Skip to content

Events

2022
21 Sep
 
30 Sep
2018
04 Sep
 
09 Sep
2016
25 Oct
 
30 Oct
2014
07 Jul
 
12 Jul
2013
06 Jul
 
17 Jul

FISU Technical Committee Chairs

Ibrahim Cicioglu Technical Committee Chair
tr tur
Noravard Arustamyan Substitute Technical Committee Chair
ru rus

The History of Wrestling in FISU

Today, there are many discussions concerning appropriate sports programmes for major events. There are sports that are automatically included into the programme for one simple reason: they have been practised for centuries. Wrestling is one of those. Like Athletics, Wrestling dates back to Greek and Roman antiquity and things haven’t evolved according to materials or fashion. There is one rule engraved on a stone: “Take your opponent down and glue him to the mat”.

Wrestling was first part of the World University Championship programme 1968 in Istanbul (TUR). Though there was a hiatus as a Championship for many years, it did appear on the programme of the 1973, 1977, and 1981 Summer Universiades. A return to more traditional values gave wrestling a new lease of life and it was Iran which put the sport back in the limelight and included it into the FISU agenda by organising the second Wrestling World University Championshpi in Teheran in 1996. It was a magnificent success with 171 wrestlers from 18 countries, among whom were such great champions as Serguey Liehtrvan and Alexander Zanko from Belarus. In 1998 Türkiye organised the third edition, echoing the first one that it had organised 30 years earlier in 1968. Obviously, the sport was definitely back, because many member associations had expressed a lively interest in hosting a Wrestling championship. In the year 2000, the championship was held in Japan and that was a great delight for all university wrestlers. Women participated for the first time in the World University Wrestling Championship in Edmonton in 2002.

At the Summer Universiade 2005 in Izmir, Türkiye, wrestling competition for both men and women took place. It was a great success with the participation of 40 countries and more than 340 wrestlers. With an increasing number of participants, wrestling became one of the FISU star championships. In 2022, for the first time, it was part of the FISU University World Cup Combat Sports where six sports, including wrestling, featured in Samsun, Türkiye.