DESCRIPTION OF "Wrestling Quality Index" (WQ Index) METRICS

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WQ Index (Wrestling Quality Index) is a performance indicator describing the relationship among three fundamentals within wrestling scoring: points for, points against and the time spent on the mat. This indicator was first proposed and used by Dr Harold Tünnemann back to 1969.

To find the WQ Index you simply take the technical points scored, subtract the technical points given up and divide by total time on the mat. The result is the aggregate points per minute or (pts/min). Points for and points against can also be assessed diveded separately by time on mat, resulting in the WQ (points for divided by time on mat) and Neg WQ (points against divided by time on mat) metrics, whose relationships makes the WQ index.

Along the years, data has shown the WQ Indexclearly differentiates between the elite and sub-elite wrestlers. This is especially true in Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling. At the 2015 World Champions in Las Vegas gold medalist averaged 2.4pts/min in women’s wrestling and 1.1 in Greco-Roman, while silver medalists earned 1.1 and 0.5 respectively. In men’s freestyle the gap between champions and silver medalists was 1.3 to 1.0.

The WQ Index is also a good predictor of results when previous tournament matches are known. For example, after winning in the semifinals Kaori ICHO (JPN) had an impressive 3.0pts/min, which was a much higher Power Rate than the 0.6pts/min obtained by Petra OLLI (FIN). In freestyle Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) earned 2.6pts/min while his 86kg opponents Selim YASAR (TUR) had earned 1.2.

Though WQ Index tends to favor aggressive wrestlers, Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) proved that defense and a sustained rhythm also wins gold. In Las Vegas Beleniuk and his 0.4pts/min over five matches won by pts, while the Power Rate of his opponent for gold Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) was 1.5pts/min. However, the key difference before the final match was the points given up -- Beleniuk had lost only 5 points across 30 min on mat while the Russian gave up 8 points during his 14 minutes on the mat.