Anzor Boltukaev, winner of the World and European freestyle wrestling championships, is considered one of the brightest wrestlers of his generation. He had to withstand incredible competition at the national level, competing domestically with world champions and Olympic triumphs. Wrestler Anzor Boltukaev, whose photo is found in all the media in the Chechen Republic, is a cult athlete in his homeland. He is already over thirty, but he continues his active career, remaining one of the favorites.
Athlete Feature
Anzor Boltukaev is a freestyle wrestler in the category of up to 97 kg. However, sometimes he faces overweight problems, which he is forced to solve by driving extra pounds. Therefore, the athlete’s mentors gladly accepted the news about expanding the scope of his weight category to 100 kg, which would greatly facilitate the life of their ward.
Anzor Boltukaev, a member of the Russian national freestyle wrestling team, whose photo can be found in sports publications, is recognized by experts as one of the most prominent representatives of the heavy weight category. When he is in shape, he acts aggressively and confidently, constantly attacking the enemy and taking reception after reception.
A sharp and technical fighter, a Chechen becomes a dangerous competitor for everyone and is not afraid of anyone. The biography of Anzor Boltukaev is rich in victories over Olympic and world champions.
However, the athlete is very susceptible to injury, which follows from his manner of fighting. Ligaments often do not withstand sharp, explosive movements during contractions and often break. So he received a strong groin sprain in 2013, which unsettled the athlete for two whole years. He received the most recent injury at the recent European Championship in 2017. It was especially disappointing that this happened already in the final match, when the athlete was one step away from gold.
Long overclock
In 1986, Anzor Boltukaev was born in Grozny. Freestyle wrestling is the number one sport in the North Caucasus; a native of Chechnya did not escape this hobby . However, in his early years he did not stand out among his peers, and few believed that a great athlete would grow out of him. In the biography of Anzor Boltukaev, there are practically no victories at the junior level, we can only recall the sixth place at the 2006 World Youth Championship.
However, he believed in himself, worked hard and for a couple of years made a real breakthrough in the world of big sport.
At the 2008 Russian Championship, a young Chechen athlete took third place, opening an account with his awards. Especially successfully he acted in his native land. The Ramzan Kadyrov Cup became a tournament in which Anzor Boltukaev steadily took awards in different years.
However, after the first success at the national level, the athlete fades into the shadows for some time, losing competition to the leaders of the heavy weight category Hadzhimurat Gatsalov and Abdusalam Gadisov.
The return of the fighter
Until 2013, photos of Anzor Boltukaev practically did not appear anywhere due to the lack of a fighter in major tournaments. The athlete's participation in international forums was limited to preparatory competitions before the world and European championships.
However, everything changed after the 2013 country freestyle wrestling championship. Anzor Boltukaev approached the competition in great shape and for the first time showed himself in all its glory. In each fight, he continuously attacked, confusing opponents and not allowing himself to come to his senses.
In this vein, he defeated Olympic champion
Khadzhimurat Gatsalov and another heavy opponent, Abdusalam Gadisov. So he won the right to participate in the 2013 World Cup, where he managed to get a bronze award.
Victories and Failures
After a successful season in the life of an athlete, a black streak comes again associated with a groin injury. Almost two years, photos of Anzor Boltukaev did not appear on the pages of specialized publications. The triumphant return took place in 2016, when at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix, he brilliantly dealt with two formidable Americans who had in their assets victories at the Olympic Games and World Championships.
At the Russian freestyle wrestling championship, Anzor Boltukaev, whose biography is experiencing a new round, in the final, in just a minute, he finished off his main competitor for the Olympic ticket Khadzhimurat Gatsalov and simultaneously earned the right to participate in the European Championship. Being in this form, he was recognized as the main favorite of the continental championship and confirmed the expectations of the coaches. Having defeated Ukrainian Valery Andreytsev in the final fight, the Chechen became the European champion and secured a trip to Rio.
However, at the Olympics, he was no longer able to maintain his winning charge and lost to the same Andreytsev in the early stages of the tournament.
In 2017, Anzor Boltukaev, whose biography in sports reached a peak, went to the European Championship for the second time in his life. He confidently went to the finals, but at the crucial moment of the decisive battle he broke the meniscus. With a severe knee injury, the Chechen athlete nevertheless continued to fight, but lost to the Turkish Riza Yildirim.
Now Anzor is recovering from damage and is preparing for new challenges.