#WrestleBelgrade

World Championships: Sadulaev forfeits, to undergo scans for neck injury

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 - 10:39 By Vinay Siwach

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BELGRADE, Serbia (September 19) -- Tokyo Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) will undergo medical scans on Tuesday for a neck injury that forced him to end the World Championships.

The 27-year-old flew to Moscow on Monday night soon after his 97kg semifinal retirement against Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) with the Bahrain wrestler leading 9-2 at the World Championships.

The five-time world champion was expected to wrestle for a bronze medal and qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics as an Individual Neutral Athlete but the medical staff decided to not worsen the injury.

Sadulaev is suffering from a neck hernia, towards the end of his spinal cord. Medical scans will determine if it is a tumor or if Sadulaev can return to the mat without surgery.

He became the second Olympic champion to pull out of the World Championships repechage as 65kg champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) also pulled out due to a foot injury he has been carrying for one year.

#WrestleZagreb

UWW to continue tests for Greco-Roman tie-breaker rule

Thursday, June 19, 2025 - 11:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 19) — The Technical Commission of United World Wrestling has decided to further test the tie-breaking rule for Greco-Roman bouts that end with a 1-1 score.

UWW had announced in March that it would test a new Greco-Roman rule at the European Championships in April. This rule awarded victory in a 1-1 Greco-Roman bout to the wrestler who scored the first technical point.

Testing at the European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia yielded positive results. However, to fully evaluate the rule, the Commission agreed to conduct further tests at more events.

Beginning with the U15 European Championships in Caorle, Italy from June 25, all future events till the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia will be conducted under the new rule which awards the victory to the wrestler who scored the first technical point if the match ends 1-1. This means that the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb will be part of the testing.

The change comes after it was unanimously acknowledged that the existing rule, which awards victory to the athlete who scores the last point, may unintentionally encourage passivity at the start of the bout. Wrestlers could strategically aim to secure a passivity point in the second period, ultimately winning the match without demonstrating consistent engagement throughout.

UWW once again stresses that the modification will be implemented exclusively for Greco-Roman and will apply only to matches that end with a 1-1 score. For all other score scenarios, the existing wrestling rules will remain in effect.