestling World Championship in Tashkent.

When they step onto the mats at the Gymnastics Sports Palace in Tashkent, Hamid SORYAN (IRI) at 59kg and Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB) at 130kg will also be making their first world championship appearances since winning gold medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Soryan is targeting a sixth world title to go with the 55kg gold medal he won in London while Lopez Nunez will attempt to become the eighth Greco-Roman wrestler to win five world titles. He also owns two Olympic Games gold medals he grabbed in Beijing and London.

A sixth crown at the world championships for Soryan would also place him second only to the legendary Alexander KARELIN (RUS) on the list of most Greco-Roman world championship titles. Karelin won nine world titles and three Olympic Games gold medals between 1988 and 1999.

Winning their seventh world-level titles, which also includes Olympic gold medals, would pull Soryan and Lopez even with Valery REZANTSEV (URS) in second place among Greco-Roman wrestlers behind Karelin’s 12.

Lopez wrestles on the second day of Greco-Roman events, Saturday, September 13, and would wrap up the day’s events in the 130kg final. Depending on the draw, he could very well meet top-ranked Riza KAYAALP (TUR), who defeated Lopez in the 2011 world championship final.

Soryan, meanwhile, will wrestle on the final day of competition, Sunday, September 14. At 59kg, Soryan could possibly face 2013 world champion at 60kg Ivo ANGELOV (BUL), London 2012 bronze medalist Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS) or local favorite Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB).

The first day of Greco-Roman at the Gymnastic Sports Palace in Tashkent features competition in only two weight categories along with the final event in female wrestling.

In the Greco-Roman events, world and Olympic champion at 74kg Roman VLASOV (RUS) will attempt to reclaim the world crown he lost to KIM Hyeon-Woo (KOR) in a battle between London 2012 gold medalists last year in Budapest.

Although Kim is not on the Korean list of entries for the world championships, five other gold medalists from the London 2012 Olympic Games are slated to compete – Soryan, Lopez Nunez and Vlasov as well as Omid NOROOZI (IRI) at 66kg and Ghasem REZAEI (IRI) at 98kg.

Greco-Roman

59kg (Sunday, September 14)


London 2012 gold medalist Hamid SORYAN (IRI), with five world titles at 55kg, tops the list of favorites followed closely by Ivo ANGELOV (BUL), who won the 60kg world title in Budapest.

Olympic Games bronze medalist Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS) took the Vehbi Emre tourney in February and had Soryan in trouble at the World Cup, until surrendering a late gut wrench in a 6-5 loss. World bronze medalist at 60kg Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) will have the hometown crowd behind him.

Rovshan BAYRAMOV (AZE), a two-time Olympic silver medalist, is back apparently planning a run at Rio while 2013 junior world champion Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) has edged out world bronze medalist Roman AMOYAN (ARM) for the trip to Tashkent.

66kg (Saturday, September 13)


London 2012 silver medalist Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) has spent this year rolling up the titles, including the European crown and the GGP Final, at the non-Olympic weight of 71kg. Lorincz, however, is entered at 66kg, looking to win his first medal on his seventh trip to the world championships.

Adam KURAK (RUS), who defeated 2013 world silver medalist Islambek ALBIEV (RUS) in January, took over the No.1 ranking with a win over Hasan ALIYEV (AZE) at the European championships in April. GGP Final winner Aliev, the 2010 world champ at 60kg, is seeking his first world title at 66kg.

Kurak defeated Olympic gold medalist Omid NOROOZI (IRI), 8-6, in the World Cup final in May and Aliyev edged 2013 world champ RYU Han-Soo (KOR), 2-0, in a preliminary World Cup dual.

71kg (Sunday, September 14)

With top-ranked Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) entered at 66kg, Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) dons the favorite’s mantle as silver medalist at the European championships and GGP Final. Chunayev also notched four wins at the World Cup, including one over Athens 2004 gold medalist JUNG Ji-Hyun (KOR).

Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS) won the prestigious Ivan Poddubny tourney in January but finished fifth in the European championships behind bronze medalists Yunus OZEL (TUR) and Aleksander DZEMYANOVICH (BLR).

Afshin BYABANGARD (IRI), eighth at 66kg in Budapest, is stepping in for 2011 world champion Saeid Morad ABDVALI (IRI) as a number of Asia’s top wrestlers, like Jung and Abdvali, are instead looking forward to wrestling at the Asian Games two weeks after the world championships.

75kg (Friday, September 12)

Roman VLASOV (RUS), virtually unbeatable 2011-2013, gave up a late takedown to fellow Olympic gold medalist KIM Hyeon-Woo (KOR) in the 74kg final in Budapest for his first loss since the semifinals of the 2011 European championships.

Vlasov, who also lost to eventual European champion Aleksander CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) at the Poddubny tourney in January, won three bouts by technical fall at the World Cup in May for his only international experience of 2014 prior to arriving in Tashkent.

Challengers to Vlasov will line up behind European silver medalist Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM) as well as bronze medalists Mark MADSEN (DEN) and Elvin MURSALIYEV (AZE). Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (GEO) could surprise after finishing second at the GGP Final on a late penalty point.

80kg (Saturday, September 12)


Peter BACSI (HUN) has topped the rankings at this new non-Olympic weight since January when he won the Yadegar Imam Cup in Tehran. He then reasserted his position with a 1-0 victory at the European championships over two-time former world champion Cebi SELCUK (TUR) in the 80kg final.

Former Asia champion at 84kg Habibollah AKHLAGHI (IRI) forced Bacsi into a disqualification in the Hungarian Grand Prix, contributed four wins in Iran’s title run at the World Cup and must be considered a co-favorite here.

Challenges to the top three could come from European bronze medalists Giorgi TSIREKIDZE (GEO) and Aleksander SHYSHMAN (UKR). Viktor SASUNOVSKI (BLR) won the Vehbi Emre tourney and London bronze 2012 medalist Aleksandr KAZAKEVICH (LTU) was the German Grand Prix winner.

85kg (Friday, September 12)

European champion Zhan BELENYUK (UKR) heads up a crowded weight category with no clear favorite. But, as the gritty 23-year-old from Kiev has shown in his rebound for third place at the German Grand Prix, he is more than up to the challenge.

All three of the returning world medalists in Tashkent, surprisingly, finished 14th, 15th and 16th at the European championships. They have, however, also bounced back -- Saman TAHMASEBI (AZE) with a silver at the GGP Final, Javid HAMZATOV (BLR) with bronze medals in Germany and Poland, and Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) with a 5-0 mark in the World Cup.

Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) will rally the locals as 2013 Asia champion and GGP Final bronze medalist. Asian bronze medalist Mojtaba KARIMFAR (IRI) replaces world champion Taleb NEMATPOUR (IRI), who was suspended after a failed doping control test at the World Cup.

98kg (Sunday, September 14)

Three-time European champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) owns a bronze medal from the London 2012 Olympic Games and a silver from the 2013 world championships in Budapest. He comes to Tashkent with four tournament wins this year and the hope of completing his set of world-level medals with the gold.

European silver medalist Cenk ILDEM (TUR) and world bronze medalist Balasz KISS (HUN) pose the biggest obstacles for Aleksanyan to overcome. The return of London 2012 gold medalist Ghasem REZAEI (IRI) to international competition can only add to the drama.

Meanwhile, last year’s world champion Nikita MELNIKOV (RUS) and bronze medal winner Shalva GADABADZE (AZE) have given way on their national teams to 2013 junior world champion Musa EVLOEV (RUS) and Orkhan NURIEV (AZE), who claimed the junior world crown in August.

130kg (Saturday, September 14)

Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB) returns to the world championships seeking his first world title since 2010 and fifth world crown overall. European champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR), 2013 world silver medalist, enters the world championships top-ranked for the second year in a row.

