arm-spin

Is it just me, or does Ketoev look a lot stronger than his opponents? Not more muscular, but like he totally controls every tie up? Those other guys don't even want to touch him. He gets in on the legs or locks up a gut wrench and it's game over. Good technique + awesome power is what it looks like.

quick_single

Yeah and Mindo is no weakling either.

Big

Ketoev must have many girlfriends.

pinartist

how are russian wrestlers treated in comparison to athletes from other sports in russia, considering the popular sports such as hockey, tennis, soccer and etc.? are they of equal status and importance?

Big

For kids and teenagers wrestling is the most respected sport in Russia. Nobody wants to mess with wrestlers in school and stuff. Another popular one is boxing. It would be nearly a suicide to make jokes about wrestlers in school.

A senior wrestler however is not an extremely popular person in Russia. Overall, Russian people are not as crazy about wrestling as about hockey, tennis and soccer. That has partially to do with the fact that the best russian wrestlers are mostly not ethnic Russians.

However, Russian wrestlers are considered some of the toughest people and they are respected by the government and rich people hire them as security personnel

Wrestlers get the most money from the government I believe but not so much money from fans.

It is hard for Americans to understand such a relationship between wrestlers and the government.

Big

Of course, in the regions where the best Russian wrestlers come from they are regarded with utmost respect.

Caspiantiger

I know in Iran wrestling is considered very highly... It is highly respected. When i tell people i am a wrestler (who are Iranian) they love it.

pinartist

i think that the very fact that they televise some of the major tournies shows enough respect for wrestling. You rarely see wrestling on tv in us and canada.

Big

There is definitely more respect for wrestling in Russia than in America. Wrestling is considered a great sport and nobody dares to criticize it. However, Russians do not value wrestling as much as Iranians do.

Even the best Russian wrestlers call Iranian fans "crazy" about the sport. I heard during Soviet era Iranian fans could throw coins at you from the stands if they didn't like the way you wrestled or what you did.

Also, I heard in Iran people often wrestle on the streets. They have statues of wrestlers. That is more than I have ever seen in Russia.

As for showing wrestling on TV, again it is different in Russia than in America. In America mainly viewership determines the amount of broadcast. In Russia it can often mean respect for the sport or out of fairness or in order to get the public and kids more involved in the sport. Profit doesn't usually drive wrestling broadcasts.

pinartist

thats a good point. One of my old coaches was iranian and the stories he used to tell were crazy. They are very passionate about wrestling, thats for sure. I also hear that they have a top notch national team training centre just for wrestling.