2019 International Rankings - Men's Freestyle

Takahashi Up Top And World Cup Movement

By Seth Petarra (@SethPetar)

Top-ranked Yuki Takahashi (JPN) won a rematch of last year’s worlds finals against #8 Thomas Gilman (USA) at the 2018 World Cup this past month in Iowa City, Iowa. Third-ranked Giorgi Edisherashvili (AZE), the 2017 European champion, won a tight 7-5 win over #8 Thomas Gilman (USA) in the Azerbaijan vs. USA duel at the World Cup. Second-ranked Erdenebat Bekhbayar (MGL) beat #11 Afghan Khasalov (AZE) and #15 Reineri Andreu Ortega (CUB) while at the World Cup and maintains his spot in the rankings. Sixteenth-ranked Reineri Andreu Ortega (CUB), the 2017 U23 world champion, went 1-3 with losses to Takahashi, Bekhbayar, and Edisherashvili. Ortega doesn’t really drop, as that was his first real test against the very top of the weight class. He didn’t win those matches, but he looked promising. With some time and improvement, Ortega could develop into a world medal contender. 

Fifth-ranked Sandeep Tomar (IND) went 1-3 up at 61kg during the World Cup with losses to Rasul Kaliev (KAZ), #18 (61) Joe Colon (USA), and #7 (61) Rinya Nakamura (JPN). Because Tomar took so many losses and hadn't registered a ranked win since beating #4 Zaur Uguev at Worlds last year in August, he drops five spots to #10 in the rankings. 

Tony Ramos (USA), ranked #19 at 61kg, won the U.S. Open at 57kg over 2017 junior world champ Daton Fix (USA). For his performance, Ramos slots in at #15 in the rankings. Eighth-ranked Ibragim Ilyasov (RUS) took a loss up at 61kg in the finals of the Poland Cup to Nikolai Okhlopkov (ROM), a Yakutian transfer whose best tournament finish while competing for Russia was a Dmitri Korkin tournament title in 2017. 

Nineteenth-ranked Josh Rodriguez (USA) and #20 Mikyay Salim Naim (BUL) drop out of the rankings: Rodriguez because he failed to place at the U.S. Open after losses to Ramos and Frank Perelli and Naim because he’s failed to replicate a win the caliber of beating Suleyman Atli at U23 Worlds last November. Naim is also coming off a head-to-head loss to Rodriguez. Slotting in at #20 in the rankings is Dan Kolov runner-up Zoheir El Ouarraqe (FRA).

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