#Grappling

World Combat Games Qualifiers: 16 earn quotas

By Vinay Siwach

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (April 30) -- The World Combat Games Qualifiers offering 40 quotas got underway in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Sunday in Grappling and Grappling Gi.

The first phase of the qualification was held in 2022 in Pontevedra, Spain which also offered 40 quotas. The four highest-placed grapplers in each of the Combat Games approved senior weight categories qualified for the World Combat Games in Saudi Arabia in October 2023.

In Tashkent, the process will be the same and the first four highest-placed athletes in each of the weight categories will each qualify for one quota place for their national federation.

If in a weight category, more than one athlete from the same country is ranked in the first four highest places, only one quota will be allocated to the country. The remaining quota(s) will be reallocated in the same weight category to the national federation of the next best-ranked athlete, not yet qualified, in the qualification event where the quota place was obtained.

Men's Grappling

66kg
Mayis NERSESYAN (ARM)
Renzo MARTINEZ (VEN)
Avzal AKHMETOV (UZB)
Syimyk MAKHMEDOV (KGZ)

84kg
Nadir IMAMALIYEV (AZE)
Ulugbek RAKHMONOV (UZB)
Nurbek TALBUDIN (KAZ)
Amirhossein JINOUR (IRI)

92kg
Hajimurad PURTIYEV (AZE)
Eldar RAFIGAEV (MDA)
Mantas DAUBLYS (LTU)
Ramazan KUSSAINOV (KAZ)

Women's Grappling

58kg
Viktoriia SYNIAVINA (UKR)
Zhenishgul ABDYRAKHMAN KYZY (KGZ)
Zilolakhon MUHAMMADOVA (UZB)

90kg
Madinabonu SALOKHIDDINOVA (UZB)
 

#WrestleZagreb

Olympic champ Jamalov to miss 2025 World Championships

By Eric Olanowski

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (May 14) -- Paris Olympic champion Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) will miss the 2025 World Championships.

Jamalov told United World Wrestling that he will undergo knee surgery on May 19 in Moscow and will be sidelined for the rest of the 2025 season.

This is the second surgery for Jamalov in last eight months, and 10th of his career, as he also had a shoulder surgery shortly after his win in Paris in August 2024.

"This will be my fifth surgery on my knee," Jamalov told UWW. "I've also had three surgeries on both shoulders, one on my neck, and one for tonsils.

"This is very difficult news because I was hoping to be ready for the 2025 World Championships. It's an old injury that I suffered before the Ranking Series tournament in Hungary [last year]. It's a complete tear of the cruciate ligament."

Despite the physical and mental toll of ten surgeries, the 26-year-old is gearing up for the wrestling season in 2026.

"Even after 10 surgeries, I want to keep wrestling," he said. "I'm aiming to be back in action at the beginning of 2026. Without wrestling, life feels boring to me. Of course, there are doubts sometimes, but I try to work hard and keep believing."