Development

Jordan Hosts Level I Technical Course

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (May 10) – The Jordanian Olympic Committee with the support of Olympic Solidarity and in collaboration of the Jordan Wrestling Federation, hosted a Level I technical course for coaches  February 4-8 in Amman.

The course was conducted by UWW Educator Batbayar BUYANDELGER (MGL) and gathered 21 participants and was followed by an "Introduction to Refereeing" conducted by fellow UWW Educator Sherif HALAWA (EGY).

Jordan is among the first nations to benefit from the launch of the development initiative to assist developing nations in organizing national wrestling competitions. To ensure that lessons were well-received the participants at both courses took part in the organization and delivery of the competition, which included 20 cadet and junior level boys and 7 national referees.

The budget of $3000 was allocated for the event, with the Jordan Wrestling Federation offering positive feedback on their experience.  

In order to encourage grassroots development of smaller wrestling national federations, UWW is encouraging countries to organize at least one competition per year, and when possible that will be supported and assisted by UWW in conjunction of an Olympic Solidarity Technical Course for Coaches.

“The aim is to promote the sport of wrestling in Jordan and the region. Middle-East countries have a strong wrestling history with great potential for development, this is why we want to assist them in their development process.” said Ms. Deqa Niamkey, UWW Development Director. “ Following the first project in Burundi, we received many requests of technical courses for coaches and a high demand to host national competitions right after the educational courses. UWW expert educators, are contributing tremendously to this growth and I trust these events will contribute tremendously to the growth of wrestling.”

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Ranking Series day five finals set

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- The fifth and final day of the Zagreb Open will be all Greco-Roman. Six weight classes will be in action. A few big names trying to win the gold and the 1500 Swiss Francs that are on offer here.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Here are the results of the semifinals

55kg
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) df. Denis Florin MIHAI (ROU), 3-1
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Mohammad JAVAHERI (IRI), via fall

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Razvan ARNAUT (ROU), 3-3
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) df. Maito KAWANA (JPN), 7-0

72kg
Sajjad IMENTALABFOUMANI (IRI) df. Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1
Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 5-2

97kg
Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Mihail KAJAIA (SRB), via inj. def.
Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED), 3-3

130kg
Oscar PINO (CUB) df. Amir GHASEMIMONJEZI (IRI), 8-0
Oskar MARVIK (NOR) df. Lingzhe MENG (CHN), 3-0 

14:30: Tamas LEVAI (HUN) moves into the final at 97kg. What a debut for him. Tryone STERKENBURG (NED) got a roll from par terre to lead 3-0 but Levai scored a front head pinch for two to lead 3-3 and win the semifinal. 

14:00: That got a little heated. Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) got the passivity against Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) and got the turn as well from par terre. The referee calls for a leg foul and Assakalov challenges the call. Leg foul confirmed with Kajaia leading 6-0. The bout restarts in par terre and Kajaia gets the turn and the win.

13:45: A highly competitive bout between Tamas LEVAI (HUN) and Felix BALDAUF (NOR). Both traded passivity points but Levai had the criteria. Balduaf got the par terre for the third passivity but as he was turning Levai, got pinned.

13:15: Another technical superiority win for Oscar PINO (CUB) at 130kg. He looks on a mission. Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN) had no answer to Pino's class 

12:55: Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) with a very confident run at 97kg. He reaches the semifinal with a 5-1 win over Daniel GASTL (AUT). Just the performance he needed to start this important season

12:30: The bout which may have a lot of say when Azerbaijan will select its team for the European Championships. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) beats Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) 6-2 and now the youngster will be the preferred choice for the championships.

12:10: Flex BALDAUF (NOR) with an arm throw against Zamir MAGOMEDOV (AZE) before winning 9-0. Baldauf brought it out of nowhere.

12:00: Oscar PINO (CUB) is wrestling Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB) at 130kg. He starts with a stepout before getting passivity. A toll and a four-point to finish the bout 8-0.

11:50: U23 world champion Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) is in a Nelson system at 55kg. In Round 1 he begins with a hard-fought 5-2 win against Artiom DELEANU (MDA).

11:30: The 97kg weight class has a large number of participants. World silver medalist Kiril MILOV (BUL) is also wrestling. He warms up with some calm wrestling in the first period before winning 10-1 against Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE). 

11:15: Making a big jump in weight classes, Tamas LEVAI (HUN), who was at 77kg just over a year ago, wins his first bout at 97kg at Zagreb Open. He beats Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU) via fall.

11:00: Amir Ali ABDI (IRI), one of the favorites to win the 72kg, begins with a 6-0 win over Valentin PETIC (MDA).

10:30: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), after all these years, has still got it. He rolls to a 9-0 win over Mario VUKOVIC (SRB) at 97kg. In another bout, Felix BALDAUF (NOR) beats Markus RAGGINGER (AUT), 5-0

10:10: Daniel GASTL (AUT) with an early upset. He wins 2-1 against former world silver medalist Alex SZOKE (HUN) at 97kg. He got the second passivity and another point for Szoke's lost challenge

10:00: The final day at Zagreb Open! Big names from Greco-Roman wrestling are on the mat. 55kg, 60kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg and 130kg.