Star of the Russian national wrestling team, two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulayev was bitterly disappointed at the beginning of the month when the International Wrestling Federation prevented him from participating in the European Olympic qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The umbrella organization said that Sadulayev, 27, did not meet the conditions on the basis of which Russian athletes qualify for international competitions. According to the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee, Russian or Belarusian athletes who have no ties to the army or security service or who have not publicly supported the war in Ukraine are allowed to compete with neutral status.
Sadulayev, who is of Dagestani origin, represents the Moscow club Dinamo, which is known as the club of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the secret police. Sadulayev has also participated in recent years Vladimir Putin to propaganda events organized by the administration.
Banning Sadulajev from the qualifiers has been a tough spot not only for the freestyle wrestler himself but also for the Russian national wrestling team. Chairman of the Russian Wrestling Federation Mikhail Mamiashvili has already announced that he will do everything he can to get Sadulayev to participate in the Paris Olympics in July-August.
– We will find the grounds to resolve this situation. There are sane people in the International Wrestling Federation. There is still time for the Olympics, Mamiašvili assured the Russian media.
Not all Russians want to see Sadulaev or other Russian athletes in Paris. Well-known war blogger Yuri Podoljaka barked at Sadulajev, because he is after all aiming for a place in the five-ring competition.
According to Podoljaka, athletes agree to be humiliated and abandon their country if they try to enter the Olympics with a neutral status.
Podoljaka, who supports Russia’s military actions, rose to enormous popularity after Russia started a full-scale war in Ukraine. He has more than 2.8 million followers on Telegram.
– Some time ago, I shared my opinion about those who, despite the humiliation, want to compete in the “gay Olympics”. I despise these people. The real heroes are now at the front, Podoljaka wrote in his Telegram post.
Sadulayev has not commented on the blogger’s exit, but many others reacted strongly to the national hero’s beating. Dagestani MP Saygidpasha Umahanov did not hide his irritation. On his Telegram channel, Umahanov, who belongs to the ruling party United Russia, called Podoljaka an enemy of the fatherland, who is tearing the nation in two with his provocations.
Two camps
In Russia, there has been a fierce debate for months about participation in the Paris Olympics.
Among other things, the chairman of the country’s Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov and the long-time leader of the national gymnastics team Irina Viner have been on the same lines as the war blogger Podoljaka.
Well-known sports bosses have considered competing without national emblems as too humiliating an option. Viner recently named the Russian athletes aspiring to Paris as a bunch of bums.
Some of the Russian sports federations, such as the gymnastics, weightlifting and fencing federations, have announced that they do not agree to qualify for the Olympics under the current conditions.
Russian wrestling athletes have so far stuck to their goal of getting to the summer’s giant event.
In wrestling, at least ten Russian athletes have passed the preliminary qualification. However, they will still be blamed by the International Olympic Committee. During the spring, the IOC’s investigative team reviews the backgrounds of the athletes and decides which of those who have cleared the qualifications will receive neutral status and an invitation to the Olympics.
A vocal supporter of Putin, the president of the Russian Wrestling Federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili, has so far been positive about the athletes’ Olympic journey, but superstar Sadulayev’s ban could change things. According to Mamiashvili, other Russian wrestlers can also withdraw from the Olympic Games if Sadulayev is not allowed to compete.
Protests from the Nordic countries
Wrestling has been one of the most successful sports for Russians at the Olympics. In 2021, the country took eight medals from the Tokyo Olympics, four of which were gold.
The International Wrestling Federation has also welcomed the return of Russian athletes to international competition after the country launched a full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Although Sadulayev and another Russian star, the Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling Musa Yevloyev are currently closed from international circles, numerous Russians have competed in prestigious competitions and Olympic qualifiers in recent months.
This has aroused strong opposition in Ukraine and its supporters. In April, the Baltic countries and the Nordic countries, including Finland, sent a letter to the International Wrestling Federation in which they hoped for a change to the current situation.
Executive Director of the Finnish Wrestling Association Pasi Sarkkinen according to the International Wrestling Federation has responded to each country that signed the letter separately. The response has not satisfied the coalition.
– Although eight countries have participated in this, it seems that it has not had a big impact, says Sarkkinen.
According to Sarkkinen, the initiator of the letter was the Lithuanian Wrestling Federation, and according to the information, some of the Russian wrestlers seen in the Olympic qualifiers had clear connections to the army.
One such athlete would be a top name in the heavyweight division and would have achieved an Olympic spot Sergei Semyonov. Semjonov, who won bronze in the last two Olympics, is the reigning European champion in his class from last February.
However, in wrestling, the Olympic places are not personal, the countries themselves get to choose who they send to the games.
– If it is considered that he is not eligible to be represented at the Olympics, is that place still Russia’s place? If the place has been taken by an unrepresentable athlete. These things are still completely open, says Sarkkinen.