The weight of expectation: Can Qassempour finally conquer 86kg?
While some of the world’s best freestyle wrestlers prepare to battle at the second UWW Ranking Series event of the season in Tirana this week, one of the most scrutinized figures in Iranian wrestling won’t even be on the plane. Kamran Qassempour, the two-time world champion, is sitting this one out. And in his absence, a host of hungry contenders in the 86kg weight class are set to take the mat, reshaping the division Qassempour is desperate to call his own.
The 86kg category has long been hallowed ground for Iranian wrestling, forever associated with the legendary Hassan Yazdani. But with Yazdani’s permanent move to 97kg, the spotlight has shifted firmly onto Qassempour. His mission is clear: reclaim the weight class for Iran. However, his path is littered with obstacles, and his decision to skip the Muhamet Malo tournament in the Albanian capital raises pressing questions about his future.
A history of instability
Qassempour’s career has been defined by extraordinary success, but also by a frustrating lack of stability. After years of waiting in the wings behind Yazdani at 86kg, he made the bold decision to move to 92kg. It paid off spectacularly. Qassempour conquered the division, capturing back-to-back world gold medals in 2021 and 2022.
But the 92kg category carries a fatal flaw: it is not an Olympic weight. Forced to choose between his title and a shot at Olympic glory, Qassempour bulked up to 97kg. The move proved disastrous. Unable to adapt to the division’s giants, he failed to secure a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics, a bitter blow for an athlete of his caliber.
Now, with Paris in the rear-view mirror, Qassempour has returned to his roots at 86kg. But homecoming has not been kind. At the World Championships and the Islamic Solidarity Games last year, he could only manage bronze medals. For a wrestler of his pedigree, and for a nation with Iran’s standards, bronze is not enough.
Ghosts of Albania
The upcoming ranking series in Tirana will feature a murderer’s row of talent at 86kg, many of whom could become Qassempour’s biggest hurdles in 2026.
The American challenge remains formidable. In Tirana, all eyes will be on Kyle Dake. A multiple-time world and Olympic medalist, Dake is stepping up from his traditional 74kg to test the waters at 86kg. His technical mastery makes him an immediate threat.
Then there is the ghost of defeats past. Azerbaijan’s Arsenii Dzhioev handed Qassempour a painful loss at the Islamic Solidarity Games last November. Dzhioev will be on the mat in Albania, looking to prove that victory was no fluke. Russian Ibragim Kadiev, another entrant, has already scouted the competition firsthand, having recently dominated in the Iranian domestic league.
Adding to the chaos are two more high-profile weight jumpers. Georgios Kougioumtsidis of Greece, the reigning world champion at 79kg, is moving up to a new class. Georgia’s Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, a former world silver medalist, is also vacating his 79kg position for a shot at 86kg.
While these contenders sharpen their skills in Albania, Qassempour will be watching from home, preparing for a different assignment.
The road ahead
The Iranian coaching staff has mapped out a deliberate path for their star. With no competitive outings in 2026 so far, Qassempour is being held back for the Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in April. The plan is clear: a dominant performance there would stake his claim for a spot at the World Championships later this year.
But the strategy carries risk. While Qassempour waits, his rivals are building momentum and gaining invaluable competitive reps. The 86kg division is evolving rapidly, and the wrestlers who perform well in Albania will arrive at future tournaments with confidence and data.
There are also lingering questions about Qassempour’s physique. Wrestling insiders have noted his muscular build, and competing at 86kg — a weight that requires significant cutting — could place immense strain on his body over the long grind toward the next Olympic cycle.
A season of redemption
For Qassempour, 2026 is a season of reckoning. The two bronze medals of last year are not befitting of his talent, and he knows it. He has proven he can win world titles — but that was at 92kg. Now, back in the weight class he once left behind, he must confront a new generation of hungry contenders.
The competition in Albania will not decide Qassempour’s fate, but it will set the tone for the year ahead. By the time he steps on the mat in Bishkek, his rivals will already be battle-hardened.
For Iranian wrestling fans, the hope is that Qassempour can finally break the bronze-medal streak, silence the doubters, and reclaim the 86kg throne. The tools are there. The question is whether he can put them all together when it matters most.
The season is just beginning, but for Qassempour, the weight of expectation has never been heavier.