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Russian championship in freestyle and women's wrestling has died down. The battles of leading athletes outlined the circle of candidates for participation in the 2024 Games in Paris. The highlight of the competition was six final fights in Olympic weight categories. The Sport correspondent highlights the key moments of the tournament.
Tickets and candidates
The men won the maximum number of non-registered tickets to the Games – six. The women have four, and the team can get the two missing licenses at the last selection, which will soon be held in Istanbul. It is logical that the national champions can get priority right to go to Paris: Akhmed Idrisov (category up to 57 kilograms), Shamil Mamedov (65), Anzor Zakuev (74), Ibrahim Kadiev (86), Abdulrashid Sadulayev (97) and Abdulla Kurbanov (125 ).
The public likes the Russian tank
Particular attention was paid to the performance of two-time Olympic winner Sadulayev. Indeed, in September 2023, the Russian tank at the World Championships was removed by a doctor due to a serious neck injury and was unable to win a Games license. Then he underwent surgery, and his fellow countryman from Dagestan Alikhan Zhabrailov, who in 2019 became third at the World Championships and two years later won the European Championships, brought the team an Olympic quota in April at a tournament in Baku.
Zhabrailov, by the way, is a four-time Russian champion. Five-time world champion Sadulaev had five victories at the national championships, but fate had brought them together infrequently before, because Zhabrailov competed in the weight category up to 92 kg. And on the eve of the Games, he decided to move to a heavier category and lay claim to leadership.
The final between them began intriguingly: Alikhan made a beautiful four-point throw and put the favorite on the brink of defeat. Abdulrashid was able to level the score (4:4), but lost due to a more highly rated opponent's move. The majority of the public was rooting for Sadulayev, but there were also numerous words in support of Zhabrailov. The more titled athlete won after his “family” attacks (8:4), but the opponent rightfully deserved applause.
Success in the principled fight was hard for Sadulaev, after it ended he was forced to consult a doctor . And at the awards ceremony he looked tired: perhaps he was not in the best shape or had health problems.
After the victory, the wrestler told reporters: “I think if I get to the Olympics, the fans will see a different Abdulrashid there. We have to do everything, leave ourselves completely on the mat in order to emerge victorious. I’ve been on the mat for more than one year, and this gives experience.” But. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not allow Sadulayev to participate in the qualifying tournament in Baku in April. And the United World of Wrestling (UWW) stated that Sadulaev was disqualified by the organization’s commission for selecting wrestlers because of information about his support for the SVO and his affiliation with Dynamo.
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Of course, everyone hopes that the IOC will change its position, because many are anticipating the Russian’s fight with Olympic champion Kyle Snyder. The eventual meeting, like their final at the Tokyo Games, will ensure high television ratings. The American, by the way, supported Sadulayev and hopes to see him in Paris. The IOC won't cut the branch it's sitting on? Although one can now expect anything from this organization, which has an extremely negative and biased attitude towards Russia.
And if suddenly the IOC and UWW close the way for a wrestler to a third victory at the Olympics, then Zhabrailov can perform with dignity. But I want to believe in the best.
The fans went to the fight
The Russian Championship was held in a comfortable and modern arena that could accommodate 11 thousand spectators. And about 8 thousand fans came to the finals. And the concentration of winners of the Olympics, World and European Championships per square meter could well be a record in the world. Spectators fiercely supported their favorite athletes, either carefully watching the fights or exploding with vivid emotions. In Russia they love and value wrestling, and it turns out that if everything is skillfully organized, then there will be no problems with full stands.
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“This is my first time wrestling in such a hall, it’s a great pleasure to fight in such an atmosphere, this has never happened at the Russian championships. I even got the feeling that this is not a Russian championship, but a European or world championship,” Uguev, who became the country’s champion for the seventh time, told the FSBR press service. Only the head coach of the Russian national team, Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, has more victories – eight.
But the ending of the championship turned out to be blurry. After Sadulayev’s victory, a bacchanalia began – dozens of people rushed after him into the warm-up hall, and he managed to hide only in a separate room. When the athlete came out for the award ceremony, about fifty fans already surrounded him. Everyone wanted to take a photo, shake hands, pat on the shoulder or say: “Brother, congratulations.”
And the strange desire to be sure to take a selfie with a tired fighter exceeded all reasonable limits. The crowd filled the space, and even the girls with awards were not immediately able to enter the ceremony. One can only wonder how none of the children and teenagers were killed in this chaos. And when the athlete was awarded, about three dozen people perched on the pedestal next to him. I began to worry about Abdulrashid; only sports training helped him avoid collapsing and damaging anything.
The most unnecessary people at the event at that moment turned out to be journalists, many never managed to ask Sadulaev a single question. Although what prevented the organizers from securing it for a while and allowing the correspondents to do their work? An unpleasant aftertaste remained from such an ending to a colorful tournament. We hope that debriefing will help in the future to avoid conflicts of interest and chaotic movements of uncontrolled crowds.
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