Celebrating our Wrestling Women
In the Mongolian language, Bokhin Ayin translates to “Wrestler’s Journey”. Wrestling is a sport that is traditionally dominated by men, but here at Bokhin Ayin, we’re trying to change that. We believe that Bokhin Ayin and “A Wrestler’s Journey” is for everyone, regardless of their gender. So this Women’s Day we want to highlight and celebrate some of our wrestling women here in Inner Mongolia!
Ariela, also known in Inner Mongolia as “American Ariunna”, is one of our Bokhin Ayin founders. She is an English teacher at Inner Mongolia University in addition to being a full time athlete. Ariela began her wrestling career with American folkstyle wrestling during her high school years where she was one of very few women wrestling on the Petaluma High School Boys Wrestling Team. While attending Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts she played rugby for four years and upon graduating she moved to New York City where she began working as a professional fitness trainer at a prestigious gym (Equinox). During her time in New York City she began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Renzo Gracie academy and placed first in a number of IBJJF tournaments. She received her purple belt in BJJ from Renzo Gracie and John Danaher, two of the most famous and well known jiujitsu teachers in the world. She also began training Chinese wrestling in New York and became a 2x American national champion for Chinese wrestling in the 56kg weight class. She also won the 2017 Chinese Wrestling World Cup in San Francisco. In 2019 Ariela moved to Inner Mongolia to further advance her wrestling career and she now studies both Chinese Wrestling and Mongolian Wrestling. Since coming to Inner Mongolia, she was the champion in the 56kg weight class in the 2019 National Chinese Wrestling Chengdu Tournament as well as in the 2019 Inner Mongolia Chinese Wrestling Tournament in Hohhot. Ariela has also competed numerous times in Women’s Bokh competitions and even took 2nd place at her most recent Women’s Naadam in September 2021. Ariela’s passion in life is wrestling, and she hopes to encourage the growth of women’s wrestling all over the world and be a pioneer for women in grappling arts internationally.
Oyuntana is a local Mongolian from Erlian, Inner Mongolia and another of Bokhin Ayin’s key founders. Influenced by both Outer Mongolian and Inner Mongolian culture, she can speak English, Chinese, and many different Mongolian dialects fluently. Oyuntana is an artist in all forms, but she particularly channels her talent into music. She is an original song writer and sings in all three languages. Being Mongolian, Oyuntana naturally loved wrestling growing up, but it wasn’t until she met Bokhin Ayin’s other two founders, Ariela and Lavell, that she truly began her wrestling journey. Although only beginning officially to study wrestling when she was 22 years old, she has dedicated herself to studying Mongolian Wrestling for the past two and a half years. Oyuntana has become passionate about spreading her culture and also her people’s wrestling style to the rest of the world. She has become a recognized and respected member of the local wrestling community where she is always known as the official “Translator” for anyone and everyone because of her incredible language skills. But she’ll quickly let you know that she is more than JUST a translator. She is a proud Mongolian Wrestler, an athlete, a business owner, a singer, an artist, and a powerful woman. Oyuntana’s love for her Mongolian people has become a dream to spread her culture and her art to the world. She hopes to keep her dying culture alive and cultivate a global community in support of Inner Mongolians.
Qige is a local Mongolian from Bayannur, Inner Mongolia. She began unofficially wrestling as a child since her mother is also a Mongolian wrestler, but she officially began training freestyle wrestling when she was 16 years old. After attending sports school for wrestling, she transitioned to training Chinese Style Wrestling where she competes as a professional athlete for the Hohhot Inner Mongolia Professional Chinese Wrestling Team. She also actively trains and competes for Mongolian Wrestling. She is interested in all styles of wrestling and also briefly dabbled in Brazilian Jiujitsu during a trip to the south of China. She has competed and medaled in numerous Chinese Wrestling and Mongolian Wrestling competitions on the local, regional, and national level. Qige is a woman with huge dreams. She has now begun training for a body building competition this summer and hopes to continue her athletic career as both a wrestler and a body builder in the future. Her mother always told her that wrestling is her inheritance and in the future Qige hopes that more people can support Mongolian Wrestling and understand that it is an art that not only uses your mind and body, but also your spirit. She is actively learning English so that she can travel internationally one day, promoting herself as a Mongolian female athlete and supporting Women’s Wrestling all over the globe.
Modeg is a local Mongolian from Uzemchin, Xilingol, Inner Mongolia. She began her wrestling career in 2011 and has been wrestling for more than 10 years. Being Mongolian, Modeg’s first style of wrestling was Mongolian Wrestling as a child, but when she began attending a sports school as a youth, she trained Freestyle wrestling here in Inner Mongolia. She eventually transitioned to studying Chinese Style Wrestling in her late teenage years and now predominantly competes in Chinese Style Wrestling and Mongolian Wrestling. In all of these various wrestling styles she has competed and placed in a number of competitions at both the local and regional level, including the 2019 11th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities in which she placed third for the Women’s Bokh competition. Although she has semi-retired to being a herdswoman in Uzemchin, she still plans to compete in local Women’s Naadams during the summer season. It is her dream that women’s wrestling can be just as recognized and respected as men’s wrestling in the future and she hopes that her people’s Mongolian Wrestling Style can also be spread throughout the world.
Urantonglag is a local Mongolian also from Uzemchin, Xilingol, Inner Mongolia. She began her wrestling career when she was 16 years old and has trained in Judo, Chinese Wrestling, and Mongolian Wrestling. At only 20 years old, she has placed in numerous local Chinese Wrestling and Mongolian Wrestling competitions. Urantonglag loves wrestling with a passion and comes from a strong lineage of wrestlers in her family. Both her father and grandfather were wrestlers so she grew up within a wrestling environment. She attends sports school at the Hohhot Sports Bureau where she is a member of the Hohhot Professional Chinese Wrestling Team. She hopes that women’s wrestling can become more and more developed internationally so that women wrestlers can be more respected and have the same opportunities as men on a global stage.
Oyungoo is a local Mongolian from Uzemchin, Xilingol, Inner Mongolia. She is a mother of twins and still an active Mongolian Wrestling champion. She has trained and competed in primarily freestyle wrestling and Mongolian Wrestling, but has also competed in Chinese Wrestling and other traditional wrestling styles. She traveled to Kyrgyzstan in 2018 where she participated in the World Nomad Games, representing Inner Mongolia, China. Oyungoo has an extensive wrestling career dating over 15 years and she has been a champion on both the local and regional level for Mongolian Bokh.
