#WrestleBelgrade

Olympic champs Sadulaev, Sidakov, Uguev headline AIN freestyle entries

By United World Wrestling Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (Spetember 12) --- Olympic champions Abdulrashid SADULAEV, Zaurbek SIDAKOV and Zavur UGUEV headline the Independent Neutral Athlete’s (AIN) roster for the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, September 16-24.

Each AIN athlete went through a rigorous vetting process by United World Wrestling in preparation for the Senior World Championships.

In total, 235 individuals from Russia and Belarus underwent thorough background and social media checks. This encompassed wrestlers across all styles and categories, as well as their accompanying support personnel. Out of the 235 names, 30 individuals were deemed ineligible due to either active support of the ongoing war or confirmed membership in military or national security agencies.

The decisions regarding eligibility were made by a panel, relying on comprehensive vetting reports provided by an independent and private intelligence service provider.

All athletes from Russia or Belarus will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes, without any flags or references to their respective countries. Additionally, the national anthems of Russia and Belarus will not be played in the event of medals being awarded to these athletes.

The 2023 World Championships kick off September 16-24, in Belgrade, Serbia. Fans can follow all the action live on UWW+, or on the "The Home of Wrestling," UWW's app.

Please note: United World Wrestling will continue monitoring the AIN athletes. This is an ongoing process and any new information regarding their eligibility is subject to change.

Independent Neutral Athlete’s (AIN) roster:
57kg - Zavur UGUEV
61kg - Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV
65kg - Shamil MAMEDOV
70kg - Evgenii ZHERBAEV
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV
79kg - Akhmed USMANOV
86kg - Arslan BAGAEV
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV / Vladislav VALIEV
97kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV
125kg - Abdulla KURBANOV

#WrestleBelgrade

Day Three Finals Preview Show

By Eric Olanowski

BELGRADE, SERBIA (September 12) --- Monday night, we’ll hand out world titles at 63kg, 67kg, 82kg and 97kg.

At 63kg, Sebastian NAD (SRB) will try to keep Serbia perfect in the gold-medal match and win the host nation’s third Greco-Roman gold medal of the competition as he'll meet Leri ABULADZE (GEO).

In the 67kg finals, "The Ice Man" Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will have to defeat 2019 world bronze medal winner Mate NEMES (SRB) to win his second consecutive world title.

Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) and Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) will meet for 82kg gold.

Olympic champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) will have to get through Bulgaria’s world silver medalist Kiril MILOV to summit the world podium for the fourth time and first since 2017.

You can watch the action live at 18:00 on uww.org or on The Home of Wrestling, United World Wrestling's app.

Monday's final pairings:
63kg - Leri ABULADZE ??vs. Sebastian NAD ??
67kg - Mohammadreza Abdolhamid GERAEI ?? vs. Mate NEMES ??
82kg - Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV ?? vs. Burhan AKBUDAK ??
97kg - Artur ALEKSANYAN?? vs. Kiril MILOV ??