Geraei to get a last shot at Paris ticket
Greco-Roman wrestler Mohammadali Geraei will make a late tilt at a place in the Iranian squad at the Paris Olympics when taking part at the Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial tournament – starting June 6 in Budapest.
The three-time world bronze medalist will be joined by fellow-Iranian Mohammadreza Mokhtari in the UWW Ranking Series event.
Should either of the two wrestlers win the gold medal in Budapest, he will get a shot at the Olympic 77kg berth against fellow-Iranian Amin Kavianinejad on June 23, the Iranian Wrestling Federation announced on Saturday.
A silver medalist in last October’s Asian Games, Kavianinejad secured the 77kg slot for the country at the Asian Olympic qualification event in Bishkek in April as Iran became the first country to complete a full set of six Greco-Roman quotas for the showpiece in the French capital.
A single victory in the domestic trial will be enough for Kavianinejad to punch his Paris ticket, with his opponent needing two, the federation said.
The news came as a turn of fortunes for 30-year-old Geraei, who had been handed a 12-month ban by the United World Wrestling back in November – due to an incident in last year’s World Championships – before the international governing body lifted the punishment in February.
The Japan Wrestling Federation had lodged a complaint to the UWW over the Iranian’s misconduct during a 67kg bout featuring his younger brother Mohammadreza and Kyotaro Sogabe of Japan in Belgrade.
Mohammadreza had a 10-9 advantage over the Japanese but was clearly out of breath in the second period, when Mohammadali threw a bottle of mineral water on the mat to halt the bout, presumably buying the Iranian some time to restore strength.
Mokhtari, meanwhile, will be relieved to get a second chance of Olympic participation after the Iranian federation had initially suspended him “until further notice” in March in the aftermath of a physical altercation with a Turkish opponent in the Yasar Dogu & Vehbi Emre tournament in Antalya.
The incident came in the closing stages of a last-four encounter, where Mokhtari, trailing a 7-3 scoreline, complained to the referee over the host’s Yuksel Saricicek repeatedly using his arm an elbow when defending the Iranian’s attacks, before his frustration eventually led to an exchange of punches and kicks between the two wrestlers.
Members from the two camps, including Iranian head coach Hassan Rangraz, as well as the organizing officials had to interfere to end the brawl and both athletes were disqualified afterwards.