Iran eyeing further domination at Asian Wrestling Championships
Iran will be looking to extend domination over continental wrestling when the Asian Championships kick off in Astana, Kazakhstan, next Sunday.
Having seen a run of three successive Asian titles come to an end by Kazakhstan last year in Ulaanbaatar, the Iranian 10-man Greco-Roman squad will be headlined by world 130kg silver medalist Amin Mirzazadeh, who will be competing in the tournament for the first time since winning the gold in 2020.
Last year’s world under-23 champion Pouya Dadmarz will be after a first Asian gold in the 55kg contests after his previous participation at the event finished with a bronze medal in 2021.
Mehdi Mohsennejad will be looking to build on his silver-winning campaign last year though reigning world champion Zholaman Sharshenbekov of Kyrgyzstan remains the favorite to defend his 60kg gold.
Iman Mohammadi will represent the country in the 63kg contests, fresh from a glorious 12 months in 2022, which saw the young Iranian finish third at the Asian Championships before bagging world U23 and junior gold medals.
Reza Abbasi will be the Iranian 67kg contestant in Astana, with Sajjad Imentalab in the 72kg event.
Former Asian 72kg champion Amin Kavianinejad will be chasing further continental glory in the 77kg class, while Alireza Mohmadi will take part at the 82kg competitions.
Nasser Alizadeh (87kg) will try to repeat his 2022 Asian gold-medal finish, carrying some extra motivation after being just a win short of a podium finish at the World Championships last year.
Also returning as an Asian gold medalist, Mehdi Bali went undefeated at the Greco-Roman World Cup last November and would be keen to take that form into the 97kg event in Astana.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on world champion Rahman Amouzad, who will be defending his 65kg title as Iran is tipped for a fifth consecutive Asian crown in the freestyle competitions.
The 20-year-old sensation is joined by Alireza Sarlak (57kg) – a world and Asian silver winner in 2021 – in the Iranian team.
Yassin Rezaei (61kg), Morteza Qiasi (70kg), Hossein Abouzari (74kg), and Amirhossein Kavousi (79kg) will also be part of the freestyle showdown.
Three-time world medalist Alireza Karimi (86kg) will be hoping to add to his three Asian gold medals with host nation’s Azamat Dauletbekov – defending Asian champion and world bronze winner in 2022 – also in the mix.
The two squared off in last year’s FS World Cup, where the Iranian walked away with a 4-0 triumph.
Arashk Mohebbi will step into the 92kg contests on high after winning the gold at the Dan Kolov tournament in March, while former world U23 champion Mojtaba Goleij (97kg) faces little competition on his way to a second Asian gold.
Looking to pose a challenge to fellow Iranian Amirhossein Zare’ ahead of the World Championships in the summer and next year’s Olympics, Amirreza Masoumi will hope to continue his impressive run in the 125kg division after dominating the world junior and under-23 championships last year, however he will likely have to overcome Mongolian world silver medalist Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur en route to a first major gold at the seniors level.