Abdulrashid Sadulaev is a two-time Olympic wrestling gold medalist

Why was Abdulrashid Sadulaev ruled ineligible to compete in Olympic qualifiers? Everything about the criteria defined by the IOC

Modified Apr 05, 2024 09:30 GMT

Abdulrashid Sadulaev has been barred from the European OG Qualifiers in Baku because he erred in fulfilling the eligibility standard established by the International Olympic Committee for Individual Neutral Athletes.

The United World Wrestling (UWW) Eligibility panel declared Sadulaev, a two-time Olympic champion, ineligible. The third-party board continually scrutinizes the eligibility of wrestlers according to the standards stipulated by the IOC.

Abdulrashid Sadulaev was proclaimed ineligible when the board discovered a recent report about his consent to the Ukraine and Russia war and the fact that he is even an official member of the Dynamo club.

Every single Neutral Athlete undergoes a rigid vetting procedure by UWW to prepare for any contest. They are scrutinized using the standards put forward by the IOC which decrees detailed background and social media scrutinizations of people from Russia and Belarus.

These judgments concerning eligibility were created by the panel, leaning on extensive vetting information obtained from a self-dependent and secret intelligence service provider.

Abdulrashid Sadulaev has remained outstanding in the wrestling world

Abdulrashid Sadulaev continued to distinguish himself in the world of wrestling. As a Russian wrestler, he had competed in 97 kg and 86 kg. Sadulaev is popularly considered a dominant freestyle wrestler globally. The defending Olympic champion is happily married and has a daughter.

Sadulaev is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a five-time world champion, and a two–time Cadet world champion. Also, he is an Individual World Cup champion, a four-time European Continental champion, and a two-time European Games champion. The Dagestan State University faculty of Law graduate was given the nickname "Russian Tank”.

In 2020, Sadulaev nailed gold at the Summer Olympics when he defeated his opponent Snyder in the finale. For this accomplishment, a Russian State Duma member awarded him $1 million. He again gained a victory over his opponent Snyder and won gold at the World Wrestling Championships in 2021. He stood up against Aliaksandr Hushtyn in 2022 at Poddubny Wrestling League 2 and came out victorious in the contest with a 7–0 score.

Abdulrashid Sadulaev again contested at the 2023 World Championships that took place in Serbia. However, in the quarterfinals, Sadulaev suffered a neck injury inflicted by his rival Akhmed Tazhudinov from Bahrain and left the championships. He was down 2–9 before the retirement. That was just the fourth defeat of Sadulaev at the senior tier and his first after his defeat by Snyder at the 2017 World Championships final.