Webinar

With Online Webinars Wrestling Finds Eager Audience

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (July 30) -- A move from the mat to the home office was never planned, but for United World Wrestling the transition from mat-based training to online learning is showing positive results.

The hourlong webinars, launched in June, have a been a huge success with more than 40 being delivered by the development department across several languages and attracting viewership from all five continents. 

“Through the pandemic has proven to be challenging in a number of ways, the wrestling community has shown resilience,” said UWW Development Director Deqa Niamkey. “These are challenging times we have managed to engage coaches, referees and national federations on a weekly basis with highly renowned experts to keep our community motivated and learn best practices. We are grateful to be part of this growing wrestling family and we look forward to having everyone back on the field of play.”

In only a month the webinars are attracting an average of 160 total viewers, which is far more than the average in-person attendance seen for the majority of similar seminars. The Spanish-speaking webinar have been the most-watched averaging almost 200 viewers each webinar.

The Refereeing Commission has also launched a Webinar series with eight airing since June 22 and another four scheduled before the end of the summer. There will be translations of the videos in Russian, French, and Spanish posted to the UWW starting July 30. The new webinars will be posted every Thursday in Russian, French and Spanish. Russian will air at 14:00, French at 16:00 and Spanish at 18:00.

“UWW Education Webinars have offered the referee community all over the globe not only a convenient and modern way to learn and upskill on wrestling matters, but also an opportunity to stay again in touch during this difficult period of time, which has been much appreciated,” said UWW Refereeing Commission president Antonio Silvestri.
 
Current webinars have covered multiple aspects of refereeing, from basic skills to detailed analysis of actions and throws, which are intended to assist referees in their learning and better prepare for a return to the mat.
 

#WrestleAmman

U20 World Championships Day 1 semis set

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 14) -- The U20 World Championships kick off in Amman, Jordan with freestyle action. Wrestlers from five weight classes -- 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg -- will be on the mats with a host of returning medalists and continental champions.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Here are the semifinals for the evening session

57kg
SAGAR (IND) vs. Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN)
Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

65kg
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) vs. Jesse MENDEZ (USA)
Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ) vs. Ali REZAEI (IRI)

70kg
Julian GEORGE (PUR) vs. Meyer SHAPIRO (USA)
Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN) vs. Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)

79kg
Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) vs. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)
Matthew SINGLETON (USA) vs. Sagar JAGLAN (IND)

97kg
Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) vs. Camden MC DANEL (USA)
Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) vs. Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN)

14:40: U20 European champion Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) gets Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in a double-hand lock and gets the fall! Abdullayev moves into the 57kg semifinals.

14:30: Iran puts another one in the semifinals. Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) with a very strong performance against Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) 6-1 at 97kg. No openings were given to Kurugliyev, the U20 Asian champion

14:15: Battle of two former U17 world champions and Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) clearly surprised by Meyer SHAPIRO's (USA) defense. He shoots twice but Shapiro manages to scramble out and lead 6-0 at the break in the 70kg quarterfinal. Shapiro begins the second period with a takedown after Baitukaev hits his head on the mat. 8-0 lead for Shapiro. He blocks Baitukaev for the remaining time to win 8-0. That marks the United States sending five-out-of-five wrestlers into the semifinals today.

14:00: SAGAR (IND) comes back from 5-0 down to beat Herbert AKAPIAN (AIN) 15-5 using his gas tank. Big win for Sagar at 57kg. He faces Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) in the semifinals.

13:40: Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) pins Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB)! A huge result at 65kg as Toprak takes out former U17 world champion Kadamov. 

13:25: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) scores a takedown and roll in the activity period against Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ), who won a silver medal last year, to lead 4-0 at the break. He scores another takedown after the break and wins 6-1. 

13:22: At 97kg, 2022 U17 world champion Kamil KURGULIYEV (KAZ) led 5-0 against U20 European bronze medalist Zafar ALIYEV (AZE). He did give up a takedown but was clinical in his 5-2 win over Aliyev.

13:10: U20 European champion Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) goes 10-0 over David KIEFER (GER). On Mat C, returning gold medalist from 61kg, Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN), now wrestling at 57kg, makes it to the quarterfinals with a 6-1 win over Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB).

12:50: A back-and-forth bout between Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) and Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE) but the U.S. wrestler manages to win 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals against Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN).

12:45: Julian GEORGE (PUR) takes out senior Asian silver medalist Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB). Otakhonov managed to get a four-pointer but did not press much in the second period. George was relentless and ultimately claimed an 8-5 win at 70kg.

12:35: Here are the quarterfinals for the 79kg weight class

Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO) vs. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)
Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM) vs. Matthew SINGLETON (USA)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) vs. Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Alim MIESUVIETOV (UKR) vs. Ibragim KADIEV (AIN)

12:18: Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) is living up to the hype. The former U17 world champion moves into the 70kg with a 10-0 win over Mikita DZEMCHANKA (AIN). Not the easiest of fields at 70kg and he will face the winner of Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) vs. Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE).

12:00: At 57kg, returning silver medalist Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) has made his way to the pre-quarterfinals after beating Ruslan SOLOVEI (UKR) 10-0 in the opening bout. He faces a tough Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)  

11:45: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA), who has two U17 world medals including gold, begins his quest for a U20 world title with a strong 9-2 win over Lev PAVLOV (AIN). The United States have been very successful in the morning with all five wrestlers winning their first bouts.  

11:15: Former U17 world champion Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) with a dominant 10-0 win over Yuma TOMIYAMA (JPN) at 70kg. He wrestles Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE) in the pre-quarterfinals.

10:55: Quick show from Kaiji OGINO (JPN) at 65kg as he leg laces U20 Asian champion Jaskaran SINGH (IND) 10-0 inside the first minute.

10:50: A huge match-up between Jesse MENDEZ (USA) and U20 European champion Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR) at 65kg. Mendez leads 1-0 at the break after Zubal's inactivity. Zubal takes the lead in the second period. He heeps holding criteria until Mendez scores a stepout with four seconds remaining. Referees call it neutral. A challenge from the United States and a stepout and fleeing are confirmed on review. Mendez pulls off a stunning 3-1 win.

10:40: U20 Asian champion Sagar JAGLAN (IND), who won a bronze medal at 74kg last year, trailed 4-2 against Radomir STOYANOV (BUL) but like always, unleash his attacks. Stoyanov feels the heat and is caught in a leg lace. 15-4 win for Jaglan at 79kg

10:15: First big match of the day with Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) blanking Farzad SAFIJAHANSHAHI (IRI) 10-0 at 79kg. A statement win from Kadiev here to begin the proceedings.

10:00: Welcome to day one of the U20 World Championships from the capital of Jordan, Amman. A hot day here and no doubt the action will be different.