‘Untimely injury’ ‘lapse of concentration’
cost Iranian wrestlers Olympic gold, freestyle coach Kaveh says
By Sadeq Dehqan
& By Amirhadi Arsalanpour
Staff writers
Since Gholamreza Takhti and Nasser Givehchi won a couple of freestyle silvers and Mahmoud Mollaqassemi, Abdollah Mojtabavi, and Tofiq Jahanbakht won triple bronzes in Helsinki 1952, wrestling has been the most prolific sporting event for Iran in the history of the Olympics.
Of the 88 medals won by the Iranian athletes at different editions of the modern Games, wrestlers take credit for 55, with 13 of the 27 golds clinched on the two-color circle mat.
Takhti and fellow-wrestling legends Abdollah Movahed and Emam-Ali Habibi had the Olympic golds under their belts in the 50s and 60s, before Rasoul Khadem, Alireza Dabir, Omid Norouzi, Hamid Sourian, Qassem Rezaei, Komeil Qassemi, Hassan Yazdani, and Mohammadreza Geraei all left the Games with the ultimate prize over the past three decades.
The Iranian sport apparatus had a superb display by the Greco-Roman and freestyle participants to thank for a most productive Olympic campaign in London 2012, while the wrestling competitions delivered four out of the seven medals for the country in Tokyo three years ago.
Following a quiet first week at the recently-finished Paris Games, all Iranians’ eyes were on the wrestling competitions at the French capital’s Grand Palais Éphémère, where the Greco-Roman team kicked off the country’s realistic quest for Olympic glory.
Led by head coach Hassan Rangraz, the six-man squad rose up to the occasion as Saeid Esmaeili (67kg) and Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (97kg) notched up sensational gold medals, while Alireza Mohmadi (87kg) won a precious silver in only his second major senior event.
Amin Mirzazadeh, meanwhile, had to settle for the superheavyweight bronze following a last-eight defeat against Cuban great Mijaín López, who went on to grab a record fifth Olympic gold.
The story, however, was a bit different in the freestyle contests, as the final outcome for the Iranian team was met with mixed receptions among wrestling fans and pundits in the country.
While four medals across five weight classes is by no means deemed as a failure, a first freestyle gold since Yazdani’s triumph in Rio 2016 proved to be elusive.
Yazdani’s quest for a coveted second Olympic gold, one that would have seen him become the most-decorated Iranian in the history of the Games, ended in vain following a 7-1 loss to Bulgaria’s Magomed Ramazanov in the 86kg final – during which the wrestling sensation struggled with a recurring shoulder injury from the get-go, calling for treatment on several occasions throughout the six minutes of action.
Amirhossein Zare’, meanwhile, widely regarded as the favorite for the 125kg gold in the buildup to the event, came short against familiar Georgian foe Geno Petriashvili in a thrilling final.
Elsewhere, Rahman Amouzad, who finished fifth in last year’s World Championships, seemed to be back to his ruthless form in Paris as he crushed two reigning world champions in American Zain Retherford and Hungarian Ismail Musukaev, as well as European gold medalist Islam Dudaev of Albania to reach the 65kg final, though he was the third Iranian to suffer a final loss – stunned 10-3 by low-profile Japanese Kotaro Kiyooka.
Having convinced the Iranian coaching staff to pick him over two-time world champion Kamran Qassempour for the 97kg slot, young prodigy Amir-Ali Azarpira was the surprise Iranian medalist in Paris, bouncing back from a first-round loss to eventual gold medalist Akhmed Tazhudinov to beat American great Kyle Snyder for the 97kg bronze.
Younes Emami was the sole Iranian freestyle wrestler to leave the Games empty-handed following a technical-fall defeat against American Kyle Dake in the 74kg quarterfinals.
The Iranian freestyle head coach Mohsen Kaveh stepped down from his role last week, only eight months after being appointed to the job, and Dabir, the head of the Iranian Wrestling Federation, was quick to replace him by Pejman Dorostkar, from whom Kaveh had taken over last December.
Clearly frustrated by somewhat unfair criticism he received upon returning from the Olympics, Kaveh believes the Iranian freestyle squad had a decent campaign in Paris, though there would have been more jubilation in the medal haul, had it not been for an untimely injury blow and uncharacteristic errors in the final showdowns.
The following is what Kaveh had to say in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily two days before confirming the end of his short spell in charge of the national team.
IRAN DAILY: What do you make of each Iranian wrestler’s display at the Paris Olympics?
Kaveh: The Olympic Games have been full of shock results over the years. That is why we worked hard in the training sessions to make sure the wrestlers would have the right mindset to deal with any unexpected incident coming their way in Paris.
