Iran’s Zagreb triumph lays groundwork for glory in L.A. Olympics
By Amirhadi
Arsalanpour
Staff writer
Years of hard work and precise planning by the Iranian Wrestling Federation paid off with a historic success at the World Championships in Zagreb, setting the stage for even more glory at future major events, most significantly the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Olympic champion Saied Esmaeili claimed the Greco-Roman 67kg gold on Sunday, with Alireza Mohmadi (87kg) and Mohammad-Mahdi Keshtkar (63kg) bagging a silver and a bronze respectively, to cap off a medal-laden campaign for the country, as Iran secured a first-ever Greco-Roman and freestyle team title double in the Croatian capital – a feat previously achieved only by the Soviet Union and Russia.
Of the 20 Iranians competing across different weight classes in the two men’s event, 15 managed to leave Zagreb with a medal – including a remarkable six gold winners.
The Iranian Greco-Roman 10-man squad excelled with four golds, two silvers and two bronzes, dominating the team standings with 180 points – nearly twice as much as runner-up Azerbaijan, which finished on 89 points.
Esmaeil was joined by fellow-Olympic champion Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (97kg), defending world champion Amin Mirzazadeh (130kg), and debutant Gholamreza Farrokhi (82kg) in walking away with the ultimate prize in their respective events, while teenage sensation Payam Ahmadi was the other Iranian silver medalist in Zagreb, enjoying an impressive run to the 55kg final on his debut at the Wrestling Worlds.
Danial Sohrabi, meanwhile, was unfortunate to settle for bronze in the 77kg class, though it still helped the country end an 11-year wait for the team title.
Perhaps the medal haul would have been even more colorful, if not for some controversial refereeing decisions that impacted the Iranians’ results in the 77kg and 87kg categories.
The Greco-Roman glory came on the back of another drought-ending campaign for the country in the freestyle competitions.
While gold medalists Rahman Amouzad (65kg) and Amirhossein Zare’ (125kg) were in a league of their own in the their divisions, Ahmad Mohammadnejad Javan (61kg) and Amirali Azarpira (97kg) finished with a silver, with Mohammad Nokhodi (79kg), Kamran Qassempour (86kg), and Amirhossein Firouzpour (92kg) adding three bronzes, as Iran dethroned Team USA for its first team title in 12 years.
What adds to the sweet taste of glory in Zagreb is that only four members of the Iranian roster – Younes Emami, Qassempour, Saravi, and Mirzazadeh – were over 24 years old, with seven Iranians winning a medal on their World Championships debut – including Greco-Roman champions Esmaeil and Farrokhi.
For all the somewhat unfair, non-sport-related criticism directed at him since taking the helm at the sport’s national governing body in 2018, Alireza Dabir, also a former world and Olympic champion, truly deserves credit for masterminding the resurgence of Iranian wrestling, in recent years.
When he was elected to the job, Iran had just finished sixth in the freestyle table at the World Championships in Budapest with three bronze medals, while ranking 11th in Greco-Roman, courtesy of Majid Aliyari’s sole bronze medal in the 97kg class.
However, after the new federation took office, the primary goal was to restore Iranian wrestling to its former prominence on the global stage, and even beyond. To this end, a comprehensive eight-year master plan was developed, encompassing all critical areas – technical, infrastructural, cultural, and economic.
Emphasis was placed on youth age groups, strict and fair implementation of the selection process for the national teams, providing the necessary infrastructure for training, physical conditioning, nutrition, and accommodation, as well as improving the financial situation of national athletes, and training youth coaches.
The results of all the efforts culminated in title-winning runs at the world age-group competitions and, of course, last year’s Paris Olympics, where, for the first time, Iranian teams won two golds, four silvers, and two bronzes.
With the country’s young squads stealing the show in Zagreb, few would argue against the prospect of an even more glorious Olympic campaign for them in Los Angeles three years from now.