Zagreb Open Ranking Series:
Iranian Greco-Roman prodigy Hedayati to enter seniors’ territory
Iranian young gun Fardin Hedayati will be looking to have an impressive introduction when making his senior international debut at the Zagreb Open later this week.
A world superheavyweight under-20 champion last year, Hedayati will be a part of the country’s five-man Greco-Roman squad at the UWW’s season-opening Ranking Series event – starting with the freestyle contests today – alongside Danial Sohrabi (67kg), Amir Abdi (77kg), Alireza Mohmedi (87kg), and Mahdi Bali (97kg).
Hedayati punched his Zagreb ticket after a dominant performance in December’s National Championships, which saw him outmuscle former world champion Ali-Akbar Yousefi in the final, and could go head-to-head with some high-profile wrestlers – including four-time world medalist Oscar Pino, Iranian-born Sabah Shariati, who won a bronze for Azerbaijan in Rio 2016, and China’s Meng Lingzhe – in the Croatian capital.
Reigning world champion Amin Mirzazadeh remains the favorite to be the Iranian 130kg wrestler in next summer’s Paris Olympics, and probably go all the way to win the ultimate prize, which means Hedayati needs to finish atop the podium in Zagreb to have a slight chance for a berth in the French capital, though he is all but guaranteed a shot at glory in April’s Asian Championships.
Meanwhile, Mohmedi – last September’s world 82kg silver winner – will be flying high ahead of the 87kg contests after a final victory over Nasser Alizadeh in the national event, hoping to lead the line for the country when the Olympic qualifiers get underway in two-months’ time.
Sohrabi – absent at the National Championships – will step into the Zagreb Open on the back of a bronze in October’s Asian Games, but will face a daunting challenge in the 67kg competitions, which will feature the reigning world top-two in Cuban Luis Orta and Hasrat Jafarov of Azerbaijan.
With veteran Mohammad-Ali Geraei serving a one-year ban by the international governing body of the sport, Abdi will likely be the Iranian 77kg frontrunner in the Olympic qualifiers, and will build on the national title in Zagreb.
Bali, meanwhile, knows he is behind Mohammad-Hadi Saravi – a four-time world and Olympic medalist since 2021 – in the pecking order for a place in Paris but will still look to add the Ranking Series glory to last year’s Asian title.