World bronze medalist Nurmakhan TINALIEV (KAZ) won the German Grand Prix in June but was one-and-done at the GGP Final after a loss to 2013 world champ Heiki NABI (EST). Johan EUREN (SWE) has won bronze medals at the European championships and the GGP Final.

GGP Final winner Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) and Kiril GRYSHCHANKO (BLR), the runner-up in Germany, could surprise. The biggest surprise, however, could be Alexis RODRIGUEZ VALERA (AZE) as Azerbaijan’s Greco-Roman entry in Tashkent. Rodriguez Valera was the 2005 world silver medalist in freestyle for Cuba.

Greco World Rankings steady without major meets going into World Championships

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 3) – The Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Memorial wrestling tournament is traditionally the one of the final major test events each year in Greco-Roman leading up to the Wrestling World Championships.

Every year, a number of the top teams in the world journey to Poland for a chance to observe some of their world team candidates against wrestlers from other countries also trying to earn a place in the world championships.

With the world meet scheduled for early September this year in Tashkent, the Pytlasinski tourney along with the Golden Grand Prix Final in Baku were held in July with no major senior events on the FILA Calendar for August.

With no new results to base this month’s Greco-Roman rankings on, many of the previous month’s rankings remain intact with only minor “adjustments” based on information concerning team selections for Tashkent.

There were no changes made among the top three wrestlers at any of the weights, but London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medalist Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS) at 59kg and Pytlasinski runner-up Viktor SASUNOVSKI (BLR) at 80kg were both nudged up to No.4 in their categories.

The biggest movers in this month’s adjustments were junior world runner-up Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) at 59kg and veteran Seref TUFENK (TUR) at 75kg – each moving up four places to No.12 and No.16 in their respective categories.

Aslanyan was re-evaluated upward after being named to the Armenia world team ahead of 2013 world bronze medalist Roman AMOYAN (ARM), while Tufenk was named to his first world team since 2011 for Turkey.

Stockholm Open runner-up Tobias FONNESBEK (DEN), Olympia tourney winner Migran ARUTUNYAN (ARM) and Hungarian Grand Prix bronze medalist Vladimir GEGESHIDZE (GEO) were the only new names in the rankings this month.

In the rankings, wrestlers are listed by name, country code, their most notable or most recent result, and their position in the previous rankings.

59kg – London 2012 bronze medalist Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS) is bumped ahead of Ivan KUYLAKOV (RUS) at No. 4 in the rankings, while junior world silver medalist Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) is lifted to No.12 as Armenia’s selection to the senior world championships.

1. Hamid SORYAN (IRI) – Pytlasinski No.1@66 (1)
2. Ivo ANGELOV (BUL) – Pytlasinski No.1 (2)
3. Aleksandar KOSTADINOV (BUL) – Europe No.1 (3)
4. Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS) – Vehbi Emre No.1 (5)
5. Ivan KUYLAKOV (RUS) – Pytlansinski No.2 (4)
6. Roman AMOYAN (ARM) – German Grand Prix No.1 (6)
7. Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) – Asia No.1 (7)
8. Edward BARSEGJAN (POL) – German GP No.2 (8)
9. Rahman BILICI (TUR) – Hungarian GP No.2 (9)
10. Kristijan FRIS (SRB) – Mediterranean No.1 (10)
11. Stig Andre BERGE (NOR) – Stockholm Open No.1 (11)
12. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) – German GP No.3 (16)
13. Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.1 (12)
14. Saman ABDVALI (IRI) – GGP Final No.2 (13)
15. Kamran MAMMADOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.3 (14)
16. Shinobu OTA (JPN) – Asia No.2 (15)
17. Kanybek ZHOLCHUBEKOV (KGZ) – World University No.1 (17)
18. Victor CIOBANU (MDA) – Europe No.2 (18)
19. Soslan DAUROV (BLR) – Pytlasinski No.3 (19)
20. Tobias FONNESBEK (DEN) – Stockholm Open No.2 (not ranked)

66kg – Pytlasinski runner-up Dominik ETLINGER (CRO) is bumped up to No.9 after a semifinals win over world bronze medalist Frank STAEBLER (GER). Migran ARUTUNYAN (ARM) joins the rankings at No.19 with a win over 2013 world champion RYU Han-Soo (KOR) in the Olympia tourney.

