#WrestleSkopje

U17 European Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

SKOPJE, North MACEDONIA (June 6) -- The U17 European Championships will be held in Skopje, North Macedonia from June 9 to 15. More than 550 wrestlers are registered in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

The competition will begin with Greco-Roman followed by Women's Wrestling and finishing with Freestyle. The full schedule can be accessed here.

Qualification and repechage rounds will begins 1030 hours local time and medal bouts will begin at 1800 hours local time. On June 9, as there is no repechage and medal bouts, semifinals will begin at 1800 hours. On June 15, Sunday, as there are no qualification bouts, the repechage will begin 1600 hours local time.

Note: These are preliminary entries can be changed 72 hours before the draw of respective styles. For final brackets, refer to UWW Arena

45kg
Aren PIRUZYAN (ARM)
Omar USUBOV (AZE)
Stanimir SLAVOV (BUL)
Saba MINDIASHVILI (GEO)
Netanel RAHMISTOV (ISR)
Victor GURIN (MDA)
Andrej MISHEV (MKD)
Yakup KICIK (TUR)
Daniil LUTSYK (UKR)
Daniil NAHAVITSYN (UWW)
Umar RABADANOV (UWW)

48kg
Artak AGHABEKYAN (ARM)
Ravan HASANZADE (AZE)
Leonidas ZAHARIADIS (BUL)
Nikoloz MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Adrian AIRICH (GER)
Angelos KAMAGIANNIS (GRE)
Tamir SHIRMAMEDOV (ISR)
Vincenzo GANDOLFO (ITA)
Gheorghi GAIDARJI (MDA)
Leon MANOV (MKD)
Przemyslaw MROZEK (POL)
Yanis MAN (ROU)
Attila HEGEDUS (SVK)
Sadik ATESOGULLARI (TUR)
Mykyta HALAHAN (UKR)
Kiryl NIKITSIK (UWW)
Umar MAGOMEDOV (UWW)

51kg
Vahan AZARYAN (ARM)
Ramal MIRHUSEYNOV (AZE)
Georgi SPASOV (BUL)
Samvel ABRAHAMYAN GORGYAN (ESP)
Giorgi ROSTOMASHVILI (GEO)
Erik HANIKEL (GER)
Michail KOKOLOGIANNIS (GRE)
Kyryl SHUMEIKO (HUN)
Angelo PIRRONE (ITA)
Serghei CAMBUR (MDA)
Miradj MUSTAFA (MKD)
Szymon ROGOWICZ (POL)
Laurentiu FLOREA (ROU)
Bugra KAVAK (TUR)
Robert ALOIEV (UKR)
Nabi ISMAYIL (UWW)
Akhmed NAIBAROV (UWW)

55kg
Ervis BARDHI (ALB)
Armen PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Ruslan ALIZADA (AZE)
Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL)
Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO)
Iannis LUPU (GER)
Ioannis KESIDIS (GRE)
Csaba BODI (HUN)
Ariel FILATOV (ISR)
Jon RAMADANI (KOS)
Sergiu STANILA (MDA)
Dardan BELA (MKD)
Carlos RADULESCU (ROU)
Tim ZUERCHER (SUI)
Ivan JAKSIK (SVK)
Osman KAPLAN (TUR)
Abbas HUSEINOV (UKR)
Hleb PIATROU (UWW)
Makhach ABDULLAEV (UWW)

60kg
Razmik VOSKANYAN (ARM)
Abdullach ITSCHAKAEW (AUT)
Hasan HASANOV (AZE)
Valentin GOSPODINOV (BUL)
Iakovos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Yevhenii PINTI (ESP)
Sacha AUBERT (FRA)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Mark BARNOWSKI (GER)
Pavlos NTIANTIADIS (GRE)
Balint NEMETH (HUN)
Lior SHMULKO (ISR)
Anthony APOLINARIO (ITA)
Valeriu PADURET (MDA)
Mario ANANIEV (MKD)
Witold PAWLIK (POL)
Mark KELEMEN (ROU)
Morris KRON (SUI)
Karl BERGMAN (SWE)
Emirhan CETIN (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)
Pavel HOHINASHVILI (UWW)
Abdulla DELEKOV (UWW)

