China News Service, Xinzhou, September 7 (Liu Xiaohong) The 2026 National Wrestling and Sheep Scratching Competition ended on the 5th in Dai County, Shanxi. This two-day event links professional competitive events and traditional folk events, integrates professional competitions and folk events, and completes the first national sheep wrestling event.
The picture shows the event scene. Photo provided by the organizer
At 19:30 on September 5, the traditional sheep scratching competition was held, and the competition lasted until 3:40 in the morning the next day. The event opened more than 4,200 spectator seats and received a total of nearly 10,000 spectators, including many wrestling fans from all over the country. The official media live broadcast viewing volume across the entire network exceeded 300,000.
The events will include folk mixed wrestling, women's wrestling, men's and women's mixed wrestling, and mixed wrestling competitions among professional players. Non-professional players from Dai County took the lead in the competition. Players who complete six consecutive wins can be awarded the title of "Sheep Scratcher". Professional players took turns to appear on the stage, throwing, tripping, and fighting in one go, and applause came one after another. Fierce competition and special performances alternated with each other. The more than eight hours of sheep scratching night authentically reproduced the unique enthusiasm and heroism of the traditional sheep scratching competition.
The picture shows the event scene. Photo provided by the organizer
During the day, professional wrestling competitions of various groups will be held during the daytime schedule. Players from all over the world will compete in competitions at various levels. After many rounds of competition, Bizhi from Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, Qi Xuanhao from Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, and Chen Guangnan from Anhui Province won the top three in the men’s -65kg group. Wei Lesu from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Xinzhou City from Shanxi Province Zhang Fan and Liu Ji from Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province won the top three in the men's -85kg group. Wang Xinyu from Anhui Province, Zhang Xianglong from Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, and Li Wei from Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province won the top three in the men's +85kg group. Zhi Yayan from Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, Hao Yuehong from the first team of Shanxi Province, and Li Jingyi from the first team from Shanxi Province won the top three in the women's -60kg group. Pei Xingru from the first team from Shanxi Province, Shang Keru from the first team from Shanxi Province, and Guo Yan from Datong City, Shanxi Province won the top three from the women's -70kg group. Wu Rina from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liang Fanfan from the first team from Shanxi Province, and Liang Ye from the second team from Shanxi Province won the top three from the women's +70kg group.
This event is the wonderful debut of Dai County’s traditional “village wrestling” on the national stage. Photo provided by the organizer
Dong Dayong, deputy director of the Training and Competition Department of the Weightlifting Wrestling Judo Sports Management Center of the State Sports General Administration, Zhang Zhanwen, director of the Shanxi Provincial Heavy Competitive Sports Center, Liang Lei, deputy director of the Shanxi Provincial Heavy Competitive Sports Center, Li Dongdong, director of the Daixian Sports Development Center, and the leaders of each representative team present awards to the winners.
This event is the wonderful debut of Dai County’s traditional “village wrestling” on the national stage. The event opens up the channel between professional competition and national participation, and realizes the two-way empowerment of competitive sports and folk culture. The event builds a national wrestling sports exchange platform, allowing the local sheep racing competition to go beyond the three Jins and go nationwide. It also explores new development paths for the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage folk sports, consolidates the brand foundation of Dai County's characteristic sports events, and promotes the national development of local folk sports projects. (over)
