Iran wins Vehbi Emre tournament; Geraei stunned in Sofia
A remarkable 12 medals, including four golds, saw Iran win the Greco-Roman title at the Yasar Dogu & Vehbi Emre wrestling tournament in Antalya, Turkey.
Hassan Rangraz’s men topped the team table with 166 points, followed by the host and Kirgizstan, which collected 107 and 97 points respectively.
Saeid Esmaeili (67kg) and Amin Kavianinejad (77kg) walked away with the ultimate prize of their respective weight classes on Friday, a day after Pouria Dadmarz (55kg) and Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (97kg) had won a couple of golds for the country.
Amir-Reza Dehbozorgi (60kg), Ali Oskou (77kg), Rasoul Garmsiri (82kg), Mahdi Bali (97kg), and world champion Amin Mirzazadeh (130kg) settled for five silvers, while Amir Abdi (77kg), Abbas Mahdizadeh (82kg), and Fardin Hedayati (130kg) left Antalya with three consolation bronzes.
Wakeup call for Geraei
Meanwhile, reigning Olympic champion Mohammadreza Geraei was given a reality check ahead of his Greco-Roman 67kg title defense at the Paris Games after being pinned by Kazakhstan’s Adilkhan Satayev in the Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The Iranian went on to add the world gold to his Olympic success in 2021, but a slump in form over the past two years saw Geraei lose the world final to Serbian Mate Nemes in 2022 before laboring to the bronze in last September’s World Championships.
Taking part in the 72kg contests, Geraei looked to be back to his best when claiming four superiority victories – including an 8-0 triumph over Satayev – in a round-robin format in the Bulgarian capital, but while leading 5-1 in the final, suffered a shock fall defeat in a rematch with the Kazakhstani wrestler to take the silver.
Mohammad Naqousi won the 82kg gold in the Greco-Roman contests, with Mohammad-Mobin Azimi finishing on the top podium of the 92kg class in the freestyle event.
Yassin Rezaei won a second freestyle bronze for the country, taking the bronze in the 61kg event.