1. Adam KURAK (RUS) – Europe No.1 (1)
2. Hasan ALIYEV (AZE) – GGP Final No.1 (2)
3. Frank STAEBLER (GER) – Pytlasinski No.3 (3)
4. Revaz LASHKHI (GEO) – GGP Final No.2 (4)
5. Davor STEFANEK (SRB) – GGP Final No.3 (5)
6. Omid NOROOZI (IRI) – Hungarian GP No.3 (7)
7. Istvan LEVAI (SVK) – Europe No.3 (6)
8. Aram JULFALAKYAN (ARM) – German GP No.1 (8)
9. Dominik ETLINGER (CRO) – Pytlasinski No.2 (13)
10. RYU Han-Soo (KOR) – Asia No.3 (10)
11. Fredrik BJERREHUUS (DEN) – Stockholm Open No.1 (11)
12. Azamat AKHMEDOV (RUS) – German GP No.2 (9)
13. Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) – Vehbi Emre No.1 (12)
14. Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ) – Asia No.1 (14)
15. Khusrav OBLOBERDIEV (TJK) – Asia No.2 (15)
16. Ramin TAHERISARTANG (IRI) – Asia Jr No.1 (18)
17. Denys DEMYANKOV (UKR) – German GP No.3 (17)
18. Jussi-Pekka NIEMISTOE (FIN) – Stockholm Open No.3 (19)
19. Migran ARUTUNYAN (ARM) – Olympia Tourney No.1 (nr)
20. Miguel MARTINEZ (CUB) – Pan American No.1 (20)

71kg – No changes from the previous month.

1. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) – GGP Final No.1 (1)
2. Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) – GGP Final No.2 (2)
3. Saeid Mourad ABDVALI (IRI) – Asia No.3 (3)
4. Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS) – Ivan Poddubny No.1 (4)
5. Mindia TSULUKIDZE (GEO) – GGP Final No.3 (5)
6. Manukhar TSKHADAIA (GEO) – GGP Final No.5 (6)
7. Aleksander MAKSIMOVIC (SRB) – Mediterranean No.1 (7)
8. Balint KORPASI (HUN) – World Cup No.2 (8)
9. Abuyazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) – Nikola Petrov No.1 (9)
10. Aleksander DZEMYANOVICH (BLR) – Europe No.3 (10)
11. Yunus OZEL (TUR) – Europe No.3 (11)
12. Mate NEMES (SRB) – Mediterranean No.2 (12)
13. Mohammad KARIMI (IRI) – Hungarian GP No.3 (13)
14. JUNG Ji-Hyun (KOR) – Olympia No.1 (14)
15. Yuriy DENISOV (RUS) – Pytlasinski No.1 (15)
16. Mathias MAASCH (GER) – Pytlasinski No.2 (16)
17. Maksat YEREZHEPOL (KAZ) – Spanish GP No.2 (17)
18. Askhat ZHANBIROV (KAZ) – Spanish GP No.1 (18)
19. Varsham BORANYAN (ARM) – German GP No.1 (19)
20. Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR) – German GP No.2 (20)

75kg – European bronze medalist Elvin MURSALIYEV (AZE) won the GGP Final in Baku at 80kg but is entered at 75kg for the world championships. So, Mursaliyev moves from No.4 at 80kg to sixth at 75kg.

