A. Boltukaev is considered one of the strongest freestyle wrestlers in the category up to 97 kg. He has won the bronze of the World Cup, a victory in the European Championship. Withstanding difficult competition with the strongest heavyweight fighters, he did not have the opportunity to often speak at the largest competitions, but in 2016 he managed to break into the final tournament of the Olympic Games in Rio, where he lost in the early stages.
Protracted start
Anzor Adamovich Boltukaev was born in 1986 in the city of Grozny. The boy’s childhood coincided with a difficult period in the life of the Chechen Republic. In the conditions of military operations, it wasn’t time for sports.
However, like all North Caucasian guys, he loved the fight and spent hours in the gym.
Anzor Boltukaev refers to the type of athletes who reveal their talents late. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, the twenty-year-old athlete took only sixth place and seemed unpromising for many specialists. However, for a couple of years, the Chechen wrestler made a quantum leap in his development and managed to get a bronze medal at the 2008 Russian championship.
Then, however, followed by a decline in results. It can only be noted that they constantly won prizes at the prestigious tournament “Ramzan Kadyrov’s Cup”. It must be said that the competition in the weight of up to 97 kg in the Russian national freestyle wrestling team was especially intense. The athlete from Grozny was forced to compete with the Olympic champion of Athens, Hadzhimurat Gatsalov, a strong fighter Abdusalam Gadisov. In the shadow of these big guys it was difficult to make themselves known.
Return
Anzor Boltukaev vividly recalled himself only in 2013. He scored an excellent form, acted sharply and conducted reception after reception.
The championship of Russia in 2013 became a particularly important tournament for him, because according to the results of the competitions the composition of the national team was determined for a trip to the World Cup.
The leaders were the undisputed leaders - Khadzhimurat Gatsalov and Abdusalam Gadisov, but Anzor left the shadow of the legendary athletes and, without the slightest respect for the authorities, confidently figured out both on his way to gold.
Having become the country's champion, the Chechen wrestler received the right to participate in the world championship in Hungary. Here he was overtaken by an unpleasant injury. Anzor stretched his groin and could not act in the same vein as in the Russian championship. Nevertheless, he did not leave Budapest without a medal, becoming the bronze medalist of the world championship.
The second campaign for the titles
For almost two years, Anzor Boltukaev was recovering from unpleasant damage and could not show decent results. However, in 2016, he was able to remind specialists and fans of his existence.
At the Grand Prix named after Ivan Yarygin, the lots brought him to the most formidable fighters: he had to grapple with the Americans Jack Warner and Kyle Snyder, who owned Olympic and world titles. But the Chechen fighter acted with inspiration, was aggressive and dominated on the carpet, defeating both formidable rivals.
After that, he went to the 2016 European Championship in the status of one of the main favorites.
The main competitors were considered the Olympic champion Sharip Sharipov, the winner of the London games Valery Andreytsev, the Georgian Elizbar Odikadze.
Reaching the finals, Anzor Boltukaev met precisely with Valery Andreitsev, whom he was able to overcome in an equal and bitter struggle, becoming the first European champion in his life.
Of particular importance for him was the national championship of that year, because only by winning this tournament did the athlete get a chance to go to the Olympic Games. A very bright, but unstable wrestler acted confidently and in the final in one minute defeated the titled Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, who had Olympic gold and five victories at the world championships.
First Olympiad
At the 2016 Olympics, Anzor Boltukaev was ranked among the main favorites of the tournament and was in great shape. However, the readiness of another strong fighter was better. Already at the stage of the 1/8 finals, the Chechen wrestler met with Olympic medalist Valery Andreitsev. Anzor already beat him in previous tournaments, but that evening the Ukrainian athlete was stronger and knocked out the Russian from the competition.
The last major tournament for Boltukaev today was the 2017 European Championship in Serbia. He did not approach the tournament in the best shape, but due to his character and experience he managed to reach the finals.
Here he was waiting for a new nuisance - a meniscus rupture. It is quite difficult to deal with a serious knee injury, but he courageously tried to work to the end and survived the whole battle, losing to the Turkish Riza Yildirim.