Geraei revels in rollercoaster year, eyes further success in 2025
Reigning world Greco-Roman wrestling champion Mohammad-Ali Geraei says he will be looking to build on his milestone achievement in 2024 to chase further glory over the next 12 months of his career.
Geraei’s long wait for a maiden gold medal at the World Championships came to an end in October, when the 30-year-old Iranian defeated Hungary’s Erik Szilvássy by superiority to walk away with the ultimate prize in the 82kg category in Tirana.
The triumph in the Albania capital took Geraei’s personal haul to four world medals, following his three bronzes in 2017, 2019, and 2021.
“I only took part in the Iranian team trials 50 days prior to the world event and managed to secure a place in the national squad despite moving up to a new weight class,” the former 77kg wrestler said in an interview with the official website of the Iranian Wrestling Federation.
“I am truly grateful to the federation and the Iranian coaching staff for their trust. The selection process gives every wrestler a fair shot, and the best one ultimately wins a spot in the national team,” added Geraei.
Geraei enjoyed a dominant run in Tirana, cruising to comfortable victories over Indian Rohit Dahiya (8-0), Moldova’s Mihail Bradu (7-2), and Japanese Taizo Yoshida (14-6), before a 2-0 win against Georgia’s former world junior and under-23 champion Gela Bolkvadze in the semifinals.
“Years of experience with the national team in high-profile competitions helped me peak in my form for the World Championships and win the elusive gold medal,” said the Iranian.
However, 2024 could have held a totally different outcome for the Iranian, who began the year five months into a one-year suspension by the United World Wrestling.
The punishment came after Geraei threw a bottle of mineral water on the mat during a 67kg bout – featuring his younger brother Mohammadreza and Kyotaro Sogabe of Japan – in last year’s World Championships to halt the contest and presumably buy the Iranian wrestler some time to restore stamina.
The international governing body of the sport lifted the ban in February and Geraei found a second chance for a place in the Paris Olympics, though he eventually missed out on the Games after a last-eight defeat in June’s Ranking Series event in Budapest.
“Sometimes things don’t quite happen as you expect them to, despite all the dedication and effort you put in,” Geraei said.
“My own mistakes cost me against the Japanese Olympic champion [Nao Kusaka] in last year’s world event in Belgrade, and then I was unfortunate to miss the Olympics.
“However, I didn’t lose hope. As I said, I made the most of my experience to succeed in Tirana. Now I’m eager for more in the 2025 World Championships,” added the Iranian.
Geraei heaped praise on his fellow-Iranians for a most prolific Olympic campaign ever in Paris, where they collected a remarkable eight medals across 12 weight categories in the Greco-Roman and freestyle events.
“This was an unprecedented achievement in Olympic history for Iranian wrestling, as the country had settled for only one or two medals in some of the previous editions. Wrestling once again proved to be the most decorated sport for Iran.”