Simon Cory-Wright (left) and Tania Riesen, officials of TSE Consulting, the international management consulting firm, appointed by International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) to develop a strategic plan for wrestling worldwide, speaking to Arab Wrestling Federation (AWF) officials in Doha, yesterday. RIGHT: Zamel Sayyaf Al Shahrani, President of Qatar Wrestling Federation (QWF) and AWF. pictures by: Salim matramkot
BY ARMSTRONG VAS
Doha: Wrestling fighting to remain an Olympic sport is set for a worldwide renaissance, says Qatar Wrestling Federation (QWF) President, Zamel Sayyaf Al Shahrani.
Change in rules, improved television coverage and making wrestling more sports friendly, are some of the steps which will provide renewed energy for the sport, the Qatari official said.
“Many suggestions have been made at a meeting on Monday in Doha. Some of the important suggestions included changes in rules, in all forms of wrestling. We talked about making the sport more exciting for the spectators and also for the TV audience. We want more people to understand the sports. All of these steps will help us to make wrestling more exciting just like other sports,” said Al Shahrani, also the President of Arab Wrestling Federation since 2007.
Yesterday, officials of TSE Consulting met wrestling officials from Arab countries to seek their feedback to expand the fan base.
The international management consulting firm, TSE Consulting, has been appointed by International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) to develop a strategic plan for wrestling worldwide.
The Arab officials are in Qatar for the four-day Arab Wrestling Championship which ends today.
“Currently, we are working with the TSE Consulting group. The group is working all over the world to get feedback from the spectators, wrestlers, referees and everybody who matter. The first such exercise began in Qatar. The TSE officials will be visiting different countries to get feedback and accordingly a plan will be devised,” disclosed Al Shahrani.
There is widespread belief throughout the wrestling community that various changes can be made to the sport to improve itself.
FILA leadership believes that putting a strategic plan in place will ensure that a common framework is created within which the sport, represented by the national governing bodies around the world, can work together towards common goals for the future.
Al Shahrani, who served as Director of the wrestling competition at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, said this is a very important time in the history of the sport.
“I really believe the wrestling community around the world has galvanized itself. We’ve already made a lot of changes to the sport at the highest levels, which were approved by the Extraordinary Congress in Moscow. We’re committed to doing whatever we need to make the changes and do the right thing. It is a real renaissance for our sport.
“We are on the right track and we have achieved at least 90 percent of the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). We also told them (IOC) that we are strong enough to bring about the changes and to make our sports (wrestling) more modern and exciting and we are working very hard on it. So we are ensuring that new rules come into force in such a way, that, it will happen with least affect, least damage and least difficulty. We want to ensure that it does not affect the players,” said Al Shahrani, who served in the Qatar Armed Forces for 37 years.
Efforts to save the Olympics axe were brought to the front-burner when the IOC announced in February this year it was dropping wrestling, not pentathlon, for the 2020 Olympics.
Since then, it was a call to action for wrestling in 177 countries around the world.
The IOC has since voted to reconsider the elimination of wrestling from the Olympics. A final decision is due on September 8 in Buenos Aires. On the same day, the 2020 Olympics site and new IOC president also will be chosen.The Peninsula
