Obituary

World Grappling Committee President Bochkev passes away

Thursday, May 2, 2024 - 09:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 2) -- United World Wrestling's World Grappling Committee's President Rizvan BOCHKEV passed away Wednesday. The sudden passing of the 59-year-old has left the UWW and its family in shock.

Bochkev, vice president of the Russian Wrestling Federation and a coach, was involved with UWW and Grappling for a long time.

Before 2013, Bochkev was an active member of Grappling and promoted it under FILA. He worked tirelessly to reintroduce it as a recognized wrestling style under UWW after it was dropped in late 2013. This gave the right recognition to a wrestling style growing in several countries.

Bochkev was elected as the President of the World Grappling Committee in 2016 and was instrumental in reintroducing the UWW World Grappling Championships. In 2022, Bochkev was re-elected as the President of the World Grappling Committee and remained an active promoter of the sport.

United World Wrestling expresses its deepest condolences to the Bochkev family.

#development

UWW Organizes International Training Camp Before African Championships

Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 09:38 By United World Wrestling Press

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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (May 11) -- United World Wrestling hosted a international training camp before the 2026 African Championships in Alexandria from April 20 to 26.

The camp, organized with a focus on performance, technical exchange, and sporting cooperation, brought together coaches and wrestlers from across the continent with participants from Burundi, the Central African Republic, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tunisia, Guinea, Namibia, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, and Zambia.

One of the major highlights of this edition was the historic participation of Zambia, which took part for the first time in a continental wrestling activity. The participation symbolizes the steady expansion of African wrestling into new nations and confirms the growing development of the sport across the continent. The Zambian delegation included wrestler Martin JERE (ZAM) and Stephen FULANGANI (ZAM), accompanied by their coach Eugine CHIPOKOLO.

Alexandria

Throughout the week, wrestlers took part in specialized sessions combining standing and ground techniques, upper and lower-level attacks, targeted defense drills, technical combinations, aerobic preparation, acrobatic exercises, and individual training. Coaches would also use this gathering as an opportunity to exchange training methods and share their expertise within a high-level international environment.

The camp will bring together several experienced athletes and international competitors in Freestyle, Women’s Wrestling, and Greco-Roman. Among the participating nations were also several Sub-Saharan African countries that continue to strengthen their presence on the continental stage through increasingly strong participation.

Beyond the sporting aspect, the program also included awareness sessions focused on environmental protection in sport through the “Wrestle Green” initiative, as well as workshops dedicated to anti-doping education and athlete protection.

Alexandria

Participants also received dedicated camp equipment, including sportswear, “Wrestle Green” materials, and training accessories intended for daily practice sessions.