International Freestyle Wrestling Takhti Cup:
Yazdani, Zare’ among gold winners, set to wear Iranian singlet at World Championships
Hassan Yazdani and Amirhossein Zare’ were among the 10 Iranians to walk away with the ultimate prizes of their respective weight classes at the International Freestyle Wrestling Takhti Cup in Urmia, northwestern Iran.
Featuring wrestlers from Iraq and Afghanistan, the event – named after late wrestling icon Gholamreza Takhti – also served as part of the Iranian freestyle team trials for September’s World Championships, meaning the gold medalists will be in pole position to represent the country in Belgrade.
On Friday, Yazdani, a winner of eight world and Olympic medals, made a quick work of winning the 86kg gold by cruising to a 12-2 victory over fellow Iranian Hadi Vafaeipour in the final.
The Iranian sensation will be looking to square off against David Taylor in a third consecutive major final, chasing only a second triumph against the American in a possible sixth showdown in the Serbian capital.
Zare’, meanwhile, stormed to a statement victory over Amir-Reza Ma’soumi, outmuscling the 19-year-old prodigy – a major contender for the Iranian singlet – 8-0 in the 125kg final.
A bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, Zare’ will be after a third world medal in Belgrade, having collected a gold and a bronze in the previous two editions.
Elsewhere on the final day of the event, Reza Atri – a world silver winner last year – came out victorious 11-0 against Mohammad Ramezanpour for the 61kg gold, while two-time world bronze winner Younes Emami defeated reigning world under-23 champion Mohammad-Sadeq Firouzpour 6-0 in the 74kg final showpiece.
An Asian bronze medalist in April, Mojtaba Goleij came out on top in the 97kg contests by edging two-time world U23 champion Amir-Ali Azarpira 3-2.
The first day of the competitions had seen Ahmad Mohammadnejad Javan beat Milad Valizadeh 7-6 in a thrilling 57kg final.
Mohammadreza Shakeri had an easy task against Ebrahim Elahi in the 65kg final, romping to a 9-2 win, while in the 70kg contests, Mohammad Bakhshi beat Ali-Akbar Zaroudi 2-1 for a top-podium finish.
In a decisive encounter for the 79kg spot in the Iranian team, Ali Savadkouhi, who stunned the world wrestling by a victory over Jordan Burroughs in last year’s FS World Cup, defeated Mohammad Nokhodi – beaten by the American great in the past two world finals – 4-3.
Mohammad-Mobin Azimi capped off an impressive campaign with a 5-2 win against Mohammad-Javad Ebrahimi in the 92kg final but will still be unlikely to take part at in September’s meet as Kamran Qassempour – the dominant force of the class – is set to pursue a third successive world gold in Belgrade.