#WrestleSofia

Wrestlers from Six Different Countries Advance to Women’s Finals at #WrestleSofia

Thursday, August 1, 2019 - 19:17 By Taylor Miller

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Photo of Yulia LESKOVETS (UKR)

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Japan and China each put three athletes in gold-medal matches for the last day of women’s freestyle action at the 2019 Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. India, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and USA also have wrestlers in the finals.

There will be two head-to-head matchups between Japan and China in tomorrow’s gold matches.

2017 Cadet World champion Hanano SAKURAI (JPN) looks to win another gold medal but will have to face Xueing LIANG (CHN) at 46 kg.

The last bout of the night will feature two-time Cadet World champion Honoka NAKAI (JPN) at 69 kg, facing off against 2019 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Cun LIU (CHN). The two did not meet up in the Asian Championships as Nakai did not go.

Nakai won her last two gold medals at 65 kg.

Japan is also featured in the final at 61 kg, where 2018 Youth Olympic champion and 2018 Cadet World champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) will face off against 2019 Cadet European champion Yulia LESKOVETS (UKR).

At 53 kg, the third representative from China, Zhaojing SHI (CHN), will battle for gold. Shi, a 2018 Cadet World bronze medalist, takes on Kalmira BILIMBEK (KGZ), who was fifth in the world last year.

Shi and Bilimbek were at different weights last year.

The finals will take place on Friday at 6 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET) live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Finals matchups
40 kg: Sterling DIAS (USA) vs. Komal KOMAL (IND)
46 kg: Xueing LIANG (CHN) vs. Hanano SAKURAI (JPN)
53 kg: Zhaojing SHI (CHN) vs. Kalmira BILIMBEK (KGZ)
61 kg: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) vs. Yulia LESKOVETS (UKR)
69 kg: Honoka NAKAI (JPN) vs. Cun LIU (CHN)
 

Development

Saudi Wrestling Federation growing wrestling through education

Monday, October 14, 2024 - 11:40 By United World Wrestling Press

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (12 October) – The Saudi Wrestling Federation has been organizing coaching and referee courses to grow and develop wrestling within their country over the past few years. Their hard work led to their first-ever silver medal at the U20 Asian Championships. Manthr Jndu achieved this at 63kg in Greco-Roman.

In late April, they organized two more courses (Level 1 Coaching Course and Introduction to Refereeing Course) for new coaches and referees. The Saudi Wrestling Federation held these courses in partnership with United World Wrestling.  

Mr. Hassan MADANY (EGY) and Mr. Juan Luis MAREN (CUB) conducted the Level 1 Coaching Course, and Mr. Sherif HALAWA (EGY) and Mr. Mohsen YAMANI (KSA—Chief of Saudi Referees) led the Introduction to Refereeing course. The courses were held from 28 April to 2 May and included 91 participants (22 women) from 8 nationalities, including participants from EGY, MAR, SYR, SUD, NGR, JOR, KGZ, and KSA residing in Saudi Arabia.

The coaching course had 71 participants, including 17 women coaches. The Level 1 Course is the Introduction to Coaching and Safety. During the course, the participants participated in theoretical and practical sessions. Some of the topics covered were discovery games, introducing a new technique, coaching skills, giving feedback, risk management, age, and developmental stage characteristics.  The coaches actively practiced and developed their skills during the course through practical evaluations. Overall, the coaches gained important knowledge and skills to help them improve in their role as coaches.  

The Introduction to Refereeing Course had 20 participants, including 5 women referees. The participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee.  The areas covered during the course included the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout.  The participants were active during the course and could practice their skills through practical evaluations. 

During the courses, there were sessions involving both referees and coaches, led by Mr. Halawa. This allowed both groups to work together and better learn wrestling rules.