2017 World Championships preview at 71 kg/156 lbs. in Greco-Roman

Date of competition: Monday, Aug. 21

With several 2016 World medalists expected to return, in addition to a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist moving back up, Greco-Roman action at 71 kg/156 lbs. should be exciting to watch at the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France, Aug. 21-26.

2016 Olympic bronze medalist and World No. 1 Rasul Chunayev of Azerbaijan headlines this star-studded weight class. Although he moved down to 66 kg for Rio, Chunayev has been the one to beat at 71 kg in recent years. He won a World title in 2015 and claimed World bronze in 2014.

Since Rio, Chunayev won gold at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Tournament, bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games and competed at the World Cup.

But it’s possible Azerbajian will give the nod to 2010 World Champion Hasan Aliyev. In December Aliyev won bronze at the 2016 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, earning himself the No. 2 seed for the 2017 World Championships. Additionally, he advanced to the bronze-medal bouts at 2013 and 2014 World Championships but fell short, claiming fifth.

2016 World Champion Balint Korpasi of Hungary will enter Paris as the No. 1 seed and is expected to make a run at a second-consecutive World Championship.

Since December, Korpasi won the Grand Prix of Hungary in March and followed it with gold at the European Championships. He also medaled at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup, winning silver, and the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Tournament, snagging bronze.

This will be Korpasi’s fifth Senior World Championships. He’s also wrestled in two University World Championships, producing a runner-up finish in 2010 and finishing fifth in 2008.

2016 World silver medalist Daniel Cataraga of Moldova is in the mix at 71 kg. He hasn’t been on the Senior scene long, but Cataraga already has significant credentials, including two international gold medals from the 2015 Olympia Tournament and the 2015 Ion Corneanu Memorial. Since the World Championships in December, he has only competed once internationally, finishing seventh at the Ljubomir Ivanovic Gedza International in early-July.

World No. 11 Ilie Cojocari of Romania was the other 2016 World bronze medalist, along with Aliyev. Cojocari is expected to make his third-consecutive appearance on the World stage. After winning bronze in Hungary, the Romanian has competed in six tournaments, placing top 10 in five of them. At the European Championships in May, he finished 12th.

Serbia’s Alexsandr Maksimovic will be the No. 3 seed at the World Championships. At the 2016 Worlds, he finished fifth, falling to Cojocari in the bronze-medal match, 5-2. Since then, Maksimovic won silver at the Grand Prix of Hungary and then earned bronze at the European Championships.

The No. 4 seed in Paris will be 10th-ranked Pavel Liakh from Belarus. Liakh was ninth at last year’s Worlds and went on to win silver at the European Championships. He owns only one international gold, which came at the 2016 University World Championships last October in Turkey.

Ranked No. 20 in the World, Patrick Smith of the United States won the World Team spot in April, knocking off 2016 World Team member Chris Gonzalez. Smith is a three-time Pan-American champion, who has made every U.S. National Team since 2013, including spots on the 2016 National Team at both 66 kg and 71 kg. 

In 2014, Smith won silver at the University World Championships and has also notched top-10 finishes at other prestigious tournaments like Grand Prix of Hungary, Grand Prix of Zagreb and Golden Grand Prix.

Other wrestlers to look out for include Poddubny Grand Prix champion and European bronze medalist Abuyazid Mantsigov or Russia and Asian Championships and Grand Prix of Spain gold medalist Takeshi Izumi of Japan.

JULY UWW GRECO-ROMAN WORLD RANKINGS
1. Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE)
2. Balint KORPASI (HUN)
3. Aleksander MAKSIMOVIC (SRB)
4. Abuyazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
5. Hasan ALIYEV (AZE)
6. Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
7. Takeshi IZUMI (JPN)
8. Afshin BYABANGARD (IRI)
9. Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
10. Pavel LIAKH (BLR)
11. Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)
12. Yuri DENISOV (RUS)
13. Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
14. Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
15. Nurgazi ASANGULOV (KGZ)
16. Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
17. Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA)
18. Murat DAG (TUR)
19. Varsham BORANYAN (ARM)
20. Patrick SMITH (USA) 

2017 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TOP SEEDS
1. Balint Korpasi (Hungary)
2. Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
3. Aleksandr Maksimovic (Serbia)
4. Pavel Liakh (Belarus)

RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2016 World Championships
71 kg/156 lbs. – Gold – Balint Korpasi (Hungary); Silver – Daniel Cataraga (Moldova); Bronze – Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Ilie Cojocari (Romania); Fifth – Adam Kurak (Russia); Fifth – Aleksandr Masimovic (Serbia); Seventh – Artak Margaryan (France); Eighth – Dawid Karecinski (Poland); Ninth – Pavel Liakh (Belarus); Tenth – Christopher Gonzalez (United States)

2015 World Championships
71 kg/156 lbs. – Gold – Rasul Chunayev (Azerbaijan); Silver – Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine); Bronze – Adam Kurak (Russia); Bronze – Knut Tallroth (Sweden); Fifth – Tsimur Berdyieu (Belarus); Fifth – Matthias Maasch (Germany); Seventh – Kairatbek Tugolbaev (Kyrgyzstan); Eighth – Justin Lester (United States); Ninth – Akrem Boudjemline (Algeria); Tenth – Darkhan Bayakhmetov (Kazakhstan)

2014 World Championships
71 kg/156 lbs. – Gold – Chingiz Labazanov (Russia); Silver – Yunus Ozel (Turkey); Bronze – Rasul Chunayev (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Afshim Byabangard (Iran); 5th – Varsham Boranyan (Armenia); 5th – Aliaksandr Dzemyanovich (Belarus); 7th – Shermet Permanov (Turkmenistan); 8th – Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan); 9th –Ionel Puscasu (Romania); 10th – Balint Korpasi (Hungary)