The 30-year-old freestyle wrestler is a two-time Russian national champion and clinched European gold in 2017.

But Kurugliev now looks set to compete for Greece after losing his place in the Russian team.

"The athlete will play for the Greek national team," Russian Wrestling Federation President Mikhail Mamiashvili told Russian state-owned channel Match TV.

"He is an athlete of age and is not the first number."

Gaidar Gaidarov, the coach of Kurugliev, has also confirmed that his athlete will fight under a Greek flag at the European Championships.

"Dauren will perform at the European Championships for Greece," Gaidarov told Russia’s official state news agency TASS.

Kurugliev secured 86 kilogram gold at the Novi Sad 2017 European Championships before winning the title at the Minsk 2019 European Games.

Zagreb is scheduled to hold the European Championships from April 17 to 23 but there will be no Russian and Belarusian presence after the entry list was confirmed last month before United World Wrestling (UWW) lifted the ban.

The UWW Bureau ruled on April 4 to allow them to return to international competition as neutrals following an extraordinary meeting.

The decision came after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be readmitted, providing they do not support the invasion of Ukraine and are not affiliated to the military.

An independent panel has been formed by UWW to verify the eligibility of all athletes from Russia and Belarus based on the IOC’s conditions of participation.

Mamiashvili said last week that he expected UWW to loosen the restrictions for Russian wrestlers as they aim to compete at the World Championships, due to be held in Serbian capital Belgrade in September.

insidethegames has contacted UWW for comment.