#WrestleBelgrade

Lalovic Re-Elected as UWW President For Six-Year Term

Sunday, October 31, 2021 - 16:26 By Vinay Siwach

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BELGRADE, Serbia (October 31) – The United World Wrestling held its Congress Sunday and Nenad LALOVIC was re-elected as the President of UWW along with six bureau members in Belgrade, Serbia.

Lalovic, first elected to the post in 2013, will serve a fresh term till 2026 after standing unopposed for the post. Due to the delayed Congress owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, five years remain in his term.

Six bureau members were also elected with Fouad MESKOUT (MAR), Mikhail MAMIASHVILI (RUS), Pedro GAMA FILHO (BRA) and Akhroldjan RUZIEV (UZB) retaining their place after their six-year term came to an end.

Don RYAN (CAN) and Lucio CANEVA (ITA) were the two newly elected members of the bureau. The elected members will serve till 2026.

Lalovic, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, thanked the members of the Congress for their confidence in him since taking over as the President eight years ago.

The 63-year-old's re-election was due in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic which forced UWW to postpone the Congress.

At the Congress, there were 104 eligible voters out of which 103 were cast for the election of bureau members with a majority of 52 votes.

Meskout, Mamiashvili, Ryan, Gama and Ruziev were elected with a clear majority in the first round. The sixth member did not get a clear majority, therefore a second round was conducted after which Caneva was elected to the bureau with 58 votes.

The Congress gathers every two years to discuss a range of topics and in Belgrade, Lalovic stressed the new initiatives in women’s wrestling, promotion of associated styles, youth engagement, the image of wrestling and digital transformation.

Cape Verde, Kuwait Get Affiliation

CPV

In the same direction, Congress approved the affiliation of two new nations -- Cape Verde and Kuwait. Both the nations were also granted voting rights during Congress.

“The support from UWW has been immense and this affiliation is a huge thing for our country,” Secretary-General of the Cape Verde Wrestling Federation Anthony WESLEY (CPV) said. “We have waited for this for a long time. It's been a process which began in 1996.”

Wrestlers from Cape Verde were part of the World Olympic Qualifiers in Sofia, Bulgaria earlier this year.

For Kuwait, the affiliation gives an opportunity to grow the sport and include more kids in the sport.

“We are very excited about this,” wrestler Mohammed ABDULKAREEM (KUW) said. “It began as a small effort but we are here now. We only have the senior team but now we can start the cadet, junior and other levels as well. Thanks to UWW”

Details of the Congress can be found on uww.org.

#WrestleBelgrade

Photo Feature: Wrestling with emotions, luck and history

Tuesday, August 29, 2023 - 19:10 By Vinay Siwach

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BELGRADE, Serbia (August 29) -- Come the Olympic qualifying World Championships and the world of wrestling sees surprises like no other. The 2023 World Championships in Belgrade will throw more such results in September but what happened four years ago at the 2019 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan?

In front of a packed Bayrs Arena, champions went down to youngsters, dreams were shattered, wrestlers high on emotions. While some dreams remained unfulfilled, many wrestlers managed to live theirs.

Here's a throwback to 10 memories captured in these photos from the 2019 edition, a championship that saw Kazakhstan finish fourth in Freestyle team rankings, Japan winning only three gold in Women's Wrestling and Riza KAYAALP (TUR) winning a gold medal at the pre-Olympic World Championships.

Haji ALIYEV (AZE)Letting it out: Haji ALIYEV (AZE). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

It would have been a shame this was not the first photo from the 2019 World Championships. What happens when Haji ALIYEV (AZE), a three-time world champion and who has seen it all, suffers a loss after a thrilling bout in the opening round of a World Championships? Nothing good about that. Aliyev reacts towards the officials after his 4-2 loss to eventual champion Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV, before being escorted from the mat.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Aliyev would win a silver medal while Rashidov finished with a bronze after both were drawn on opposite side of the bracket.

J'den COX (USA)Breakfree: J'den COX (USA). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

J'den COX (USA) had beaten Alireza KARIMI (IRI) 5-2 in 2018. A year later, the two would meet in the final at 92kg. Cox would blank Karimi 4-0. Soon after the hand raise, Cox would let out a loud scream, holding the pose for the photographers. It was symbolic of Cox's dominance at the weight class as he became a two-time world champion.