I think the freestyle team had a relatively decent campaign, though I’ll have to admit the final outcome could have been much better. Some pundits believe all five members of the squad were good enough to be among the gold hopefuls in their weight classes.
I’m sure Hassan Yazdani would have easily won the 86kg gold if it wasn’t for his dislocated shoulder in the final. He truly showed great courage and determination to continue with one arm against the Bulgarian opponent and set an example for the younger generation of the Iranian wrestlers.
I also expected Amirhossein Zare’ to win the 125kg gold but he simply had the worst day of his entire career in the final, not to mention the referees favored his opponent.
Before the decisive four-pointer in the first period, Petriashvili should have been cautioned and given away a point for repeatedly hitting Amirhossein in the face. He then did everything to interrupt the bout when he ran out of steam in the second period. The whole course of the final would have changed if the refs had acted by the rules and punished the Georgian.
Rahman Amouzad and Amir-Ali Azarpira also produced some brilliant performances. Rahman was superb in the 65kg contests, though his Japanese opponent truly deserved the final victory.
I knew Kiyooka’s style would make him the toughest opponent in the 65kg class and when he took Rahman down, he managed to score eight points through successive leg laces in the space of 20 to 25 seconds. Rahman did a great job to claim emphatic victories over two world champions and a European gold medalist on his way to the final showpiece.
Azarpira, meanwhile, established himself as top contender in the 97kg class. He deserved to beat Tazhudinov in his first bout but couldn’t control the final 40 seconds, though he was still superb to bounce back and overcome American Kyle Snyder in the bronze-medal contest.
In the case of Younes Emami, I think he had a tough job on his hand in the 74kg class, which featured seven to eight world-class wrestlers.
Let’s not forget Younes beat Italian [two-time world champion] Frank Chamizo, who had been undefeated against the Iranians, in the first round and the scoreline could have been different against Kyle Dake if had a different approach in the first 60 seconds of the bout. Younes should realize that much more work needs to be done if he is to stand on the top podium in the future events.
Speaking of Emami, Alireza Dabir, the head of the federation, recently said he failed to live up to the high expectations in Paris and perhaps Iran should be looking for another 74kg wrestler in the upcoming tournaments. Do you agree with that?
I still believe Younes is the best 74kg wrestler in the country, though young talents have been making significant progress. Ali Rezaei, for instance, is a member of the Iranian under-20 squad and had a great campaign in June’s Ranking Series event in Budapest and was only beaten by Uzbekistan’s Razambek Zhamalov, who went on to win the Olympic gold.
Fariborz Babaei and Erfan Elahi are also among the rising stars of the class, though they will have to work hard to find the chance in the major international tournaments. Competitive sports are all about a number of contenders battling for one single position.
Japanese lightweight wrestlers have proved to be experts in carrying out the leg-lace technique and that was what eventually cost Amouzad in the final. Didn’t you warn him against Kiyooka’s skills prior to the matchup?
The leg lace was his main strength throughout the tournament. He had his unique style in performing the technique as he locked his head between the opponent’s legs to roll him. The coaching staff had told Rahman all about the Japanese but he made the most of Rahman’s lapse of concentration to secure the victory.
Were you aware of Hassan Yazdani’s injury threat before the Olympics? Did you ever think of sending Kamran Qassempour to Paris instead of him?
We had a defined selection program in place for the Olympics and Hassan was our priority in the 86kg class according to that process. He had secured the Olympic berth by winning the silver in last year’s World Championships. His rival, whoever that was, should have won the domestic and Asian title to be given a chance in a head-to-head against Yazdani. Qassempour was not considered for the 86kg class in the first place as he was keen on taking a shot at the 97kg slot and Hadi Vafaei was ruled out of contention after he was beaten by a Kazakhstani opponent and failed to win the gold in April’s Asian Championships.
We sent Hassan to Budapest to see if had fully recovered from the surgery on his shoulder. He looked fit and ready during the training sessions and when he eased to the gold medal in Hungary, we knew he would be our 86kg wrestler in the Olympics. However, his shoulder was dislocated in the worst time imaginable. There was nothing we could possibly do about it as injuries are part of the sports.
Did he show any signs of a recurring injury before the final?
Not at all. Some were critical of us for not taping his shoulder during the competitions, but Dr. Kayhani, Hassan’s surgeon and the head of the medical team in Paris, saw nothing unusual about his fitness when he was in action on the first day. Hassan did not even complain about any kind of pain in his shoulder before the final.
Don’t you think the Bulgarian was to be blamed for Yazdani’s injury?
