Photo: Tony Rotundo
Paris 2024 Olympic champion Razambek Zhamalov will not compete at the 2026 Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Zhamalov (UWW spells it "Jamalov") was one of the entrants removed at 74kg, and Uzbekistan has replaced him with Javohir Chuliboev. No reason for the withdrawal has been announced.
Second Straight Year Missing Worlds
It's the second year in a row that Zhamalov will miss the World Championships. In May 2025, he told United World Wrestling he would have knee surgery in Moscow for a complete tear of his cruciate ligament and would be sidelined for the rest of the 2025 season, including Worlds in Zagreb.
At the time, he said it was the 10th surgery of his career, including five on his knee and three on his shoulders. He also said he was aiming to be back at the start of 2026.
"Even after 10 surgeries, I want to keep wrestling. Without wrestling, life feels boring to me."
His 2026 So Far
Zhamalov did return this year. He made his Real American Freestyle debut at RAF: Georgia in July, edging Jarrett Jacques 3-2. Earlier this month, Iran's Younes Emami beat him at the Asian Games on the way to gold.
He was still ranked No. 5 in the 74kg World Championship rankings and was listed as a title contender heading into Astana.
What It Means for 74kg
Even without the Olympic champion, 74kg is one of the most wide-open weights in the tournament. The field includes 2025 World champion at 70kg Yoshinosuke Aoyagi of Japan, Russia's Inalbek Sheriev, Slovakia's Tajmuraz Salkazanov, Iran's Amirmohammad Yazdani and host Kazakhstan's Nurkozha Kaipanov.
Team USA's James Green is entered at 74kg. The weight wraps up the tournament on October 31 and November 1.
The Senior World Championships run October 24 through November 1 at Barys Arena and stream live on FloWrestling. Follow every American live on our Team USA Senior Worlds tracker.