Development

Wrestling Delivers Referee Courses in DPR-Korea and China

By Tim Foley

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (June 4) – United World Wrestling, under the expertise of Prof. Dr. Halil Ibrahim CICIOGLU - 1s-ranked referee and member of the Referee Commission - held a series of courses this month in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China.

The courses were part of the “Referee Education Pathway” a program started last year as an effort to educate and develop future generations of referees worldwide.

“I had an excellent educational opportunity in the DPRK and China,” said Mr. Cicioglu. “I was very happy to serve the people who wanted to improve the sport of wrestling in their countries and was impressed with their excitement to learn. We look forward to seeing more of these referees at future international competitions.”

The referee course in the DPRK was the first such event organized by the nation’s national federation and met or exceeded all requirements. Last year the federation hosted a Level One Coaches Course, which was received with equal praise. The small nation produced an impressive number of referees and coaches with 16 referee candidates and a coaching seminar with 78 attendees.
 

Among the refereeing candidates was Mrs. Choe Jong Bok, was former medalist at the Asian Championships who was eager to learn more about a career as a referee. Should Mrs. Choe continue her education and become a referee she would be the first female from the DPRK to fill that role.

The referee seminar in Beijing was also a major success with more than 100 referees from around the country in attendance. The Chinese Wrestling Federation, who hosted an Olympic Qualification tournament in 2012, held the event at the National Training Center in Beijing.

Later this month the Chinese Wrestling Federation will also be hosting the China Open, a United World Wrestling Ranking Series event, in Taiyung, China. The women’s wrestling event will be held on June 22 and June 23, with a short women’s wrestling development camp to precede it starting June 17.

For more information on refereeing courses and opportunities please see below:

https://unitedworldwrestling.org/sites/default/files/wrestling_referee_brochure_eng.pdf

#WrestleIstanbul

LIVE BLOG: U17 World Championships, Day One

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkiye (July 31) --- The opening day of wrestling at the 2023 U17 World Championships kicks off with Greco-Roman action at 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg and 110kg. We'll wrestle through the semifinals today before crowning our first champions on Tuesday night.

Today, we'll have 29 continental medalists wrestling, including ten gold medalists from the 2023 Asian, European, African or Pan-American Championships.

Here's a list of the reigning continental champs in action on Monday:
48kg - Murat KHATIT (AIN)
48kg - Karim ELEMARY (EGY)
55kg - Ahmed SHABAN (EGY) 
55kg - Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI)
65kg - Petros ASHKARYAN (ARM)
65kg- Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY)
80kg - Seef ABDALAZIZ (EGY)
110kg - Mohamed AHMED (EGY)
110kg - Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
110kg - Amirhossein Morad ABDEVALI (IRI)

Monday's semifinal matchups:
48kg

Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB) vs. Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM) 
Payam Farzad AHMADI BALOOTAKI (IRI) vs. Murat KHATIT (AIN) 

55kg
Halil CINAR (TUR) vs. Suraj SURAJ (IND) 
Jordyn Paul RANEY (USA) vs. Mohammadreza Gholamreza GHOLAMI (IRI) 

65kg
Giorgi TCHIKAIDZE (GEO) vs. Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN) 
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE) vs. Islombek KARIMJONOV (UZB) 

80kg
Uladzislau DUBROUSKI (AIN) vs. Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) 
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) 

110kg
Amirhossein Morad ABDEVALI (IRI) vs. Cemal Yusuf BAKIR (TUR) 
Eldar EMIROV (AIN) vs. Ronak RONAK (IND) 

13:49: That'll do it for the morning session. We'll see you back at 18:00 for tonight's semifinals.

14:35: Interesting note: Amirhossein Morad ABDEVALI (IRI), who just punched his ticket to tonight's semifinals, is the younger brother of world champion and Rio Olympic bronze medalist Saeiv ABDEVALI (IRI).

13:55: We're rolling right into the quarterfinals. This will be the last round before we take our break. Tonight's semifinals will start at 18:00 (local time).

13:22: The Iranian big man  Amirhossein Morad ABDEVALI (IRI) extends his record to 5-0 this season with his 8-0 win over  Tsimafei LAZAR (AIN). He'll take on the winner of  Andreas Samuel KERN (SVK) and Ryosei KATAMATSU (JPN) for a spot in the 110kg quarterfinals.

12:48: After a slow start, Gholami got his motor running in the second period. He trailed 1-0 after the first but stopped an unneeded throw attempt from Takahashi to pick up his first two points of the match. While in par terre, the reigning Asian champion threw his Japanese foe for four and extended his lead to five points. He listened to his corner, who were yelling "Get to your two-on-one" and finish the match, which is exactly what he did.

Gholami will likely take on Yuri KARAPETYAN (ARM) next as the Armenian is up 10-6 on Mario Andrei MARIUT (NOR) with less than a minute to go.

12:40: Tchikaidze just trailed 4-1 with less than a minute left but put six points on the board late in the second frame, avenging his U17 European finals loss to Ashkaryan. He awaits the winner of Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO) and Constantin LUNGU (ROU)

12:36: Reigning U17 world runner-up and defending U17 Asian champion Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI) is set to take on Shu TAKAHASHI (JPN) next on Mat A. 

12:21: The rematch from the 65kg U17 European finals between Ashkaryan and Tchikaidze is next on Mat A. In their last meeting, the Armenian wrestler won, 5-3.

12:11: Despite only scoring one additional point after the opening four-point flurry, Matevosyan punched his ticket to the second round with a 5-0 over win Abdalaziz. He'll wrestle Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) for a spot in the 80kg quarterfinals.

11:51: Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM) just took an early 4-0 lead on U17 African champion Seef ABDALAZIZ (EGY) over on Mat A.

11:26: Jordyn RANEY (USA) just took out U17 African champion Ahmed SHABAN (EGY), 8-0. The American led 4-0 after the first, then stopped an Egyptian throw attempt before ending the match with a gut wrench. Raney will wrestle Shu Wei CHUNG (TPE) next.

11:13: U17 European Petros ASHKARYAN (ARM) stays undefeated on the season, picking up an early 8-0 win over Turkiye's Ibrahim Hayri AYDEMIR (TUR). He'll wrestle the winner of Giorgi TCHIKAIDZE (GEO) and Ihar ANOSHKA (AIN). If Tchikaidze wins that match, it'll set up a rematch from this year's U17 European finals between Ashkaryan and Tchikaidze.

11:00: The first whistle has been blown, which means that World Championship season is officially underway.