65kg
Regis LASKU (ALB)
Davit DAVTYAN (ARM)
Yusuf BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Tunar NASIBOV (AZE)
Seyko KALINOV (BUL)
Nikos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Beray AHMED NAZIFOV (ESP)
Arshavir DARAKHSHANIFARA (FIN)
Bayssangour BITMURZAEV (FRA)
Saba TKEMALADZE (GEO)
Dario FISCHIETTI (GER)
Konstantinos MICHAILIDIS (GRE)
Vince LANG (HUN)
Dilan GOLOVANEVSKIY (ISR)
Giovanni DANISE (ITA)
Erand FLUGAJ (KOS)
Maxim DIMOV (MDA)
Darijan PAVLEV (MKD)
Michal MACIUK (POL)
Istvan NAGY (ROU)
Mathys SARRASIN (SUI)
Tomas MELAS (SVK)
Mohin KHAROTI (SWE)
Ismail MERTKOLLU (TUR)
Ivan ZALISKO (UKR)
Artsiom HOHINASHVILI (UWW)
Magomed ISAEV (UWW)

71kg
Avetik TUTKHALYAN (ARM)
Rashid BETERGARAEV (AUT)
Isa YUSIBOV (AZE)
Movsar CHUPALAEV (BEL)
Aleks GROZDANOV (BUL)
Kayden HANLON (GBR)
Koba GOGUADZE (GEO)
Jason KEIL (GER)
Ektoras SIZO (GRE)
Zeteny TUGYI (HUN)
Eli SOLTANOV (ISR)
Amin HOTI (KOS)
Stefan MUNTEAN (MDA)
Dimitar ATANASOV (MKD)
Ismail ERZANUKAEV (POL)
Boran ARADIAN (ROU)
Jaroslav ZAREMBA (SVK)
Omer GUL (TUR)
Ihor OLIINYK (UKR)
Artsiom BOLSUN (UWW)
Islam DZHAMALUTDINOV (UWW)

80kg
Avet ENGOIAN (ARM)
Ali HAJIYEV (AZE)
Valentin ILIEV (BUL)
Levan CHERTKOEV (FRA)
Marshall EVERETT JONES (GBR)
Giga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Abdurrahim SEKMEN (GER)
Konstantinos MOURTZILAKIS (GRE)
Noel SZECSENYI (HUN)
Michael BAGGIANI (ITA)
Aidas SARUNAS (LTU)
Nazar SOLOMON (MDA)
Zoran SHOROV (MKD)
Aleksander BIELSKI (POL)
Luca SALANTA (ROU)
Yasin ERTURK (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)
Yahor DASHKEVICH (UWW)
Magomed ABDUSALAMOV (UWW)

92kg
Narek MARTIROSYAN (ARM)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Stefan STEFANOV (BUL)
Elguja LOMIDZE (GEO)
Tom ULAMEC (GER)
Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE)
Levente SZIKSZAI (HUN)
Damiano SPERANDIO (ITA)
Valerij GOLOVATYJ (LTU)
Eugen DOHOTER (MDA)
Hristijan DIMITRIEV (MKD)
Michal IWANSKI (POL)
Magor LORINCZ (ROU)
Patrik URBANEK (SVK)
Said RIZA (TUR)
Davyd LUTSKOV (UKR)
Ivan VARANKO (UWW)
Abdurazak SHABANOV (UWW)

110kg
Laert MOVSESYAN (ARM)
Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE)
Halil SADAKOV (BUL)
Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO)
Georgios MANAGKANTZE (GRE)
Gyoergy JUHASZ (HUN)
Ernests STABINS (LAT)
Valeri CAPACLI (MDA)
Jovan STEFANOV (MKD)
Piotr GRELA (POL)
Sebastian BRAILESCU (ROU)
Adam KOSC (SVK)
Zekeriya DOGAN (TUR)
Mykyta KRASNOKUTSKYI (UKR)
Daniil ZHYVULA (UWW)
Magomedrasul OMAROV (UWW)

Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)Georgia's first-ever European champion in Women's Wrestling Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO) will be at 61kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Christofer KOSAR (EST)
Kaltouma SALISSOU (FRA)
Finja STRAUCH (GER)
Frosina ATANASOVA (MKD)
Valia HARSAN (ROU)
Zehra OZDEMIR (TUR)
Emma TALPA (UKR)
Sviatlana TRUKSHANINA (UWW)
Zamina DUGALEVA (UWW)

