#WrestleZagreb

Blockbuster WW bouts on cards at Zagreb Open

Saturday, January 6, 2024 - 20:06 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (January 5) -- Three World Championships finals rematches are on the cards in women's wrestling at the Zagreb Open next week.

World champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) can lock horns with silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) at 50kg, Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) will look to avenge her loss in the final to Buse TOSUN (TUR) at 68kg and Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) will look to overcome a heart-wrenching loss to Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) at 62kg.

All four 62kg world medalists are entered for the January 10-14 tournament in the Croatian capital with Tynybekova returning to the mat after finishing with a bronze medal at the Asian Games. Motoki will get a chance to take on Tynybekova who handed the Japanese a 4-1 loss in Belgrade last year.

Two bronze medalists, Grace BULLEN (NOR) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), will also look to upset Motoki and Tynybekova respectively. Motoki defeated Bullen in the semifinals 2-1 while Kolidenko lost the quarterfinals 2-1.

The line-up also includes Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL), Ana GODINEZ (CAN) and Kayla MIRACLE (USA). China is sending three wrestlers -- Jia LONG (CHN), Yaru WU (CHN) and LILI (CHN) -- hoping to find the best one for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in April.

At 50kg, Susaki and Dolgorjav are likely to meet in the final but Ziqi FENG (CHN), who won bronze in Belgrade, can stop that rematch. Feng troubled Susaki in the World Championships semifinal, taking two points in a 4-2 loss. A Feng vs Dolgorjav bout can prove to be a thriller.

Tosun, whose stunning run in Belgrade win the 68kg world title, will be in action in Zagreb. She would like to continue her winning run but Enkhsaikhan will look to end that. Enkhsaikhan was pinned by Tosun in the World Championships final in a shocking manner after she threw the Turkish wrestler for a four.

Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR) and Forrest MOLINARI (USA) are also in the fray with three wrestlers from Bulgaria -- Yuliana YANEVA (BUL), Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL) and Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL).

China will send Feng ZHOU (CHN) and Qian JIANG (CHN) to find the best representation for the Paris Olympic qualifying events.

It's the same story at 76kg as it is sending Juan WANG (CHN) and Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN). But the weight class will also see Samar HAMZA (EGY), world silver medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) and world bronze medalist Adeline GRAY (USA). The United States also has Kennedy BLADES (USA) and Kylie WELKER (USA) at 76kg.

France's entries include Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA), Kendra DACHER (FRA) and Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA) while Ukraine is trying to pick between Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) and Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR).

The 53kg weight class is wide open with more than one wrestler good enough to win the gold medal. Three Chinese and three U.S. wrestlers dominate the entries. Chun LEI (CHN), Qianyu PANG (CHN) and Min ZHANG (CHN) will look to finish at the best position to lay claim to the national team's spot.

The U.S. has Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), Haley AUGELLO (USA) and Dominique PARRISH (USA). The weight class has not been qualified yet by the nation and the Pan-Am Olympic Qualifiers' represtative will be selected in February.

World bronze medalist Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) and European champion Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) are entered for the competition along with young prodigy Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) and Karla GODINEZ (CAN).

World silver medalist Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) is the favorite to win the gold medal but will have to go through Helen MAROULIS (USA) and three Chinese walls in Qi ZHANG (CHN), Kexin HONG (CHN) and Yongxin FENG (CHN).

#development

UWW-ISF Partnership Empowers Physical Education Teachers through Wrestling

Tuesday, July 21, 2026 - 11:09 By United World Wrestling Press

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NEW DELHI, India (July 20) --  United World Wrestling partnered with International School Sports Federation (ISF) to pilot a new training programme for physical education teachers.

This pilot programme was organized in New Delhi, India by the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) in collaboration with the Directorate of Education (Sports Branch), Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). The goal of the programme was to introduce educational wrestling methodologies to physical education teachers in hopes to develop wrestling at the grassroots level. This course was delivered by certified UWW Educator, Mr. Ahmed KHEDHRI (TUN).

The pilot programme consisted of four separate four-day sessions that were attended by a total of 88 participants from diverse sporting backgrounds. Many of them were physical education teachers and some were educators in various sport disciplines that included boxing, judo, cricket, hockey, football kabaddi, swimming, basketball, and athletics.

Wrestling

These educators completed the ISF-UWW Level 1 Coaching Course for Physical Education Teachers. Each four-day course had theoretical and practical sessions.

The theoretical sessions focused on wrestling in physical education, roles and responsibilities of a coach, characteristics of effective coaching, learning and teaching methodologies, implementing the Wrestle4Fun programme, and youth development strategies.

The participants then applied their knowledge in the practical sessions. In those sessions, they delivered discovery games, implemented Wrestle4Fun activities, learned the seven basic skills of wrestling, and participated in skill demonstrations techniques.

"Throughout the courses, the participants demonstrated a high level of motivation, commitment, and active engagement," Khedhri said. “One of the most significant outcomes of the course was its ability to bring together participants from diverse backgrounds and equip them with the knowledge and skills required to teach and coach wrestling.”

Wrestling

Wrestling participant Ramashish YADAV said that the course will help him both in PE and wrestling coaching.

“It helped me significantly improve my personal skills as both a coach and a physical education teacher in wrestling," Yadav said.

Shipra SRIVASTAVA, a PE teacher in hocket, said that she learnt how to increase children's interest in sports.

"The UWW Level 1 Course taught me how Wrestle4Fun and Discovery Games can be used to increase children’s interest in sport and make it easier to teach any skill,” Srivastava said.

Another PE teacher from basketball Gokulesh SHARMA also expressed that the course was helpful to develop interest of children.

“The course was excellent," Sharma said. "The best part was learning how to develop children’s skills through wrestling while keeping it fun, specifically, how to maximize involvement of young children and foster their mental and physical development in an enjoyable way."

Wrestle4Fun is developmentally appropriate for all age levels and designed to support girls’ and boys’ physical literacy journey. It has five stages based on different developmental levels. Each stage has 15 lessons. In total, there are 75 lessons with over 200 games and activities.

The entire Wrestle4Fun programme can be found on the Academy platform. The UWW Academy can found here at UWW Academy.