Is wrestling the most popular sport anywhere in the world?

[fadzaev2 545]

Mongolia was mentioned above, which reminds me of a Mongolian, who wrestledfor CCCP/Russia in the early 70's....Roman Dmietriev/105.5.  He was a little block of "dynomite".   I have him on super 8/transferred to video wrestling in the one of the first USA/USSR dual meets in this country @ McGaw Hall/Northwestern.  

 

Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
	1972 Munich	-48 kg
	1976 Montreal	-48 kg
World Championships
	1969 Mar del Plata	-48 kg
	1970 Edmonton	-48 kg
	1973 Tehran	-48 kg
	1974 Istanbul	-52 kg
European championships
	1969 Sofia	-48 kg
	1981 Łódź	-48 kg

[gimpeltf 2,069]

3 hours ago, fadzaev2 said:

Mongolia was mentioned above, which reminds me of a Mongolian, who wrestledfor CCCP/Russia in the early 70's....Roman Dmietriev/105.5.  He was a little block of "dynomite".   I have him on super 8/transferred to video wrestling in the one of the first USA/USSR dual meets in this country @ McGaw Hall/Northwestern.  

I believe he was Yakut (or Sakha or however it's transliterated) although everything out there was somewhat Mongolian post-Genghis.

[fullnelson 130]

I was fortunate to have Muhammed Ghorbani, former World Champion from Iran as my assistant for 6 years, and he told me that wrestling was the Nat'l sport in Iran. When I saw the Iranian team greet Muhammed at the World Cup in Toledo, 1975, he was was greeted like a hero from each member of the Iranian team. Many stories and fond memories of my time with M Ghorbani.

[gowrestle 689]

On 8/24/2021 at 10:34 AM, Katie said:

The term “third world” used to describe countries that were not aligned with either NATO (including the US) or the Warsaw Pact (including the USSR).  So the USSR could not have been a third world country. 

Upon googling your response I learned the origin of the term so thank you for the lesson. I also learned that “typical use” of the term third world, refers to underdeveloped poor countries. So I guess we are both right. However, next time I refer to that country that murdered millions of it’s own citizens, I will say, “underdeveloped poor country.”

Edited August 28, 2021 by gowrestle

[Plasmodium 2,255]

4 hours ago, gowrestle said:

Upon googling your response I learned the origin of the term so thank you for the lesson. I also learned that “typical use” of the term third world, refers to underdeveloped poor countries. So I guess we are both right. However, next time I refer to that country that murdered millions of it’s own citizens, I will say, “underdeveloped poor country.”

The USSR and the rest of the eastern bloc were second world countries.  This meant their citizens had health care, education and technology, but no muscle cars and couldn't vacation down at the gulf of Mexico. There was also Stalin and some others, as you mentioned.

[Katie 1,076]

17 hours ago, gowrestle said:

Upon googling your response I learned the origin of the term so thank you for the lesson. I also learned that “typical use” of the term third world, refers to underdeveloped poor countries. So I guess we are both right. However, next time I refer to that country that murdered millions of it’s own citizens, I will say, “underdeveloped poor country.”

1) When I search for the meaning of third world, the very first result I get is from Investopedia, which says:

• ‘Third World’ is an outdated and derogatory phrase that has been used historically to describe a class of economically developing nations.

That sounds right to me.

2) The USSR was a second world country. It’s simply incorrect to say it was a third world country.

3) The USSR definitely wasn’t as wealthy as the US or Western Europe. That said, I don’t know where it fell on the world rankings. Today, nations are often grouped by income into quartiles. I assume the USSR was not in the top quartile, but I frankly do not know which quartile it would have fallen into. 

Edited August 29, 2021 by Katie

[gowrestle 689]

3 hours ago, Katie said:

1) When I search for the meaning of third world, the very first result I get is from Investopedia, which says:

• ‘Third World’ is an outdated and derogatory phrase that has been used historically to describe a class of economically developing nations.

That sounds right to me,.

2) The USSR was a second world country. It’s simply incorrect to say it was a third world country.

3) The USSR definitely wasn’t as wealthy as the US or Western Europe. That said, I don’t know where it fell on the world rankings. Today, nations are often grouped by income into quartiles. I assume the USSR was not in the top quartile, but I frankly do not know which quartile it would have fallen into. 

Are you a communist?

[gowrestle 689]

10 hours ago, Plasmodium said:

The USSR and the rest of the eastern bloc were second world countries.  This meant their citizens had health care, education and technology, but no muscle cars and couldn't vacation down at the gulf of Mexico. There was also Stalin and some others, as you mentioned.

The USSR was a piece of xhit. 

[irani 820]

On 8/25/2021 at 6:10 AM, Plasmodium said:

I'm thinking of countries, Dagestan is not a country.  Neither is Mazandaran.

I know some people in Mazandaran who will take exception to this comment :)

[irani 820]

On 8/27/2021 at 9:05 AM, fullnelson said:

I was fortunate to have Muhammed Ghorbani, former World Champion from Iran as my assistant for 6 years, and he told me that wrestling was the Nat'l sport in Iran. When I saw the Iranian team greet Muhammed at the World Cup in Toledo, 1975, he was was greeted like a hero from each member of the Iranian team. Many stories and fond memories of my time with M Ghorbani.

