Ranking Series

Wrestling to Debut Ranking Series in 2018

By Tim Foley

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (December 6) -- United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, has announced details behind the launch of an annual ranking series.

The 2018 series will be a soft launch with full implementation expected in 2019.

“The wrestling community deserves a clear ranking system for the sport’s top athletes,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. “Rankings makes it easier for our fans, athletes and coaches to understand the impact of each tournament and match. That’s brand new for our sport.”

In addition to the continental and world championships, the 2018 series will feature four specialty ranking tournaments for each of the three Olympic styles: Greco-Roman, women’s wrestling and freestyle. Points in all tournaments will be awarded based on finish plus the number of competitors present in each weight category. Nations may only enter three athletes in any single weight class.

For example, if at the 2018 world championships at 70 kg, sees 40 participants the world champion will receive 25 + 40 pts = 65 points.

Points are only retained by individual athletes, not nations. Also, points can NOT be carried across weight categories. The rankings will be used to determine seeding at the Senior World Championships in Budapest.

The first rankings will be posted March 1, 2018 on the United World Wrestling homepage

*If a weight category only has one bronze medal (by example Nordic System), the athlete ranked in the fourth place will get 12 points in the Senior World Championships or Olympic Games, 7 points in the Continental Championships and 3 points in the UWW Select Ranking Events.

**If a weight category only has one fifth place (by example after a doping case), the athlete ranked in the sixth place will get 9 points in the Senior World Championships or Olympic Games, 5 points in the Continental Championships and 1 point in the UWW Select Ranking Event.

Ranking Events

Freestyle Wrestling

Ivan Yariguin (RUS), January
Tbilisi GP (GEO), June                          
South Africa Open (RSA), July            
Medved (BLR), September                            

Women’s Wrestling

Klippan Lady Open (SWE), February             
Mongolia Open (MGL), June           
China Open (CHN), June                  
Poland Open (POL), September                 

Greco-Roman Wrestling

Takhti Cup (IRI), January                             
Granma y Cerro Pelado (CUB), February        
Hungarian GP (HUN), June                    
Vehbi Emre (TUR), July                           

#development

UWW and Inspire Institute of Sport sign MoU to advance wrestling development in India

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (August 27) -- United World Wrestling (UWW) and the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The MoU was signed at the Wrestling House, UWW's hospitality venue, located on a boat next to the iconic Eiffel Tower.

This strategic partnership is designed to foster collaboration and enhance the development of wrestling in India by establishing a framework for mutually beneficial programs, projects, and activities. The MoU reflects the commitment of both UWW and IIS to support elite and pre-elite wrestling athletes, as well as suitably qualified coaches in India.

IIS, a charitable trust dedicated to social development through sports, education, and health, operates a state-of-the-art high-performance training center in Vijayanagar, Karnataka. The facility meets international standards and is focused on promoting Olympic sports in India, providing young talents with the resources and training necessary to succeed.

The institute is prominent in developing wrestling, among other sports, in India. Olympic bronze medalists Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and Sakshi MALIK (IND) have been associated with it in past. Recently, IIS trainees World Championships bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) and Nisha DAHIYA (IND) wrestled at the Paris Olympics.

Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND)Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND), left, will compete at the U20 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At the age-group level, IIS has supported U20 Asian Championships gold medalists Dhanshri FAND (IND) and NITIKA (IND). Former U20 World Championships medalist HARSHITA (IND), U17 world medalist Jaskaran SINGH (IND), U23 Asian champion RADHIKA (IND) and Nikhil YADAV (IND), who will participate in the upcoming U20 World Championships in Spain are all out of the IIS stable.

UWW's involvement in this partnership is part of its broader strategic global development plan, which aims to elevate the sport of wrestling worldwide, with a particular focus on supporting the growth of wrestling in India.

Both UWW and IIS are eager to begin this collaborative journey, confident that their joint efforts will contribute significantly to the success and international recognition of Indian wrestling. Their joint efforts will contribute significantly to the success and international recognition of Indian wrestling.