Iranian Geraei to vie in domestic three-way battle at Zagreb Open
Former world and Olympic champion Mohammadreza Geraei will be part of the Iranian Greco-Roman 72kg trio, alongside Iman Mohammadi and Danial Sohrabi, at the Zagreb Open – starting February 5 – looking to secure a place in March’s Asian Championships.
Geraei, who was ruled out of the National Championships in late December with an injury, will have to better the results of his two fellow-Iranians in the UWW Ranking Series season opener, according to the selection process of the national team, to be given a shot at Asian glory in Amman.
A world junior and under-23 champion in 2022, Mohammadi, who also has the 2023 Asian senior gold under his belt, edged out Mohammad-Javad Rezaei 4-3 to walk away with the Iranian gold and punch his ticket for the Croatian capital.
Sohrabi, meanwhile, was exempt from the national event, thanks to a bronze-winning campaign in last October’s U23 Worlds in Tirana, and will begin the new international season on his return to Zagreb, where he suffered a last-16 exit in the 67kg contests last year.
Also a former world silver and bronze medalist, Geraei decided to move up to higher weight class after missing out on defending his Olympic title in Paris, courtesy of a defeat against wrestling prodigy Saeid Esmaeili in the Iranian trials for the Games.
Geraei, however, had a disappointing start to the new chapter of his career, suffering a first-round 11-3 loss to Benji Peak in last year’s World Championships, though many believe some contentious referring decisions cost the Iranian against the American underdog.
“This was Geraei’s first international event in the 72kg class. There is no doubt he had technical flaws against the American wrestler, but let’s not forget that he already has four precious world and Olympic medals under his belt and remains highly-motivated to succeed in the new category,” Iran head coach Hassan Rangraz said after the world event.
“It might have been a bit too late, but he still made the right decision to change the weight class and I’m confident he has much more to offer in the future World Championships before gradually moving to the 77kg class for the next Olympic Games.”
Geraei was also part of the Iranian team in November’s Poddubny Wrestling League 7 in Moscow, pulling off a criteria win (1-1) against European bronze medalist Narek Oganian to help the country beat the Russian squad on its home turf.