#OlympicChannel

Olympic Channel: Iran's 'Greatest' Hassan Yazdani Seeks Wrestling Immortality

By Andrew Binner

Hassan YAZDANI, a 25-year-old native of Jouybar, is already a national hero in Iran. He's claimed gold at the Rio Olympic Games and has a pair of world titles on his resume. In an article published on the Olympic Channel, Andrew Binner broke down the career of "The Greatest" and looked at his path to a potential second Olympic title.

"Freestyle wrestling is Iran’s national sport, so when Hassan Yazdani pinned down the 74kg gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, he became an instant national hero.

He moved up to 86kg, which better suited his growing frame, taking out the world championships gold medal at his new weight division in 2017 and 2019.

Yazdani became known as The Greatest and Fearless back home, while his Instagram account swelled to over 500K followers. Quite simply, he could walk the streets of Iran like he was The King… which is incidentally another one of his nicknames there.

“The truth is that I hope I am worthy of these nicknames,” he told Tehran Times. “Each one is valuable for me and so I hope I can live up to the nicknames and the expectations of my great fans. I always want to keep their hope, so I accept them all and just hope that I am worthy.”

Read more on the Olympic Channel's site ... here

#development

Serbia hosts UWW Level 2 coaching course

By United World Wrestling Press

DIVCIBARE, Serbia (November 27) – After a strong performance at the World Championships, Serbia organized a coaching course to help grow and develop their coaches. This course was conducted in collaboration between United World Wrestling and the Serbian Wrestling Federation. The UWW Level 2 course was held at Divcibare, the same location as the World Championships Acclimation Camp held in September. The course was led by Mr. Georgi SREDKOV (BUL) and Mr. Árpád RITTER (HUN) from November 13-17.    

The Level 2 course focused on many topics around developing effective practice plans. This included the following topics:  basic wrestling skills, performance analysis, theoretical frameworks, practice plan essentials, strength and conditioning, and practice plan series. Dr. Milorad DOKMANAC (SRB) also delivered a session on performance analysis from the most recent major competitions. This allowed the 49 coaches in attendance to see how matches were won and what techniques were successful at those levels. In addition to training topics for the course, the participants also participated in sessions on athlete safeguarding, nutrition and weight management, and mental development of wrestlers.

“The course went great. There were many participants, club coaches, all national coaches and competitors wanting to become future coaches," said Georgi Sredkov. "The conditions at hotel and base were excellent--top level. The trainers were positively fit and it showed in the many smiles. During the course, wonderful ideas emerged for developing the sport of wrestling.”

“I think we have passed a well-successful course. The older generation, together with the young people, were positive towards our ideas," said Árpád Ritter. "It was nice to be here and hear the different ideas and see what they heard, think about, and try to use from the course! I am in the fortunate position that I also learned from them.” 

SRBParticipants spend some time together on the mat at he UWW Level 2 course in Divcibare. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Quotes from some participants:

"The course was of high quality, very educational and presented and conducted in a great way. The lecturers Georgi Sredkov and Arpad Ritter were up to the task, accurate, precise, very thorough, available for cooperation and questions, as well as providing answers and constructive solutions. I really appreciate it and I look forward to new friendships and even better education and friendship. Thank you!" - Dragana Jankov

"I am glad I had the opportunity to participate in this seminar, improve my knowledge and get to know the local wrestling scene. These events are important for the future development of positive sports practices and I am happy to be a part of them. Big thanks to the whole organization and amazing lecturers for providing us with the latest industry knowledge to support our future work." - Abel Antonio Balsinde Acosta

"This course has not only equipped me with new training methodologies but also affirmed the effectiveness of my existing approach. Learning innovative training principles from Georgi Sredkov and Arpad Ritter has broadened my skillset while confirming that my current strategies align with best practices. Empowered and validated, I'm eager to apply these skills, and I look forward to attending the next course." - Vukašin Veizović

"I express my great gratitude for the wonderful seminar in all respects. I would be grateful for new seminars (new topics) of this amazing lectures. (Georgi Sredkov and Arpad Ritter) Thank you very much! The information was presented in a very interesting and accessible way, all the questions of interest were answered!" - Ivan Mladenovic