Askhat DILMUKHADMEDOV (KAZ)Hometown hero: Askhat Dilmukhamedov (KAZ), red. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

It was clearly Askhat Dilmukhamedov's world. The Bayrs Arena's loudest cheer over the nine days when the Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler upset two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV in the 1/8 finals 3-0. He followed that up with a 4-3 win over returning world champion Viktor NEMES (SRB) to reach the semifinals. He would fall to the eventual world champion Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) in the semifinals, thus eliminating both Vlasov and Nemes. Incidentally, both Vlasov and Nemes failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in later tournaments.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)End of a drought: Mariya STADNIK (AZE). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Mariya STADNIK (AZE) celebrates after pinning Yanan SUN (CHN) to reach the final at 50kg. 10 years after she won her first world title, Stadnik was a win away from her second. The then three-time Olympic medalist left Sun to fight for bronze, which she did not win. Stadnik's win did not just bring joy for her but for Yui SUSAKI (JPN) as well. Susaki got a second life, thanks to Stadnik. Susaki would go on to win the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo after beating Stadnik in semifinals and Sun in the final.

Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)High Flying: Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

A photograph which aptly describes Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN). He is wrestling Cristian NICOLESCU (PLW) in his opening bout at 65kg. It seems Nicolescu has Muszukajev on the ropes with his attacks, forcing him to be airborne to defend. Come on! Wrestling fans knew Muszukajev but they got to really know him in 2019. Muszukajev would win the bout 14-4 not before letting Nicolescu score takedowns like he was chilling in a park. It was just the start of Muszukajev given jaw-dropping wrestling content.

Yong Mi PAK (PRK)The gold standard: Yong Mi PAK (PRK). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Yong Mi PAK (PRK) looks at her coach while Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) is in utter disbelief after Pak won the 53kg final via technical superiority. Pak became the first female world champion from DPR Korea. She won the best in Asia, winning two Asian Championships gold and the Asian Games gold in 2018. But to be a world champion made her the favorite for the gold in Tokyo. But soon a global pandemic would derail the world and DPR Korea would skip the Olympics in Tokyo. Mukaida went on to win the 53kg gold in Tokyo. Pak, perhaps, must have been similing if she watched the Olympics.

Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE)A win to remember: Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

A 30-year-old Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) takes out Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) after a battle. In one of the biggest upsets of the World Championships, Sharifov beat Snyder 5-2 in the 97kg semifinals and celebrated like a relieved man. The 2012 Olympic champion used his experience to shutdown Snyder. He would go on to lose the final against Abdulrashid SADULAEV but the semifinal win denied fans in Astana the third part of the Snyder-Sadulaev rivalry which ultimately happened in Tokyo.

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)Breaking Barriers: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) has broken many barriers related to Women's Wrestling in Kyrgyzstan. She was the first Olympian, first to reach a medal bout and in 2019, in front of a supportive crowd, Tynybekova became Kyrgyzstan's first-ever world champion in wrestling. Beating Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) in the dying seconds, Tynybekova completed a redemption of sorts as she suffered a heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal bout in Rio 2016. At the Tokyo Olympics, Tynybekova would lose the 62kg final to Yukako KAWAI (JPN), a wrestler the Kyrgyz star pinned in Astana.

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)Beginning of a Rivalry: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) has rarely been challenged on a wrestling mat. The Rio Olympic champion and then three-time world champion Aleksanyan was tested in the quarterfinals. Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) was unbeaten in international competition and was a U20 world champion in 2018. Aleksanyan was closer to legendary status in Greco-Roman. Yet, Saravi would put Aleksanyan on the brink and the latter would win only 4-3 against the 21-year-old Iranian. While Saravi is still looking for his first win over Aleksanyan, the two met in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics with Aleksanyan winning before finishing with a silver medal.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Continuing the Trend: Riza KAYAALP (TUR). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo).

2011. 2015. 2019. The Greco-Roman world champion at 130kg in those three editions has been Riza KAYAALP (TUR). Yes, the pre-Olympic year World Championships gold belongs to the Turkish giant.