UWW

The defending Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) will try to win his second title when he wrestles in the 97kg weight category in Tokyo. In Rio, he secured the gold medal in 86kg after beating Selim YASAR of Turkey in the final. Sadulaev, the captain of the freestyle squad qualified for the Games by winning his fourth world title in Nursutlan and then won the Russian Nationals earlier this year to secure his spot. Sadulaev was born in Tsurib village in Dagestan, Russia, and is the youngest of four siblings. He won his first world title at the cadet level in 2012 and two years later, he captured his first senior world title in 2014 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. After repeating the feat in Las Vegas in 2015, he won the gold in Tokyo. He moved up to 97kg and competed at the Paris World Championships but lost 6-5 to the then Olympic and world champion Kyle Snyder of USA. He avenged that loss later in 2018 as he pinned Snyder at the Budapest World Championships. A trilogy of their rivalry is expected in Tokyo if both wrestlers end up reaching the final as they are seeded and will be drawn on opposites of the brackets. Sadulaev, nicknamed 'Russian Tank,' is seeded number one for the Games while Snyder is placed at the second spot. Sadulaev is married and has a daughter. He has lost only twice at the international level.