#development

UWW sends experts to Hungary to run a high-performance coaching course

By United World Wrestling Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (November 10) – The Hungarian Wrestling Federation organized the first-ever high-performance regional coaching course.  In all, 32 coaches who participated in the course from seven different countries. The course was conducted on 2-5 November with the support of the Olympic Solidarity, United World Wrestling, the Hungarian National Olympic Committee and the Hungarian Wrestling Federation. The course was held at the KIMBA Wrestling Academy which is a premiere training facility in Budapest where they recently organized an international Greco-Roman training camp with over 100 participants. “HWF was pleased to host the first-ever high-performance coach course in Budapest in our new Kozma István Wrestling Academy. Our federation is always open to new initiatives which helps us improve our skills and improve on the wrestling mat. We are thankful for UWW to allow us to hold this advanced course for our coaches and referees,” said Peter Bacsa (HUN) – UWW Bureau Member and Vice President of the Hungarian Wrestling Federation.

HUN1Attendees of the high-performance regional coaching course come together at the KIMBA Wrestling Academyduring an off-the-mat session. (Photo: Gabor Martin/ United World Wrestling)

This course was conducted by several wrestling experts from around the world. 

The experts included Dr. Bahman Mirzaei (IRI) and Dr. Mario Baic (CRO) who are both members of the UWW Scientific Commission along with data expert Dr. Milorad Dokmanac. The technical experts were Arsen Julfalakyan (ARM) and Zac Dominguez (USA). Leading the course programme were Vincent Aka (CIV) and Zach Errett (USA) from the UWW Development Department.  These experts led many sessions throughout the week.

The session topics included performance data analysis from the past world championships and Olympic Games, preparation and periodization of elite wrestlers, physical fitness preparation of top wrestlers, creating a system for measuring the physical preparedness of their athletes, how to transition from a successful wrestler to a successful coach, stages of complex technical/tactical development, competition manipulation and athlete safeguarding. In addition to these sessions, the coaches had practical sessions where they worked with the experts on technical skills for each style.  They also had to lead training sessions that focused on the energy and attitude of the trainer.  The course finished with collaboration among the referees.  Both groups worked side-by-side to better understand the rules and their roles. This session was led by Prof. Dr. H.Ibrahim Cicioglu (TUR). “The high-performance coaching course in Hungary was unique because it was the first time ever that coaches, referees, and recently retired athletes came together for a four-day seminar.  This course was full of specific scientific information theoretical, and practical sessions designed specifically for high-level coaches.  What was also very important during the whole process was that you could feel the interaction as most of the participants were very excited and had fun during the course,” said Arsen Julfalakyan (ARM) – Olympic silver medalist.

HUN3Participants of the course break down film together. (Photo: Gabor Martin/ United World Wrestling)

“The coaches that participated in the course were some of the best wrestlers in the world and recently began their coaching careers.  It was great to see them embrace the course and want to continue to improve.  By the end of the course, the coaches were working together and sharing ideas.  It was very clear to see why the Hungarian Wrestling Federation is one of the leaders in wrestling,” said Mr. Zach Errett (UWW Education Manager). “We had a very strong four-day course with excellent lecturers from their own fields such as science, education, and refereeing. Our coaches learned a lot during these days, and I hope it has opened new areas for them in their field to grow up top wrestlers for our country. Even though our wrestling culture and education are high in Hungary we learned many new things to be more professional and focused,” said Peter Bacsa. “We would like to thank all the organizers of the UWW for the opportunity to organize the UWW Level 4 coaching training in Hungary. It was educational for everyone. We will try to pass on the knowledge acquired here to as many coaches as possible. Special thanks for answering all our questions outside of the lectures. It was a great honor to spend the week with qualified professionals, Olympic and world champions,” said Bábszky Gergely (HUN) - Director of the College of the Hungarian University of Physical Education.

HUNParticipants from the Introduction to Refereeing Course pose together for a photo. (Photo: Gabor Martin/ United World Wrestling)

Also, during the week, the Hungarian Wrestling Federation organized an Introduction to Refereeing Course. This was conducted by Prof. Dr. H.Ibrahim Cicioglu, a member of the UWW Referee Commission and a referee educator.  The course was conducted over three days.  During that time, the participants learned the foundations of being a great referee.  Their topics included referee team duties, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, proper positioning and movement, and controlling the bout.  The participants also had the opportunity to referee simulated matches during their sessions to apply what they learned practically. "It was a very productive event for the high-performance coaches and referees.  Our primary goal in this course was to enable the coaches to look at the evaluation of actions and holds with the eyes of the referee and to have them have a different vision on this issue.  During the course, we received much positive feedback from the coaches that will contribute to the development of our referees," said Ibrahim Cicioglu (UWW Referee Commission).

HUN2Olympic silver medalist Arsen Julfalakyan (ARM) shows a move during his time in Hungary. (Photo: Gabor Martin/ United World Wrestling)

“This course was very intense, and the commitment of all the coaches and referees lives up the world rank of Hungary. Also, this course was a good opportunity for Hungary coaches and referees to work together to strengthen the Hungary Wrestling Federation,” Said Vincent Aka (UWW Development Officer and Trainer).

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Tynybekova beats Motoki again, Zhou rules 68kg

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 12) -- For the last two years, Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) has begun her seasons disastrously. She suffered first-round losses in Istanbul and Zagreb in 2022 and 2023 Ranking Series events respectively.

But the world champion has begun 2024 with a gold medal at the first Ranking Series event -- winning the 62kg weight class at the Zagreb Open on Friday.

After winning her third world title in Belgrade last year, Tynybekova traveled to the Asian Games in October 2023 but finished with a bronze medal. There, she had said that a break from wrestling for some time would help her for the new season.

