Sadulaev

Transcript: Interview with Sadulaev

Wednesday, April 8, 2020 - 13:14 By United World Wrestling Press

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Q: Is it your goal to win three Olympic titles like Satiev and Karelin?

Talking about 3-time Olympic champions Saitiev and Karelin, it's great that we have such examples to follow.

For now, it's useless to consider winning my third Olympic title because World Championships are different from the Olympic titles. Anybody can win and anybody can lose. My main goal for now is my second Olympic title and then I will concentrate on the third one.

Q: How have stayed on top for so long?

Motivation helps me achieve everything. My rivals are training hard as well. They don't stand idly by. The younger generation is coming. Sport just takes a short period of our life. I have to win every possible tournament, before the younger wrestlers start stepping on my toes. Otherwise it will be too late.

Q: What do you think about a potential matchup with J’Den Cox?

I think, J'den Cox has a specific wrestling style.  However, Snyder will not be easy to beat, he is a current Olympic Champion. And he's a lot bigger than Cox. As it is said, we will see what happens on the mat. I'm interested in seeing them wrestling against each other.

I don't really know how the match between me and Cox will go, because we've never wrestled. At the Olympics we ended up in different brackets, I changed my weight category, but he stayed at the same one. We have never met on the mat.

Q: Why are there so many great wrestlers from Dagestan?

In Dagestan, wrestling is in our blood, It's basically our National Sport here in Dagestan it's the number one sport. Almost every boy takes part in freestyle wrestling. So, there's a lot of competition between them. That's why so many Dagestani wrestlers represent different countries, because they can't qualify for the Russian national team.

High competition benefits good wrestlers.

Q: How does it feel to be the first wrestler with one million followers on Instagram?

Even though I have one million Instagram followers, it wasn't my main goal. If I was truly interested in it, I would have got there much faster. I'm not very active on social media. Of course, I am pleased that people are interested and that they follow me.

Q: How do we continue to grow the sport of wrestling?

The growth of the sport and wrestling is very important. Recently, wrestling was overtaken in popularity by MMA. But still, wrestling remains as an Olympic discipline. That's why I think, wrestling should be spread all around the world. In general, in MMA almost all the fighter have some sort of wrestling background -- around 70% of the top UFC fighters are former wrestlers. That's why wrestling is so powerful

Q: How do you want people to remember you when you retire from wrestling?

 

The most important thing is to leave a good legacy so that no one would dare to tell my children or grandchildren -- that their father wasn't loyal or a bad person. Once again, it's important to leave a good legacy.

2026 U17 World Championships

Women's Wrestling Watch at U17 World Championships 2026

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 13:22 By Vinay Siwach

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Wrestling Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 28) -- Wrestlers at the U17 World Championships will breathe a sigh of relief. China, Asia's top team at this level, will not compete in the tournament in Baku.

With China absent, Japan, India and the United States emerge as the leading contenders for the team title. India won the championship last year, with the U.S. finishing second and Japan third.

Despite China's absence, the wrestling in Baku promises to be top-notch. From individual milestones to the battle for the team title, there will be no shortage of compelling storylines.

Fernandez Chases Third Gold

Among the biggest storylines is Taina FERNANDEZ (USA), a two-time U17 world champion at 61kg. Now competing at 69kg, Fernandez is chasing a third U17 world title. A gold medal would make history, as she would become the first non-Japanese wrestler to win three U17 world championships.

Only four wrestlers have won three U17 world titles, all of them Japanese women: Masako FURUICHI (JPN) [2011, 2012, 2013], Kika KAGATA (JPN) [2012, 2013, 2014], Yui SUSAKI (JPN) [2014, 2015, 2016] and Honoka NAKAI (JPN) [2017, 2018, 2019].

Fernandez, yet to lose an international bout, faces a stern test after moving up eight kilograms to 69kg. Her opening opponent is U17 Asian silver medalist TANIYA (IND). Hopefully, the commentators don't confuse Taina and Taniya.

The bracket also features U17 European champion Kiymet TEZCAN (TUR), bronze medalists Nino SAMKHARADZE (GEO) and Polina EFIMOVA (RUS), as well as Hibiki IIDA (JPN), because counting out a Japanese wrestler has rarely ended well.

Wrestling Solomiia PETRIV (UKR)U17 European champion Solomiia PETRIV (UKR), red, at 73kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Battle of 73kg

The 73kg weight class was introduced in 2018, when Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) claimed the inaugural title. That remains the last time Japan won the heaviest women's weight class. Since then, India has captured three gold medals, while China, the United States and Russia have won one each.

The race for the 73kg title in Baku is wide open with China absent. India is banking on U17 Asian champion GARIMA (IND), who will need to elevate her performance from the continental championships if she hopes to claim the world title that KAJAL (IND) narrowly missed after finishing runner-up last year.

U17 European champion Solomiia PETRIV (UKR), who won bronze at 69kg last year, enters as one of the favorites. Potential rematches from the U17 European Championships loom, with silver medalist Bianka BARANY (HUN) and bronze medalists Karina MUZALEVSKAIA (RUS) and Lyra LEDERER (GER) also in the field.

U17 Asian silver medalist Namuuntsetseg BATBOLD (MGL) brings Mongolia's trademark throwing attack, while Kaili MANUEL (USA) could emerge as the dark horse.

Wrestling Janka SILLEI (HUN)U17 European champion Janka SILLEI (HUN), left, is one of the favorites at 57kg in Baku. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Stars Clash at 57kg

The deepest weight class appears to be 57kg, featuring several established names moving into the division.

Returning world silver medalists Janka SILLEI (HUN), who won silver at 46kg, and Epenesa ELISON (USA), last year's runner-up at 53kg, land on the same side of the bracket.

After moving up just one weight class, Elison has the tools to reach the final, but she opens against Rion SUZUKI (JPN), a difficult first-round opponent. Sillei, meanwhile, dominated the U17 European Championships at 57kg, outscoring every opponent.

Also in the field are U17 European silver medalist Mariia POLTORAK (UKR), bronze medalist Marharyta DANILEVICH (BLR) and U17 Pan-American silver medalist Gurleen DHILLON (CAN).

Despite lacking international medals, Suzuki, Nikita SEHRAWAT (IND) and Sofiia BELOVA (RUS) should not be overlooked.

Wrestling IndiaIndia won the Women's Wrestling team title at the 2025 U17 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Team Title Race

Japan brings a formidable lineup that can make a run for the team gold. This is despite the country's inter-high school championships coincide with the U17 World Championships, forcing several wrestlers to prioritize the domestic event and leaving Japan short of full strength.

The U.S. squad is headlined by Fernandez but also includes two returning world medalists and three U17 Pan-American champions. Elison will look to improve on last year's silver medal, while returning bronze medalist Madison HEALEY (USA) competes at 46kg.

The U17 Pan-American champions on the U.S. roster are Sophia VALDEZ (USA) at 40kg, Landri VON GONTEN (USA) at 61kg and Eve SKROCKI (USA) at 69kg.

Last year, it fell just four points short of India, which claimed its second U17 Women's Wrestling team title. This year's Indian squad, however, does not appear to have the same depth as last year's championship-winning team, making the race more open.

With Russia and Belarus eligible to score team points, and Ukraine also fielding a strong squad, the race for the team title promises to be considerably more competitive than it was a year ago.