43kg
Iliyana DICHEVA (BUL)
Frederika GROSSE (GER)
Aikaterini KATIFORI (GRE)
Reka TELEKI (HUN)
Irina TERZI (MDA)
Julia PALKA (POL)
Nicoleta PASCALAU (ROU)
Emine BARISKAN (TUR)
Martina MODNA (UKR)
Nurana ASADLI (UWW)
Raniia RAKHMANOVA (UWW)

46kg
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Dayana STOYCHEVA (BUL)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Madina BAYRAMOVA (GER)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Janka SILLEI (HUN)
Mihaela BACOS (MDA)
Spasija VASILEVA (MKD)
Zuzanna PTAK (POL)
Nikoletta TILI (ROU)
Vega MALMGREN (SWE)
Latife SAHIN (TUR)
Kamila KUCHMA (UKR)
Darya NAHORNAYA (UWW)
Irina TSYDEEVA (UWW)

49kg
Khadija GURBANZADA (AZE)
Sheila MONDRAGO GARCIA (ESP)
Rita RANTONEN (FIN)
Lea LINGSCHEIDT (GER)
Dimitra SKOUVAKI (GRE)
Eszter PALMAI (HUN)
Maria CALDIERO (ITA)
Elsa NIKOCI (KOS)
Anastasija JAKOVLEVA (LAT)
Enrika DEVETINAITE (LTU)
Eliza GONTA (MDA)
Angela TRAJKOSKA (MKD)
Kinga JANUSZEK (POL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Brita NERELL (SWE)
Ecrin SALIK (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Anhelina BURKINA (UWW)
Polina BOCHKAREVA (UWW)

53kg
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Nataliya BOYADZHIEVA (BUL)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Nadiia ZHOLTIKOVA (ESP)
Anais MARTIN (FRA)
Phoebe COCKER (GBR)
Lisa SHAVADZE (GEO)
Josefine WIDMANN (GER)
Maria VANDOULAKI VANDOULA (GRE)
Mariia ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Naomi LIUZZI (ITA)
Kanita SPAHIJA (KOS)
Alexandrina BARBANOUA (MDA)
Bojana KOVACHOVA (MKD)
Mina HANSEN (NOR)
Julia GIBALSKA (POL)
Valeria FLOCEA (ROU)
Miriam MISAKOVA (SVK)
Sally HAMMARBAECK (SWE)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Alisa SELEZNOVA (UKR)
Maryia KHRUSHCHOVA (UWW)
Margarita IARYGINA (UWW)

57kg
Celestina GJURAJ (ALB)
Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE)
Olga POPOVA (BUL)
Zara PETROVIC (CRO)
Carla CHRISTIANSEN (DEN)
Irama SERENELLI MAGALLON (ESP)
Oona Olivia PEKKARINEN (FIN)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Emma STEUER (GER)
Zoi KAIDOPOULOU (GRE)
Sophie RITTER (ITA)
Sadije DURA (MKD)
Josefien COOMANS (NED)
Liv SANDVIK KLEPPESTO (NOR)
Marta MANKOWSKA (POL)
Luiza GHINDARU (ROU)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Lena MEIJER (SWE)
Asli KOLE (TUR)
Ivanna LUKIANENKO (UKR)
Palina BRAHINETS (UWW)
Alina BAROEVA (UWW)

61kg
Sophia MERANER (AUT)
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Andrea NISEVA (BUL)
Karol TAMSON (EST)
Théa ROUSSEL (FRA)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Sophia SCHWART (GER)
Ioanna XENIDOU (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
Sara SERVEDIO (ITA)
Tamara CVETKOSKA (MKD)
Nadia KOCIA (POL)
Oana DUMITRU (ROU)
Gabrijela BERKEC (SRB)
Ester AIRAKSINEN (SWE)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Oleksandra MALKOVA (UKR)
Varvara ALISEYENKA (UWW)
Zalina TOTROVA (UWW)

65kg
Fidan BABAYEVA (AZE)
Desislava PASKALEVA (BUL)
Lana PEZIC (CRO)
Ani CHACHANIDZE (GEO)
Feenja HERMANN (GER)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Emese CZEGLEDI (HUN)
Giulia CARRI (ITA)
Greta USINOVIC (LTU)
Cristina ZAPOROJAN (MDA)
Viktorija GJUROVA (MKD)
Tessa SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Zuzanna HORBIK (POL)
Sophia PAIUS (ROU)
Maria JIVENIUS (SWE)
Kiymet TEZCAN (TUR)
Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR)
Anastasiya KOMANAVA (UWW)
Lilia ERMOKHINA (UWW)

