#WrestleBirmingham

Commonwealth Games, Birmingham Day 2 finals set

By Vinay Siwach

COVENTRY, England (August 6) -- The second day of the Commonwealth Games is live from the Coventry Arena. Three freestyle and three women's wrestling weight classes will be in action again. Ravi KUMAR (IND) and Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) are the big stars in action.

MATCH ORDER

13:05: Madison PARKS (CAN) with an underhook for four in the final second to win 9-6 against Pooja GEHLOT (IND) who was leading 6-0 at one point of the bout. Parks will wrestle for the gold

12:55: Nishant RANDHAWA (CAN) shuts out Tayab RAZA (IND) 7-0 to make it to the 97kg final. He will wrestle U20 world bronze medalist Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA) for the gold.

12:50: Ravi KUMAR (IND) is into the final at 57kg and he will wrestle Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR).

12:40: Muhammad TAHIR (PAK) will wrestle NAVEEN (IND) for the gold at 74kg after he beats Cole HAWKINS (NZL) 11-0.

12:35: The first finalist at 74kg is NAVEEN (IND). He beats Charlie BOWLING (ENG) 12-1 in just over three minutes to reach the gold medal bout

12:30: Justina DI STASIO (CAN) with a solid 6-0 win over Pooja SIHAG (IND) to enter the final at 76kg. She will wrestle Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) who defeated Georgina NELTHORPE (ENG) 6-1 in the other semifinal.

12:15: Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN) and Deepak NEHRA (IND) with a thrilling bout. Nehra had a 4-4 criteria lead at the break but Randhawa scored a takedown to lead 6-6 before Nehra made it 6-6 with 22 seconds left. Randhawa then scored a stepout with three seconds left to win 7-6

11:55: Muhammad TAHIR (PAK) and Jasmit PHULKA (CAN) with a top battle at 74kg. Phulka got awarded the point for Tahir's passivity and Tahir scored a stepout to lead 1-1. With less than 30 seconds left, Tahir moved Phulka to the zone from where he was warned for fleeing. Canada challenged the call and lost which gave Tahir a 3-1 lead. Phulka was forced into par terre from where Tahir managed two more to win 5-1

11:25: Huge bout at 53kg in Round 2. Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) up against Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR). Phogat with an early takedown using a go behind. She then goes for a leg cross and gets two more to lead 4-0 at the break. Phogat with underhook to put Adekuoroye on the back and she is looking for the pin. The two remain in danger for the remaining time. Phogat wins 6-0

11:13:  Madison PARKS (CAN) scores a huge 12-0 win over Shriyanthika NIROSHANI (SRI) to book her semifinal berth against Pooja GEHLOT (IND)

11:03: What a bout we had on Mat A at 74kg. Jasmit PHULKA (CAN) and Nicolae COJOCARU (SCO) continued some high-paced wrestling. Cojocaru led 5-5 on criteria with 30 seconds left but Phulka used his experience to score a takedown and ran the clock down to 4 seconds. He wins 7-4

10:50: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) with a fall over world bronze medalist Samantha STEWART (CAN). Her second bout will be against Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) who won 10-0 against Chamodya KESHANI (SRI) at 53kg 

10:45: Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) with a 9-0 win over Madison PARKS (CAN) and Pooja GEHLOT (IND) defeats Christelle LETCHIDJIO (SCO) 12-2 and both reach the semifinals at 50kg

10:30: Welcome to day two of the Commonwealth Games. Big names in the competition here with India and Canada expected to dominate the day. Women's 50kg and 53kg will follow the Nelson system

#development

UWW and Inspire Institute of Sport sign MoU to advance wrestling development in India

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (August 27) -- United World Wrestling (UWW) and the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The MoU was signed at the Wrestling House, UWW's hospitality venue, located on a boat next to the iconic Eiffel Tower.

This strategic partnership is designed to foster collaboration and enhance the development of wrestling in India by establishing a framework for mutually beneficial programs, projects, and activities. The MoU reflects the commitment of both UWW and IIS to support elite and pre-elite wrestling athletes, as well as suitably qualified coaches in India.

IIS, a charitable trust dedicated to social development through sports, education, and health, operates a state-of-the-art high-performance training center in Vijayanagar, Karnataka. The facility meets international standards and is focused on promoting Olympic sports in India, providing young talents with the resources and training necessary to succeed.

The institute is prominent in developing wrestling, among other sports, in India. Olympic bronze medalists Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and Sakshi MALIK (IND) have been associated with it in past. Recently, IIS trainees World Championships bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) and Nisha DAHIYA (IND) wrestled at the Paris Olympics.

Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND)Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND), left, will compete at the U20 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At the age-group level, IIS has supported U20 Asian Championships gold medalists Dhanshri FAND (IND) and NITIKA (IND). Former U20 World Championships medalist HARSHITA (IND), U17 world medalist Jaskaran SINGH (IND), U23 Asian champion RADHIKA (IND) and Nikhil YADAV (IND), who will participate in the upcoming U20 World Championships in Spain are all out of the IIS stable.

UWW's involvement in this partnership is part of its broader strategic global development plan, which aims to elevate the sport of wrestling worldwide, with a particular focus on supporting the growth of wrestling in India.

Both UWW and IIS are eager to begin this collaborative journey, confident that their joint efforts will contribute significantly to the success and international recognition of Indian wrestling. Their joint efforts will contribute significantly to the success and international recognition of Indian wrestling.