#ANOCWorldBeachGames

Four Different Nations Close out ANOC World Beach Games With Gold Medals

By United World Wrestling Press

DOHA, Qatar (October 16) -- The medals continued to diversify at the ANOC World Beach Games as beach wrestlers from Georgia, Iran, Italy and Nigeria closed out the final day wrestling in Qatar with shiny gold medals draped around their necks. 

The first men's wrestler who impressed the energetic crowd on Katara Beach was Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO). The Georgian, with his pearly white smile that matched his tights, circled the sand with his nation's flag after downing Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE), 5-1, in the opening period of the 80kg finals. 

Pouya RAHMANI (IRI), the 90kg champion, is joined by the weight's other two medalists, Ufuk YILMAZ (TUR) and Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) (Photo: Theo Lowenstein) 

The second male gold medal of the day went to Iran’s Pouya RAHMANI (IRI), who cruised to a 3-0 win over Ufuk YILMAZ (TUR) in the 90kg gold-medal match. His finals blanking of Yilmaz was the tattooed Iranian's fifth shutout win of the day. In group action, Rahmani outscored his four opponents 13-1, then earned his finals berth with a 3-0 shutout win over Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE). In total, Rahmani outscored his six ANOC World Beach Games opponents by an impressive 19-1 margin.

Blessing ONYEBUCH (NGR) celebrates after defeating Zsanett NEMETH (HUN) in the over 70kg finals. (Photo: Theo Lowenstein) 

On the women's side of the competition, Nigeria's Blessing ONYEBUCH scored an emotional 3-2 over fellow Nur-Sultan World Championships competitor, Zsanett NEMETH (HUN), in the over 70kg finals. The final women's wrestling champion was Francesca INDELICATO (ITA), who stood above second and third-place finishers, respectively, Mehlik OZTURK (TUR) and Shauna KEMP (USA), on the 60kg podium. 

The ANOC World Beach Games closed out the beach wrestling calendar year, but fans can continue to join the discussion around the rapidly growing sport by following @uwwbeachwrestling on Instagram and @uwwbeach on Twitter.

RESULTS

Men's Beach Wrestling
80kg 
GOLD - Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) df. Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE), 5-1 
BRONZE – Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) df. Sami UNAL (TUR), 3-0 

+90kg 
GOLD – Pouya RAHMANI (IRI) df. Ufuk YILMAZ (TUR), 3-0 
BRONZE - Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) df. Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE), 1-1

Women's Beach Wrestling
60kg

GOLD - Francesca INDELICATO (ITA) df. Mehlik OZTURK (TUR)
BRONZE - Shauna KEMP (USA) df. Kateryna ZHYDACHECSKA (ROU)

+70kg 
GOLD - Blessing ONYEBUCH (NGR) df. Zsanett NEMETH (HUN), 3-2 
BRONZE - Iryna PASICHNYK (UKR) df. Cataline AXENTE (ROU), 3-1 

#development

ISF Gymnasiade in Zlatibor adds coaching seminar for Serbian coaches

By United World Wrestling Press

ZLATIBOR, Serbia (April 24) -- United World Wrestling partnered with the International School Sports Federation (ISF) to provide a coaching education seminar for Serbian coaches at the ISF Gymnasiade, which was held in Zlatibor, Serbia, from April 4-12, with the wrestling competition being held from April 6-8.

Wrestling has been a part of each of the Gymnasiade events, and the previous edition was held in Bahrain last October.

As part of the Gymnasiade events, ISF focuses on providing education to coaches and PE teachers. UWW was fortunate to give a training session for Serbian coaches at this event.

The training was led by UWW Educators Georgi SREDKOV (BUL), Neven ZUGAJ (CRO and Nenad ZUGAJ (CRO).

The seminar was attended by 23 coaches over the two sessions. The morning session focused on sound strategies for coaching and better understanding wrestling rules. The afternoon session was a practical session on the mats that focused on sharing wrestling techniques and implementing interactive games. 

Sredkov also participated in the ISF Forum on Beyond the Events: How School Sports Shape Future Leaders, which was held on April 9.

During the Forum, Sredkov discussed how wrestling helps athletes learn to find solutions to problems, how competing helps handle pressure and remain calm and focused, and the importance of collaboration for success. 

The wrestling competition was held in Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling, and 303 athletes from 16 countries participated. The results can be found here.