#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."

#WrestleBaku

Sadulaev ruled ineligible to compete by UWW panel

Thursday, April 4, 2024 - 08:38 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 4) -- Abdulrashid SADULAEV has been ruled out of the European OG Qualifiers in Baku after he failed to meet the eligibility criteria set by the International Olympic Committee for Individual Neutral Athletes.

The two-time Olympic champion was ruled ineligible by the United World Wrestling Eligibility panel. This third-party panel continuously monitors the eligibility of wrestlers based on the criteria defined by the IOC.

Sadulaev was declared ineligible after the panel found new information about his support of the Ukraine-Russia war and that he is still officially declared a member of the Dynamo club.

Each Individual Neutral Athlete goes through a rigorous vetting process by UWW in preparation for any tournament and is examined based on the criteria set by the IOC which rules thorough background and social media checks of individuals from Russia and Belarus.

The decisions regarding eligibility were made by a panel, relying on comprehensive vetting reports provided by an independent and private intelligence service provider.

The wrestlers who were deemed eligible will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes, without any flags or references to their respective countries. Additionally, the national anthems of Russia and Belarus will not be played in the event of medals being awarded to these athletes.