#development

Qatar hosts Regional Coaching and Referee course

Thursday, June 29, 2023 - 12:23 By United World Wrestling Press

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DOHA, Qatar (June 29) -- Qatar Wrestling Federation hosted its first-ever Regional Coaching Course and an Introduction to Refereeing Course. The courses were conducted between May 29 and June 3 in Doha and had participants from seven different countries namely Qatar, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Brazil, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

These courses were conducted in conjunction with United World Wrestling, Olympic Solidarity, Qatar NOC and the Qatar Wrestling Federation.

The coaching course was led by Mohamed ADBELFATTAH. The referee course was led by Kamel BOUAZIZ who is the vice-president of the Referee Commission and President of the Arab Wrestling Federation.

Arsen JULFALAKYAN, President of the Athletes Commission and former world champion and Olympic medalist, assisted in the delivery of the courses.

The Regional Coaching Course was conducted over a five-day period with 20 coaches -- 18 men and two women. They participated in a Level 2 Course [Introduction to Practice Planning].

The course focused on basic video analysis, the development of effective training sessions, the mental development of wrestlers, and coaching the seven basic skills of wrestling. 

ARSParticipants go through a practical training session with Greco-Roman legend and world champion Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM) (Photo: United World Wrestling)

During the course, the coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations. The coaches also had the chance to work with Julfalakyan. The participants were able to learn valuable Greco-Roman techniques from both educators.

"The course in Qatar was interesting and eventful. Coaches and referees from the region participated in it," Julfalakyan said. "We carried out productive work both in theory and in practice. You could notice that the Qatar federation is determined to develop wrestling in the country."

“The course went very well. We had representatives from many countries," Abdelfattah said. "It is clear that Qatar is committed to growing the sport.” 

The Introduction to Refereeing Course, led by Bouaziz, was conducted for five days and had five participants who learned the foundations of being a referee.

The areas covered during the course included: the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout. The participants also worked directly with the coaches during a session to learn common areas of mistakes from referees and coaches. 

TUn
Kamel BOUAZIZ (TUN) leads the five-day Introduction to Refereeing Course in Qatar. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

"During the theoretical courses, most of the participants eagerly received the information, asked the questions, and wanted to know the latest changes to the rules. They are passionate about refereeing," Bouaziz said.

"We express our deep gratitude and appreciation to UWW Bureau Member, Head of Athletes Commission Arsen Julfalakyan, Vice-president of UWW Referee Commission-Educator Kamal Bouaziz, UWW Educator Coach Mohammed Abdelfattah, and UWW Development Department for invaluable support in helping us achieve this remarkable growth," Sheikh Fahad bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Qatar Wrestling Federation and Member of Qatar Olympic Committee, said.

"The wealth of knowledge and impactful teaching style of the UWW experts empowered coaches and referees with insight and experience that resonated profoundly."

#WrestleAmman

History at U17 Worlds: India wins first title, Canada crowns champion

Friday, August 23, 2024 - 18:14 By Vinay Siwach

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AMMAN, Jordan (August 22) -- The country had been pushing towards the top of the podium in Women's Wrestling at the U17 World Championships for many years but it finally took an impressive 2024 batch for India to claim the women's team title.

India has consistently placed in the top five starting in 2016 and come particularly close to winning the title in 2021 in the absence of Japan. But the United States had sealed the title with the final bout of the competition.

India finished the women's competition at the U17 Worlds in Amman with five gold medals, one silver, two bronzes and a fifth-place finish to win the title with 185 points. Japan finished second with 146 points and Kazakhstan took the third spot with 79 points.

IndiaIndia won the team title in women's wrestling at the U17 World Championships in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The country won four gold medals on Thursday and KAJAL (IND) added a fifth by winning the final at 69kg against Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR). After taking a 5-0 lead at the break using a big counter throw for four, Kajal added two more takedowns in the second period to win 9-2.

The other Indian in the final, Shrutika PATIL (IND), failed to go past the Japanese hurdle in Yuu KATSUME (JPN). The Japanese dominated the final and won 11-0, becoming the first and only gold medalist in women's wrestling for Japan, an odd sentence to write.

India's impressive victory as a team follows a good show at the U17 Asian Championships in which it claimed the crown over China and Japan. Last year, it had won its first U20 World Championships team title as well, incidentally, in Amman.

Kaura COLES (CAN)Kaura COLES (CAN) pins Nana KOZUKA (JPN) in the 53kg final to win the gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

More history was created in Amman as Canada crowned its first-ever world champion in women's wrestling at this level. Kaura COLES (CAN) won the 53kg gold medal with an impressive fall over Nana KOZUKA (JPN) in the final.

