MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Russia’s freestyle wrestling World Champion Khetik Tsabolov has changed his sports citizenship and will be competing from now on for the national wrestling team of Serbia, the press service of the Russian Wrestling Federation (RWF) told TASS on Thursday.

"Negotiations regarding Tsabolov were underway for almost two years and provisional agreements had been reached," the press office said in a statement.

"He has received a passport of the citizen of Serbia," according to the statement from the RWF.

Tsabolov, 29, is the winner of the 2014 World Wrestling Championship in Tashkent (in the under 70-kg weight category) and the silver medalist of the 2017 World Wrestling Championship in Paris (in the under-74 kg weight category).

The wrestler is also the silver medalist of the 2014 Wrestling World Cup in Los Angeles (under-70 kg weight category), the two-time gold medalist (2014 and 2017) and three-time silver medalist (2018, 2019, 2020) of the Russian Wrestling Championships.

Commenting on the news on Thursday, RWF President Mikhail Mamiashvili told TASS that he could only wish success to Tsabolov in the future.

"I can only wish him success, go right ahead!" Mamiashvili stated. "There is a protocol in force allowing him to take his personal decision."

"The most important is that we had followed in full all protocols on our behalf," Mamiashvili added.

Asked whether Tsabolov will be able to compete at the Summer Olympic in Japan this summer, Mamiashvili said: "It is a question, which is still to be answered."

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan’s Tokyo will be held between July 23 and August 8. In March 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a decision to postpone for one year the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Japan due to the continuous COVID-19 spread.