Amid tension in Bahrain, UWW looking at other options for World Wrestling C'ships

The Senior Asian Wrestling Championships scheduled from April 6 to 12 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is expected to go ahead as per the schedule at the moment.

“CHENNAI: The Senior Asian Wrestling Championships scheduled from April 6 to 12 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is expected to go ahead as per the schedule at the moment”

The New Indian Express

United World Wrestling is monitoring wider developments and may change the venue for the World Championships slated from October 24 November 1 in Bahrain.

The New Indian Express

Like several Gulf countries, Bahrain has been attacked by missiles and drones by Iran.

An attack on a residential building in Manama killed a woman on Tuesday.

The New Indian Express

United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic said they are monitoring the situation and working on alternative venues if situation doesn't improve.

Lalovic added, "we are following the development of the situation, checking for possible substitutes, but we would much prefer the peace to be restored."

Lalovic, who hails from Serbia, did not reveal the names of countries being considered as alternatives.

“CHENNAI: The Senior Asian Wrestling Championships scheduled from April 6 to 12 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is expected to go ahead as per the schedule at the moment”

The New Indian Express

He said Kyrgyzstan "seems not be affected" when asked about the Asian Championships.

Lalovic said UWW could not manage to speak to the Iran federation office-bearers because "Iran has closed borders for the moment. Difficult to contact but I have information that they are all ok."

United World Wrestling issued a statement advocating protection of Iranian wrestlers and said it "recognizes that global conflicts and political tensions deeply impact sport" while calling for support via sport diplomacy.

The statement added that UWW has activated contacts, received reports of varying verifiability, and warned wrestler Saleh Mohammadi remains at risk of a capital sentence, calling for "a fair, transparent, and impartial trial" and reaffirming opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.

The New Indian Express

The Wrestling Federation of India said its wrestlers are ready to compete and the flight journey to Bishkek is safe at the moment.

The Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar, Gujarat has been postponed from April 1 to 10 to May 12 to 17 2026 due to the current situation affecting the Middle East and the Gulf region, and the AWF released an updated schedule.

As per registered entries, the championships was expected to feature approximately 260 athletes from 30 member federations, with 155 registered in the men's events and 105 in the women's categories, and the preliminary start list suggested 25 per cent representation from West Asian countries which "may get affected" as most West Asian countries are currently in the conflict zone.

IWLF president Sahdev Yadav said he hoped participation will not get affected.