Roundup

UPDATED: NF Roundup Blog, Nov. 9-13

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 - 18:08 By United World Wrestling Press

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Images from Cadet National Championships in Uzbekistan


Images from Kabul Zone Competition in Afghanistan


Russia Claims 5/6 FS Golds at Moscow Grand Prix
The Russian Federation claimed five of six Olympic-weight freestyle gold medals at the 2020 Moscow Grand Prix. Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE) ended the host nation's run of four consecutive gold medals with a barn-burning 10-10 victory over Erik DZHIOEV (RUS) in the 97kg finals. Russia's handful of champions were: Ramis GAMZATOV (57kg), Nachyin KUULAR (65kg), Israil KASUMOV (74kg), Magomed RAMAZANOV (86kg) and Shamil SHARIPOV (125kg).

Freestyle Results
57kg: Ramis GAMZATOV (RUS) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (RUS), 9-4
65kg: Nachyin KUULAR (RUS) df. Daud IBRAGIMOV (AZE), 2-2
74kg: Israil KASUMOV (RUS) df. Yakup GOR (TUR), 6-5
86kg: Magomed RAMAZANOV (RUS) df. Arsen BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ), 4-1
97kg: Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE) df. Erik DZHIOEV (RUS), 10-10
125kg: Shamil SHARIPOV (RUS) df. Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ), via fall

 

Etlinger Gives Host Nation Zagreb Open Title
Croatia's own Dominik ETLINGER defeated Moldova's Valentin PETIC, 8-0, in the 72kg finals and won gold on home soil at the Zagreb Open. "When I woke up Saturday, I knew it was going to be a great day," said Etlinger. "I wasn't exhausted because I only cut two kilograms, and that's nothing to me. I was also excited because it was my first international tournament since February, and it was in my town." Etlinger now patiently awaits the decision on the 2020 World Championships, saying, "I hope a decision will on the World Championships be made soon so I can take gold there, too."

Meanwhile, four-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) led a Turkey squad who captured four gold medals. In addition to Kayaalp's 130kg winning-performance, Ekrem OZTURK (55kg), Kerem KAMAL (60kg) and Burhan AKBUDAK (82kg) also finished atop the podium in Croatia.

Greco-Roman gold-medal match results from the Zagreb Open:
55kg - Ekrem OZTURK ?? df. Serif KILIC ??, 7-4
60kg - @keremkamal ?? df. Viktor CIOBANU ??, 7-4
67kg - Donior ISLAMOV ?? df. @atakanyuksel_a.h ??, 6-1
72kg - @dominiket ?? df. Valentin PETIC ??, 8-0
77kg - @cataraga.daniel ?? df. @alexandrin.gutu ??, 4-2
82kg - Burhan AKBUDAK ?? df. Salih AYDIN ??, 3-0
87kg - Oskar JOHANSSON ?? df. @ivanhuklek ??, 4-1
97kg – Mihail KADZAIA ?? df. @cenkildem ??, 5-1
130kg - @rizakayaalp ?? df. Marko KOŠČEVIĆ ??, 9-0

Turkey Takes Home Four Poland Open Gold Medals
Turkey's freestyle squad matched their countrymen's four gold-medal performance from the Zagreb Open in Warsaw at the Poland Open. Ahmet DUMAN (57kg), Fazli ERYILMAZ (74kg), Erhan YAYLACI (92kg) and Suleyman KARADENIZ (97kg) finished in first place in their respective weight classes. 

Meanwhile, Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (70kg) and Polish teammates Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (65kg) and Robert BARAN (125kg) each seized gold medals.

Freestyle gold-medal match results from the @pzz_official Poland Open:
57kg: Razvan KOVACS ?? df. CraciunPETRU ??, 12-2
61 kg: Ahmet DUMAN ?? df. Recep TOPAL ??, 1-1
65 kg: Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI ?? df. Ilman MUKHTAROV ??, 4-3
70 kg: Magomedmurad GADZHIEV ?? df. Haydar YUVUZ ??, 3-2
74 kg: Fazli ERYILMAZ ?? df. Maxim VASILIOGLO ??, 4-1
79 kg: Saifedine ALEKMA ?? df. Alan AMIROVS ??, 12-6
86 kg: Pitor IANULOV ?? df. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI ??, 5-1
92 kg: Erhan YAYLACI ?? df. Arif OEZEN ??, 10-0
97 kg: Suleyman KARADENIZ ?? df. Radoslaw BARAN ??, 10-0
125 kg: Robert BARAN ?? df. Daniel LIGETI ??, 3-2

Cuban Wrestlers Complete 60-Day Training Camp
Freestyle, women's wrestling and Greco-Roman teams from Cuba spent two-months training in the Cuban cities of Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey very profitable.

