Iran completes GR lineup for Wrestling Worlds
Iran Greco-Roman head coach Hassan Rangraz completed his 10-man squad for the Wrestling World Championships – starting September 16 in Belgrade, Serbia.
The final berth in the Iranian team was secured by Danial Sohrabi who came out victorious against Sajjad Imentalab in a best-of-three contests in Tehran on Tuesday.
Sohrabi defeated his opponent twice (5-1 and 3-1) either side of a victory for Imentalab, which came after a 1-1 draw in the second bout.
A world under-23 gold medalist last year, Sohrabi will be joined by some top-notch wrestlers in the Iranian squad who will be seeking further glories in the Wrestling Worlds – hosted by the Serbian capital for the second year running.
Mohammadreza Geraei will headline the team in Belgrade, when chasing a fourth successive major medal in the 67kg weight class.
A winner of the Tokyo Olympic gold and a world champion in 2021, Geraei saw his dominance in the class come to an end against Serbian Mate Nemes in last year’s world final.
Geraei’s older brother, Mohammad-Ali, will head into the 77kg event on the back of three world bronzes under his belt – the last of which came in 2021.
Amin Mirzazadeh will be after a second world superheavyweight medal after last year’s 130kg silver, while Mohammad-Hadi Saravi – a bronze medalist in Tokyo – will be looking for a third world medal, having won the 2021 gold in Oslo before a third-spot finish last September.
Pouya Dadmarz – Asian gold medalist in April – will be the Iranian contestant in the 55kg contests and will be hoping for a better result than his 2022 run in the World Championships, where he was knocked out in the quarterfinals.
Having claimed a gold and a bronze at the UWW Ranking Series this year, Mehdi Mohsennejad will take his decent form into the 60kg event, while Iman Mohammadi will be looking to build on his double world age-group golds in 2022 when representing the country in the 63kg competitions.
The Asian champion for the past three editions, Nasser Alizadeh (87kg), and Alireza Mohmadi (82kg) – a bronze winner at the Asian Championships this year – complete the country’s Greco-Roman lineup in Belgrade.
With Russia barred from the 2022 UWW Worlds, the Iranian team, which had finished second to the Russians in 2021, looked to be the ultimate favorite for the Greco-Roman crown last year, but a below-par campaign under former head coach Mohammad Bana saw the country leave the event without a gold, settling for a fourth-spot finish behind Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Serbia.