ULAN BATOR, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Young Mongolian wrestler Orgikh Khangai from the western Mongolian province of Khovd ascended to the highest rank of Titan in the traditional wrestling tournament on Tuesday.

Khangai became Titan after he defeated Hawk Bayarsaikhan Orkhonbayar from the northern province of Selenge in the final round of the traditional wrestling tournament of the country's national holiday Naadam.

The 32-year-old wrestler, who took the title of Hawk in 2017, became the 26th Titan in the history of Mongolian traditional wrestling.

Naadam is the most important event for Mongolian traditional wrestlers, who can only attain rank during this festival.

There are six main titles for Mongolian traditional wrestlers: Falcon, Hawk, Elephant, Garuda, Lion and Titan.

A wrestler who wins five fights in succession during Naadam becomes Falcon, and a seven-fight winner takes the title of Elephant. If a wrestler wins nine rounds, he becomes Lion. A two-time winner of Naadam with 512 participants or a wrestler who wins 10 rounds in succession is known as Titan.

A total of 1,024 wrestlers competed in this year's Naadam. 14 wrestlers became Falcons, four took the title of Hawk and three others got the title of Elephant during this year's Naadam. In addition, one wrestler reached the second-highest rank of the Mongolian traditional wrestling or Lion.

Only men are allowed to participate in the traditional wrestling tournament. Different from international free wrestling, Mongolian traditional wrestling doesn't take the weight of wrestlers into consideration. When a wrestler touches the ground with any part of his body other than his feet and arms, he is considered to be defeated.

Inscribed in UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Naadam, which features wrestling, archery and horse racing, is celebrated from July 11 to July 15 every year. Enditem

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