Russian sports stars were allowed to attend the World Cup for the first time since spring 2022. Wrestlers will rock Serbia!
Batraz Tomaev September 13, 2023, 14:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
United World of Wrestling has released a list of neutral participants in the tournament, including Sadulaev, Uguev, Sidakov and others.
“neutral” Russian team
On Tuesday, September 12, the United World of Wrestling (UWW) published a list of Russians admitted to participate in the world championship, which will be held in Serbia from September 16 to 24. These athletes are allowed to compete in a neutral state without flags or references to the country. They will represent a team of Independent Neutral Athletes (AIN) in the tournament.
The list includes the best Russian wrestlers, there are stars and Olympic champions. Among others, Abdulrashid Sadulayev, Zaur Uguev and Zaurbek Sidakov stand out: between them they have four Olympic golds and nine victories in the World Championship. Since spring 2022, such powerful athletes are not allowed to participate in international tournaments in any Olympic sport.
Composition of the AIN team according to UWW:
57 kg – Zaur Uguev;61 kg – Abasgadzhi Magomedov;65 kg – Shamil Mamedov;70 kg – Evgeniy Zherbaev;74 kg – Zaurbek Sidakov;79 kg – Akhmed Usmanov;86 kg – Arslan Bagaev;92 kg – Magomed Kurbanov/Vladislav Valiev ;97 kg – Abdulrashid Sadulayev; 125 kg – Abdulla Kurbanov.
It is worth noting that only the composition of the men’s wrestling team has been published. And the program also includes Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling.
Abdulrashid Sadulayev
Photo: RIA Novosti
The International Federation reports that a total of 235 athletes from Russia and Belarus underwent extensive background checks and social media checks. Fighters of all styles and categories, as well as the support personnel who accompanied them, were subjected to verification.
Of the 235 people, 26 did not pass the UWW test.
At the same time, the message from the United World of Wrestling also includes a note that the organization continues to monitor AIN athletes and reserves the right to make changes to the information about their rights.
Our athletes are gradually returning to world sport:
“If they don’t let me in, there will be a scandal!” The Poles and the British were punished for not allowing Russians to participate in the tournaments.
The Russian Wrestling Federation is in no hurry to draw conclusions based on the results of the UWW announcement. The current times are such that until a Russian athlete is on the starting line, it is premature to rejoice over his admission to the competitions.
Sadulayev vs. Snyder. What could be cooler?
It is worth noting that the 2022 World Wrestling Championships took place without the participation of the Russians: they were not allowed to enter due to sanctions.
It is evident that in some weight classes the public was deprived of the greatest degree of opposition. Thus, in the category up to 97 kilograms, as expected, there was no equal to the outstanding American Kyle Snyder. The former Russian Batyrbek Tsakulov, who plays in Slovakia, could hardly impose competition on him.
But now it will be warmer on the carpet. World wrestling superstar Abdulrashid Sadulayev will fly to Serbia to claim her sixth world championship gold. And his fight with Snyder will be the most anticipated event of the year!
How Sadulayev defeated the American two years ago:
The Russian tank again passed over the American one. A great victory for our fighter in the 2021 World Cup
In the weight category up to 61 kg, Abasgadzhi Magomedov was proclaimed world champion in 2021. And in a sense, he is going to defend his title.
Zaurbek Sidakov, who is registered in his usual weight category, up to 74 kg, is aiming for the third gold of the world championship.
How Sidakov became an Olympic champion:
Russian wrestler Zaurbek Sidakov won Olympic gold by defeating Kadimagomedov of Belarus.
Zaur Uguev will also try to regain the title of world champion. The Tokyo Olympic champion and winner of the 2018 and 2019 world championships still competes in the up to 57 kg category.
And these are only the athletes with the most titles from the dozen presented on the website of the international federation. There is no doubt that Russian fighters will be able to compete with foreigners in all weight categories.
