WRESTLING – BAHRAIN’S reigning Olympic champion and former world champion Akhmed Tazhudinov is set to spearhead the kingdom’s senior men’s wrestling national team in a top international competition in Budapest, Hungary.
The kingdom’s six-grappler squad will be hitting the mat in the freestyle events of the Polyak Imre, Varga Janos, and Kozma Istvan Memorial, also known as the Budapest Ranking Series, which gets underway today at the Hungarian capital.
The meeting is part of the United World Wrestling (UWW) Ranking Series, which features competitions held worldwide, supervised by the UWW, where athletes earn points to establish their world ranking.
Aside from freestyle wrestling, which takes place today and tomorrow, action will also be held in women’s wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Tazhudinov is set to compete in the men’s 97kg category, where he is one of 21 entrants. Highly considered as one of the best pound-for-pound freestyle wrestlers in the world, he is one of the favourites to come away with a medal from the event, having captured gold in the same category last year.
The 23-year-old, who earlier this year in April won bronze in the Senior Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, is to be joined in Budapest by teammates Shamil Sharipov, Magomed Sharipov, Khidir Kurban Saipudinov, Magomedrasul Asluev, and Alibeg Alibegov.
Shamil Sharipov is also a defending champion in the Polyak Imre, Varga Janos, and Kozma Istvan Memorial, and will be looking to retain his title in the men’s 125kg division, which features 18 grapplers.
He was also a medallist from Bishkek, having won silver for the kingdom. Sharipov had also captured gold in the Zagreb Open in February in Croatia, which was also a UWW Ranking Series meeting.
Magomed Sharipov will be contesting the men’s 92kg category amongst a top-quality field of 16 competitors. He too was a silver-medallist from the Senior Asian Championships and was also a participant in Budapest last year, but could not step onto the podium.
Saipudinov will be flying the Bahrain flag in the men’s 86kg class, where he will be vying for a medal against 20 others.
Saipudinov came away with bronze in his weight division from Bishkek and will be looking to mount a strong challenge for the podium in the upcoming ranking event.
Asluev is set to compete in the men’s 74kg category, which features 19 entries. He too bagged a continental medal for the kingdom earlier this year, claiming silver. Asluev was a bronze-medallist from Budapest in 2025 and will be aiming for a higher finish this time around.
Alibegov completes Bahrain’s hopefuls in Hungary in the men’s 65kg class, which is set to feature 24 wrestlers. He climbed the podium in Bishkek by taking bronze but narrowly missed out on a top-three finish in Budapest last year, when he came fifth.
Bahrain’s wrestlers have been gearing up for the competition with a training camp in Baku, Azerbaijan, held under the supervision of Bahrain’s leading combat sports figure Eldar Eldarov.
Scheduled to compete today are Saipudinov, Asluev, and Alibegov, while wrestling tomorrow are Magomed Sharipov, Shamil Sharipov, and Tazhudinov.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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