Wrestler Sadulaev will not compete at the European Championships due to the lack of a visa.

Two-time Olympic freestyle wrestling champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia announced on April 6 that he would not compete at the European Championships in Bratislava due to the lack of a visa.

"With great regret, I want to inform you that the European Championship, which starts tomorrow, will still be held without my participation," Sadulaev wrote on his Telegram channel.

The athlete also wished the team to show their maximum capabilities and "most importantly, avoid injuries."

"I was energized, focused and ready, but I never got the go—ahead to enter Slovakia," the athlete added.

Earlier, on October 31, 2024, Sadulaev won the final match, thereby becoming a six-time winner of the Freestyle Wrestling World Cup. 28-year-old Sadulaev fought for the world championship in Tirana in the weight category up to 92 kg.

Prior to that, on April 4, 2024, the Russian Wrestling Federation (FSBR) announced that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had not allowed two-time Olympic champion Sadulayev to participate in the licensed tournament in Baku. Instead, Alikhan Zhabrailov went to Azerbaijan for the licensing competitions.

Speaking about the reasons, FSBR press attache Tigran Avanyan said that Sadulaev would not compete in the pre-Olympic games due to non-compliance with the criteria. According to him, the IOC did not specify what criteria it was talking about.