Recent weeks have been nothing but poor news for Russian wrestlers. Despite being one of the strongest nations in terms of wrestling, several Russian stars have been handed a ban by the IOC, deeming them “ineligible” for the Paris Olympics. Understandably, the wrestlers being ostracized for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has raised quite a few eyebrows. However, it seems like coming to terms with the facts is the only way forward for the Russians.

Only days ago, the prospect of seeing Kamal Bey making it to the upcoming Games thanks to the IOC’s ruling sent a wave of glee across the USA. However, from the looks of things, the Russians are also hanging in there despite the piercing blow to the guts.

As the current European war continues to engulf all facets of life, it is also coming up with unprecedented shockers for many athletes. Several Russian and Belarussian wrestlers being banned from partaking in the Paris Olympics is the latest incident in the list that has taken the community by surprise. And yet, Abdulrashid Sadulaev seems to be in good spirits, as shown by his latest Instagram story. The two-time freestyle wrestling world champion recently met up with his national teammate Zaur Uguev, who was also denied the chance to defend his 2020 Tokyo gold.

Sadulaev, who competes in the 97kg weight bracket, was recently spotted having dinner with Uguev and Makhach Murtazaliev, another Olympic medalist and two-time world champion wrestler. From the looks of it, the confluence brought some much-needed relief from the ongoing cacophony. “Guseinovich says, there are 10 World Championship gold medals on the table!” reads the caption of Abdulrashid’s post, possibly referring to some joke made by Magomed Guseinovich Kurbanov.

The three wrestlers boast only 9 World Championship gold medals to their name, but their national colleague’s exaggeration could be taken with a pinch of salt! While an obviously enthralling conversation might have taken place at the wrestlers’ recent meeting, it goes without saying that the Russians are feeling pretty under the weather with the latest verdict by the IOC.

Russian nightmare ahead of the Paris Olympics

Along with Uguev and Sadulaev, Zaurbek Sidakov is another major wrestling star from Russia whose Paris Games ban came to light recently. Sidakov trounced the USA’s Kyle Dake at the Tokyo Olympics on the former’s way to the gold medal in the 74kg weight class, and his absence from the Russian team will be a massive setback that they will have to figure out how to mitigate. Furthermore, the 2021 World Championships silver medalist Sergei Kutuzov, a Greco-Roman wrestler, has also been named in the list of wrestlers who will not be showing up in Paris with the Russian delegation in July.

As for the Russian female wrestlers, Nadezhda Sokolova and Olga Khoroshavtseva will also miss out on the Paris Games as a result to the IOC’s decision. With this, several spots in multiple weight categories are now up for grabs for stars from other countries, and the USA will be on a staunch lookout to make any profit from the same.

Whose name do you think will ring triumphant at the 2024 Olympics? Share your picks with us in the comments.