69kg
Milana BAGHIRZADE (AZE)
Natalia TASEVA (BUL)
Sihana OMAR (FRA)
Anna GODELASHVILI (GEO)
Ayla SAHIN (GER)
Elli SEITARIDOU (GRE)
Reka BERECZKI (HUN)
Juliana CATANZARO (ITA)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Nina SLAVEVSKA (MKD)
Aurelia GODZINSKA (POL)
Sophia ANASTASE (ROU)
Zeynep SUCU (TUR)
Solomiia PETRIV (UKR)
Hanna SIUBARAVA (UWW)
Zukhra KAZULAEVA (UWW)

73kg
Tanya IVANOVA (BUL)
Merily VAESTER (EST)
Anni HANHINEVA (FIN)
Lyra LEDERER (GER)
Polyxeni CHRYSIKAKI (GRE)
Bianka BARANY ALMASI (HUN)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Eoprahia CAZACU (MDA)
Angjela GLIGOROVA (MKD)
Britt VAN ROOIJEN (NED)
Agnieszka BRYCZEK (POL)
Maria Ioana ROMEGA (ROU)
IRINGO DERI (SRB)
Eylem ENGIN (TUR)
Khrystyna DEMCHUK (UKR)
Sofiya AUCHAROVA (UWW)
Sofia TOLOKNOVA (UWW)

Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)45kg champion Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) will wrestle at 51kg in Skopje. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM)
Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE)
Danimir YORDANOV (BUL)
Ibrahim GALBOURAEV (FRA)
Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO)
Stefanos MEMTSAS (GRE)
Kiril VARTANOV (LTU)
Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA)
Oliwier BIALASIK (POL)
David VARGA (SRB)
Mustafa GUVEN (TUR)
Ihor TUTSKANIUK (UKR)
Artem TKACHENKO (UWW)

48kg
Martin MANJIKYAN (ARM)
Gurban MAJNUNOV (AZE)
Stanislav IVANOV (BUL)
Giorgi MUNTCHAVA (GEO)
Samuel PUSCAS (GER)
Nikolaos ZINISA (GRE)
Gergo ZATKO (HUN)
Domantas MERKELIS (LTU)
Ksawier ROSSA (POL)
Matyas GOENCI (SVK)
Baris SOYLU (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)
Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (UWW)
Matvei GOLOVENCHITS (UWW)

51kg
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Elshad ABBASOV (AZE)
Kaloyan BORISOV (BUL)
Marcos LILLO RANGEL (ESP)
Giorgi AZNAURISHVILI (GEO)
Noah END (GER)
Sotirios NTONTOS (GRE)
Keve KOVACS (HUN)
Nikita CVASIUC (ITA)
Iosif STRATAN (MDA)
Abu SAGA (NOR)
Maciej GRYNIA (POL)
Andrei PELEAN (ROU)
Serkan GULLE (TUR)
Illia VANZHUL (UKR)
Rizvan KAIRBEKOV (UWW)

55kg
Vazgen MNATSAKANYAN (ARM)
Aykhan ASADLI (AZE)
Antoan TSVETANOV (BUL)
David KOIC (CRO)
Raimond PROUS (EST)
Magomed VARAEV (FRA)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Grigorios EFTHYMIADIS (GRE)
Balint KAZINCZY (HUN)
Emanuel ISRAILOV (ISR)
Cristian MUSCIANESE (ITA)
Ronaldas POGOZELSKIS (LTU)
Leon RUDNIK (POL)
Patrick MOCAN CROITORU (ROU)
Aleksandar TERZIN (SRB)
Selva THARMALINGAM (SWE)
Osman Ege OZDEMIR (TUR)
Bohdan MAKAROVETS (UKR)
Aliaksandr BELIAKOU (UWW)
Danil LOZHKIN (UWW)