I don’t think that was the case. From what I saw from the mat-side whatever the Bulgarian did was not intentional. He was a true gentleman. He was an unknown wrestler and did not imagine winning an Olympic medal but restrained in celebrating his final victory when he saw Hassan’s situation.
Some experts believe wrestlers can hardly recover from a shoulder injury and some of them are forced to call time on their careers. How do you think the recent setback may impact Yazdani’s future?
That is true but there have been exceptions over the years. Turkey’s Taha Akgül and Uzbekistani Zhamalov kept on wrestling despite facing the same problem. Tazhudinov is also dealing with a shoulder injury and will have to undergo a surgery. I think the important thing about the injury is to have a full recovery process after the surgery. It was Yazdani’s own decision to take part in the Games as he was eager to win a second Olympic gold, though the silver was quite a feat itself.
So, you mean Yazdani’s to return to action was premature?
Yes, as far as a proper rehabilitation was concerned.
Don’t you think it would be better if his next surgery is carried out overseas.
All I know is that the Wrestling Federation, Sports Ministry, and the National Olympic Committee will have to provide him with best facilities to get the required treatment, whether in the country or overseas.
Does he have a chance to go to the next Olympics?
Of course, why not.
Let’s talk about Zare’. Did you ever predict him losing out the 125kg final in that fashion?
The Georgian didn’t see in his wildest dreams to come out on top against Zare’. He had blown it in the last two seconds of the final in the Tokyo Games three years ago. As far as wrestling skills go, he was no match for Zare’. Let’s put it this way, an Olympic title is a big deal. Zare’ missed out on a huge opportunity. He might not realize it now, and it will take some time before it sinks in.
And then there was the Georgian’s provocative celebration and the crowning gesture.
His behavior was really annoying and didn’t sit well with me. Anyone can celebrate their own win, but he was rubbing it in Zare’s face, which I didn’t think was cool. He was gloating and it didn’t go down well.
Zare’ came out and said that the Georgian wrestler’s move has fired him up to defeat him in the future encounters. What’s your take on it?
Zare’ is a top-notch wrestler, and, no matter how you sliced it, he was expected to come out victorious on that day. If these two were to go head-to-head 10 more times, Zare’ would likely beat him with ease, even if not on his best day.
As the head coach of the team, how many medals did you predict for the squad before heading to the Games?
I was confident Hassan and Amirhossein would win the gold. I knew the other three would have their work cut out for them, given the number of top wrestlers in their weight classes, though Rahman and Amir-Ali eventually finished on the podium.
How do you rate your team’s performance in Paris?
That is not for me to say. The United World Wrestling declared Iran as the champion with 83 points, though it went unnoticed.
The Iranian team could only win a silver and bronze in Tokyo but the tally was three silvers and a bronze this time around. If we compare the Olympic results with last year’s World Championships in Belgrade, we’ll see that our guys have stepped up their game and made significant progress. Last year, we had Milad Valizadeh in the 57kg weight class, who finished eighth, and as a result, we missed out on an Olympic spot in that weight class. However, in the 65kg division, Rahman turned it around this year, building on his fifth-place finish last year to take home the silver medal at the Olympics, beating two world champions along the way.
Younes Emami was beaten by Russian Zaurbek Sidakov and Serbia’s Khetag Tsabolov and this year he fell to American Dake, who’s been a top contender for years. Either way, Younes came up empty-handed on both occasions. Meanwhile, Hassan Yazdani bounced back from a tough situation at the Olympics to repeat his silver medal from last year in the 86kg. Mojtaba Goleij was eliminated in the 97kg division at the world event, but Azarpira, who was knocked out in the 92kg class last year, turned it around this year, taking bronze in the 97kg class. It’s no easy feat to take down Kyle Snyder, but Azarpira pulled it off. All in all, no matter how you slice it, our team’s results were better than last year, but we still need to step up our game because we’ve got some talented young wrestlers in the pipeline.
The good thing about our team was that we had a young squad. Rahman, Amirhossein, and Amir-Ali were just 22 or 23 and already making waves in the Games. Even Hassan Yazdani, despite his current form, still has a lot to offer in the future.
In Paris, the Iranian wrestling and taekwondo teams, both led by former champions as the head of the federation, stood out from the pack and delivered better results than the other teams. How much do you think their success can be attributed to having seasoned sports leaders at the helm?
It has defiantly been a game-changer to have former champions and athletes in charge of the federations. Hadi Saei, the chief of the taekwondo federation, has done a great job and the results speak for themselves. The same goes for the wrestling federation. It has been on top of its game, with solid planning and preparation across the board, from youth to senior levels, in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Hopefully, we can all pull together to help these young talents bring home even more medals in the future.