#development

UWW renews WISH partnership, 6 coaches to be in high-performance program

Wednesday, June 1, 2022 - 07:59 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 31) -- Continuing its push for gender neutrality and to provide more opportunities for women to progress into leadership roles, United World Wrestling (UWW) has renewed its partnership with Olympic Solidarity for the Women in Sport High Performance Pathway, also known as the WISH Programme.

Six current and/or future coaches have been selected for the 21-month program, which has been developed in coordination with a team of specialists at the UK-based University of Hertfordshire. The program aims to help women coaches, who have the potential and ambition, to progress into high-performance coaching roles at national and international levels.

The WISH initiative took shape following a discussion between stakeholders on the ways to address the low percentage of women coaches at an elite level. At the Tokyo Olympics, for instance, even though 48 percent of the athletes were women, just 13 percent of the coaches were female. The program was thus launched to bridge this gap. 

Wrestling was among the six sports that were a part of the successful pilot program, which ran from 2019 to 2021.

In this edition, three-time world champion Martine DUGRENIER (CAN), former World Championship silver medalist Aline DA SILVA (BRA) and Australia’s Carissa HOLLAND are a part of the first group of 22 coaches from 20 NOCs and seven sports, who began their training in May. Olympic medalists Guzel MANYUROVA (KAZ), Marwa AMRI (TUN) and Happiness BURUTU (NGR) will be a part of the next batch that starts training in August.

The participants were chosen on the basis of extensive selection criteria set by the WISH management group. The guidelines include the requirement of the candidate to be recognized by the national and international federations as well as the NOC of being, or having the potential to be, a part of the national delegation to major international tournaments, having no history of anti-doping or other ethics violation, ability to commit to the whole program and having good written and spoken English (min IELTS 6.5).

The training module includes eight online leadership sessions, eight leadership mentor sessions, four sport-specific mentor sessions and a five-day residential session in the UK. The IF supports the coaches selected for the program with direct funding of US $3,500 in addition to sport-specific mentor fees and travel, accommodation and developmental costs.

The WISH program is being managed by a steering group of representatives from Olympic Solidarity, Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations, International Federations and WISH management/University of Hertfordshire. 

#WrestleTirana

Takara Suda, Ono's training partner and Japan's new star

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - 19:19 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (February 26) -- World champion Masanosuke ONO (JPN) has a rival and he knows him too well.

Takara SUDA (JPN), Ono's training partner since high school, won the Ranking Series gold medal at the Muhamet Malo in Tirana, Albania. Incidentally, it was in Tirana last year at the World Championships that an unheralded Ono rose to become the world champion.

READ MORE: Masanosuke Ono Takes Over Wrestling

Suda and Ono went to the same high school -- Tosu Tech -- and trained together before both joined the Yamanashi Gaikun University. Both training partners are quickly turning into rivals as Ono charts his own path while Suda can become the first choice at the university.

While the Ranking Series isn't the same as the stacked World Championships, Suda's style and quick movements can trouble even the best as it was evident on Wednesday.

Suda's quick movement aided his attacking style. Over the course of his four bouts, Suda made his opponents uncomfortable with forward pressure and catching them off guard. While defending, he was able to turn around from the zone.

Takara SUDA (JPN)Takara SUDA (JPN) defeated Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) in the 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In the 61kg final, Suda was up against former U23 world champion Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) and despite a late comeback from Mongush, Suda held on to a very impressive 8-8 win and the gold medal.

"I feel happy," Suda said after his win. "Most of all I'm really grateful to all the people who support me on a daily basis, including my family, the manager and coaches, and my friends who practiced with me."

Suda was quick off the blocks and scored a stepout and then hit a double leg for a 3-0 lead. Mongush stopped Suda with a chestwrap and then exposed him for two points. A reversal made it 4-2 before Suda got a takedown to lead 6-2 at the break.

Mongush began the second period with an attempted headpinch but Suda blocked it and pinned Mongush on the mat for two points to lead 8-2. Just when it seemed like he will run away with the gold medal, Mongush mounted a comeback. He scored a stepout and Suda was cautioned for fleeing.

With the score 8-4, Mongush scored another stepout and managed a takedown with 31 seconds left on the clock. A stepout without fleeing made it 8-8 but Suda kept the criteria lead for four two-point moves. He held on for the remaining 11 seconds and won the gold medal.

Takara SUDA (JPN)Takara SUDA (JPN) with the gold medal after winning at 61kg in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

This was the second time Suda was wrestling a final at the international level. He won a silver medal at the U15 Asian Championships in 2019 but had not wrestled internationally since.

Perhaps the rust over the years of being away from international wrestling was visible as his conditioning worsened in the second period. 

"It's been a long time since I last played a final," he said. "It was my first overseas match in five [six] years. I was already taking on this match with a sense of challenge. I really didn't expect it to turn out like this."

The 20-year-old is now waiting for the Ono, who is in the United States for more than a month now, to return so he can train with the world champion.

"I train with Ono as a teammate not only at the university but also at the high school. Now he is in America but I want to train when he comes back."