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Russian wrestlers win nine gold medals at 2025 World Sambo Championships’ opening day

The 2025 World Sambo Championships runs in Bishkek on November 7-9

BISHKEK, November 7. /TASS/. Russian athletes won nine gold medals at the opening day of competitions during the 2025 World Sambo Championships that is currently underway in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

The gold medals in men’s competitions went to Sheikh-Mansur Khabibulayev (combat sambo, under 64-kg weight category), Abusipiyan Alikhanov (combat sambo, under 88-kg weight category), Vladimir Gladkikh (sport sambo, under 58-kg weight category) and Rasul Nash (sport sambo, under 71-kg weight category).

In women’s competitions at the championship the gold medals were brought for the national team by Vera Lotkova (combat sambo, under 54-kg weight category), Yana Polyakova (combat sambo, under 72-kg weight category), Margarita Barneva (sport sambo, under 50-kg weight category), Karina Cherevan (sport sambo, under 65-kg weight category), Albina Cholombitko (sport sambo, over 80-kg weight category).

The 2025 World Sambo Championships runs in Bishkek on November 7-9 and, according to the official website of the tournament: "Over three days of competition, athletes will contest 31 sets of medals in Sport Sambo, Combat Sambo, and Sambo for the Blind (SVI-1 class), which features totally blind athletes."

In April, 2025, Russian athletes won 11 gold medals at the 2025 European Sambo Championships in Cyprus. The European Sambo Championships and the European Cadet, Youth and Junior Sambo Championships took place between April 23 and 27 in Limassol, Republic of Cyprus, at the 1,700-seat capacity Apollon Limassol Basketball Stadium.

Sambo wrestling

Sambo wrestling originated in Russia in the 1920s, when soldiers of the then-Soviet Army developed their own hand-to-hand combat technique. The word Sambo is a Russian acronym, which stands for "self-defense without weapons."

In 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russia-originated wrestling discipline should be included in the Olympic program.