Among the 500 entrants are the members of the senior Protea team that have been selected to participate at the Commonwealth Games in India.

The 13 team members are: Richard Addinall, Heinrich Barnes, Bella-Lufa Hughes, Marius Loots, Gerald Meyer, Andries Schutte, Etienne van Huyssteen, Carlo van Wyk, Dean van Zyl, Sonja Coetzee, Brumilda Leeuw, Mpho Madi en Zumicke Geringer.

A team from Oregon in the United States, where Barnes is busy studying, will provide stiff competition to local wrestlers in the junior division. The South African championships will be held in September and the Big-5 is the last remaining big tournament on the calendar that the local wrestlers will use to prepare for this and the Commonwealth Games.

Saturday’s action will take place on eight mats at the Tuks Sports Centre and the first matches are expected to start at 9am.

The men and women competed in the freestyle and Greco-Roman categories and also in Youth Olympic qualifying action.

In the men’s freestyle Gauteng North’s Bokang Masunyane won gold in the 46-50kg division.

And in the Youth Olympics qualifying Mpumalanga’s Andries Schutte also won gold, in the 0/100kg freestyle category.

In the men’s freestyle there were also four silver and five bronze medals.

The Greco-Roman division saw a return of eight silvers and two bronze.

The women’s division (freestyle) saw a further three silver medals.

Then in the Youth Olympics qualifer there were four silvers and four bronzes for the boys and an additional two bronzes for the girls.

Leading South African wrestler Heinrich Barnes is busy building towards world championships in September.

The Pretoria grappler is currently still in the United States where he is based at the University of Oregon.

“Everything’s going well,” he said this week. “I placed seventh in the Dave Schultz International competition in Colorado in February. Before that I took fourth in the Hargobind International tournament up in Canada late last year and then in September last year I got an eighth spot in the Sunkist International in Arizona.”

A former member of SASCOC’s OPEX squad for potential 2012 medallists in London, Barnes is building up for world championships in September and will be looking to be part of the squad.

The championships will be fought out in Moscow, Russia. Before then Barnes has plenty of other commitments. “We’ll be going to Spain for the Spanish grand prix in July and we’ll have a week-long training camp after that.

“Then, the last week of August we’ll be going for a training camp in Hungary before we head off to world championships.”

It is a first for many of these youngsters in the international arena. Estiaan Fourie and Leona Williams will defend their 2009 African titles while 2010 Commonwealth champion, Terry van Rensburg will aim to add an African title to his wrestling portfolio.

Other international medal winners that take part are: Bokang Masunyane, Rudolf Vermeulen, Elandre Beukes, Pieter Coetzee and Charlene Peacock, African and Commonwealth Champion Andries Schutte.

A further 11 wrestlers will also take part in a tournament to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games.

The squad:

Freestyle Men’s Africa Cadets
39-42kg: Cohen Williams (EP), 42-46kg: Estiaan Fourie (Gauteng North), 46-50kg: Bokang Masunyane (GN), 50-54kg: Rudolf Vermeulen (Mpumalanga, 54-58kg: Elandre Beukes (GN), 58-63kg: Terry van Rensburg (Limpopo),  63-69kg: Hardu Nel (GN), 69-76kg Christo Labuschagne (GN), 85-100kg: Johan de Villiers  (Western Province). Coaches: Christo Lottering, Jan Combrinck

Greco-Roman Mans Africa Cadets
39-42kg: Barco Badenhorst (GN), 42-46kg: Klein-Jan Combrinck (KwaZulu-Natal), 46-50kg: Ruan Rossouw (WP), 50-54kg: Jeandre Blumental (Central Gauteng), 54-58kg: Eshwin Klaasen (WP), 58-63kg: Terry van Rensburg (Lim), 63-69kg: Zander Geringer (Mpu), 69-76kg: Ju-An Gregory (Gauteng North, 76-85kg: Boboe Brown (KZN) 85-100kg: KZN, 85-100kg: Pieter Coetzee (GN). Coach: Corrie vd Walt

Female Africa Cadets
43-46kg: Simone Button (Northern Free State), 46-49kg: Juanita Olivier (NFS), 52-56kg: Chane Fee (Gauteng East), 60-65kg: Levona Williams (WP). Coach: Monine Smith

Youth Olympic Games (qualifying tournament)
Men
42kg Greco-Roman: Hein Clinton (WP), 46kg freestyle: Ivan Smith (CG), 50kg Greco-Roman: Marco Coetzee (Gauteng East), 54kg freestyle: Alex Borman (GN), 58kg Greco-Roman: Leonardo Gregory (GN), 63kg freestyle: Shane Goosen (GN), 69kg Greco-Roman: JJ Murray (Gauteng East), 76kg freestyle: JJ Murray (Gauteng East), 76kg freestyle: Johannes Redelinghuys (Gauteng East), 85kg Greco-Roman: Reghardt Coetzee (GN), 100kg freestyle: Andries Schutte (Mpu)
Women
52kg: Michelle Snyman(Lim), 70kg: Levona WIlliams (WP)
Coaches
Head coach: Nico Coetzee, Christo Lottering (freestyle), Monine SMith (Female), Team manager: Irene Schutte (Mpu)

More than 500 wrestlers from across South Africa and Namibia will be in action at the tournament that will be held on eight mats. These include the members of the Protea senior and youth teams that recently participated at the Commonwealth Championships in India and Singapore.

