#WrestleParis, Olympics

UWW approves updated Paris Olympics qualification process

By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 28) -- United World Wrestling has approved an updated qualification process for the '24 Paris Olympics.

To qualify for the Paris Games, wrestlers will get three events. -- the 2023 World Championships, the continental qualifiers in 2024, and the 2024 World Olympics Qualifiers, the last chance for wrestlers to earn a spot.

Wrestling will be contested in three styles -- Greco-Roman, men's freestyle, and women's freestyle -- with a total of 18 weight classes. One weight class will have 16 wrestlers and each nation will be able to field a maximum of one wrestler per weight. Overall, 288 quotas will be awarded for the '24 Olympics.

"We are extremely happy to confirm the qualifying period and structure for the Paris Olympics," Nenad LALOVIC, UWW President, said. "We have made a few changes to the qualifying process that creates further fairness in the distribution between the World Championships and the World Qualifier."

Any wrestler born on/before December 31, 2006, is eligible to compete and qualify for the Paris Olympics. According to the updated system, the National Olympic Committees that participated in the '23 senior continental championships will be allowed to participate in the '23 World Championships which is the first qualification tournament [with the same number of athletes per style].

Earlier, 108 quotas were awarded at the World Championships [six per Olympic weight] but UWW has decided to reduce it to 90 quotas [five per Olympic weight].

At the 2023 World Championships, all four medalists [gold, silver, and two bronze] will secure the quota for their nation. The fifth spot will be decided with a bout between the wrestlers who lost their bronze medal matches. The winner of this wrestle-off gets a quota for the '24 Games.

In the second phase, 144 wrestlers will qualify for the Paris Games through the continental quotas. The top two wrestlers in each Olympic weight class will get one spot each for their NOCs.

Athletes who earned a quota at the '23 Worlds will not be eligible to participate in the continental qualifiers unless they participate in a different style. For continental qualifiers, a NOC/NF can only send the same number of wrestlers that participated in the '24 senior continental championships.

The third and final phase will see the World Olympic Qualifiers offer three quotas in each Olympic weight class instead of the two it offered previously. A total of 54 wrestlers can qualify for the tournament.

Apart from the 36 finalists across three styles, the bronze medal winners will also have a chance to get a quota for their country. An additional wrestle-off will be held between the two bronze medal winners and the wrestler who wins the quota wrestle-off will take the trip to Paris.

Any country can send its wrestlers to this event barring the wrestlers who won quotas in phases one and two.

UWW's vision to update the qualification was to give fair chance to wrestlers who failed to reach the finals at the World Olympic Qualifiers. This also makes the repechage equally important as the semifinals.

If there are any unused quotas due to withdrawal, doping offense, or non-participation, the quota will be transferred to the next best wrestler of that weight category of the tournament.

The qualifying period begins September 16, 2023, and ends May 12, 2024. The eight-month period will see six qualifying tournaments.

The deadline for the Paris Olympic entries is July 8, 2024, with wrestling scheduled to take place in Paris from August 4-11, 2024.

The candidacy to host the Continental Olympic Qualifiers and the World Olympic Qualifiers is now open and UWW encourages all the NFs interested to host one of these events to send their candidacy.

#WrestleNoviSad

U23 World Championships 2025 Day 7 Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 26) -- The U23 World Championships will see only Freestyle action on day seven. Four weight classes till semifinals are -- 61kg, 65kg, 86kg and 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 6 RESULTS

14:40: A clash between Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) and Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) at 97kg. Babaloo began well but Yoshida with his high-paced wrestling has Babaloo in all sorts of trouble. Yoshida was trying to pin Babaloo but referees called a foul. Iran challenged for a singlet foul but there was none. Yoshida led 5-2 after that review. He then scored two stepouts and three takedowns to win 13-2

14:30: SUJEET (IND) takes out Bashir MAGOMEDOV (UWW) at 65kg. He was put on the clock twice and was down 2-0. But he finally got a point when Magomedov was put on the clock. Sujeet hit a low single to make it 3-2 before he scored a stepout to seal a spot in the semifinal with a 4-2 win.

