Wrestling wunderkind Khalili demonstrates credentials for senior success
The final showdown of the Iranian Premier League marked another significant milestone in the rapid rise of wrestling prodigy Sina Khalili, who is making a strong case for a place in the country’s freestyle national team.
A world and Asian under-17 champion last year, Khalili stole all the headlines when he outclassed two-time world senior silver medalist Amir-Mohammad Yazdani 14-5 in a thrilling 70kg bout to inspire Saipa to a comeback victory over Shahr Bank at the Azadi 12,000-seater Hall in Tehran on Friday.
The 18-year-old had begun the day with a 2-1 win against Kurban Shiraev in the semifinals, making up for the 5-2 loss to the Russian at the Poddubny Wrestling League 7 in Moscow in November.
Khalili was to represent the country at the World U23 event in October, but had to skip the tournament to fill in for injured Yazdani at the Seniors World Championships.
He got off to flying start in Tirana, defeating Belarusian Niurgun Skriabin and former world bronze medalist Alibek Osmonov of Kyrgyzstan by technical superiority, though he ultimately finished his campaign empty-handed following a 6-5 loss to Tajikistan’s Russian-born Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the quarterfinals.
His brave and impressive performances in the Albanian capital still convinced head coach Pejman Dorostkar to name him in the Iranian squad for the head-to-head against Russia.
“Sina was exceptional today,” Saipa head coach Gholamreza Mohammadi said of his performance in the league on Friday, adding: “He is one of the bright talents in the new generation of Iranian wrestlers.”
“This is just his first year in the junior level, though he is already a contender for a seniors’ national team spot, as he is keen on world and Olympic glory in the near future,” added the four-time world medalist.
Khalili’s display on Friday was reminiscent of reigning world superheavyweight champion Amirhossein Zare’s rise to prominence back in the 2019 edition of the Iranian league, when he, at 18 years of age, overcame a nine-point deficit to beat then-world champion Geno Petriashvili.