European Games

Mattsson, Sadulaev Look for Second Titles at European Games

Wednesday, June 26, 2019 - 18:53 By United World Wrestling Press

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MINSK, Belarus (June 26) - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) claimed victories in the semifinals of the European Games on Wednesday and now stand one win away from winning their second titles. 

The 29-year-old Mattsson, a six-time world medalist and 2016 Olympic bronze-medal winner, reached the finals at 53kg by defeating Nina HEMMER (GER) 10-2. All the points scored came in the first period. Mattsson's first European Games title in 2015 came at 55kg. 

She will meet Yulia KHAVALDZHY (UKR) in the gold-medal match. Khavaldzhy stunned two-time European champion Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) 7-4 in the semifinals. Orshush led for most of the match until Ukrainian mounted a late comeback to pull out the victory. With Orshush leading 4-1, Khavaldzhy scored a takedown with 35 seconds remaining in the match before picking up multiple exposures to win by three.

Sadulaev, a 2016 Olympic champion and three-time world champion, advanced to the finals at 97kg by earning his third straight shutout victory. He topped world No.8 Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR) 6-0, with five of his points coming in the first period. He will meet Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE) for the gold medal. 

Gadzhiyev shut out Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR) in the other semifinal at 97kg. Gadzhiyev, a European bronze medalist and past junior world champion, built a 3-0 lead in the first period and added two second-period takedowns while shutting down Mchedlidze's offense.

The 65kg gold-medal final will feature a pair of world champions, Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO).

Aliyev, a three-time world champion, overcame a slow start to defeat Hor OHANNESIAN (UKR) 4-4 on criteria. Ohannesian controlled the first period, scoring off a passivity and then securing a takedown to grab a 3-0 lead at the break. Aliyev came out strong in the second period, picking up a takedown to cut the deficit to 3-2. With 22 seconds left, Aliyev scored a takedown to go ahead and held on for the criteria win.

Khinchegashvili, a 2016 Olympic champion, trailed 1-0 at the break in his semifinal match against two-time world bronze medalist Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS), but came back to win 8-2 to reach the gold-medal match.

In women's wrestling at 68kg, two-time European champion Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS) knocked off world No.1 and returning world champion Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) 4-2. Bratchikova scored first with a step out and then countered an attack for a takedown to build a 3-0 lead. Cherkasova inched closer with a takedown in the first minute of the second period to cut the deficit to 3-2. With 14 seconds remaining Bratchikova, extended her lead with a step out and held on for the victory.

Bratchikova will face Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT) for the gold medal. Grigorjeva defeated Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU) 10-3 in the semifinals. 

RESULTS

Freestyle 

65kg
GOLD - Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) vs. Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL - Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) df. Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS), 8-2
SEMIFINAL - Haji ALIYEV (AZE) df. Hor OHANNESIAN (UKR), 4-4

97kg
GOLD - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) vs. Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR), 6-0
SEMIFINAL - Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR), 7-0

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) vs. Yulia KHAVALDZHY (UKR)
SEMIFINAL - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) df. Nina HEMMER (GER), 10-2
SEMIFINAL - Yulia KHAVALDZHY (UKR) df. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS), 7-4

68kg
GOLD - Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT) vs. Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT) df. Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU), 10-3
SEMIFINAL - Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS) df. Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR), 4-2
 

Development

Croatia continues to Train and Develop their Coaches and Referees

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - 11:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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POREC, Croatia (June 3) – The Croatian Wrestling Federation continues to add educational activities for their coaches and referees. The previous year, they hosted a Level 2 course on the Introduction to Practice Planning. This year they organized a Level 3 coaching course on Periodization and Coaching Philosophy.  They also organized a Level 1 – Introduction to Referee course for their younger national referees. This year’s courses were conducted on 21-24 May in the beautiful city of Porec and was done in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and United World Wrestling. 

The coaching course was led by UWW Educator Mr. Nenad Žugaj (CRO).  During the course, the 26 participants developed a better understanding of how periodization works when designing training sessions.  They were able to integrate those concepts and design their own plans.  The participants also focused on developing a coaching philosophy that they can use with their teams.

“The participants were active, I think they relaxed more and more every day and thus became more creative in their answers. I am pleased with the energy that prevailed and the positivity of the participants through jokes but also more serious topics.” said Mr. Žugaj  Eric, one of the coach participants said, “’I really liked the course and I would like to see such educations held more often. I especially liked how we, the coaches and referees, had joint lectures and assignments and were able to give opinions and views from different perspectives. I am looking forward to the next Level 4 course.”

CROParticipants look on doing the education courses held in Croaita during the final week of May. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The referee course was led by UWW Educator Ms. Edit Dozsa (ITA). The course had 13 participants who focused on the fundamentals of being a good referee.  They focused on the evaluation of holds, how to properly start and end matches, proper referee mechanics, and keeping the athletes safe during bouts.  The referee participants were able to practice their skills through simulated matches and practical assessments. 

Both the coaches and referees had some working sessions together. They were able to analyze the roles of the coaches and of the referees. This helps give them a better understanding of the jobs that they do. They also discussed the importance of athlete safeguarding in wrestling.

“The cooperation with the educators Edit and Nenad was very good and successful. I visited the lectures on a couple of occasions and found them to be educational and interesting. The feedback from our coaches and judges was positive.” said Tin Bregović.

The Croatian Wrestling Federation also hosted a competition at the end of the courses. This competition allowed the coaches and referees to practice some of the skills that they had just learned during the course.