#Zagreb2018

Japan Dominates Team Race Collecting Six Champions Overall

Friday, July 6, 2018 - 22:08 By Taylor Miller

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ZAGREB, Croatia – Japan won the Cadet World women’s freestyle team title for the eighth-consecutive year, scoring 99 points more than second-place India, thanks to six World champions over the course of the tournament.

Countries winning World titles on Friday night included Japan, Russia, Ukraine and USA.

Japan won two gold medals coming from Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) at 46 kg and Mako OONO (JPN) at 53 kg.

Motoki defeated Asian bronze medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) with a 6-2 decision before Oono edged out Meenakshi MEENAKSHI (IND), 2-1.

At 40 kg, 2017 Cadet World bronze winner Luchana BEKBAULOVA (RUS) stopped Japan from a third title, taking out Karin UEMATSU (JPN) with a 5-2 victory.

Taking the top spot at 61 kg was European champion Antonyna KULAKHINA (UKR), who dominated for gold with a 12-2 tech fall against Qin ZHAO (CHN), who took sixth at the 2018 Asian Championships.

In the final bout of the night, 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist Macey KILTY (USA) eased past European bronze medalist Julia FRIDULUND (SWE) with a decisive 7-3 win.

With Emily SHILSON (USA) winning a title for the U.S. last night, this marks the first time in history the United States has had two Cadet women’s freestyle World champions.

Rounding out the top five was China in third with 110 points, Russia in fourth with 109 points and USA in fifth with 108 points.

Final team results
1. Japan - 210
2. India - 111
3. China - 110
4. Russia - 109
5. USA - 108
6. Ukraine - 99
7. Mongolia - 65
8. Belarus - 63
9. Azerbaijan - 36
10. Hungary - 30

Final results
40 kg
GOLD - Luchana BEKBAULOVA (RUS)
SILVER - Karin UEMATSU (JPN)
BRONZE - Sterling DIAS (USA)
BRONZE - Sweety SWEETY (IND)

1st - Luchana Bekbaulova (Russia) dec. Karin Uematsu (Japan), 5-2
3rd - Sterling Dias (United States) fall Elif Iskin (Turkey), 0:58
3rd - Sweety Sweety (India) dec. Munojatkhon Samieva (Uzbekistan), 6-4

46 kg
GOLD - Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
SILVER - Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
BRONZE - Xiaomin XIE (CHN)
BRONZE – Devi SANJU (IND)

1st - Sakura Motoki (Japan) dec. Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (Mongolia) 6-2
3rd - Devi Sanju (India) dec. Olivia Shore (United States), 5-4
3rd - Xiaomin Xie (China) dec. Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan), 8-7

53 kg
GOLD - Mako OONO (JPN)
SILVER - Meenakshi MEENAKSHI (IND)
BRONZE - Zhaojing SHI (CHN)
BRONZE – Erdenesuvd BAT ERDENE (MGL)

1st - Mako Oono (Japan) dec. Meenakshi Meenakshi (India), 2-1
3rd - Zhaojing Shi (China) TF Hanna Frotscher (Germany), 10-0
3rd - Erdenesuvd Bat Erdene (Mongolia) dec. Leilah Castro (United States), 6-0

61 kg
GOLD - Antonyna KULAHINA (UKR)
SILVER - Qin ZHAO (CHN)
BRONZE - Anshu ANSHU (IND)
BRONZE – Riko TAKAYAMA (JPN)

1st - Antonyna Kulahina (Ukraine) TF Qin Zhao (China), 12-2
3rd - Anshu Anshu (India) TF  Zhala Aliyeva (Azerbaijan), 10-0
3rd - Riko Takayama (Japan) dec. Alina Maksimava (Belarus), 5-4

69 kg
GOLD – Macey KILTY (USA)
SILVER – Julia FRIDULUND (SWE)
BRONZE – Rin TERAMOTO (JPN)
BRONZE –Sonika HOODA (IND)

1st - Macey Kilty (United States) dec.  Julia Fridlund (Sweden), 9-3
3rd - Rin Teramoto (Japan) TF Marta Pajula (Estonia), 10-0
3rd - Sonika Hooda (India) TF Mengwei Zhang (CHINA), 12-0

#development

South Africa Advances National Wrestling System with DNSS Phase 2

Thursday, April 9, 2026 - 07:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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PRETORIA, South Africa (April 8) -- South Africa has reached a decisive milestone in its long-term wrestling development strategy with the successful implementation of Phase 2 of the Development of National Sport System (DNSS) programme, delivered in collaboration with United World Wrestling (UWW) and supported by Olympic Solidarity.

Following the diagnostic and mapping phase conducted earlier, Phase 2 marks a clear transition from analysis to structured implementation, laying the foundation for a sustainable and internationally aligned wrestling system.

Led by UWW Development Officer Vincent AKA, in close cooperation with the South African Wrestling Federation (SAWF), the National Head Coach, Markus DEKKER and Provincial Coordinators, the programme was deployed across multiple provinces through a structured 10-day intervention from March 2 to 13. 

Activities were conducted in key locations including:

· LPWA (Ion Bachu)
· CGWA (Ruiter)
· NGWA (Menlo Park Hall)
· Frank Joubert Tournament (Menlo Park Hall)

This nationwide approach ensured direct engagement with provincial structures, strengthening alignment between national leadership and local associations while promoting inclusive development across the country.

From Talent Identification to System Building

Unlike traditional training camps, DNSS Phase 2 focused on identifying talent and building long-term development systems. Wrestlers and coaches from all age categories -- U13, U15, U17, U20, and Senior -- were actively involved, ensuring a complete pathway approach.

Provincial visits and stakeholder meetings played a key role in assessing facilities and operational structures, strengthening coordination between SAWF and provinces, and identifying emerging wrestlers.

Building Athlete Pipeline

A training camp for different provinces brought together wrestler to consolidate talent identified during Phase 1 and introduce standardized training methodologies.

The training camp included technical sessions, physical conditioning, match simulations and wrestling. The initiative contributed to the creation of an updated national prospect and the foundation of a structured athlete monitoring system.

South Africa

Beach Wrestling Gains Momentum

As part of the DNSS activities, a Beach Wrestling training session in Roodepoort highlighted the programme’s expanding impact.

During the visit, Aka led a specialized session, sharing advanced technical insights adapted to beach wrestling. It included stance and balance adjustments, grip and control techniques, and movement adaptation on sand.

The training programme comes at a crucial time, as South African athletes prepare for African Beach Wrestling Championships in Alexandria, Egypt and other international tournaments.