#WrestleAstana

Asian Championships to be held in Astana

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 23) -- The United World Wrestling has moved the Asian Championships to Astana, Kazakstan.

The tournament, originally scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India from March 28 to April 2, will now take place in the Kazakhstan capital between April 7-15 with final dates to be confirmed.

UWW was forced to change the host of the continental championships due to the recent developments in Indian wrestling and a pending inquiry by the Indian sports ministry against the Wrestling Federation of India.

Astana hosted the 2019 World Championships with grand success and Kazakhstan was the host of the Asian Championships in 2021 as well. The city of Almaty also hosted the third Ranking Series event last year.

Apart from the senior competition, the U17 and U23 Asian Championships are set to return to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for a second straight year. The tournament will take place from June 10 to 18.

The dates of the U15 and U20 Asian Championships have been modified and it will now take place in Amman, Jordan from July 12 to 20.

The details of the events can be accessed at uww.org/events.

#development

Four Coaches Graduate in Hungary Under Olympic Solidarity Programme

By United World Wrestling Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 1) -- Four wrestling coaches graduate from the University of Sport Science in Budapest and enrolled in the first-ever wrestling mentorship programme at KIMBA in collaboration with the Hungarian Wrestling Federation.

Carlos BARAHONA (ESA), Gilbert KABOCHE (KEN), Anuja MALLAWAAARACHCHI (SRI) and Raphael MULENGA (ZAM) gathered in Hungary for the Olympic Solidarity Coaches Scholarship Programme, focused on strengthening wrestling through education, mentorship, and scientific coaching methods.

The programme introduced a new mentorship initiative for scholarship participants and emphasized the importance of scientific coaching methods, youth development, and structured education systems. Organizers highlighted that coaches are central to building sustainable wrestling cultures in their countries.

A key programme that the coaches will be using, when they return to their countries, will be the UWW Academy’s “Wrestle4Fun," an initiative that provides accessible training resources for PE teachers and beginner coaches, including activities that require little or no equipment.

HungaryFrom left to right: Gabor FARKAS (HUN), Zach ERRETT, Deqa NIAMKEY, Tamas STERBENZ (HUN), Peter BACSA and Gergely BABSZKY (HUN).

UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY and Education Manager Zach ERRETT met with the rector of the University of Sport Science of Budapest, Professor Dr. Tamás STERBENZ along with UWW Bureau Member Peter BACSA, Gabor FARKAS and Gergely BABSZKY, Hungary National Coaches and professors at the University in charge of the wrestling programme.

The discussion focused on the expansion of partnerships in sports science and wrestling education. The message from discussions showed that the future growth of wrestling depends on education, grassroots participation, scientific coaching, and international cooperation.

Following the meeting, the UWW Development Department agreed to continue the programme and to share the next intakes which will provide further educational opportunities for UWW community worldwide.

UWW thanks Olympic Solidarity for their unwavering support to the development of wrestling worldwide.