#Zagreb2018

Three Countries Land Multiple Finalists in First Day of Greco Action at Cadet World C’Ships

By Taylor Miller

ZAGREB, Croatia – Iran, Armenia and Georgia each put multiple wrestlers into the first group of Greco-Roman finals, which will be wrestled Saturday night at the Cadet World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

At 48 kg, 2018 Cadet Asian champion Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI) took out the 2017 Cadet Asian champion Arshad ARSHAD of India to move onto the finals. Tomorrow night, he’ll face 2018 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Abror ATABAEV (UZB).

Iran has back-to-back wrestlers in the finals as 2018 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) advanced at 55 kg. Khounsari edged out Cadet Asian runner-up Amirbek SULTONOV (UZB) in the semis, 6-5.

Tomorrow, he will face Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO), who defeated 2018 Cadet Asian champion Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) with a decisive 10-4 victory.

Tomorrow’s 65 kg matchup will feature a present Cadet Euro champion against a past European champion as 2018 champ Muslim IMADAEV (RUS) and 2016 champ Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) will do battle.

Imadaev trailed late against Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO) but hit a four-pointer with seconds left to pull out a 7-5 win.

At 80 kg, it was a battle of continental champions in the semfinals as Cadet European champion Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) downed Asian champion Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI), 7-1, to move on to the gold-medal match.

Tomorrow night, Tsopurasvili will take on Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM), who took fifth at the European Championships earlier this year.

In the heavyweight finals, two-time Cadet European bronze medalist Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) will go head-to-head with this year’s European champion Muhammet BAKIR (TUR).

Mammodaev defeated 2018 European silver medalist Marcel ALBINI (CZE) in the semifinals with a dominant 12-1 tech fall.

The finals will take place Saturday at 12 p.m. ET live on unitedworldwrestling.com.

Finals pairings
48 kg: Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI) vs. Abror ATABAEV (UZB)
55 kg: Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) vs. Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO)
65 kg: Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) vs. Muslim Imadaev (RUS)
80 kg: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) vs. Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
110 kg: Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)

Development

Saudi Wrestling Federation growing wrestling through education

By United World Wrestling Press

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.