Grappling

Future is Bright for Grappling in Kazakhstan

Monday, September 10, 2018 - 17:54 By Marc Berman

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Coach Renat Sitnazarov Leads National Team too Strong performance

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (September 9th) -- The Kazakhstani grappling team may not have won a bevy of gold medals, but the Central Asian nation showed great improvement at the 2018 Grappling World Championships.

After four tough days of competition the host nation walked away with a 3rd place finish in the women’s senior division and fifth place in the men’s senior division. The nation also boasted finalists in the women’s 53kg and 58kg division and scored a bronze and silver on the men’s side.

In preparation for the World Championships Kazakhstan hosted qualifying events in multiple cities before the national qualifier earlier this year.

Head grappling coach Renat SITNAZAROV was pleased with the process of forming the team. “We were able to gather our strongest athletes together and bring them here for the championships.”

In preparation for the event the team brought together athletes from around the country to train together and work on new techniques. In preparation for Grappling events team members compete in various other styles, freestyle, Greco-Roman, judo, sambo and jiu-jitsu.

When it came time for the actual competition Sitnazarov and his coaching staff worked with each athlete before each round to develop a winning strategy.

Since 2010 Coach Renat has seen grappling take off in Kazakhstan, becoming more popular every year. “I see Grappling growing every year and is now very popular with many athletes taking part of events here in Kazakhstan. Now with athletes such as Miyao coming from other styles to compete in Grappling, I see it becoming a big event.”

Catch up on all the action you miss on Flograppling.com in the United States and internationally on United World Wrestling.

#development

UWW conducts pilot coaching course in Nigeria

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 - 08:02 By United World Wrestling Press

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YENAGOA, Nigeria (October 23) — After its success on the mat, Nigeria is leaving no stone unturned to grow wrestling off the mat as well.

United World Wrestling organised a Level 3 Coaching Course, approved by IOC, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa from October 15 to 19 after a Level 1 Training course.

Of the 21 participants, 18 completed the training process which took place at the national wrestling center located in Bayelsa. This center which is renowned for producing Nigeria’s best wrestlers including Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) and multiple time world medalist Odunayo ADEKUROYE (NGR).

The training, organised with the collaboration of the Nigerian Olympic Committee and the Nigerian Wrestling Federation, was an opportunity for the participants to achieve their maximum potential performance with applications of international guidelines and aiding Nigerian wrestlers in reaching their peak.

President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation Daniel IGALI stressed on the impact the training course will have on the coaches and referees, as well as the wrestlers.

"I must thank the IOC, UWW and the NOC as this is massive. As you know, the coaches and referees determine outcome of every federation,” Igali said. “I'm glad we now have Level 3 accredited coaches in Nigeria which means the level of instruction is going to be higher and I believe heading into Paris 2024 the contingent will be better prepared."

coaching

Three experts, fluent in various languages, were designated for this pilot project. The experts included lead Educator Vincent AKA, covering four languages (English, French, Spanish and Russian), second educator and coach Zac DOMINGUEZ and a third educator Ahmed KEDRI, who constantly supervises and supports all Arabic speaking countries.

"They will soon be great coaches,” Dominguez said of the participants. “All came with an open mind to learn. But wrestling is like a marathon and it's going to be a journey, so they'll have to keep learning and improving."

The content of the course were designed to best fit the participants by UWW Education Manager Zach ERRETT. The Level 3 Course focuses on Periodization and Building a Coaching Philosophy. Both of these topics are important for the development of coaches and to better develop the training.

Given the success of wrestling in Nigeria, Nigeria Olympic Committee President Tony NEZIANYA explained that selecting the wrestling federation for this training was a no brainer.

"We're pleased to organize the course because we have evaluated all the sports in Nigeria and thought that wrestling has best opportunity of making us proud and giving us that prestigious Olympic gold medal,” Nezianya said. “The wrestling federation has been impressive and winning a lot of medals and we think they deserve to have this course."

coaching

Kedri also explained the significance of the course for Nigeria and the growth of wrestling in the country.

“This course is very important for wrestling in Nigeria because it's a perimeter to empower their learning and I commend them for their active participation,” he said.
 
Oyinbrakemi KING, a trainee who attained the Level 3 IOC licence, expressed joy and gratitude.

"I'm short of words but I'm very happy,” King said. “I want to thank the president of the federation for providing us with a beautiful facility that made it possible for the instructors to come to Nigeria. I promise that we will continue to work hard and improve.”