World Championships

Senior Athletes to Participate in Historic Training Camp Prior to World Championships

Tuesday, September 3, 2019 - 15:05 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article
Over 150 participants from 35 countries

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (September 3) -- United World Wrestling has announced it will host its largest-ever training camp prior to the 2019 Senior World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. 

The training camp will take place September 4-18 at the Olympic Cycling Centre in Saryarka. 

Over 150 participants from 35 countries have registered for the camp, which is being organized by UWW Development Department in collaboration with the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation.

 

“With the athletes at the heart of the our technical assistance and development programmes, the UWW Development Team has worked hard to ensure all the athletes enjoy a proper acclimation camp prior to the World Championship” said President Nenad LALOVIC. “Arriving early in a country to train for the world championships is key to success and it’s even more important because these world championships qualify nations for next year’s Olympic Games.”

The United States, Cuba, Korea and several other nations are sending wrestlers to the training camp. Some notable training camp participants include Olympic champion Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR), two-time world champion RYU Hansu (KOR), world No.2 Seunghak KIM (KOR), world silver medalist Adam COON (USA), world No.3 Minseok KIM (KOR) and world No. 4 Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU).

 

The 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships will begin Saturday, September 14 with Greco-Roman action. The event will feature 1000 wrestlers from 101 nations across 9 days of competition in Greco-Roman, women’s wrestling, and freestyle

2026 World Championships

Yazdani Interview: 'Changing Weight Classes Difficult, But Ready for 97kg Challenge'

Saturday, June 20, 2026 - 06:27 By

Share this article

- By Amirreza ALIASGARI

KEMRAN, Iran (July 19) -- Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) made his eighth World Championships for Iran on Friday after beating Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI), 4-2 and 5-3, in two straight matches at 97kg.

In 2015, Yazdani was at 70kg and won a silver medal at his debut World Championships. For a decade, he spent his wrestling career at 86kg, winning two Olympic silver medals, three world titles, two world silver and one bronze medal.

Now at 97kg after two shoulder surgeries, a 31-year-old Yazdani is adjusting to the new weight class. As he returns to the World Championships after three years, Yazdani will be chasing his eighth medal and fourth title.

After making the Iran team for the World Championships, to be held in Astana from October 24 to November 1, Yazdani spoke to United World Wrestling about the challenges of 97kg, returning to the World Championships and how his body is holding up.

Excerpts:

- How are you feeling physically after the two tough matches?

Yazdani: I’ve improved in some areas, especially when it comes to my breathing and conditioning. But we didn’t really have enough time to focus on strength training, so we worked on that a bit less than we wanted to. With the time that’s left until the World Championships, I’m going to do everything I can to get myself in the best shape possible and be even better prepared.

- How prepared were you for the wrestle-off against Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)?

Yazdani: For these competitions, I’d say I was about 70 percent ready. It’s hard to be 100 precent prepared for a tournament like this, but by the time the World Championships come around, I’ll definitely be in better shape and more prepared.

- What are your thoughts on competing at 97kg, a weight class that may have four Olympic champions in Astana?

Yazdani: The 97kg weight class is new for me, and of course I have new opponents now. It’s quite different from 86kg. I hope I can put on a good performance in this weight class as well. There are a lot of great champions here, and I hope I get the chance to wrestle against them, challenge myself, and show my best wrestling at the World Championships.

- But will it be challenging for your to be at the top at this weight class?

Yazdani: I already knew how many top wrestlers compete in this weight class. Considering my physical condition, I decided last year to move up to 97kg. Since it’s also an Olympic weight class, I wanted to make the move early so I’d have enough time to fix any weaknesses and adapt before the Olympics. My goal is to be at my very best for both the Olympics and the World Championships, which are just as important.

I wanted to move up sooner so I could get comfortable in this weight class as quickly as possible. Once you get to around 30 years old, things naturally become a little more difficult, and changing weight classes isn’t as easy as it used to be. There are definitely challenges at 97kg, and I’ve thought about all of them. Hopefully, I’ll be able to put on my best performance and come away with a great result.