#UWWAwards2022

Ozaki earns Women’s Wrestler of the Year honors

Wednesday, December 28, 2022 - 15:51 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 28) -- United World Wrestling has announced Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) as the Women’s Wrestler of the Year. 

At the mere age of 19 years, Ozaki joined a rare list of wrestlers with all four world titles.

This year was undoubtedly Ozaki’s year as she won U20, U23 and senior world golds this season.

Ozaki won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships but stormed back with a gold-medal-winning performance in 2022 in Belgrade. On her way to the gold, she defeated defending world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and silver medalist Kayla MIRACLE (USA).

Domestically, Ozaki needed to defeat Olympic champion Yukako KAWAI (JPN) to make the world team. She did that in May 2022 and then remained undefeated on the season until suffering a season-ending loss by Sakura MOTOKI in the final at the All-Japan Championships on December 25.

In April, she won her first Asian Championships title by beating Tynybekova, added the U20 world title in August, and completed the set by winning the U23 world gold in October. She won the U17 world title in 2019 in Sofia.

The year-ending rankings were also a reflection of her dominance as she finished on the top at 62kg with 55000 ranking points, out-placing other veterans of the sport.

#development

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

Tuesday, August 27, 2024 - 10:01 By United World Wrestling Press

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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.