‘Nothing is impossible’: Mohmadi looking to be Iran’s dark horse in Paris
By Sadeq Dehqan
Staff writer
Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler Alireza Mohmadi says he is confident of winning a surprise medal at the Paris Olympics later in the summer.
A world under-20 champion, Mohmadi, 22, impressed on his senior debut at the World Championships last year in Belgrade, going all the way to the final showdown before a 2-1 defeat against high-profile Rafig Huseynov – an Olympic bronze winner in Tokyo and the 2021 world gold medalist – saw him settle for the silver.
“Thank God I won a precious world medal on my first attempt, though I believe I would have won the gold if it was not for my opponent’s higher experience,” Mohmadi told Iran Daily.
Looking to build on his decent run in the world event, Mohmadi moved up to the Olympic 87kg class to take a shot at a place in the Paris Games.
Having beaten domestic rival Nasser Alizadeh to the national title in December, Mohmadi bagged a silver in January’s season-opening Ranking Series event in Zagreb and then went on to secure the Olympic quota for the country in the Asian qualifiers in April, convincing head coach Hassan Rangraz to name him in the Iranian six-man squad in Paris.
“I wanted to switch to the 87kg class two years ago but the national team coaching staff told me to stay in the 82kg division for the World Championships. The success in Belgrade, however, gave me the confidence to try my luck for the Olympics,” said the Iranian.
While world superheavyweight champion Amin Mirzazadeh and four-time world and Olympic medalist Mohammad-Hadi Saravi are widely regarded as the Iranian favorites for glory at the upcoming Games, Mohmadi also fancies his chances of leaving the French capital with a medal.
“Nothing is impossible at the Paris Games. Looking at 130kg and 97kg events, you can see there are only two or three medal hopefuls, but that’s not the case in the 87kg class as there is no clear favorite and the race for the medals will be wide open till the end, which could even make it a tougher contest in my division,” Mohmadi said.
Mohmadi was not part of the Iranian squad at the recently-finished Ranking Series tournament in Budapest, as he stayed in the national team training camp in Tehran to continue his Olympic preparation.
“That was a decision made by the coaching staff as even a gold in Budapest would not have changed my position in the world ranking ahead of the Olympics,” added Mohmadi.