60kg
Rejan OSMAJ (ALB)
Hayk MANUKYAN (ARM)
Ali NAZAROV (AZE)
Zhivko HINKOV (BUL)
Roko CURIC (CRO)
Adrian ROSADO LOPEZ (ESP)
Mauno KAURA (FIN)
Sarkis VOSKANIAN (FRA)
Rezi GUJABIDZE (GEO)
Mika LABES (GER)
Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE)
Imre JUHASZ (HUN)
Tamirlan KHALIMOV (ISR)
Riccardo DELLE CAVE (ITA)
Emilis NEVERAUSKAS (LTU)
Vlad DUMINICA (MDA)
Raffaele HIGHT (NED)
Oliwier ZYSK (POL)
Mihai MARIUTA (ROU)
Kristian DOBI (SRB)
Joel GAECHTER (SUI)
Ismail ISAEV (SWE)
Abdul ARSLANTAS (TUR)
Denys SEREDIN (UKR)
Dzmitry DUDUK (UWW)
Amir KAVLAEV (UWW)

65kg
Sentiljano MEMA (ALB)
Janes NAZARYAN (ARM)
Ramil MUSAYEV (AZE)
Kristiyan PETKOV (BUL)
Stjepan KRALJ (CRO)
Jakub CHARVAT (CZE)
Ramin YOUSEFI (FIN)
Kyliane EDDOUH (FRA)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Timur DEMIR (GER)
Iason MARGARITIDIS (GRE)
Rego TORDA (HUN)
Yehonatan NEMSADZE (ISR)
Alessio ARANCIO (ITA)
Mangirdas BRAZDZIUNAS (LTU)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Andreas FJELDSTAD (NOR)
Przemyslaw ANDRYCHOWSKI (POL)
Luka ZELIC (SRB)
Tim SCHREIBER (SUI)
Anders THULINDER (SWE)
Mesut SOGUT (TUR)
Yehor TARASENKO (UKR)
Uladzislau SALAUYOU (UWW)
Zelimkhan AZIMOV (UWW)

71kg
Roman USOYAN (ARM)
David SCHOBER (AUT)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Miroslav RESHOVSKI (BUL)
Bozidar GRBINICEK (CRO)
Vaclav SATRAPA (CZE)
Alvaro VILLAFAINA RECACHA (ESP)
Mardo AERMUS (EST)
Matias ONNENLEHTO (FIN)
Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Dimitrios SOULIS (GRE)
Imre KOLOMPAR (HUN)
Nicolas DE GRECIS (ITA)
Artur SAVELJEV (LTU)
Ignat MEICO (MDA)
Kacper GOLONKA (POL)
Gabriel MARCEL (ROU)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Zsombor RAJKOVICS (SVK)
Julian VADELL (SWE)
Ali KILINC (TUR)
Danyil MELNYCHUK (UKR)
Maksim ZENKEVICH (UWW)
Kaimaraz ARBAKHANOV (UWW)

80kg
Vahe HOVEYAN (ARM)
Christopher SZENTKIRALYI (AUT)
Nijat YEYLAGALIYEV (AZE)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Jachym JABUREK (CZE)
Aaron TONISMAA (EST)
Giorgi ORMOTSADZE (GEO)
Noel LOZANCIC (GER)
Stefanos VASDEKIS (GRE)
Dominik KERTESZ (HUN)
Koan VALENTINI (ITA)
Olivers IRKLIS (LAT)
Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU)
Kyrylo KON (MDA)
Franciszek KOCWIN (POL)
Danilo AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Matti EICHMANN (SUI)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Fredrik ABRAHAMSSON (SWE)
Ismail BEREKET (TUR)
Danylo VUZII (UKR)
Anton KASTSEVICH (UWW)
Senik VARDANIAN (UWW)

92kg
Petros BAGHRAMYAN (ARM)
Niklas OEHLERER (AUT)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Ivan NIKOLOV (BUL)
Andrija MIKULIC (CRO)
Vitezslav ZAK (CZE)
Robert KOVALKOV (EST)
Luka MARTIASHVILI (GEO)
Ioannis MOUTOUSIDIS (GRE)
Zsombor KORODI (HUN)
Elia CAIANIELLO (ITA)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA)
Ismail KADYROV (NOR)
Tomasz MITAL (POL)
Ionut PATRU (ROU)
Todor AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Christofer KOSAR (SVK)
Manfred ALTHEN (SWE)
Enes UZUN (TUR)
Tymur LARIN (UKR)
Kanstantsin KASYAN (UWW)
Vadim DRAGUSHAN (UWW)

