Wrestling News: If the late 80s and entire 90s of wrestling were dominated by Russia’s Aleksandr Karelin, the 2010s has been a playhouse for Abdulrashid Sadulaev. Nobody has been more dominant in the past five years than the Russian Tank. The armour has been uncrackable with 15 shut out wins at world championship competition. But what is it that helped him such heights? The recipe for apparent lightness is hard work, which since childhood has become the norm for the Russian giant.
Chapter 1: Early age — Running up hills daily at 45 degrees
During his early days as a wrestler, Sadulaev had a fixed routine. He would get up early at six and begin his training session — even before going to the academy. The 23-year-old hails from Tsurib, a mountain village which is located in the southern region of Dagestan. His would run several kilometres along the gorge carved by the White River at a slope of almost 45-degrees every day to take an ice shower under a growling waterfall. After this, he would head back the same path, have breakfast and go to school. After returning from school, the wrestler would have lunch and take a 30-minute nap before heading to the Tsurib wrestling hall for the mat training. It does not end here. Following his evening training, he would carry water, chop firewood and clean the yard. A member from his family says: “Just like any other kid in the village, besides wrestling Sadulaev also helped in household chores”. By nine he would call it a day and begin preparations for the next day.
Chapter 2: Rise of Sadulaev and first Olympic medal
There are only four occasions in Sadulaev’s international career when he did not win a gold medal. The statement in itself is enough to describe the athlete the Russian Tank is. He made his international debut at the 2012 Cadet World Championship where he won gold. Seeing the talent Sadulav had, he was quickly promoted to Senior team where at the age of 17 he became the European champion. A year later, he became the world champion and by the time he reached 20 he was already an Olympic champion. Sadulaev saw an exponential rise in his career and unlike many of his counterparts has stayed at the helm of wrestling.
Chapter 3: The only loss in last three years and the beginning of ‘Rivalry of Decade’
United States Olympic champion at 97kg Kyle Snyder was the first man to defeat Sadulaev in four years when he beat the Russian in what was anointed the ‘Match of the Century’ at the 2017 World Championships. It certainly was a shocking defeat given Sadulaev’s unbeaten record. But he was quick to exact his revenge. The Russian in dominating fashion at 2018 final, handed Snyder his first defeat at a World Championships for three years. He then won gold again at the 2019 worlds, but the duo did not face each other due to Snyder’s shock loss in the semis.
Chapter 4: Achievements
He is the five-time world medallist including four gold medals. Besides this, he is four-time European Champion and two-times European Games title winner. It is a never-ending list of gold medal wins and now Sadulaev has set sight on the second Olympic medal when it lands in Tokyo next year.
Chapter 5: Mission Tokyo Olympics
Sadulaev is the top seed in the 97kg division but is yet to confirm his place in the Russian team. Although he won the worlds title and secured the 97kg berth for Tokyo, he has to win the Russian Championship to become Russia’s official entry for the weight category. However, given the talent and strength he packs, there will hardly be any wrestler who would want to challenge the Russian Tank.