#development

UWW educational activities prior to the Southeast Asian Games

Wednesday, May 11, 2022 - 23:58 By United World Wrestling Press

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HANOI, Vietnam (May 11) -- With the support of the Olympic Solidarity and the Vietnam National Olympic Committee, technical courses for coaches and referees were organized by United World Wrestling for the Southeast Asian countries prior to the South East Asian Games from May 7 to 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A total of 55 coaches and referees from Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended the training. Out of the 30 referees that attended the training course, 18 referees training will officiate at the SEA Games and obtain international refereeing licenses.

An anti-doping workshop was also delivered to the participating coaches by the Vietnam Anti-Doping & Sports Medicine Center on May 10. General anti-doping rules, rights & responsibilities of athletes & coaches, testing procedures, Therapeutic Use Exemptions and clean sports values and ethics were included in this workshop.

DopingThe Vietnam Anti-Doping & Sports Medicine Center present their course on anti-doping rules and ethics to 25 coaches.

"This is a great start for Southeast Asian countries after such a long time of no activity and sporting opportunities in the last two years," Deqa NIAMKEY, UWW Development Director, said. "The SEA Games allowed our smaller national federations to make a strong appearance on the international stage, and the training courses UWW organized prior to the Games help ensure that the wrestling competitions are conducted in a safe and fair manner.

"UWW thrives to provide the best possible training and education opportunities for the development of coaches and referees worldwide."

As part of its commitment to drive global wrestling development and further strengthen and enhance the communication with member federations, UWW has announced a new Regional Development Program to help support wrestling development activities across regions at beginning of the year.

This program contributes to a coherent development strategy and offers hands-on local support and assistance to benefit wrestling growth in countries that are relatively less developed in the sport of wrestling.

Through this flagship development program, UWW is continuing to provide tailored support to its member federations and making a real and lasting impact in driving the development of wrestling around the world.

The training courses prior to the SEA Games set another important milestone for UWW and marked a start of a series of wrestling development programs and projects in the region. Positive feedback was received from the participating nations, and many countries have already expressed their interest in hosting the 2023 UWW Southeast Asia Development Program.

"The training courses for coaches and referees are extremely important and beneficial for the development of wrestling in Vietnam and the whole Southeast Asia region," Manh Van TRAN, the Secretary-General of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, said.

"We have supported a coaching course via Olympic Solidarity back in 2017, and we hope to continue our successful collocation with UWW to grow wrestling in Vietnam," he said.

Lee Jiwoo_Ref course_VIE

"I’m a young coach from Indonesia and I am very happy that UWW offered this chance to further enhance my knowledge of wrestling in both coaching and refereeing," Purnama SURYA, a coach from Indoesia, said. "I attended both training courses, and had great experience learning from renowned international experts in the field. A big thank you to UWW."

#WrestleBaku, #WrestleParis

With Paris 2024 quotas on offer, Women's Wrestling stalwarts head to Baku

Monday, April 1, 2024 - 13:42 By Vinay Siwach

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (April 2) -- A four-time Olympic medalist, an Olympic history-maker for Turkiye and two Olympic medalists in the same weight class. The European OG Qualifier in Baku from April 5 is going to be a huge test for some of the wrestling stars such as Mariya STADNIK (AZE), Yasemin ADAR (TUR), Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN) and Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) who take the mat in a bid to qualify for Paris Olympics.

Kurachkina and Nikolova were 57kg medalists at the Tokyo Olympics, winning silver and bronze respectively. The two wrestlers met in the European Championships final in February with Kurachkina beating Nikolova to win the gold medal.

However, the qualifiers will not be the same. Apart from the two in-form wrestlers, former European champion and world bronze medalist Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) returns to the mat after nursing an injury that kept her away for 10 months.

Hrushyna missed the World Championships and will be unseeded for the tournament. While it is unknown if she will return to her top level in Baku, if she does, Hrushyna's opponents will find it difficult to stop her.

