Iranian Greco-Roman wrestlers to compete at Vehbi Emre tournament
Iranian wrestlers will vie for glory across 10 Greco-Roman weight classes and, more importantly, a place on the national team for major tournaments in 2026, as the Yaşar Doğu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan International Tournament kicks off in Antalya, Türkiye.
The tournament serves as the second phase of Iran’s selection process – following last month’s National Championships – for April’s Asian Championships, as well as the World Championships and Asian Games in September.
Iran head coach Hassan Rangraz has named a 13-man squad for the event, with Kianoush Shamshiri and Mahdi Kamali competing in the 55kg weight class.
Mohammad Ashiri, runner-up at the National Championships, will represent Iran in the 60kg category, while Reza Bahmani and Ali Hajivand will contest the 63kg division.
Mohammad Eskandari will compete in the 67kg class, and Omid Bahmani will be joined by Kia Rostami in the 72kg category.
Aliasghar Samdaliri (77kg), Mohammad Arjmand (82kg), Mohammad-Hossein Ostad-Me’mar (87kg), Amirreza Moradian (97kg), and Arman Tahmasbi (130kg) complete the Iranian roster in Antalya.
The two-day Greco-Roman competition will be followed by the freestyle event, with 11 Iranian wrestlers competing across eight weight classes.
Reza Mo’meni, who claimed the national title in late December, will be joined by world U20 silver medalist Ahoura Khateri in the 61kg weight class. Morteza Hajmollamohammdi will compete in the 65kg division despite suffering a final defeat to Peyman Ne’mati at the National Championships in Tabriz.
Ali Rezaei – a gold medalist at the 2024 U20 World Championships – will feature in the 74kg category alongside Ali Karampour, who won a world junior bronze medal two years ago in Pontevedra, Spain.
Erfan Alizadeh, a silver medalist at last year’s Ranking Series event in Tirana, Albania, and former world U20 champion Abolfazl Babalou will represent Iran in the 97kg division. Abolfazl Mohammadnejad will compete at 125kg as he looks to build on his world U23 gold medal from October.
Amir Parasteh (57kg), Mohammadhossein Norouzian (86kg), and Javad Fat’hkhani (92kg) are the other Iranians in the freestyle event.