Qassempour to switch weight class ahead of Olympics
Iranian freestyle wrestler Kamran Qassempour will compete in the 97kg contests in the coming months as he will be looking to take part at next summer’s Paris Olympics, the country’s Wrestling Federation confirmed.
Qassempour dominated the 92kg category by claiming back-to-back world golds in 2021 and 2022 – before missing out on September’s event in Belgrade with a groin injury – but will now have to move up to the Olympic weight class with just over eight months until the Games in the French capital.
On his return to the wrestling mat, Qassempour will begin his quest for the Olympic berth with the participation in December’s Iranian Championships.
The winner of the 97kg contests will be “the first choice to represent the country at the Asian Championships [in April] as well as the Olympic qualification tournaments,” the Iranian federation said.
The federation’s announcement put a lid on speculations over the Iranian 86kg slot at the Olympics.
With Hassan Yazdani set to be sidelined for five to six months after undergoing a surgery on his injured shoulder, rumors in recent weeks suggested that Qassempour could be in contention to replace the nine-time world and Olympic medalist for the Paris Games.
Should Qassempour secure the Olympic quota, he will join the list of favorites for 97kg glory in Paris – including Russian-born Bahraini Akhmed Tazhudinov, who won the world gold in Belgrade, as well as Russian sensation Abdulrashid Sadulaev and American Kyle Snyder, a four-time world and Olympic gold medalist.
The men’s wrestling competitions will be staged across six freestyle and Greco-Roman weight classes apiece.
Amir-Hossein Zare’ sealed a freestyle 125kg for Iran after cruising to the gold at the World Championships.
Yazdani and Rahman Amouzad (65kg) also won the berths for the country after finishing runner-up and fifth in Belgrade respectively.