#WrestleBelgrade

WATCH: 10 women's wrestling finals from World Championships

By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 28) -- The women's competition was dominated by two nations as they competed for the team title. Japan and the USA went toe-to-toe for the title but ultimately it was Japan that claimed the top honors. Japan won five gold medals the USA won three. Moldova and Turkey won one each.

Watch all the 10 gold medals bouts from the World Championships here.

GOLD: 50kg - Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) vs. Yui SUSAKI (JPN)

 

GOLD: 62kg - Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) vs. Kayla MIRACLE (USA)

 

GOLD: 65kg - Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) vs. Jia LONG (CHN)

 

GOLD: 76kg - Yasemin ADAR (TUR) vs. Samar HAMZA (EGY)

#GrecoRoman

'Thank you, wrestling': Tokyo Olympic medalist Elsayed, 27, retires

By Vinay Siwach

EGYPT (July 14) -- Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) has announced his retirement from wrestling, concluding a distinguished career that included two Olympic appearances and two world U23 gold medals.

Elsayed posted on Instagram about his struggles with injuries and shared that the decision to retire was the "most difficult" for the 27-year-old wrestler.

"After many years of hard work, challenges, and victories [and] after I honored my country and raised its flag in internationally, and was able to achieve my dream and win an Olympic medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, I have reached the most difficult decision in my sports career.  I have decided to officially announce my retirement," Elsayed wrote in an emotional post.

Having won five gold medals at the African Championships, Elsayed was a trailblazer in Greco-Roman and was Egypt's new-found hope for the Olympics. He did not disappoint in Tokyo, where he had a surprising run to the semifinal, which he lost to Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), 7-6.

He bounced back in the bronze-medal bout and defeated Artem SURKOV (ROC), 1-1 to capture bronze, Egypt's first medal since 2012 London Olympics and only the third since 1960.

"Wrestling has always been more than just a sport to me," he wrote. "It was my life, my passion, and my support in the most difficult times. I thank God for every moment I lived on the mat and every moment of pride, and every encouragement I heard from my family, fans, and country."

One of the biggest achievements of Elsayed, apart from the Olympic medal, was winning successive world U23 gold medals in 2018 and 2019 at 67kg.

Elsayed expressed gratitude to various individuals who supported him throughout the journey including coaches and trainers. He also thanked wrestling.

"I thank every coach who helped me, every colleague who stood by me, and everyone who supported me with a kind word or a prayer from the heart. Thank you to everyone who was part of the journey.

"Thank you to wrestling, which taught me to be a man before being a champion."