14:15: Technical superiority 12-0 win for Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) over Andranik AVETISYAN (ARM) as he moves into the 65kg semifinals. Nishiuchi does seem to struggle a little bit with his conditioning. Will be a factor in the semifinals? 

14:05: Arsen BALAIAN (UWW) gets the best of Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) in a heated 86kg bout. Balaian scored a takedown and point for activity in the second period to lead 3-1. He then forced Tcokaev a stepout before countering Tcokaev's desperate attack to score two points and win 6-1

13:55: Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), world bronze medalist in Zagreb, crafts three takedowns in his 6-1 victory over Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE) and advance to the semifinals at 65.

13:50: Jaxen FORREST (USA) opens his 61kg campaign with a 13-0 masterful victory over Vasile MARCU (MDA). High-schooler Forrest missed out on a medal in Zagreb, losing a thriller in his bronze-medal bout

13:40: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) downs Rocco WELSH (USA) 7-4 at 86kg. Welsh hit a big four pointer to lead 6-4 but Iran challenged the call. On review, the four points were awarded to Rahmani as he hit countered the double-leg attack. Both exchange stepout but Rahmani wins the bout.

13:05: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (UWW) with some crafty wrestling to sail through Yasin REZAEI (IRI) at 65kg. He also got a four-pointer in that 11-0 win. Magomedov is two-time U23 world champion at 61kg.

13:00: A point for activity point and a takedown for Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) for a 3-0 but Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR) hits a takedown with 26 seconds left to make it 3-2. Jalalov defends that lead to win at 65kg.

12:40: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) needed two dramatic attacks in the final 25 seconds to win against Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) at 86kg. Down 3-1, Rahmani hit a takedown on the edge which was awarded one point for stepout after challenge, but he got an attack with 10 seconds left which was exposure two points and he won 4-3. Turkiye challenged the call but this time lost the challenge.

12:30: SUJEET (IND) with his second technical superiority win at 65kg. He scores five takedowns and one stepout to beat Dominik JAGUSZ (POL), 11-0.

12:25: Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) falls to Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA). Magamodov looked completely off color in his 7-4 loss at 86kg.

12:15: Arsen BALAIAN (UWW) and Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA) had a little heated moment in their 86kg bout. Balaian was clearly the superior wrestler as he wins 10-0 and advance at 86kg. Balaian helps Niccolini off the mat and it's all good

11:45: Defending 97kg champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) takes his own time but starts off with an 11-1 victory over Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR) at 97kg. The match is followed by world bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) finishing with a 10-0 victory over Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN).

11:25: Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ) takes out U20 world champion at 61kg Marcus BLAZE (USA) at 65kg. Sharip Uulu scored a takedown to lead 3-1 and Blaze had to score a takedown to win. He managed to only score a stepout. He also challenged for a singlet pull but it was ruled that Sharip Uulu got his fingers stuck in stimulation and did not stop any attack. The lost challenge made it 4-2, the winning score of Sharip Uulu

11:05: SUJEET (IND) gives up the first takedown but then launches a spree of attacks to finish the bout 12-2 against Fiodor CEAVDARI (MDA) and advance at 65kg.

10:50: Two-time U20 world champion Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) begins his U23 career with a 10-0 win over Ryan DAHCHA (CAN) at 65kg. Nishiuchi is the favorite to win the gold medal here

10:40: World U23 champion Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) was challenged by ASHISH (IND) in his first bout at 86kg but he scores two exposures for four points which gives him 6-4 lead which he defends in the second period and win.

10:25: After the early repechage rounds, the qualifications of the four Freestyle weights are underway here. If you are wondering why there is a time change for the start of the competition, the daylight saving have commenced in Europe.