It appears that the break did help Tynybekova as she won five bouts on Friday albeit taking them notoriously close. After winning close bouts against Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA), Yaru WU (CHN) and Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), Tynybekova set up a World Championships rematch against Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) in the semifinal.

Unlike the World Championships final, it seemed that Motoki had a plan. She moved much quicker and remained at a distance from Tynybekova. The first point on the scoreboard came as Tynybekova was called for passivity. Motoki then added a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break.

"In the first period I wrestled passively because I was tired," Tynybekova said. "Motoki was leading 3-0 but during the break time the coach told me to wrestle actively right from the beginning to score two points and finish the match 3-3 winning on criteria."

That's what Tynybekova did. Motoki was hit with a passivity call with 50 seconds remaining. During Motoki's activity time, Tynybekova got the opportunity to hit a single-leg attack and she got exposure to lead 3-3 with 10 seconds on the clock.

"The semifinal and those six minutes seemed to be endless for me," she said. "I thought the time would never end."

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) defeated Kayla MIRACLE (USA) in the final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In the final, Tynybekova faced a familiar opponent in Kayla MIRACLE (USA) and won with the largest margin of victory in her five bouts, beating her 7-0.

"I wasn’t thinking about winning the gold," she said. "The main thing was to come here and try myself against international athletes. We knew that the strongest ones would come here to compete. The coach Nurbek Izabekov said that we should come here and just wrestle as if we were at home. It didn’t matter for me to win or lose, the main goal was to wrestle."

But compared to the World Championships, Tynybekova said that she is still recovering physically and will assess her future tournaments depending on the same.

"In comparison with the World Championships, this tournament in Zagreb was harder for me because I am not in good health now," she said. That’s why all the matches today were really difficult. [Next], I think we will be wrestling at all the Rankings Series as well as the Asian championships that will be held in our country in Kyrgyzstan."

Feng ZHOU (CHN)Feng ZHOU (CHN) dominated the 68kg weight class in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

In the other Women's Wrestling weight class, veteran Feng ZHOU (CHN) clinched the 68kg gold medal after a close 2-0 win over Forrest MOLINARI (USA).

But it was total domination from Zhou in the morning session as she took out world champion Buse TOSUN (TUR) in the opening match and world silver medalist Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) in the semifinals.

Rolling back the years, Zhou showed that strong gut wrench that the Chinese wrestlers are famous for. Tosun had no answers to Zhou's grip and suffered a 10-0 loss.

Zhou was in trouble in the second bout against Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) when the Polish wrestler scored a takedown with 10 seconds remaining to lead 3-1. But Zhou hit exposure with three seconds on the clock to win 3-3. A lost challenge gave her an extra point.

After beating RADHIKA (UWW) 13-0 in the quarterfinal, Zhou used the gut wrench to build a 9-0 lead against Enkhsaikhan in the semifinal before the Mongolian close the gap to 9-5. However, it did not give her the win.

Molinari was hit with two passivity calls on either side of the break which gave Zhou a 2-0 lead which was enough, along with her defense, to get her the gold medal.

In the non-Olympic weight classes, Ukraine won two gold medals with Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) clinching the gold medal at 59kg and Alla BELINSKA (UKR) winning the 65kg gold after dominating the round-robin.

Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN)Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) completes a throw on Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Alirzaev shines

In a bracket that had five World Championships medalists including world champion David LOSONCZI (HUN), Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) emerged as the best at 87kg, winning the gold after beating Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI), 4-2, in the final.

After a few easy matches early on, Alirzaev was tested by Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) in the quarterfinals. Alirzaev hit a big throw from par terre to lead 5-1 but Komarov got two turns from par terre in the second period to make it 5-5. Alirzaev led 5-5 on criteria thanks to the four-point technique which helped him win as well.

In the semifinal, Daniel GREGORICH (CUB) mounted a comeback from 7-0 to make it 7-7 and lead on criteria. However, Alirzaev scored a reversal with 30 seconds remaining to win 8-7.

The final saw Mohmadipiani get the par terre advantage and he managed to throw Alirzaev but failed to get a correct throw. Alirzaev blocked him during the throw to score two points, a decision which Iran challenged and lost, giving Alirzaev a 3-1 lead.

Mohmadipiani scored a stepoutn in the stepout but that was after Alirzaev was awarded a point for par terre. The final score remained 4-2 as Alirzaev won the gold.

The bronze medals were won by Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) who beat Daniel GREGORICH (CUB), 9-0, while Alan OSTAEV (AIN) beat Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) via fall. Ostaev had earlier knocked out world champion Losonczi in the opening bout.

At 77kg, world silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) won the gold after Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), a world silver medalist from 2022, pulled out injured during the match.

dg

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

59kg
GOLD: Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
SILVER: Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
BRONZE: Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)

62kg
GOLD: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Kayla MIRACLE (USA), 7-0

BRONZE: Veranika IVANOVA (AIN) df. Ana GODINEZ (CAN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) df. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN), via inj. def.

65kg
GOLD: Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
SILVER: Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
BRONZE: Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)

68kg
GOLD: Feng ZHOU (CHN) df. Forrest MOLINARI (USA), 2-0

BRONZE: Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (TUR), 5-1
BRONZE: Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR) df. Qian JIANG (CHN), 11-6

Greco-Roman

77kg
GOLD: Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) df. Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), via injury (5-0)

BRONZE: Yunus BASAR (TUR) df. Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR), 2-1
BRONZE: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 8-7

87kg
GOLD: Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) df. Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI), 4-2

BRONZE: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Daniel GREGORICH (CUB), 9-0
BRONZE: Alan OSTAEV (AIN) df. Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO), via fall