American wrestler Kyle Dake won the silver medal at the Planet Wrestling Championships right after defeating Russian wrestler Zaurbek Sidakov in the 74 kg freestyle final. This loss ended Dyke’s streak of 4 consecutive planet titles. Dijk, 32, previously won gold at the 2020 and 2021 planet championships right after winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In addition, Dyke also won planet titles in the 79 kg category in 2018 and 2019, while this category is not Olympic. On the other hand, 27-year-old Sidakov won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and planet titles in 2018 and 2019 in the 74 kg category. Due to the ban on the entry of athletes from Russia and Belarus right after the war in Ukraine, Sidakov could not compete at final year’s planet championship.
In one more occasion, each American Kyle Snyder and Russian wrestler Abdulrashid Sadulaev suffered losses just before reaching the finals in the 97kg division. Snyder, who won an Olympic gold medal in 2016 and is the reigning planet champion, was defeated 11- by Akhmed Tajudinov of Bahrain in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Sadulaev, 27, suffered an injury through his semi-final match against Tazhudinov and ended up losing 9-two. The loss marked Sadulaj’s second ever loss at a international championship, with the prior loss coming in the 2017 Planet Championship final against Snyder. Sadulayev accomplished exceptional results in the weight categories up to 86 kg and 97 kg, winning Olympic or planet titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Akhmed Tazhudinov, who defeated each Snyder and Sadulaev, is a 20-year-old wrestler from Bahrain who is competing in his 1st senior planet championship. Reports indicate that Tajudinov, like Sadulayev, is initially from Dagestan and educated at a center named right after Sadulayev. What is far more, they also share a trainer, according to United Planet Wrestling (UVW). It is worth noting that some wrestlers from Russia and Belarus had been permitted to participate in the championship as person neutral athletes, following verification procedures. On the other hand, other folks had been deemed ineligible due to the fact of their active assistance for an ongoing war or confirmed membership in the military or national safety agencies.
In addition to these events, American wrestler Zahid Valencia secured a bronze medal in his planet championship debut in the 92 kg category. As 92kg is not an Olympic weight, Valencia is anticipated to move up to the 97kg or 86kg category for the upcoming Olympics in April. The planet championships will continue on Tuesday, and American Olympian Jacara Winchester will compete in the 55-kilogram final. It really should be noted that Winchester previously won the title of planet champion in the category up to 55 kilograms, which is not integrated in the Olympic plan.