The wrestling community is abuzz following United World Wrestling’s (UWW) announcement of the 2024 Wrestlers of the Year. The UWW is the international governing body for wrestling, and it presides over international competitions and gives awards in many disciplines to individuals as per their performance throughout the year. Who all are awarded this year?

The award has been declared for freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling. Georgian professional wrestler Geno Petriashvili won freestyle, Nao Kusak of Japan won Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling was won by Buse Tosun from Turkey. However, Turkey’s Buse Tosun’s selection as Women’s Wrestler of the Year has sparked significant debate, and it feels like a robbery of $160k, as this is the prize money for the awardee. What is this debate all about?

According to netizens, UWW has made a wrong decision, and Amit Elor should be the one winning the Women’s Wrestler of the Year and not Buse Tosun. At the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 68 kg weight category, Elor even defeated Tosun and won gold medals in various events, including the Paris Olympics, World Championships, U23 World Championships, and others. Due to all the victories in wrestling, fans are creating buzz on Reddit.

Buse Tosun has been selected for the award as she topped the rankings with 60,200 points and narrowly edged Japan’s Sakura Motoki by 200 points. Record? She finished 2024 with an impressive record of 11-2 in the 68 kg category. Also, out of those 11 wins during the season, eight came against the top 15 wrestlers in the world rankings. And with a bronze medal in the Paris Olympics, she became the second-ever wrestler to win any Olympic medal for Turkey. Who are Geno Petriashvili and Nao Kusaka?

30-year-old Geno Petriashvili finished 2024 with a style-best 67,200 Ranking Series points and collected a record of 13-4 with 8 wins against top 20 ranked wrestlers. Though the 2024 season didn’t start well for him, as he finished fifth at the Croatian Ranking Series with a 3-2 record, eventually he regained focus and performed his best by the end of the season. Japan’s Nao Kusaka finished with the Greco-Roman best 79,200 Ranking Series event. His win at the Paris Olympics in the 77kg weight category, along with his teammate Kenichiro Funita’s gold, ended Japan’s 40-year Greco-Roman Olympic gold medal drought. And now, many fans are questioning why Amit Elor, the 20-year-old American sensation who became the youngest US wrestler to win Olympic gold, was overlooked.

‘Stupid decision’: Fans are not in support of UWW’s decision

The wrestling fans did not hold back when the UWW announced Buse Tosun as the Women’s Wrestler of the Year. Frustration quickly mounted, and a fan commented, “Yeah, it feels like she was robbed; didn’t she beat Buse in round 1 at the Olympics?” Another fan echoed the sentiment, “Did Amit not pulverize her in the Olympics?” At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tosun was defeated by Elor in the first round with a score of 10-2. The choice is more puzzling given that Elor’s decisive victory over Tosun during their Olympic match was a memorable event this year.

For many, Elor’s relentless hard work throughout the year made her the obvious choice. One fan wrote, “Read this and got irked like I feel Elor put in the work this year and had every right to win the title. So surprising to see Buse win.” Fans questioned the logic behind the award, with another adding, “Yeah, this was just a dumb choice. It makes absolutely no sense to be named wrestler of the year when she didn’t even win the biggest tournament of the year.”

In agreement, a reply summed up the prevailing frustration: “Yeah, this was such a stupid decision.” These reactions reflect the growing anger and confusion over UWW’s criteria. American wrestler Amit Elor has a record of 37-0 and has outscored her opponents by a margin of 322-16. Amit Elor’s undeniable achievements, particularly her Olympic triumph against Tosun, make her exclusion from the top honor a bitter pill to swallow for fans and the wrestling fraternity alike.