Return of The Kings: Narikuni and Zhamalov's Return for the Asian Championships

With the announcement of the returns of 2024 74-kilogram Olympic Champion Razambek Zhamalov of Uzbekistan and 2022 70-kilogram World Champion Taishi Narikuni of Japan to international freestyle competition at 70 and 79 kilograms respectively, I thought it would be fitting to remind everyone the pedigree of competitors that Narikuni and Zhamalov are and the significance of their returns.

Taishi Narikuni

Taishi Narikuni has had one of the most interesting careers to follow in recent memory, as the Japanese standout broke in spectacular fashion in 2022 that saw him win an Asian Championship title over three-time World/Olympic medalist #2 (70) Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan and conclude the year with a Senior World title over 2023 70 KG World Champion Zain Retherford of the United States by first period technical superiority, but has not competed internationally in over three years since his triumph in Belgrade.

Narikuni’s absence from freestyle competition has not been due to injury or a lack of ability. No, it is due to his unique ambition to be the ultimate dual threat. Taishi Narikuni wants to be the first man to win a Senior World gold medal in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling.

Narikuni, a 2017 60 kilogram Junior World representative and 2013 50 KG Cadet World representative for Japan, has been competing fulltime in Greco-Roman wrestling since 2023, failing to qualify in 2023 and 2024 but breaking through in 2025 where he dominated domestically to make the World team but stumbled at the Senior World Championships and registered a 19th finish after an opening round loss to Michael Portmann of Switzerland.

Credit must be given to Narikuni for his ability to successfully make the transition between styles even if he didn’t match his freestyle results, as only two men (Bilyal Makhov and Jan Karlsson) have ever placed at both the Senior World Greco-Roman and Freestyle Championships, with Makhov being the most recent in 2015, with bronze in both styles at the 125/130 kilogram weight class.

After over three years away from competition, Narikuni made his official return to Freestyle wrestling at the 2025 National Sports Festival of Japan in September at 74 kilograms. Showing no signs of ring rust, Narikuni would upset the reigning 70-kilogram Senior World champion Yoshinosuke Aoyagi in the quarterfinals on his way to winning gold at the event. Showing his success to be no flash in the pan, Narikuni would follow up with a title at the Emperor’s Cup in December over Yuma Tomiyama to qualify for the Asian Championships. Shortly after his title at the Emperor’s Cup, Narikuni stated he fully intended to focus on Greco-Roman training for the 2026 season, but it appears those plans have changed and we will get the opportunity to see him compete.

While there is no question of Narikuni’s ability, it will be put to the absolute test in an absolutely LOADED field in Bishkek, wihere2025 Senior World bronze medalist #2 Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan, 2025 Senior World silver medalist #3 Tulga Tumur-Ochir of Mongolia, 2025 Asian Championships runner-up #5 Viktor Rassadin of Tajikistan and 2025 U23 World silver medalist #7 Sina Khalili of Iran are registered to compete. With that much talent packed into a weight class, Narikuni will have no choice but to prove his mettle if he seeks to win his second Asian Championships title.

Razambek Zhamalov

Razambek Zhamalov, the reigning 74-kilogram Olympic Champion, will be looking to make a triumphant return to international competition after being out since August 2024 due to shoulder and knee injuries. Zhamalov is slated to compete on March 27th at PWL 11 Tashkent against Ibragim Veliev of Belgium prior to his international return in Bishkek.

Zhamalov, the protege of three-time World/Olympic champion Adam Saitiev, has been one of the top performing middleweight wrestlers over the past decade and was championed by many as the next coming of Saitiev with his impeccable upper body skills and unreal scrambling abilities that stunned competitors and analysts alike. Of Chechen descent, Zhamalov was a standout in Russia up until his transfer to Uzbekistan in 2024, winning two Senior Russian National titles, a U23 World title, an Individual World Cup title, and one national runner-up finish.

Zhamalov’s national runner-up finish in 2021 is especially important to acknowledge, as it was to then two-time Senior World champion #3 Zaurbek Sidakov. The stakes were high for both men, as Sidakov’s status as top in the pecking order of Russia was in question after an upset loss to 2017 Senior World runner-up Khetik Tsabolov at 2020 Russian Nationals, and Zhamalov, fresh off a national title and Individual World Cup title in 2020, now had the pressure of facing the two-time Senior World Champion in Sidakov in a battle between the two gold medal favorites for the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics. In what would be a razor thin match between the two, Sidakov would be able to win a 3-2 match off the strength of two last second pushouts and a failed Zhamalov challenge, shuttering Zhamalov’s chances of Olympic gold and Sidakov would go on to win gold in Tokyo over Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov of Belarus.

Fast forward three years later and representing a new Uzbekistan, Zhamalov entered the Paris Olympics as one of the favorites in a weight class full of premier talent. Even absent Sidakov's presence due to a ban of Russian athletes from the 2024 Olympics, Zhamalov’s performance in Paris was proof of his status as the cream of the crop of the weight class. Including a pin over 2023 Senior World bronze medalist Daichi Takatani of Japan in the finals, Zhamalov beat 2025 Senior European Champion Chermen Valiev of Albania, 2020 74 KG Olympic runner-up #9 (79) Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov of Belarus, four-time European Champion #9 Taimuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia, and 2024 Asian Championships silver medalist #5 (70) Viktor Rassadin of Tajikistan.

Zhamalov top challengers in Bishkek will be in the form of returning Asian Champion #3 Mahdi Yousefi of Iran and Senior World fifth place finisher #4 Suldkhuu Olonbayar of Mongolia who is coming off a win at PWL 10 in November against 2023 79 KG Senior World Champion #5 Akhmed Usmanov of Russia. Save for excessive ring rust or the potential of reinjury, I see Zhamalov as the clear favorite to win in this field.