U17 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships Draw Held in Baku

The draw for the 2026 U17 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships took place in Baku today, July 30.

Armenia has travelled to the tournament with an incomplete squad, entering six wrestlers. The team is mainly represented by athletes ranked second in their respective weight categories at the national level.

Armenian Wrestlers’ Opening Opponents

51 kg, Round of 32
Murad Gharibyan vs. Nurdan Bodonoev (Kyrgyzstan)

55 kg, Round of 32
David Baleyan vs. Przemyslaw Mrozek (Poland)

60 kg, Round of 32
Grisha Gevorgyan vs. Mirlan Nurmamatov (Kyrgyzstan)

65 kg, Round of 32
Erik Papikyan vs. Rashid Nazarov (Azerbaijan)

71 kg, Round of 32
Varuzhan Aslanyan vs. Bogdan Kvantaliani (Georgia)

80 kg, Round of 32
Vache Aslanyan vs. Kantemir Yelmesov (Russia)

Sergey Karmryan, representing Russia, will also compete in the 60 kg weight category. In the Round of 16, he will face the winner of the bout between Mongolia’s Erdenebat and Uzbekistan’s Ibrokhimov.

Full Brackets for the U17 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships

Last year, Armenia finished 12th in the team standings at the U17 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships 2025, winning one bronze medal.

The competition begins on July 31. Wrestlers in the 48, 55, 65, 80 and 110 kg weight categories will take to the mat on the opening day.

One of the tournament’s main highlights will be the participation of American wrestler Rylan Wax. He previously became the U17 Greco-Roman world champion in Baku and will now also compete in the freestyle tournament in the 45 kg weight category.