David Taylor reveals his reaction to getting drawn in first round against Abdulrashid Sadulaev at 2024 World Championships

David Taylor has been itching for a match against Abdulrashid Sadulaev for nearly four years now, and to his delight, he was drawn into the first round against the Russian wrestler at the 2024 World Championships. The American expressed excitement ahead of the highly anticipated match, which takes place on Wednesday, October 30.

Taylor first called out Sadulaev for a match in 2020 but the Russian wrestler had shifted to 97kg after winning the gold in the 86kg at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He would compete and win the 97kg at the Tokyo Olympics while Taylor won the 86 Kg title.

Both the stars didn't compete at the 2024 Olympics with the American wrestler failing to qualify while Sadulaev was banned from competing in Russian colors, as were other of his countrymen. He will be competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete at the 2024 World Wrestling Championships.

Taylor had announced his retirement after failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics. However, he came out of retirement ahead of the World Team Trials and qualified for the Championships in the 92 kg category. Sadulaev opted for the same weight category, and as fate had it, the two would face each other in the first round only.

Speaking with Flo Wrestling in an interview, Taylor opened up about his first reaction on hearing that he would face Sadulaev in the first round, saying:

"I was like. Oh, sweet. That's pretty much the extent of it. I came here for it, so let's go," he said (at 1:40).

Talking about the level of competition in the tournament, Taylor said:

"I think you gotta expect that you can wrestle the best guys in the first round. This draw is so parallel to my 2018 draw. I had Sadulaev right after the repechage round along with semis. I came here to wrestle those guys and that's the path I have to go through." (at 0:20).

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A coaching stint at Oklahoma Sooners helped David Taylor rekindle his love for the sport

Wrestling Senior World Championships Belgrade 2023 - David Taylor in action (Source: Getty)

A few weeks after crashing out from the Olympic Trials, David Taylor announced that he had joined Oklahoma University as a head coach. The 33-year-old also announced that he was retiring from the sport. Speaking to Olympics.com in an exclusive published on 26 October, Taylor said:

“In the emotion of the moment after that letdown, I felt like I was done wrestling. I just didn't have any ambition to compete any more,” he said.

However, while working with the school's wrestlers, he found that he still loved competing.

"Change stimulates growth. Oklahoma State gave me a change of scenery and a change of energy and excitement, rather than being somebody who's just being put through workouts. I was putting guys through workouts and I felt like I had the fire to compete the way I’m asking these guys to compete, so I should probably do that," Taylor added.

The 33-year-old has confirmed that the 2024 Wrestling World Championships will be his last and he will return to coaching Oklahoma State after the competition.