World Champs, Olympic Medalists And Rising Stars Clash At 62kg 

The Yasar Dogu’s toughest women’s bracket is expected to feature three World champions, four Olympic medalists and a host of young talents. Headlining this weight class is defending World Champion and Tokyo 2020 finalist Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan, alongside Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Taybe Yusein and 2021 World Champion (59kg) Bilyana Dudova, both of Bulgaria. Potential matchups between these three are very enticing. Tynybekova beat Yusein in the 2019 World finals, while Yusein and Dudova are 1-1 in their matches in 2022 (Yusein winning 2-1 at Bulgarian Nationals and Dudova winning 7-2 at the Dan Kolov). A rematch between Yusein and Dudova will be especially interesting as both are capable of earning World and Olympic medals over the next quad. 

Beyond the three big guns are Rio Olympic medalists Marwa Amri of Tunisia and Sakshi Malik of India. They’ll be accompanied by several fiery youngsters, including Emma Bruntil, who is just coming off Yarygin and Dan Kolov titles, five-time age-level World medalist Macey Kilty, 2021 U23 World Bronze medalist Anastasia Parokhina of Russia and Ukraine’s 2021 U23 European Champion Khrystyna Demko. 

Potential Vinesh-Winchester Showdown 

One of the most anticipated women’s matches at the Yasar Dogu is the possible showdown between Jacarra Winchester and India’s Vinesh Phogat at 55 kilos. Winchester won a 55-kilogram World title in 2019, whereas Vinesh picked up a World bronze the same year at the Olympic weight 53 kg. Vinesh previously competed at 48/50kg and hasn’t spent much time up at 55kg. However, her credentials are more than extensive; she also owns eight medals from the Asian Championships and is widely recognized as the face of Indian women’s wrestling. 

The two competed in Tokyo at 53 kilos and were amongst the medal contenders, though both fell short with Vinesh taking 9th and Winchester 5th. Although they were on the same side of the bracket, they did not meet. This will be the first time these talented two face each other- though it likely won’t be the last should Vinesh continue to compete at 55 kilos. 

Young Ukrainian Stars Look To Prove Themselves On Senior Level 

After a banner year for Ukraine’s age-level teams in 2021, the nation’s young stars will look to transition that success to the Senior level. The list of entrants are highlighted by 2021 World bronze medalist Oleksandra Khomenets, whose impressive performance in Oslo landed her a Senior-level medal at the age of 18. She’ll be joined by three 2021 U23 World champions: Anastasia Lavrenchuk at 68 kilos, Anastasia Alpyeyeva at 76 kilos, and Alina Akobiia at 59 kilos. Other talented athletes include U23 World bronze medalists Mariia Vynnyk (50kg) and Oksana Chudyk (65kg), U23 European Champion Khrystyna Demko (62kg) and World fifth-place finisher Khrystyna Bereza (53kg). Expect the young firepowers on this 10-woman team to collect some shakeup wins and land several athletes on the podium. 

Kyrgyzstani Dream Team Returns To Competition 

After a history-making year in 2021, Kyrgyzstan’s brightest stars Aisuluu Tynybekova, Meerim Zhumanazarova and Aiperi Medet Kyzy will return to the mat. The trio of stars earned two Olympic medals in Tokyo — the first for Kyrgyzstan’s women in any sport — as well as two World titles and a World bronze medal in Oslo. Each woman will be in a deep weight class with exciting potential matchups at the Dogu. 

Olympic finalist and World champion Aisuluu Tynybekova will have to get through two other World champions and a host of age-level talents to top the podium at 62 kg. She’ll be widely favored to win the weight, but will be challenged by Bulgaria’s Yusein and Dudova. On the other hand, Meerim Zhumanazarova will have to reverse past losses to take top honors at 68 kilos — specifically her 3-2 quarterfinal loss in Tokyo to Olympic finalist Blessing Oboruudu. Zhumanazarova’s grandiose upswing throughout 2021 should make her the favorite in her rematch against Blessing. She’ll also potentially face Russia’s Khanum Velieva, who has held her to one-point wins in two contentious recent bouts. 

The final Kyrgyzstani star taking the mat in Turkey will be Aiperi Medet Kyzy in the always-loaded heavyweight category. She’ll be facing a host of World medalists including Estonia’s Epp Mae, Austria’s

Martina Kuenz, Egypt’s Samar Hamza, Russia’s Ekaterina Bukina and Kazakhstan’s Elmira Syzdykova. Medet Kyzy will have a huge opportunity to prove herself as one of the top dogs at 76 kilos should she notch some big wins in Turkey. 

Russian Lineup Battles at 57 kg 

Russia is bouncing back from a disappointing end to the 2020 quad that saw it fail to win an Olympic medal and secure only two World medals. The Yasar Dogu will preview the next generation of Russian women and some domestic lineup battles we’ll see over the next quad. 57 kilos, in particular, is a weight class where the Russians have some strong athletes that could look to contend for medals. 

Their most credentialed entry at 57 kg is three-time World silver medalist Irina Ologonova, who, at age 32, is entering the twilight of her career. She’ll be joined by 2019 World bronze medalist Olga Khoroshavtseva, who represented Russia at 53 kilos in Tokyo. Khoroshatseva is now making a permanent transition up to 57 kilos; she’s had lots of strong previous results in the lower weight classes and should be expected to make some noise here as well. 

The final Russian entry is Veronika Chumikova, who qualified 57 kg for the Olympic Games, but was not selected to represent her nation in Tokyo. Chumikova is coming off a strong Yarygin performance- where she pushed Helen Maroulis in a 9-6 bout- and a solid 2021 where she placed second at Euros and 5th at the World Championships. Expect these women to all contend for top honours at 57 kilos.