In mid-May, the holders of all the tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were determined in wrestling. The “Last Chance” qualifying tournament, which took place from May 9 to 12 in Istanbul, Turkey, was to clarify the issue. of the number of licenses obtained by the Russians. On the eve of departure there were 12 out of 18 possible.
They showed everything they could.
The Greco-Roman wrestlers had the most work to do. Before the start of the world qualifying tournament, Goga Koguashvili’s team received only two licenses.
But in Istanbul they almost completed the difficult task.
The national classics will be presented in Paris in five of the six weight classes. Licenses were obtained by Sadyk Lalaev (up to 60 kg), Artur Sargsyan (up to 97 kg) and Sergey Kutuzov (up to 77 kg).
The last of the wrestlers included competed in his first international tournament in the last two and a half years. And the 2021 World Cup silver medalist immediately obtained the license for the country.
Only Aslan Visaitov, who during the consolation tournament could not obtain a license in the weight category up to 67 kg, is sadly leaving Istanbul.
And at the Russian pre-Olympic Championships they decided who would go to the Olympic Games:
The main results of the Russian pre-Olympic wrestling championship. Who will go to Paris?
16 of 18
The fair half of the team had to solve far fewer problems.
In women’s wrestling, the Russian team was missing two licenses. But here there was good news and sad news. The team won five of six trips to Paris. Olga Khoroshavtseva, who competed in the weight category up to 57 kg, contributed that fifth place to the team’s treasure.
And Kristina Shumova lost in the decisive match of the consolation tournament with a score of 0:5 and missed the sixth license for the women’s team.
Let’s summarize. Russian fighters obtained 16 of 18 licenses. And this is a good result, considering the two-year absence from international competitions and the obstacles our wrestlers faced on the eve of the 2024 European Championships and the European qualifications in Baku. For comparison: 17 wrestlers from Russia won the right to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
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The most spectacular development in Paris
Our freestyle wrestlers resolved their issues a month early. However, in Istanbul the big stars were also the Russians. True, e.g.
The most dramatic was the tournament run by Chermen Valiev (up to 74 kg). The six-time national champion, winner of the 2021 World Youth Championship, changed his sports citizenship to Albanian in February this year. The high competition in the Russian team made itself felt, so what?
At the Istanbul tournament, literally every fight was decisive for him, and in the last seconds he turned the situation in his favor.
It all started with a victory over the 2018 World Cup silver medalist, Georgian Avtandil Kenchadze, 5:4. Then Valiev’s opponent was the legendary Italian Frank Chamizo, who at a tournament in Baku caused a stir by his defeat against a local fighter. Chamizo said that before the fight they tried to bribe him and then sued him. He had to prove his right to go to Paris in Istanbul. And here the Rio 2016 bronze medalist and two-time world champion had all the cards in his hand. All but one. In the quarterfinals he lost to Valiev in the last effective action by 5: 5.
Chermen Valiev
Photo: uww.org
And already in the semifinals, in the main match of the tournament, where the fate of the ticket was decided, Chermen de facto defeated Viktor Rassadin (Tajikistan), but the latter’s team noticed that the Albanian touched the opponent’s tights with his hand. and the judges sided with Rassadin, adding points, and Valieva ordered to get the last ticket for the consolation tournament.
And now, the decisive battle. The opponent is mat host, 2016 Games bronze medalist Soner Demirtas. And the scoreboard shows a sad 0-2 and there are 24 seconds left in the game. But not even a cut and a bandaged head stopped the former Russian from doing a nice “roll” and getting a ticket for the 2024 Games.
Interestingly, the athlete representing Albania could not properly prepare for the Istanbul tournament. Due to difficulties in obtaining documents, he spent a lot of time in Tirana without the usual training conditions and good sparring partners. And yet, I found a way out. The tree and the rope tied to it helped. Every time he went up and down the rope. And so on at least 20 times!
“The more I train, the luckier I get,” the fighter wrote on social media.
The Russian school is at its best!
In general, the “Last Chance” tournament showed how great the Russian wrestling school is. Only in the weight category up to 74 kg, six familiar faces are expected at the Olympic Games in France: Zaurbek Sidakov (Russia), Magomedhabib Kadimagomedov (Belarus), Chermen Valiev (Albania), Khetik Tsabolov (Serbia), Victor Rassadin (Tajikistan) . . And also Taimuraz Salkazanov (Slovakia), who at the Istanbul tournament relatively calmly received the right to participate in his first Olympic Games.
Former Russians: Dauren Kurugliev (Greece) and Magomed Ramazanov (Bulgaria) also got two more tickets for the weight up to 86 kg at the competitions in Turkey. Islam Dudayev (up to 65 kg) was not far behind.
All tickets for Paris 2024 have already been awarded. Representatives from other countries can calmly prepare for their performances on the Olympic carpet. But the Russians will have to be nervous. Whether the entire team will make it to the Olympics is a question for which no one yet has a definitive answer.
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