110kg
Gor MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Rihad IBRAHIMLI (AZE)
Denis LAZAROV (BUL)
Karel CECH (CZE)
Kahro PALLON (EST)
Temuri SIMSIVE (GEO)
Maximilian LEO (GER)
Vasileios BOUNTOULIS (GRE)
Akos KEREPESI (HUN)
Guy ZANKEVICH (ISR)
Deniss MOISEJENKO (LAT)
Mateusz TOMELKA (POL)
Vlad PETREAN (ROU)
Andrej SIMIC (SRB)
Arda UGUR (TUR)
Anatolii NOVACHENKO (UKR)
Matvei SILICH (UWW)
Artur GABEEV (UWW)

Development

Iraqi Wrestling Federation host 2nd course for Coaches and Referees

By United World Wrestling Press

Baghdad, Iraq (June 17) – The Iraqi Wrestling Federation continues to look to provide education for their coaches and referees. From May 25-30, the IRQ Federation hosted a Level 2 Coaching Course and the Introduction to Referee Course.  These were conducted in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and United World Wrestling.  The coaching course was led by Mr. Hassan Madany (EGY) and the referee course was led by Mr. Hadi Hasan Ismael (IRQ).  

The Level 2 coaching course focused on the designing and implementing of practice plans.  There were 25 coaches that participated in the course.  The participants The following topics were covered throughout the course: seven basic skills of wrestling, introduction to performance analysis designing effective practice sessions, and technical session. During the course, the coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations.  “The atmosphere was comfortable and collaborative, creating an excellent learning environment. Everyone was eager to engage with the course content across various topics, but there was particular enthusiasm for match performance analysis and practical application.  Notably, most participants were former international players, including some who competed in the London 2012 Olympics in the 130 kg Greco-Roman category, such as Coach Ali Nazem. Their presence significantly enhanced the course level, especially in the practical aspects.  In the end, I was pleased to be part of this course and to work alongside such a distinguished group of coaches.” Said Mr. Madany.

The Introduction to Refereeing Course was the first-ever women-only course in Iraq.  This course had 17 women who were new to refereeing.  The participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee.  The areas covered during the course included:  safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout.  The participants were active during the course and were able to practice their skills through practical evaluations.  “The course was conducted successfully and demonstrated strong organization throughout. The participants showed a high level of enthusiasm, which was clearly reflected in their active engagement during the sessions. Despite all attendees having no prior experience in wrestling, their overall performance was commendable. Several participants displayed exceptional comprehension and aptitude, which was evident in their practical application of refereeing skills during the championship held the day after the course concluded.” Said Mr. Hadi Hasan Ismael.

At the conclusion of the courses, the Iraqi Wrestling Federation organized a competition. The competition allowed the coaches and referees to directly practice the new skills that they learned.

“First of all, I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the International Wrestling Federation and the Development Committee of the Federation for their continuous support in developing wrestling in Iraq. Regarding the training and refereeing course, which concluded with great success, the lecturers Hassan Madani and Hadi Hassan presented valuable and useful expertise and information, which was well received and appreciated by all participants”. said Mr. Shaalan Abdulkadhim, President of Iraqi Wrestling Federation.

IRQParticipants gather for a group photo following the conclusion of the Level 2 Coaching Course in Baghdad. (Photo: United World Wrestling) 

Quotes from some of the participants:

“The course was of great importance, particularly due to the inclusion of practical applications, which proved to be the most engaging and beneficial aspect for the participants. These hands-on sessions complemented the theoretical lectures, which focused on thoroughly studying the core materials and concepts before transitioning to their practical implementation.” – Hoyam Jazea

“The course was very enjoyable and rich with valuable information that has already benefited us and will certainly be useful in the future. Although the duration of the course was short, the knowledge we gained was impactful and left a lasting impression. For future, I hope there will be more courses, as it would allow us to deepen our understanding and expand our knowledge of refereeing.” – Saja Tariq

"The overall impression of the Level 1 Wrestling Refereeing Course was very positive. It was a well-structured and fruitful course that provided a solid introduction to the fundamentals of wrestling, including basic techniques, refereeing principles, mat movement, and scoring methods. The theoretical component was clearly presented, and the instructor’s approach to delivering the material was excellent, making the information easy to understand and absorb.” – Rusul Falah