Attention grabbing: what to expect from the Russian Freestyle Wrestling Championship

The national freestyle wrestling championship will be held in the Russian capital from June 25 to 28. About 500 wrestlers are expected to participate. Following the results of the competition, the national team will be formed, which will compete at the World Cup scheduled for September in Croatia.

The women's competitions of the Russian championship will start on the first day of the tournament and end on the second. The men's draw will also be held on June 26. The men will take to the mat on June 27, when the qualifying and semifinal matches will take place. The final day of the competition, June 28, will be dedicated to consolation matches and finals.

The wrestlers will compete in ten weight categories. Women — in 50, 53, 57, 59, 62, 65, 68, 72 and 76 kg, men — in 57, 61, 65, 70, 74, 79, 86, 92, 97 and 125 kg. The women's competitions will be hosted by the CSKA Athletics and Football Complex, while the men's preliminary and semi-final stages will also be held at this venue. The final matches and consolation bouts among men will take place at VTB Arena.

The strongest representatives of the regions will perform at the tournament, including the winners of the district championships and members of the current national team. The Dagestan team will bring a particularly large—scale team - more than 90 participants will compete for it.

"An event of this level is always of particular interest," Mikhail Mamiashvili, President of the Russian Wrestling Federation, said at a press conference. — This is also the selection for the World Cup, so I hope that everything will be successful. I hope that the tournament will be well supported by our fans, wrestling fans, who will come to the hall to support their countrymen, our leaders and young athletes, whom we hope for. Of course, those we rely on will confirm their class: Sadulaev, Uguev. I'm counting on the young guys to prove themselves. This is a chance for them to participate in the preparations for the next Olympic Games. I hope that the Russian teams will be full-fledged. We are going to introduce a new format at this championship. Of course, not without worries in this regard. It is no coincidence that the medal matches will be held in one of the best arenas in the country, if not in the world. I hope that it will be comfortable for both fans and athletes.

Among the stars of the tournament are two—time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Abdulrashid Sadulayev, Olympic champion and two-time world champion Zaur Uguyev, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Naifonov, as well as world champions Gadzhimurad Rashidov, David Bayev, Abasgadji Magomedov, Ahmed Usmanov and other famous wrestlers. Zaurbek Sidakov will not take part — he is recovering from an injury sustained at the European Championships, and has only recently returned to training.

Almost all the winners of the April European Championship are expected to participate in the women's competition. The list of announced athletes includes such titled wrestlers as Ekaterina Verbina (up to 55 kg), Olga Khoroshavtseva (up to 57 kg), Anastasia Sidelnikova (up to 59 kg), as well as bronze medal winners Natalia Malysheva (up to 53 kg) and Dinara Kudaeva (up to 65 kg).

One of the main intrigues of the upcoming championship will be the possible eighth title of Zaur Uguev at the national level. If he wins, he will become the second wrestler in the history of the country to achieve such a result, the first was the current head coach of the national team, Khadzhimurad Gatsalov. The Russian Wrestling Federation organizes live broadcasts of all competition days on the Wrestling TV website.

Akhmed Idrisov, Zaur Uguev, Shamil Mammadov, Inalbek Sheriev, Anzor Zakuev, Magomed Magomayev, Ibrahim Kadiyev, Alan Bagaev, Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Abdulla Kurdanov became the winners of the national men's freestyle wrestling championship last year.