I remember Mohammad Ghorbani very well, and remember when he won gold in the 52 Kg in the late 60s or early 70s

Where was he an assistant, and do you know what he is doing now

There is no questions Wrestling used to be the top sport in Iran, but it is now probably the second most popular sport behind soccer

 

 

[fullnelson 130]

43 minutes ago, irani said:

I remember Mohammad Ghorbani very well, and remember when he won gold in the 52 Kg in the late 60s or early 70s

Where was he an assistant, and do you know what he is doing now

There is no questions Wrestling used to be the top sport in Iran, but it is now probably the second most popular sport behind soccer

Mohammed Ghorbani moved to Washington DC where his old teammate Movahed lives and runs a carpet store. Mohammed married a paraplegic lady while living in Murfreesboro Tn in the 70's; they had a daughter, but sadly he divorced in 1980 and then moved to DC. I haven't seen Mohammed in over 30 years; he assisted at MTSU.

 

EnneaPath

[HawkY 112]

Wrestling's continued  inability to develop some sort of club system to provide a full time professional environment for wrestlers (esp those forced out by the brutal one rep per nation rule) still holds everything back so much. Water Pollo isn't near the top anywhere either. They are comparable to wrestling in popularity and even they have some clubs in the Italy and the Balkans.  Not swimming in cash or fans, but you can make a living and do your thing full time irrespective of the whims of the IOC.

Wrestling really is  just the bare bones Olympic sport skeleton with a  hodge podge of scrambled periodic tourneys and occasional gimmicks. Leigh Valley, Dagestan, and Mazandaran  can't come up with some sort of club system (it can be international)  that isn't completely insular to the country and lower level irrelevant? 

[irani 820]

On 8/27/2021 at 4:37 AM, fadzaev2 said:

Mongolia was mentioned above, which reminds me of a Mongolian, who wrestledfor CCCP/Russia in the early 70's....Roman Dmietriev/105.5.  He was a little block of "dynomite".   I have him on super 8/transferred to video wrestling in the one of the first USA/USSR dual meets in this country @ McGaw Hall/Northwestern.  

 

Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
	1972 Munich	-48 kg
	1976 Montreal	-48 kg
World Championships
	1969 Mar del Plata	-48 kg
	1970 Edmonton	-48 kg
	1973 Tehran	-48 kg
	1974 Istanbul	-52 kg
European championships
	1969 Sofia	-48 kg
	1981 Łódź	-48 kg

The very disappointed looking guy in third place you see in the picture is Ebarahim Javadi.  The multiple world champion who at least in our eyes was the overwhelming favorite

[jackwebster 296]

On 8/28/2021 at 11:06 PM, irani said:

I know some people in Mazandaran who will take exception to this comment :)

 Agree. When I think of "country," I think blood and soil, Herder's "volk."

Mazandaran is not a "nation (state)," but it's a country.

[Plasmodium 2,255]

6 hours ago, jackwebster said:

 Agree. When I think of "country," I think blood and soil, Herder's "volk."

Mazandaran is not a "nation (state)," but it's a country.

Mazandaran doesn't pay duty on its Marine imports, therefore it isn't a sovereign country.

[irani 820]

1 hour ago, Plasmodium said:

Mazandaran doesn't pay duty on its Marine imports, therefore it isn't a sovereign country.

Another unfounded vicious attack by @Plasmodiumagainst the good people of Mazdandaran.  You know very well from your time there, that Mazandaranis pay their fair share for the delicious Marine candy. 

[Plasmodium 2,255]

46 minutes ago, irani said:

Another unfounded vicious attack by @Plasmodiumagainst the good people of Mazdandaran.  You know very well from your time there, that Mazandaranis pay their fair share for the delicious Marine candy. 

Talk is cheap, candy costs money!

[jackwebster 296]

7 hours ago, Plasmodium said:

Mazandaran doesn't pay duty on its Marine imports, therefore it isn't a sovereign country.

Joke or not, "sovereign country" is a confused/confusing designation. The 18/19th C. invention of the "nation state" can be "sovereign." "Countries" are neither "sovereign" nor the opposite.

[Plasmodium 2,255]

3 hours ago, jackwebster said:

Joke or not, "sovereign country" is a confused/confusing designation. The 18/19th C. invention of the "nation state" can be "sovereign." "Countries" are neither "sovereign" nor the opposite.

The people of Mazandaran answer only to the Marine Confectionery Company, LLC and the referees.

 

[UsedToBe103 18]

In addition to Iran, Mongolia, and certain regions in Russia, I would also mention Turkey.  Not only are they strong in international competition, but they also have their traditional wrestling festivals (as do many cultures throughout the globe).  Random story but when I was a kid we had a book about holidays throughout the world, and there was one page where it talked about a holiday in Turkey where kids dress up, and the kid featured on the page was dressed in a red Turkish wrestling singlet because he admired their wrestling team/tradition or something like that.