Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS), who this year has won the European Championships and the Ivan Yarygin Memorial Invitational, retained his No.1 ranking at 65kg and was joined in the June FILA men’s freestyle rankings by more than two dozen of his countrymen.

Russians Crowd Men’s Freestyle Rankings After Successful Ali Aliev Tourney

by William May

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 3) – Russian wrestlers won seven of the eight gold medals on offer at the Ali Aliev wrestling tournament and crowded onto the FILA World Rankings after a quiet month for senior-level competition following the continental championships.

Russian representatives won 18 of the 32 medals awarded in the capital of the Dagestan Republic, Makhachkala, with 10 wrestlers making their way into the top 20 at their respective weights.

Artyom GEBEKOV (RUS) took his second Ali Aliev crown, this time at 57kg, and was joined by world bronze medalist Nariman ISRAPILOV (RUS) as they led the Russian assault on the rankings.

World and Olympic team veterans Albert SARITOV (RUS) and Anzor URISHEV (RUS) pushed their way up the rankings at 86kg behind European champion Abdul Rashid SADULAEV (RUS) and ahead of 2013 world team member Shamil KUDIYAMAGOMEDOV (RUS).

Four of the eight weight categories now feature four wrestlers from Russia in their ranks with a total of 26 wrestlers from Russia named in this month’s rankings.

Despite the rush of Russians onto the rankings, diversity reigns on top as six countries – Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, the United States, and Turkey — can boast top-ranked wrestlers with only Russia and Iran having two each.

Veteran Ali ISAEV (AZE), who hails from Dagestan but wrestles for neighboring Azerbaijan, was the only wrestler not representing Russia to win a title Ali Aliev as he defeated junior world runner-up Abdollah GHOMI AVILI (IRI) at 125kg.

The only casualty at the top of the rankings was Asia champion Rasul KALIEV (KAZ), who slipped from No.1 after finishing in seventh place at 57kg. European champion and London 2012 silver medalist Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) became the new bantamweight leader.

Entries in the rankings are listed by name, country code, most recent or most significant result in the last 12 months, and ranking the previous month.

Click Here for FILA Ranking Criteria

57kg – Artyom GEBEKOV (RUS) won his second title at the Ali Aliev tournament while Universiade gold medalist Nariman ISRAPILOV (RUS) bagged his third bronze medal since winning last summer’s University Games to join the rankings at No.8 and No.9, respectively.

61kg – Murshid MUTALIMOV (RUS) defeated two-time world champion Victor LEBEDEV (RUS), who was wrestling up one category, in the semifinals and went on to win the Ali Aliev crown and earn No.7 in the rankings.

Junior world champion Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV (AZE), a bronze medal winner at Yasar Dogu in February like Mutalimov, held steady at No.8 after a bronze medal in Makhachkala.

65kg – Yarygin Grand Prix bronze medalist Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) won his second tourney of 2014 at Ali Aliev and leapt into the rankings at No.7. It was Chakaev’s third international triumph in Russia over the last seven months.

Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA), a world bronze medalist at 55kg for Cuba in 2010, stood on the medals podium for a third straight tourney with a bronze medal at Ali Aliev to climb to No.12 in the rankings.

70kg – Dshamaluddin KURBANALIEV (RUS), the Ali Aliev runner-up one year ago. defeated London Olympian Andrey KVIATKOVSKI (UKR) in this year’s final to rebound from a lackluster showing at the Medved Prizes in March and grab No. 10 in the rankings.

Ramazan SHAMSHUTDINOV (RUS), an early rankings leader at 70kg after a runner-up finish at the Yarygin Grand Prix in January, finished with a bronze medal at Ali Aliev to regain No.11 in the rankings after a lackluster winter and spring.

74kg – Kamal MALIKOV (RUS), a bronze medal winner in 2013, took the Ali Aliev crown after ninth-place finishes at the Golden Grand Prix Final in November and the Yarygin Grand Prix in January to enter the rankings at No.9.

Ali Aliev runner-up Magomed ZUBAIROV (RUS), who bounces back-and-forth between 74kg and 86kg, comes in at No.10.

86kg – 2011 world bronze medalist Albert SARITOV (RUS) added the Ali Aliev crown to earlier wins in the Mongolian Open and Buryatia Cup and climbed to No.6 in the rankings.

Two-time former European champion and London Olympian Anzor URISHEV (RUS) narrowly missed a chance to meet Saritov in the Ali Aliev final, but takes a bronze medal for No.7 in the rankings.

97kg – Yuri BELONOVSKI, eighth place at the Yarygin Grand Prix, defeated London 2012 gold medalist Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE), 5-2, to go from unranked to No.5 with his triumph at Ali Aliev.

Sharifov, who won the gold medal in London at 84kg, won the Dan Kolov crown in February as he battles for a place in the Azerbaijani line-up between promising newcomer at 86kg Gamzat OSMANOV (AZE) and veteran Khetag GAZUMOV (AZE), 96kg silver medalist at the 2013 world meet.

125kg – Former European champion and Beijing 2008 Olympic team member Ali ISAEV (AZE) defeated 2010 Asia junior champion Abdollah GHOMI AVILI (IRI) in the only Ali Aliev final without at least one Russian representative in the final.

World silver medalist Alen ZASEEV (UKR) slipped a notch to No.8 after a bronze medal in Makhachkala. European bronze medalist Aleksander KHOTSIANIVSKI (UKR) held steady at No.5 with the second bronze medal at Ali Aliev.