“Never before have our athletes completed a 60-day training base, in which all the provinces created excellent living conditions. This favored the guarantee of two training sessions per day, and sometimes up to three, something never achieved in Havana," Luis de la Portilla, president of the Cuban Wrestling Federation.

Portilla reported that the multi-champion Mijaín López was one of the men who showed the best performance in these months.

Cuba has 12 wrestlers qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games and intends to send the rest of their squad to the Last Chance Qualifier in Sofia, Bulgaria, from April 30 to May 3.

To select the representatives, the results of the next Pedro Val December 11 and 12, at the Ciudad Deportiva in the capital, will be taken into account.

#WrestleLA

UWW announces new Olympic qualification process for LA 2028

Monday, February 2, 2026 - 12:14 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 2) -- United World Wrestling has overhauled the qualification process for the Olympic Games.

Beginning with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the 16 wrestlers who qualify per weight class will earn their spots through four routes: the World Championships, Continental Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the UWW Rankings.

The first phase of qualification will be the 2027 World Championships that will award 72 quotas for the Olympics. Each medalist [gold, silver, two bronzes] in the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn LA 2028 spots for their respective National Olympic Committees (NOC).

The second phase will be the UWW Rankings in which the first three wrestlers of the rankings, not qualified in the first phase, will obtain one quota place for their NOC for the LA28 Olympic Games. The UWW Rankings will include the seven main events organized before the LA28 Olympic Games:

- 2027 Senior Continental Championships*
- 2027 Ranking Series (3 events)
- 2027 Senior World Championships
- 2028 Ranking Series (1 event)
- 2028 Senior Continental Championships*

*UWW may include Continental Games for ranking but will only consider best two out of three continental results.

This means that 54 more wrestlers will earn Olympic quotas for their respective NOCs.

Phase three for qualifying will include the Continental Qualifiers -- Europe, Asia, Pan-America, and Africa & Oceania. These tournaments will award two quotas per weight class.

Top two wrestlers, the finalists, in each of the 18 Olympic weights will earn LA 2028 quotas for respective NOCs. A total of 144 wrestlers will be awarded at these continental events.

The fourth and final phase of qualification will be the World Olympic Qualifier which will offer 18 quotas. The gold medal winners in each of the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn the spot for their respective NOCs.

Only the countries that did not obtain a quota place during the previous three phases may participate in the World Olympic Qualifiers. The participating countries may only send two wrestlers across all styles at the World Qualifier.

For the LA 2028 qualifying cycle, UWW will award quotas at the following events:

4 quotas - 2027 World Championships
3 quotas - Ranking Series UWW Rankings
8 quotas - Continental Qualifiers (2 Europe, 2 Asia, 2 Pan-America, 2 Africa & Oceania)
1 quota - World Olympic Qualifier

Furthermore, the 2028 Continental Championships will be held before the Continental Qualifiers, ensuring that the three quotas via ranking are finalized before continental qualification events begin.

Ranking Series Participation Guidelines

Each country may enter a maximum of two wrestlers per weight class and a two-kilogram weight allowance will apply for Ranking Series events, but not for Continental or World Championships where standard weight rules apply.

The point allocation for these Ranking events will also be reviewed.

Seeding Changes

During the Olympic cycle, seeds will be assigned based on the following event tiers:

Four-seed events:
Continental Championships
Continental Qualifiers
World Qualifier

Eight-seed events:
Ranking Series
World Championships
Olympic Games

Seeding for the 2028 Olympic Games will be based on results from:

- Three 2027 Ranking Series events
- 2027 Continental Championships (or Continental Games, if applicable)
- 2027 World Championships
- One 2028 Ranking Series event
- 2028 Continental Championships

These same events will be used to seed wrestlers throughout the 2028 season, including the Ranking Series, Continental Championships and Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the Olympic Games.

For the 2027 Ranking Series events, 2027 Senior Continental Championships and the 2027 Senior World Championships, the results of 2026 Senior World Championships will also be considered to seed the athletes.

As is the rule, the ranking points obtained at the 2026 Senior World Championships will be removed after the 2027 Senior World Championships.

A key change is that at the Olympic Games, the seed belongs to the country, which keeps the seed even if it replaces the athlete who earned it. In all other events, the seed belongs to the wrestler, and a nation loses that seed if a different athlete competes.

For clarification regarding the new Olympic qualification process, all NFs and NOCs can contact sports@uww.org.