World Championship 2009
Congratulations to the Russian Freestyle Wrestling team with an outstanding performance at the World Championship in Denmark. Russia with 4 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medals prove again that they are the best freestyle wrestlers in the world. My favorite wrestler was Besik Kudukhov. With dominating and technical style he continues the best tradition of the soviet wrestling system. Also I'm very happy for another Russian wrestler Denis Tsargush who became the first world champion from Abkhazia, the region where my friend and business partner Miron Kharchilava is from. In the final match against an experienced wrestler from Azerbaijan, Denis scored in the clinch while he was in the leg defense position. He showed that to be the best wrestler, you must be able to score in offensive and defensive positions in the clinch.
The Belarusian Freestyle Wrestling team (country where I'm from) with one bronze medal and two 5th placers, took 6th place. Just a notch above the U.S. team. These are good results for a small country. Only 1 problem, all wrestlers from Belarus in the championship were not born and raised in Belarus. They are so-called immigrant wrestlers from Russia. I don't think it is cheating because it happens all around the world in many sports. This makes me sad though, that the country of Belarus chooses to get medals any way it can. It is not the Belarusian coach's faults. The government of Belarus demands medals from them or the coaches will lose their jobs. Belarus created many good wrestlers in the past. Of course not so many as the Caucasus region but enough to be respected in the world. To make wrestling popular in any nation it is important to build your own champions who will have followers from their families, neighbors, villages and cities. Homegrown heroes will make the people proud for themselves and their country.
I was cheering with all my heart for the Belarusian Women's Wrestling team which is built with women from Belarus and coached by my friend and world champion Sergey Small. One wrestler, Alena Filipava, won a bronze medal for the team and the country. Great job Alena.
Finally, I'd like to congratulate Jake Herbert from Chicago (my second hometown) with a silver medal in his first world championship. He showed good wrestling, great spirit and character. If he will be able to get more workout time with the Russians and more international tournament experience he can become unstoppable.