Kurachkina and Nikolova will not meet in Baku as they will be drawn on opposite sides of the bracket. The former will be seeded second while the latter at number four.

World fifth-place finisher Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), who came in striking distance to win the Olympic spot at the World Championships, is seeded number one and Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), a bronze medalist at the European Championships, takes the number three spot.

Tokyo Olympian Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN), U20 world champion Aurora RUSSO (ITA), world bronze medalist at 59kg Othelie HOEIE (NOR) and Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU) are also entered in the draw.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) has a perfect record over Oksana LIVACH (UKR). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

This may be a little easier for four-time Olympic medalist Stadnik who won her 10th European title in February. She will be the top seed at 50kg in Baku and has past wins over most of her opponents. Stadnik should sail if her performance in Bucharest is anything to go by.

Oksana LIVACH (UKR) will have the best chance to halt Stadnik as she will be seeded fourth and likely to meet her in the semifinals. The winner will earn a Paris 2024 spot. Their latest clash was at the European Championships semifinal which Stadnik won 6-0.

Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN) and former European champion Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) will be on the other side of the bracket as seeded two and three respectively.

Yasemin ADAR (TUR)Yasemin ADAR (TUR) is the reigning European champion at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medalist in Women's Wrestling Adar returned to the mat in February after a year's absence and won the European title at 76kg. That makes her the favorite to win a Paris Olympic quota in Baku.

Adar will be unseeded and drawn randomly in the bracket which has Catalina AXENTE (ROU) as the top seed, Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN) as the second seed, Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR) as third and Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN) as the fourth seed.

Others in the bracket include Martina KUENZ (AUT), former European champion Epp MAE (EST), Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA), Francy RAEDELT (GER), 2024 European bronze medalists Bernadett NAGY (HUN) and Enrica RINALDI (ITA).

Andreea ANA (ROU)Andreea ANA (ROU) will be dropping to 53kg in a bid to win an Paris 2024 quota. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

At 53kg, European champion at 55kg and Tokyo Olympian Andreea ANA (ROU), world medalist and Tokyo Olympian Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE), former Euro silver medalist Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN), 2024 Euro bronze medalist Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) are the few stars among others.

Orsus will be seeded number one for the qualifier with Prevolaraki getting the second seed. Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN), who Prevolaraki pinned to win the 2024 Euro bronze, is at number three while Ana is fourth.

Yetgil will be without a seed and so are Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA), Jowita WRZESIEN (POL), Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE), all of whom can upset any of their opponents on the day.

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) will be the top seed at 62kg in Baku. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Former world champion Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) perhaps has the best chance to earn a Paris spot at 62kg from Baku after missing out at the World Championships. As the top seed, Dudova will be a favorite. She was stunned by Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) at the European Championships and will have to forget that loss as Lindborg can be drawn in her bracket.

Veranika IVANOVA (AIN) is the second seed with Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA) taking the third spot and Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE) fourth.

But a few others can also go all the way. That line-up includes Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), Lydia PEREZ (ESP), Viktoria VESSO (EST) and Kriszta INCZE (ROU).

Khanum VELIEVA (AIN)Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), left, and Khanum VELIEVA (AIN) are two of the five past Olympians at 68kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Five past Olympians will try to be at the Paris Olympics at 68kg but only two will be able to confirm that in Baku. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE), Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL), Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), Ilana KRATYSH (ISR) and Khanum VELIEVA (AIN) have been to the Olympics either in Rio or Tokyo. But can they return?

Former European champion at 72kg Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), age-group European and world medalist Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) and young star from Ukraine Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) are a few of the challengers. Skobelska was a late replacement for European silver medalist Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR).

Hanzlickova, winner of bronze at the 2024 Europeans, is seeded number one with other bronze medalist Hristova getting the second seed. Noemi SZABADOS (HUN) is number three and Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU) is fourth.

With Manolova and Velieva unseeded, the path to Paris may not be the easiest for others in the bracket.