India’s Ravi Dhaiya is currently at number 4th spot in the UWW world rankings at 57kg category. But to maintain the top 4 place in the ranking table. 4th-ranked Ravi needs a 12-point finish at the final Ranking Series event in Warsaw in June to secure one of the top-four seeds at 57kg. Although it’s highly unlikely, there still a slim shot that the Indian wrestler can grab the No. 1 seed. He’d need Uguev, Atli and Micic to sit out of the final Ranking Series event and win gold in a bracket with more than 11 wrestlers to earn the 16 points he needs to clear his top-three foes.
Uguev and Atli Lock up #Tokyo2021 Top-Four Seed at 57kg, Separated by Two Points
Nurislam Sanayev is ranked fifth at the weight and tails Ravi by six points. The Kazakh wrestler’s choice to compete at 61kg and not 57kg at the Matteo Pellicone could prove to be one of the costliest decisions of his career. Sanayev would be ranked third at 57kg if he finished in at least fifth place at the first Ranking Series tournament. But, instead of sitting comfortably in the third spot of the latest ranking, Sanayev is playing catch up with a pack of wrestlers who have ambitions of locking up their place in the top-four of the 57kg rankings.
As in years past, the 57kg weight class is one of the most dynamic and competitive in all of wrestling. Current world champion and No. 1 ranked Zaur UGUEV of Russia leads a pack of six hungry wrestlers jockeying for a top-four seed. World runner-up Suleyman ATLI of Turkey is firmly in the No.2 position after runner-up finishes at the World and European Championships.
Uguev and Atli, who went toe-to-toe for world gold in Nur-Sultan, are separated by two points heading into the final Ranking Series event of the year. Uguev compiled a 9-0 record in world championship action over the last two seasons en route to striking gold in back-to-back years. Uguev, on the back of his podium-topping finish in Nur-Sultan, controlled a comfortable 20-point lead over Atli heading into the 2020 season. But the Russian’s lead dwindled after he sat out of the European Championships, where Atli finished with an 18-point silver medal. Now, Atli trails Uguev by two points — which means the Turkish wrestler has to finish three points ahead of Uguev to clear criteria (highest world championship finish) and earn the No. 1 seed at the Olympic Games at 57kg.
Stevan MICIC (SRB), Kumar RAVI (IND) and Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) also have a shot at locking up a top-four seed at the Olympic Games. Despite being in striking distance of a top-four seed, sixth-ranked Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) fell to Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) in their Olympic wrestle-off and won’t compete at the Olympics.
Micic, Serbia’s first-ever freestyle Olympian, is third with 48 points and trails Uguev and Atli by 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Serbian can seal up his spot as a top-four seeded wrestler with a nine-point finish at the final Ranking Series event. But, he still has a plausible shot at becoming the top seed if he wins the last Ranking Series event without Uguev and Atli in the bracket.
Top-10 at 57kg
1. Zaur UGUEV (RUS) – 60
2. Suleyman ATLI (TUR) – 58
3. Stevan MICIC (SRB) – 48
4. Kumar RAVI (IND) – 45
5. Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) – 39
6. Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) – 28
— Out of top-four contention —
7. Oscar TIGREROS (COL) – 22
8. Reza ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI) – 20
9. Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS) – 20
10. Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL) – 18