Guangzhou, China, July 12, 2026: An arm injury, together with a lack of success as a young wrestler, led Igor Ligay of Kazakhstan down a different path – and into international refereeing.
Now, at the age of 41, Igor can look back with satisfaction on appearances at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018 and at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and Paris 2024.
His journey as a United World Wrestling educator and 1S referee – the highest grade attainable - has brought him to Guangzhou for the OCA/UWW Asian Youth Training Camp and Course for Coaches.
“It is very important to connect the coach and the referee, then the coach can teach the wrestlers,” Igor says.
“You can have wrestlers and coaches, but how can they participate in the sport if you don’t know the rules?”
As a UWW educator, it is Igor’s job to update the coaches with all the minor rule changes, so that this information can be passed on to the wrestlers. It could be the difference between winning and losing in a close match.
The joy of refereeing has also extended his career in the sport by many years.
“I started wrestling when I was 10 because my father was a Greco-Roman wrestling coach,” he says. “I represented Kazakhstan but I was not very successful as a wrestler. Then, when I was 20, I got an injury to my arm and it was very difficult to continue wrestling.
“So I started to help my father as a coach, and my father said why don’t you start slowly refereeing?
“I was not so good a wrestler and not so good coach, but my referee career was very good.”
Igor progressed from the lowest level Grade 3 in 2015 to the highest Grade 1S in 2019, even skipping Grade 1 on the recommendation of the UWW Referees’ Commission.
“In 2019 I was in category 1S, and many referees were surprised how fast I had made it – in four years,” he added.
Refereeing at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 is no guarantee that he will be in charge at LA28, as constant assessment is required to retain his place among the elite. One big mistake and it’s game over.
“We have 130 referees in the Olympic category but only 50 will be selected for Los Angeles, so this is also very difficult. Next year will be very important to stay on the list.”
At 41, Igor is still young for a 1S level referee. Like wrestlers around the world, he must keep working to achieve another Olympic dream.
