Wrestling World Championships:
Iran to chase elusive Greco-Roman crown in Zagreb
Iran will bid for its first team title in 11 years when the Greco-Roman portion of the Wrestling World Championships gets underway Thursday in Zagreb, Croatia.
With two reigning Olympic champions, as well as the defending world superheavyweight gold medalist on the 10-man roster, head coach Hassan Rnagraz will hope to see his team, having finished runner-up to Azerbaijan in the past two editions, go all the way to lift the trophy for only a second time in the history of the competition.
A gold medalist at the Paris Olympics, Mohammad-Hadi Saravi will headline the 97kg event, poised to walk away with the ultimate prize for a second time in his career following back-to-back bronze-winning campaigns.
Joining the top-seeded Iranian in the mix will be the Armenian sensation Artur Aleksanyan – a four-time world champion who was beaten by Saravi in the Paris final – defending gold medalist Gabriel Rosillo of Cuba, and Kyrkyzstan’s Uzur Dzhuzupbekov, who won a joint-bronze alongside the Cuban in Paris.
Saeid Esmaeili will be the ultimate favorite to claim the 67kg title in the Croatian capital.
The 22-year-old Iranian stunned the wrestling world in his major senior debut by delivering thrilling performances on his way to the Olympic gold last year.
Esmaeili will face competition from the 2023 finalists Luis Orta of Cuba and Azerbaijan’s Hasrat Jafarov, who shared the third podium in the Olympics.
Reigning world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Amin Mirzazadeh will eye a third successive world final in the 130kg category.
Many believe the Iranian would have won the gold in Paris, had it not been for a quarterfinal loss to Cuban great Mijaín López, who went on to bag a remarkable fifth Olympic title.
With López calling time on his illustrious career after the Games, Mirzazadeh will again be the wrestler to beat in the superheavyweight class. However, Russian European champion Sergey Semenov, competing as a neutral athlete, second-seeded Turkish Hamza Bakir, and Kazakhstan’s Alimkhan Syzdykov will still fancy their chances of providing a stern test for the Iranian.
Former world junior champion Alireza Mohmadi will be among the top contenders in the 87kg event following an impressive run over the past two years, during which the young Iranian won the world 82kg silver in 2023 before finishing runner-up to Bulgarian Semen Novikov at the Olympics.
Olympic bronze medalist Dávid Losonczi of Hungary, who defeated Novikov to the European gold in May, Serbian Aleksandr Komarov and Denmark’s Turpal Bisultanov, who also won an Olympic bronze last year, will join Mohmadi in vying for the 87kg glory.
Meanwhile, Gholamreza Farrokhi will look to build on his commanding victory over reigning world champion Mohammadali Geraei in the Iranian world trials when representing the country in the 82kg class, while Danial Sohrabi will step into the 72kg event fresh off his gold medal at the Asian Championships in March.
Mohammad-Mahdi Keshtkar (63kg) and Alireza Abdevali (77kg) know they need to significantly improve on their silver-winning performances at the Asian event if they are to leave Zagreb with a medal.
Eager to carry their age-group momentum into their senior world breakthroughs, Payam Ahmadi and Ali Ahmadi Vafa could both emerge as surprise champions in their respective divisions.
Ahmadi will compete in the 55kg contest as the world and Asian under-20 champion, while Ahmadi Vafa will be part of the 60kg class, having won world junior and U23 titles in 2024, followed by a Ranking Series bronze in February.