Injured Yazdani ruled out of Wrestling Worlds, replaced by Khalili
Iranian freestyle wrestler Amirmohammad Yazdani will miss the UWW World Championships – starting next Monday in Tirana, Albania – due to a hand injury, the Iranian Wrestling Federation confirmed on late on Monday.
The Iranian head coach Pejman Dorostkar and his coaching staff made the decision after the two-time world silver medalist failed to fully recover from a broken hand he suffered 40 days ago, with Sina Khalili replacing him in the 70kg contests.
A world under-17 champion last year, Khalili was to represent the country at the U23 World Championships – also taking place in the Albania capital – on Saturday but now will make room for fellow-Iranian Ali Khorramdel, who grabbed the 65kg gold in September’s under-20 world event in Pontevedra, Spain.
Khalili will be joined by Kamran Qassempour, Mohammad Nokhodi, and Reza Mo’meni in the Iranian team at the upcoming competitions, which will feature four non-Olympic weight categories.
All eyes will be on the freestyle 92kg contests, where two-time world champion Qassempour is expected to be a part of the three-way battle for the ultimate prize, alongside Russian sensation Abdulrashid Sadulaev and American David Taylor, who have won a remarkable 11 world and Olympic gold medals between them.
Nokhodi will chase a fourth successive world medal in the 79kg class, having won double silvers before last year’s bronze, though American great Jordan Burroughs, who beat the Iranian in the 2021 and 2022 finals, remains the favorite to walk away with an eighth gold medal in major events.
Mo’meni, meanwhile, will be the Iranian wrestler in the 61kg class, with his previous senior international appearance coming in the 2022 FS World Cup, where he won a bout and lost two.