Coles took the opening lead but Kozuka answered with a big four to make it 4-2. An exposure from Coles gave criteria to Kozuka who was constantly finding openings for attacks. In the second period, Coles came up with a four-pointer using headlock to take an outright lead. At one point, Kozuka cut the lead to 9-7 but Coles hit another headlockk for four and secured the fall to win the final.

The Canadian has been impressive over the two days, winning three of her five bouts via fall. Only MUSKAN (IND) and Isabelle GONZALES (USA) were able to stop her from pinning them.

Historically, no Canadian had reached the final in women's wrestling and Coles' medal is only the second in the tournament's history. Canada has had a world champion in all other World Championships.

Taina FERNANDEZ (USA)Taina FERNANDEZ (USA) celebrates after winning gold at 61kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The United States crowned a champion as well. Taina FERNANDEZ (USA) pinned Sae NOGUCHI (JPN) in the 61kg final to make sure the U.S. goes home with at least one gold in women's wrestling. Her tournament run of four wins included three falls and one technical superiority win and only one bout -- the final -- going into the fourth minute of the match.

The final began with Fernandez getting the first point for Noguchi's passivity. The American added a stepout and takedown to make it 4-0. Fernandez got the fall with 38 seconds remaining in the match.

At 40kg, Aleksandra FEDOROVA (AIN) won the gold in a low-scoring final against Kamila KUCHMA (UKR). She won 4-1.

Iran, Kyrgyzstan best in FS semis

Freestyle action began at the U17 World Championships with five weight classes. The United States had four wrestlers in the semifinals but only one made it to the finals. Iran had three and two made it to the gold medal bouts. Kyrgyzstan also shone as it put two wrestlers in the final.

Uzbekistan, Puerto Rico, Georgia and Kazakhstan also had a finalist each while one Individual Neutral Athlete made it to the final.

World ChampionsAll 10 women's wrestling world champions in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

RESULTS

40kg
GOLD: Aleksandra FEDOROVA (AIN) df. Kamila KUCHMA (UKR), 4-1

BRONZE: Raj BALA (IND) df. Monaka UMEKAWA (JPN), 11-5
BRONZE: Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE) df. Vivien SZENTPAL (HUN), 11-6

46kg
GOLD: Yuu KATSUME (JPN) df. Shrutika PATIL (IND), 11-0

BRONZE: Morgan TURNER (USA) df. Jessica TUOMINEN (FIN), via fall (8-0)
BRONZE: Medina KUANYSHBEK (KAZ) df. Yevheniia DRUZENKO (UKR), via fall (6-5)

53kg
GOLD: Kaura COLES (CAN) df. Nana KOZUKA (JPN), via fall (11-7)

BRONZE: MUSKAN (IND) df. Isabella GONZALES (USA), 12-2
BRONZE: Lisette BOETTKER (EST) df. Olesia MALAKHOVA (AIN), via fall (2-4)

61kg
GOLD: Taina FERNANDEZ (USA) df. Sae NOGUCHI (JPN), via fall (6-0)

BRONZE: Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) df. RAJNITA (IND), via fall (6-2
BRONZE: Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR) df. Zhaidar MUKAT (KAZ), 4-0

69kg
GOLD: KAJAL (IND) df. Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR), 9-2

BRONZE: Ako UCHIYAMA (JPN) df. Rahma BEDIWY (EGY), via fall (9-1)
BRONZE: Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE) df. Ilayda CIN (TUR), 6-4

sd

Freestyle Semifinals

48kg
GOLD: Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB) vs. Amirabbas ALIZADEH (IRI) 

SF 1: Amirabbas ALIZADEH (IRI) df. Henry ASLIKYAN (USA), 6-4
SF 2: Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB) df. Chingis SARYGLAR (AIN), 7-5

55kg
GOLD: Joseph BACHMANN (PUR) vs. Kursantbek ISAKOV (KGZ)

SF 1: Kursantbek ISAKOV (KGZ) df. Keanu DILLARD (USA), 10-2
SF 2: Joseph BACHMANN (PUR) df. Huseyn HUSEYNOV (AZE), 5-2

65kg
GOLD: Ramazan ABDULKADYROV (AIN) vs. Rustamzhan KAKHAROV (KGZ) 

SF 1: Rustamzhan KAKHAROV (KGZ) df. Bakdaulet AKIMZHAN (KAZ), 12-5
SF 2: Ramazan ABDULKADYROV (AIN) df. Umut USLU (TUR), 4-4

80kg
GOLD: Reza AFSHAR (IRI) vs. Nikoloz MAISURADZE (GEO) 

SF 1: Nikoloz MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Artur KOSTIUK (UKR), 4-0
SF 2: Reza AFSHAR (IRI) df. Emmitt SHERLOCK (USA), 8-0

110kg
GOLD: Michael MOCCO (USA) vs. Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)

SF 1: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) df. Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI), 4-3
SF 2: Michael MOCCO (USA) df. Gigia LUKUNIDZE (GEO), 10-0