Development

Women's Referee Course and Empowerment Seminar Held in Colombia

Monday, December 17, 2018 - 16:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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MEDELLÍN, Colombia (December 18) -- United World Wrestling held its first-ever women's-only Introduction to Refereeing Course last week for the Pan American countries in Medellín, Colombia.

The course had a total of 32 participants from 15 different countries and provided resources to women who are new to refereeing and helps them improve on their existing knowledge. The activities are part of an ongoing effort by United World Wrestling to increase the involvement of women in all aspects of the sport.

"The first-ever women Referees and Empowerment course is an awesome end to one of the Development department’s most successful years,” said Deqa Niamkey, United World Wrestling Development Department Director. “It is amazing to see the determination and devotion of these women to develop wrestling in their countries. Women's wrestling has a bright future ahead."

The course – led by instructors Eduardo PAZ GONÇALVES (BRA) and Abraham GALVA (PUR) -- included five days of classroom and on-the-mat learning and sharing of personal experiences in the sport. Attendees said they felt empowered by the course to go back to their home countries and start implementing changes.

"Change and adaptation are so important in the future of wrestling. Woman face many different issues in a male dominated sport,” said Shelby Tremblay (CAN): It's amazing for the United World Wrestling to recognize that there needs to be change and create great opportunities like this. Everyone's experiences are different and it's really neat to come together and share our own Wrestling stories to help shape the future."

Many attendees looked forward to seeing how the project would further impact the sport at home, and abroad.

"The growth of women's wrestling in our sport is amazing regarding athletes, but we are still behind in the number of referees and coaches, it will be great to reach the 50/50 gender equality in the future,” said Ruth Hossein (ARG). “To increase the number of women, concrete actions are necessary, and this course is a great opportunity for the region."

“As a Leadership coach, I am positive the change that started in Medellin, among women referees in Wrestling will have two aspects: a ripple effect in their countries and regions as they role model what good referees and leaders do, and also it will have a positive impact in the sport," said Gabriela Mueller Mendoza, coach, speaker, who has supported Olympic movement for over a decade. "Empowering girls and women in any society is the quickest most effective way to progress an sport in an excellent vehicle for change to happen. UWW’s leadership is convinced about their commitment to the ambitious Olympic agenda, and this  course in Colombia was a tangible way to walk the talk."

The program was also securing institutional support from the sport's top leadership.

"We are excited to see this progress for our women's outreach," said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. "These efforts are in line with Agenda 2020 and we will continue them in the future."

#WrestleTirana

Greco-Roman must-watch battles at U23 Worlds

Friday, October 20, 2023 - 07:40 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 19) -- The Greco-Roman at the U23 World Championships will reignite the rivalries among wrestlers from Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and Turkiye. These are some of the countries that dominate the classic style and when the wrestlers perform from October 27 to 29, it will be a spectacle. Here's what to watch in Greco-Roman at the U23 World Championships

Must-watch match-ups

At 130kg, the battle for gold can be a four-way battle with Mikhail LAPTEV (AIN), Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI), Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) and Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) all entered. Laptev is the bronze medalist from the 2021 U23 World Championships while Hedayati is the U20 world champ. Bakir won the gold at the U20 level in 2021.

Vyshnyvetskyi will try to upgrade his silver from last year after losing the final to Fatih BOZKURT (TUR). He won the gold medal at the U20 Worlds in 2022 as he defeated Hedayati in the final.

A similar battle will be seen at 87kg as the 82kg U23 world champion Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) is moving up to 87kg to challenge the defending champion Istvan TAKACS (HUN).

Joining the two are U20 world champion Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) and Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) who is coming off a silver-medal finish at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Alex SZOKE (HUN) is the defending champion at 97kg and will be the favorite to win the gold medal. But the return of Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) should put some pressure on Szoke.

Hlinchuk won the gold at the U20 World Championships in 2021 and then finished with a silver at the U23 Worlds. He will look to change the color of his medal this year.

Sohrabi-Snjoyan Rematch

A rematch of the 67kg final last year is on the cards as both Danial SOHRABI (IRI) and Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) are entered. Sohrabi stormed back from 7-0 down to beat Snjoyan 17-7 and claim the gold medal. Snjoyan, however, has been out of action since that final due to an injured shoulder.

Sohrabi has had a busy year as he wrestled in three of the four Ranking Series, the World Championships and recently the Asian Games.

60kg minefield

The 60kg bracket can see intense competition with 2021 U23 world champion Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) returning. He wrestled at the senior World Championships in Belgrade but failed to win a medal. Joining him is U20 world champion Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM) who will be looking to at the U23 world title.

SUMIT (UWW) will be keen to avenge his U20 Worlds loss against Aghajanyan as he aims to become the first finalist in Greco-Roman at the U23 World Championships. Returning bronze and U23 European silver Melkamu FETENE (ISR) is also coming to Tirana.

Last year's 55kg silver medalist Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) is moving up to 60kg as he continues to search for a world title. He finished with a silver medal at 55kg in Pontevedra.

Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ) will undoubtedly be the dark horse of this weight class.

New challengers

Tirana will see a number of wrestlers from the 2021 class of U20 World Championships. But the young crop is out to challenge them. The U20 wrestlers trying to make a mark at U23 are Denis MIHAI (ROU) at 55kg, Aghajanyan at 60kg, Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) at 77kg, Alperen BERBER (TUR) at 82kg, Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) at 87kg and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) at 130kg.

Aghajanyan, Berber, Bolkvadze and Hedayati are coming off title-winning runs at the U20 Worlds in August.