Leydecker, Kajal Repeat as U20 World Champs; Salnazarian Breaks Through

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (August 20) -- Three returning world champions claimed gold medals while Margarita SALNAZARIAN (RUS) upgraded her silver medal to gold at the U20 World Championships in Bratislava on Thursday.

Everest LEYDECKER (USA) was the first one to defend her title at 55kg. While she had built a lead and defended the gold medal in 2025, Leydecker needed to come from behind to win the final this year.

Up against Nana KOZUKA (JPN), who goes to same the same high school that Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) attended, Leydecker fell behind 2-0 when Kozuka managed a takedown after hitting a double-leg attack.

Leydecker scored her first point via stepout before starting the second period with a takedown and locking Kozuka's legs for a lace. However, Leydecker stopped midway and put Kozuka in danger for close to two minutes to secure the fall, her third of the tournament in four bouts.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

"It was a little more interesting," Leydecker said about her performance in Bratislava. "I was just taking whatever was there, having fun. I feel like I could have gotten in those a little more. It was just a fun tournament."

Leydecker came into the tournament as the defending champion and was aware that her opponents would have analysed her wrestling. She later said that she felt her opponents in Bratislava wrestled her different that anyone did in Samokov.

"Last year I feel like nobody really knew who I was," she said. "This year I feel like I was coming in a big name. Everybody was scouting me. I could tell there was a little difference, like people were wrestling a little different against me just because they could tell what I did which is expected."

Everest LEYDECKER (USA) is a two-time U20 world champion at 55kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Leydecker will now shift her attention to the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas before making her senior World Championships debut in Astana, Kazakhstan.

"I could have been not going to U23s, but I'm like, 'You only make three teams a certain amount of times in your life. Why not just go for all three while you make them?' I'm really confident," she said. "It's been a long time since I've lost internationally. I think I just am gonna continue to jump levels. So I plan on just keeping my trajectory and moving up and go for three titles this year."

Sakura ONISHI (JPN) won her third U20 world title after capturing the 62kg gold medal in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Onishi Three Peats

Two-time defending champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN) moved up to 62kg this year but the result was the same as she won five of her bouts, including the final, via technical superiority. She was up against former U17 world champion SAVITA (IND) for the gold-medal bout and raced to a 6-0 lead.

Onishi, who won the senior world title in 2025 at 59kg, did show signs of slowing down which allowed Savita to score a takedown. However, Onishi was far from being troubled and won the final 12-2, her 13th technical superiority win in three U20 World Championships.

"I’m absolutely thrilled. Since this is my third victory, the feeling is one of relief," Onishi said. "This is just a stepping stone toward the [2028] Los Angeles Olympics, so I want to keep pushing forward."

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

Onishi won her first gold medal in Pontevedra, Spain at 59kg before repeating in Samakov, Bulgaria without giving a single point in the two competitions. But she moved up to 62kg for this year making the edition special as it was an Olympic weight class. Her record of not conceding was broken in Bratislava but Onishi was relieved about it.

"This time, I was competing while carrying the weight of various factors, like injuries and pressure, so the joy is doubled," she said.

KAJAL (IND) managed to win the 76kkggold medal after beating Jingru SUN (CHN), 7-0. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Kajal Wins 5th Straight Gold

KAJAL (IND) also moved up a weight class and competed at 76kg this year after winning gold at 72kg in 2025. The Indian repeated as U20 world champion, only the second wrestler from her country to twice win gold at this level.

The former U17 world champion capped off an incredible tournament, in which she did not concede a single point, by blanking Jingru SUN (CHN), 7-0, in the final, a repeat of their opening round bout at the U20 Asian Championships that Kajal won. This was her fifth successive gold in 2026, a year which she can with seventh-place finishes at Tirana Ranking Series and Asian Championships.

Since then, Kajal has won gold medals at U23 Asian Championships, Ulaanbaatar Ranking Series, U20 Asian Championships, Budapest Ranking Series and the U20 World Championships on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

Kajal opened the tournament against Miyu TAKAYAMA (JPN) who she pinned, defeated Elmira YASIN (TUR), 14-0, in the semifinals before taking down Piper FOWLER (USA), 6-0.

In the final, Sun was the backfoot straightaway as Kajal put relentless pressure. She scored the first stepout to take a 1-0 lead, then hit a double-leg attack for a two-point takedown and lead 3-0 at the break. Sun was cautioned for open hands in the second period which added another point to Kajal's score.

A tiring Sun kept trying to hold centre but Kajal managed to push her out and also score a takedown to extend her lead to 7-0, which was the winning score.

Margarita SALNAZARIAN (RUS) celebrates after finally winning the gold medal at the U20 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Salnazarian Upgrades

At 65kg, Salnazarian managed to win a gold medal at the U20 level in the third attempt after winning bronze in 2024 and silver in 2025, imitating her U20 European Championships record.

The U20 European champion faced U20 Asian champion Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB) in the final and came out 12-2 on top, her fifth technical superiority win in Bratislava.

"My feelings and emotions are impossible to put into words, holding this belt in my hands," Salnazarian said. "This is the beginning of a long journey."

Salnazarian opened the scoring in the final with a double-leg attack for two points before turning Narzilloeva for two more points and lead 4-0. She repeated the same move, transitioning from single-leg attack to double, and got four points this time to double her lead.

Narzilloeva managed to score exposure points in the second period to cut the lead to 8-2 but Salnazarian need one more sequence as she scored a takedown and turn to win 12-2 with two minutes left in the match.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

"I approached this competition much better psychologically and mentally," she said when asked about the changes she brought that helped her win gold. "There is nothing impossible. I’ve always had that thought in my head, and I knew I would win."

Hailing from the same town, Yegoryevsk, as 2026 Rio Olympic silver medalist Valeria KOBOLOVA (RUS), Salnazarian pursued wrestling despite her mother's objection.

"I dedicate my medal to my mom. She has done so much for my sister and me," she said. "My mom was actually against it because she thought it was too dangerous. I was a very feisty girl at school and was always getting into fights with boys. People told me, 'You should try wrestling.' I liked it."

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Everest LEYDECKER (USA) df. Nana KOZUKA (JPN), via fall

BRONZE: Sara RANTONEN (FIN) df. Karolina POPLAVSKA (UKR), 9-0
BRONZE: Meilin ZHOU (CHN) df. Hansika LAMBA (IND), 7-6

62kg
GOLD: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. SAVITA (IND), 12-2

BRONZE: Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR) df. Yifan ZHU (CHN), 8-6
BRONZE: Barbara BAGER (HUN) df. Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (RUS), 6-0

65kg
GOLD: Margarita SALNAZARIAN (RUS) df. Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB), 12-2

BRONZE: Saga SVENSSON (SWE) df. Miyu OGASHI (JPN), 8-0
BRONZE: Zhengwei MA (CHN) df. Viktoria PUPP (HUN), 11-0

76kg
GOLD: KAJAL (IND) df. Jingru SUN (CHN), 7-0

BRONZE: Diana TITOVA (RUS) df. Mariia ZENKINA (UKR), 5-1
BRONZE: Elmira YASIN (TUR) df. Piper FOWLER (USA), 6-5