Qassempour to continue in 86kg class in quest of Olympic glory
Iranian freestyle wrestler Kamran Qassempour has ended speculation about his competitive future, declaring his intention to remain in the 86kg class and take a shot at Olympic glory in three years.
In his first major event in the new weight division, the 28-year-old Iranian won a consolation bronze medal at the World Championships in Zagreb last month.
Qassempour claimed comfortable wins in his first two bouts in the Croatian capital and then came out victorious (5-4) against Russian Ibragim Kadiev in a thrilling quarterfinal.
Qassempour suffered a comprehensive 7-0 defeat against American Zahid Valencia in the semifinals, but bounced back and make quick work of Indian Mukul Dahiya (10-0) to collect his third world medal in four years.
Despite Qassempour falling short of a third world gold medal, Iran head coach Pejman Dorostkar still praised him for “making a sacrifice to compete”, revealing the wrestler had been “infected with suspected Brucellosis two weeks before the World Championships.”
On his illness before the Wrestling Worlds, Qassempour said, “Thank God, the tests showed that I did not have Brucellosis. I had an infection, and had to be visited by a doctor, who prescribed antibiotics, on several occasions. I have another week or two to finish the treatment. I’m feeling much better now, and God willing, this infection will completely leave my body soon.”
Still, a significant portion of wrestling fans and pundits in the country believe Qassempour’s recent dip in form was down to the Iranian Wrestling Federation forcing him to switch weight class multiple times over the past three years.
Once the dominant force of the 92kg class with successive world titles in 2021 and 2022, Qassempour moved to the 97kg division in a bid to secure a place at the Paris Olympics. He returned to his favorite 92kg territory for last year’s World Championships but missed the podium after back-to-back defeats to wrestling greats Abdulrashid Sadulaev and David Taylor.
He was then moved to the 86kg category for this year’s World Championships after Iranian sensation Hassan Yazdani was ruled out of action with a shoulder injury.
“To be honest, I thought it would be really difficult [to switch division] at first, because it had been so long since I’d had to cut weight. But when I joined the training camp and my weight condition became clear, it wasn’t hard at all, and I made weight very easily. The fear of cutting weight left me – It was nothing like I had imagined,” Qassempour said of the challenge to wrestle in the 86kg class.
Qassempour still considers all that he has been through as a blessing in disguise.
“Now that I look back on what happened, I’m happy I moved to the 86kg class. Of course, changing weight divisions has its own difficulties because the conditions in each class are different.
“However, it allowed me to wrestle my direct rivals in an Olympic weight class. Next time, I’ll be much better prepared and know all about what it takes to wrestle them, especially the American opponent,” added the Iranian.
When asked about his decision regarding his weight in the future, Qassempour confirmed he will remain in the 86kg division “all the way to the Olympics.”
“People may say whatever they want about me being forced to move to this weight class, but all I know is that it has definitely been to my advantage. I have now done what I wanted to do a year before the Olympics and that is to get to know my rivals better.”