Wrestlers of all age groups, from senior to under-eight will participate in Olympic Freestyle wrestling. This year there will also be an opportunity to take part in grappling, the new international wrestling style.

Tuks Wrestling is hosting the tournament. The weigh-in takes place at 7am and the first matches will start from 9.30am at the University’s indoor sports centrum. More information can be obtained from Martie Savrda at 082 512 1526.

Leading the way was Richard Addinall who took gold and lead the South African team to second place in the team competition in the Greco Roman category.

In Olympic Freestyle wrestling Pretoria’s Heinrich Barnes placed second. Barnes, who is currently studying at the Oregon State University, lost in the final against Olympic bronze medal winner, Sushil Kumar of India.

Other medal winners in the Greco Roman division were: Hugues Bella Lufu and Andries Schutte (gold) and Carlo van Wyk, Marius Loots, Richard Ferreira, Dean van Zyl and Andrew Davidson, who all took bronze.

In die women’s division Mpho Madi and Sonja Coetzee came second while Brumilda Leeuw won the bronze medal.

Wrestlers from 11 countries participated at the tournament which is part of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi, India, in October.

There were more medals for South Africa with our youth wrestlers claiming four golds at the Commonwealth tournament held in Singapore earlier this month.

In the boys division Ivan Smith, Terry van Rensburg and Kallie Erasmus took gold while in the girls division Elri Neethling emerged victorious and also had the honour of being named wrestler of the tournament.

Other South African medal winners were Alex Bornman, Niel Faasen, Morgan Engelbrecht, Andries Schutte, Juanita Olivier, S Peacock and Levona Williams (silver) and Elandre Beukes, Schalk Steenkamp and Regan Erasmus (bronze).

At stake are places in the national squad that will be preparing for the Commonwealth Games that will be held in New Delhi, India, in October 2010. A South African team will also participate at a Commonwealth tournament in India later in the year as part of the build-up to the Games.

Three of the four local wrestlers who took part at the Senior World Championships in Denmark last month are among the favourites in their respective weight classes.

Richard Addinall (74kg), Gerald Meyer (84kg) and Etienne van Huyssteen (96kg) should, however expect strong opposition from wrestlers such as Pierre Botha, Nhlankanipo Shongwe, Sloane Goosen and Western Province’s Ig Bella Lufu.

South Africa’s 2008 Beijing Olympian, Heinrich Barnes, will not be in action due to his study commitments in America. In his absence Gauteng North’s Pieter Pienaar should win the gold medal in the 66kg division.

This is the last major event of the 2009 wrestling season and the national championships in the Cadet division (Under-17) will also take place simultaneously.

The action in both competitions starts on at 9am on Saturday at the Gauteng North Wrestling Hall in 26th Avenue, Menlo Park.

Enquiries: Webber Marais. Gauteng North Wrestling 083 269-8972

The South African went down to relatively unknown Chinese opponent Bi Shengfeng.

The final score was 3-1 to Shengfeng.

Round by round, the score in the 74 kilogram division was 2-1 4-0 0-0 in favour of the Chinese.

Addinall ended being ranked 20th and Shengfeng 21st.

He joins Heinrich Barnes and Etienne van Huyssteen as SA wrestlers beaten at the championships.

Meyer lost 3-0 in the three-round match-up and was ranked 34th in the division.

South Africa’s next hope is Richard Addinall who goes up against unknown Chinese opponent Shengfeng Bi in the 74kg division.

Fighting in the 66 kilogram division, Barnes, a member of SASCOC’s Opex squad in the build-up to the 2012 Olympics in London, lost to Yang Chung Song of North Korea.

Barnes is currently based in the United States.

Wrestlers grapple for three rounds of two minutes and Barnes lost his first round 2-3, took the second 6-0 and lost the final stanza 4-0. Song went on to place ninth in the division.

Fellow South African Etienne van Huyssteen ended in 27th position in the 96kg division. He first took on world champion Khadzhimurat Gatsolov of Russia and despite defending well, lost on points

Because he lost against the champion, Van Huyssteen got another chance to grapple, where he up against George Gogshelidze of Georgia and lost on a fall. Gogshelidze is the 2009 bronze medallist.