UWW Ranking Series:
Iran bags seven medals, claims Greco-Roman crown at Zagreb Open
Iran captured the Greco-Roman team title at the Zagreb Open on Sunday, finishing with seven medals, including three golds, at the opening United World Wrestling Ranking Series event of the season.
Mohammad Hosseinvand capped Iran’s campaign on Sunday by winning gold in the 55kg category. The unheralded wrestler edged his high-profile compatriot Pouya Dadmarz – the 2024 world silver medalist – on criteria (1-1) in the semifinals before defeating Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Botirov 2-0 in the final.
Hosseinvand earned both par terre advantages in the gold-medal bout. Although neither wrestler scored, Hosseinvand defended effectively and conceded no points to secure the victory.
With the tournament also serving as the second phase of Iran’s team selection process, Hosseinvand has emerged as a contender for major events later this year, including the World Championships in Manama this October. However, he still faces strong domestic competition, notably from Payam Ahmadi, who claimed U20 world gold and senior-level silver in 2024.
Dadmarz rebounded from his semifinal loss to claim a bronze medal, defeating India’s Lalit Lalit 5-3 in the consolation bout.
Mohammadreza Mokhtari (82kg) and Mohammad-Hadi Seydi (97kg) also earned bronze medals on the final day of competition.
Mokhtari registered an impressive 3-1 victory over reigning Olympic silver medalist Demeu Zhadrayev of Uzbekistan but was edged on criteria (3-3) by Moldova’s Mihail Bradu in the semifinals. He then defeated American Beka Melelashvili by technical superiority (10-1) in the bronze-medal match.
Seydi, a world junior silver medalist last year, suffered a 5-1 loss to eventual gold medalist Alex Szoke of Hungary in the round of 16. He recovered in repechage with a 4-1 win over Austria’s Daniel Gastl before securing bronze with a criteria victory (1-1) against Kazakhstan’s Iussuf Matsiyev.
Earlier in the tournament, Ali Oskou captured gold at 77kg on Saturday with a dominant technical superiority win (10-1) over Georgia’s Temuri Orjonikdze in the final.
Iran’s Greco-Roman campaign began on Friday with Erfan Jarkani’s gold medal in the 63kg division, following an 8-4 victory over India’s Chetan Chetan. The result secured Jarkani – a 2024 world junior and U23 bronze medalist – a place in Iran’s squad for April’s Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Former world champion Meisam Dalkhani settled for bronze in the same weight class. After a 14-5 semifinal loss to Chetan, Dalkhani rebounded with an 8-0 technical superiority victory over Kazakhstan’s Dastan Zarlykhanov in the third-place bout.
Iran topped the Greco-Roman team standings with 125 points, finishing five clear of Uzbekistan, which earned one gold, two silver medals, and three bronzes. Kazakhstan placed third with 108 points.
The Greco-Roman success followed a mixed freestyle showing for Iran, which finished second in the team standings with 10 medals and 180 points, 45 behind the United States.
Sina Khalili (70kg) and Mohammad-Mobin Azimi (92kg) claimed Iran’s freestyle gold medals, while Olympic and world champion Hassan Yazdani endured a disappointing debut at 97kg, suffering a technical superiority loss (13-3) to American Stephen Buchanan in the final.
Peyman Nemati (65kg) won silver, while Milad Valizadeh (57kg), Reza Momeni (61kg), Ali-Akbar Fazli (74kg), Adel Panahian (79kg), Ali Savadkouhi (86kg), and Mohammad Janmohammadzadeh (125kg) each earned bronze medals.
The UWW Ranking Series resumes with the Muhamet Malo tournament in Tirana, Albania, on February 25.