Iranian Wrestling Premier League:
Yazdani makes emphatic comeback but Bank Shahr wins freestyle trophy
Iranian wrestling sensation Hassan Yazdani made his long-awaited return to action in dominant fashion, but his Esteghlal Juybar team fell short in the final as Bank Shahr claimed the freestyle title at the Iranian Wrestling Premier League.
A star-studded showdown – featuring top Iranian and Russian wrestlers – at a jam-packed 7th Tir Indoor Hall in Tehran saw Bank Shahr prevail -4 to lift its second freestyle league trophy in three years.
All eyes were on Yazdani – winner of a national-record 10 world and Olympic medals – who made his first competitive appearance in 489 days after undergoing shoulder surgery following his 86kg final defeat at last year’s Paris Olympics.
Moving up to the 97kg class in a bid to win an elusive second Olympic gold at Los Angeles 2028, Yazdani began the day with a superiority win (10-0) over former U20 world champion Abolfazl Babloo during his team’s 7-3 semifinal victory over Khaybar in the morning session.
Then, with his team trailing 5-3, Yazdani defeated 2021 world bronze medalist Mojtaba Goleij 4-0 in the penultimate bout of the final to give Esteghlal a lifeline.
However, super-heavyweight prodigy Amirali Ma’soumi sealed the title for Bank Shahr in the 125kg decider after Amirreza Sahraei withdrew with an injury while trailing 7-0 in the first period.
Russian Akhmed Idrisov gave Esteghlal a winning start in the final by defeating 2022 world silver medalist Reza Atri 5-1 in the 57kg bout. Bank Shahr responded through former world champion Abasgadzhi Magomedov (61kg) and Abdulmazhid Kudiev (65kg), who beat Ali Qolizadegan by technical superiority (10-0) and Payman Nemati 6-4, respectively.
Mohammad Bakhshi leveled the scoreline with a 4-3 win over Ebrahim Elahi in an all-Iranian 70kg clash, but Russian great Zaurbek Sidakov – an Olympic champion and three-time world gold medalist holder – restored Bank Shahr’s lead with a commanding 7-0 victory over Amirhossein Hosseini at 74kg.
Five-time world medalist Mohammad Nokhodi edged Mohammad Sheik Azami 4-3 at 79kg to extend Bank Shahr’s advantage, before Russian two-time world junior champion Ibragim Kadiev narrowed the gap with a 5-4 win over Ezzatollah Akbari at 86kg.
A controversy-laden 92kg bout saw Bank Shahr’s Mohammad-Mobin Azimi – the reigning U23 world champion – defeat senior world bronze medalist Amirhossein Firouzpour 5-3.
Firouzpour appeared to have scored a dramatic last-second single-leg takedown with two seconds remaining, but a successful video challenge awarded Azimi two additional points, leaving Bank Shahr on the brink of victory.