1. KIM Hyeon-Woo (KOR) - Asia No.1 (1)
2. Aleksander CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) – Europe No.1 (2)
3. Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM) – Europe No.2 (3)
4. Roman VLASOV (RUS) – Ivan Poddubny No.2 (4)
5. Mark MADSEN (DEN) – Europe No.3 (5)
6. Elvin MURASALIYEV (AZE) – Europe No.3 (4@60)
7. Rafik HUSEYNOV (AZE) – GGP Final No.1 (6)
8. Robert ROSENGREN (SWE) – GGP Final No.3 (7)
9. Viktor NEMES (SRB) – Mediterranean No.1 (8)
10. Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (GEO) – GPP Final No.2 (9)
11. Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL) – Pytlasinski No.1 (10)
12. Neven ZUGAJ (CRO) – Pytlasinski No.3 (11)
13. Laszlo SZABO (HUN) – GGP Final No.3 (12)
14. Andrew BISEK (USA) – Pan America No.1 (15)
15. Jure KUHAR (SLO) – Mediterranean No.2 (16)
16. Seref TUFENK (TUR) - German GP No.2 (20)
17. Emrah KUS (TUR) – Vehbi Emre No.1 (13)
18. Takehiro KANAKUBO (JPN) – Asia No.2 (14)
19. Julio BASTIDA MENDOZA (CUB) – Pan America No.3 (18)
20. Juan Angel ESCOBAR (MEX) – Spanish GP No.1 (19)

80kg – With the move of GGP Final winner Elvin MURSALIYEV (AZE) to 75kg, many of the wrestlers in the middle of the rankings are lifted by one place. Meanwhile, Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) moves from No.17 at 75kg to No. 18 at 80kg.

1. Peter BACSI (HUN) – Europe No.1 (1)
2. Selcuk CEBI (TUR) – Europe No.2 (2)
3. Habibollah AKHLAGHI (IRI) – Hungarian GP No.1 (3)
4. Viktor SASUNOVSKI (BLR) – Vehbi Emre No.1 (5)
5. Aleksandr KAZAKEVIC (LTU) – GGP Final No.3 (6)
6. Aleksander SHYSHMAN (UKR) – Europe No.3 (7)
7. Giorgi TSIREKIDZE (GEO) – Europe No.3 (8)
8. Imil SHARAFEDINOV (RUS) – Nikola Petrov No.1 (9)
9. Bekhan OZDOEV (RUS) – Europe No.5 (10)
10. Petar BALO (SRB) – Mediterranean No.1 (11)
11. Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL) – GGP Final No.3 (12)
12. Evgeni SALEEV (RUS) – Pytlasinski No.1 (13)
13. Yanarbek KENYEEV (KGZ) – Asia No.1 (14)
14. Yousef GHADERIAN (IRI) – Asia No.2 (15)
15. Azamat KOSTUBAEV (KAZ) – Asia No.3 (16)
16. Jonas BOSSERT (SUI) – Stockholm Open No.3 (17)
17. Michael WAGNER (AUT) – Stockholm Open No.3 (18)
18. Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) – Mediterranean No.3 (17@75)
19. KIM Jun-Hyung (KOR) – Olympia No.1 (20)
20. Doszhan KARTIKOV (KAZ) – Spanish GP No.1 (19)

85kg – 2013 European silver medalist Vladimir GEGESHIDZE (GEO) re-joins the rankings at No. 20 after being named Georgia’s entry at 85kg in Tashkent.

1. Zhan BELENYUK (UKR) – Europe No.1 (1)
2. Rami HIETANIEMI (FIN) – Europe No.2 (2)
3. Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) – Hungarian Open No.3 (3)
4. Javid HAMZATOV (BLR) – Pytlasinski No.3 (4)
5. Amer HRUSTANOVIC (AUT) – Stockholm Open No.3 (5)
6. Damian JANIKOWSKI (POL) – Europe No.3 (6)
7. Artur SHAHINYAN (ARM) – German GP No.1 (7)
8. Robert KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) – GGP Final No.1 (9)
9. Hassan Saman TAHMASEBI (AZE) – GGP Final No.2 (10)
10. Melonin NOUMONVI (FRA) – Pytlasinski No.1 (12)
11. Mojtaba KARIMFAR (IRI) – Pytlasinski No.2 (13)
12. Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) – Nikola Petrov No.3 (8)
13. Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) – GGP Final No.3 (11)
14. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) – Asia No.1 (16)
15. Jim PETTERSSON (SWE) – Stockholm Open No.1 (17)
16. Alexej MISHIN (RUS) – Europe No.5 (14)
17. Jan FISCHER (GER) – Europe No.5 (15)
18. Pablo SHOREY HERNANDEZ (CUB) – Pan America No.1 (20)
19. Asamat BIKBAEV (RUS) – Ivan Poddubny No.2 (19)
20. Vladimir GEGESHIDZE (GEO) – Hungarian GP No.3 (nr)

98kg – No major changes.

1. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) – Europe No.1 (1)
2. Cenk ILDEM (TUR) – Europe No.2 (2)
3. Balasz KISS (HUN) – GGP Final No.1 (3)
4. Marthin NIELSEN (NOR) – GGP Final No.3 (4)
5. Aleksander HRABOVIK (BLR) – German GP No.3 (5)
6. Fredrik SCHOEN (SWE) – Stockholm Open No.1 (6)
7. Shalva GADABADZE (AZE) – GGP Final No.3 (7)
8. Nikita MELNIKOV (RUS) – Ivan Poddubny No.2 (8)
9. Daigoro TIMONCINI (ITA) – Stockholm Open No.2 (9)
10. Adam VARGA (HUN) – Spanish GP No.1 (11)
11. Yerulan ISKAKOV (KAZ) – Spanish No.2 (12)
12. Ali ALIYARI FEYZABADI (IRI) – Asia No.3 (13)
13. Mahdi ALIYARI FEYZABADI (IRI) – World Cup No.3 (10)
14. Felix RADINGER (GER) – Europe No.5 (14)
15. Musa EVLOEV (RUS) – Ivan Poddubny No.1 (15)
16. Yasmany Daniel LUGO CABRERA (CUB) – Pan America No.1 (16)
17. Alin ALEX-CIURARIU (ROU) – World University No.3 (17)
18. Ivan IVANOV (BUL) – Pytlasinski No.1 (18)
19. Mikhail KAJAIA (GEO) – Pytlasinski No.2 (19)
20. Vladislav METODIEV (BUL) – Pytlasinski No.3 (20)

130kg – Balint LAM (HUN) was moved up to No.7 and Kiril GRYSHCHANKO (BLR) to No.8 after being named to their world teams.

1. Riza KAYAALP (TUR) – Europe No.1 (1)
2. Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB) – Pan America No.1 (2)
3. Johan Magnus EUREN (SWE) – Stockholm No.1 (3)
4. Mindaugas MIZGAITIS (LTU) – Hungarian GP No.3 (4)
5. Bashir Asgiri BABAJANZADEH – Hungarian GP No.2 (5)
6. Attila GUZEL (TUR) – Nikola Petrov No.1 (6)
7. Balint LAM (HUN) – World University No.1 (9)
8. Kiril GRYSHCHANKO (BLR) – German GP No.2 (11)
9. Nurmakhan TINALIEV (KAZ) – German GP No.1 (10)
10. Lyubomir DIMITROV (BUL) – Nikola Petrov No.3 (7)
11. Behnam MEHDIZADEH (IRI) – Asia No.1 (8)
12. Heiki NABI (EST) – GGP Final No.3 (12)
13. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) – GGP Final No.1 (13)
14. Saba SHARIATI (AZE) – GGP Final No.2 (14)
15. Iosif CHUGOSHVILI (BLR) – Pytlasinski No.1 (15)
16. Murat RAMONOV (KGZ) – Asia No.2 (16)
17. Vasily PARSHIN (RUS) – Europe No.3 (17)
18. Aleksander CHERNETSKI (UKR) – German GP No.3 (18)
19. Radhouane CHEBBI (TUN) – Africa No.1 (19)
20. Ramon Antonio GARCIA (DOM) – Pan America No.2 (20)

William May conducts the World Rankings for FILA. He has been active in wrestling across three continents for more than 40 years as a competitor, coach, referee and journalist. William worked as the "Sports Information Specialist" for wrestling at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games. He can be reached on his Facebook page or by email, wmay52@hotmail.com

About FILA

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