How are Iranian wrestlers faring ahead of Olympic qualifiers?
Iranian Greco-Roman and freestyle head coaches are left with crucial decisions to make ahead of the Olympic qualifiers following mixed results for the country’s wrestlers at the recently-finished Zagreb Open.
Iran has already secured seven slots across the two divisions for the Games through last September’s World Championships, with the remaining five set to be decided in the Asian qualification event – starting April 19 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – or May’s World OG Qualifier in Istanbul.
Hassan Yazdani (86kg) and Amirhossein Zare’ (125kg) stood on the world podium in their respective weight classes and Rahman Amouzad finished fifth in the 65kg contests to seal three freestyle quotas, with the 57kg, 74kg, and 97kg spots still up for grabs.
Three world Greco-Roman medals for Mohammadreza Geraei (67kg), Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (97kg), and Amin Mirzazadeh (130kg), as well as Mahdi Mohsennejad’s fifth place in the 60kg class in Belgrade, mean Iranians will be chasing the 77kg and 87kg berths in the coming months.
Ambitious Azarpira
When the Iranian freestyle squad headed to the season-opening Ranking Series event in the Croatian capital, wrestling fans in the country were eager to see how two-time world 92kg champion Kamran Qassempour would perform in the 97kg competitions.
The final outcome, however, saw Iranian prodigy Amir-Ali Azarpira emerge as a surprise contender for the Olympic place, after the former world under-23 gold medalist recovered from a three-point deficit to claim a massive 6-3 victory over American great Kyle Snyder – a winner of nine world and Olympic medals – in the final showpiece.
Meanwhile, returning to the mat following a months-long groin injury that had kept him out of the World Championships and October’s Asian Games, Qassempour fell to a 4-0 defeat against Snyder and settled for a bronze.
In an interview with Mehr News Agency on Sunday, Iran head coach Mohsen Kaveh said Azarpira still is far from a “safe margin” in leading the line for the country in the Olympic qualifiers, adding: “I believe Kamran had a decent run in Zagreb, given his long-time injury layoff. He is working hard to get back to his best form and we will decide in the future training camps on who will participate at the Olympic qualifiers.”
Amouzad and Zare’ punched their tickets for Paris after reaching the final in Zagreb, with the former pulling out of the 65kg showdown with a neck injury, while reigning world superheavyweight champion Zare’ came out on top against fellow-Iranian Amir-Reza Ma’soumi for the 125kg gold and will be the favorite to walk away with the ultimate prize in Paris.
In the 74kg event, national gold medalist Hossein Abouzari will have a slight edge over Younes Emami – a winner of double world bronzes –thanks a narrow win in an all-Iranian quarterfinal in Zagreb but his 10-1 loss to low-profile American Jason Nolf leaves the Iranian qualification slot hanging in the balance.
Iran had no 57kg participants in Zagreb and Ahmad Mohammadnejad Javan, who dominated the National Championships in December with a final triumph over 2021 world silver medalist Alireza Sarlak, will likely be the Iranian frontrunner in Bishkek unless the coaching staff decides to send the former world U20 and U23 bronze medalist to the Asian Championships – coming days before the qualification tournament.
77kg headache
Amir Abdi’s early exit in Zagreb has left Greco-Roman head coach Hassan Rangraz with unanswered questions about the Iranian 77kg wrestler in the Kyrgyz capital.
With Mohammad-Ali Geraei serving a one-year ban by the United World Wrestling, Abdi will hope to bounce back from the Zagreb fiasco when he is joined by Amin Kavianinejad in March’s Yasar Dogu & Vehbi Emre tournament in Antalya.
A world 82kg silver medalist last year, Alireza Mohmadi built on the national title in December – at the expense of Nasser Alizadeh in the final – to flex muscles in his first international outing in the 87kg contests in Zagreb, where he took the silver.
“Alireza is making a consistent progress in the new weight class. He had some great victories in Zagreb, including the last-four win against Alan Ostaev, who had beaten Hungarian world champion David Losonczi earlier in the competition,” Rangraz said of the Iranian, adding: “He still needs to work on a couple of flaws that cost him in the final [against Milad Alirzaev].”
The other impressive Iranian in Zagreb was the world under-20 champion Fardin Hedayati, who cruised to the gold in his senior 130kg debut.
“Fardin was sensational in the 130kg contests as he defeated high-profile opponents to win the gold,” Rangraz said.
On his way to the final, Hedayati outmuscled China’s Wenhao Jiang, in a repeat of last year’s world junior final, Cuban four-time world medalist Óscar Pino, as well as Lithuania’s Mantas Knystautas – world bronze medalist in 2022 – though he remains behind world champion Mirzazadeh in the pecking order for a place in the Iranian squad in Paris.
In the 67kg event, Danial Sohrabi blew the chance to throw down the gauntlet to Mohammadreza Geraei after a third-round 7-2 loss to Lithuanian Kristupas Sleiva in Zagreb, meaning Geraei is all but guaranteed an Olympic title defense in August.