#WrestleTokyo

Al Obaidi of IOC Refugee Team Makes Winning Olympic Debut at Tokyo 2020

Tuesday, August 3, 2021 - 04:37 By Tim Foley

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CHIBA, Japan (August 3) --- Aker AL OBAIDI (EOR) of the IOC's Refugee team earned the first victory in his Olympic career Tuesday morning at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba.

Al Obaidi, an Iraqi refugee now living and training in Austria, looked superb in his first round 67kg weight class match besting Souleymen NASIR (TUN) by technical fall, 8-0.

"I felt really good in the bout," said Al Obaidi. "My wrestling was good and my mind and body were working perfectly together."

In his second match, Al Obaidi dropped the quarterfinal against Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), 10-0. Should Zoidze win his semifinal match on Tuesday night, Al Obaidi will compete in the repechage.

"I am disappointed, but I will go step-by-step. I don't have enough words to thank UWW and the IOC. I am really happy to compete and that was because of them. I am very young and I look forward to competing for a long time."

#WrestleBelgrade

Belgrade to host 2023 World Championships

Monday, November 14, 2022 - 15:58 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (November 14) -- The World Championships will return to Belgrade, Serbia for the second straight year as it was elected as the host for the 2023 edition on Monday.

United World Wrestling Bureau met Monday to pick the host for the World Championships and locked in Belgrade. Azerbaijan and Turkey also expressed their interest in hosting the mega event but fell short. UWW will continue to work with the national federations of these nations for future events.

UWW President Nenad LALOVIC (SRB) and Bureau members Rodica YAKSI (TUR) and Namig ALIYEV (AZE) did not participate in the voting due to a conflict of interest.

Belgrade, which hosted the 2022 World Championships with grand success, will host the tournament at the beginning of September 2023.

The dates for the tournament are subject to change from the original September 16 to 24 as it clashes with the Asian Games which are scheduled to begin on September 23 in Hangzhou, China.

The World Championships were scheduled to be held in Russia but since International Olympic Committee recommended sanctions on the nation, it became ineligible to host.

Wrestlers will get a chance to win 90 quotas for the 2024 Paris Olympics from the Belgrade Worlds. Any nation which participated in the 2023 continental championships will be eligible to participate in the World Championships.