Iranian FS wrestlers to ramp up preparations with 10-day camp
The Iranian freestyle wrestling team is ramping up its preparations for upcoming international tournaments after naming a 13-man roster for a 10-day training camp set to begin May 10.
With September’s Asian Games and the World Championships in October fast approaching, head coach Pejman Dorostkar and his staff are eager to finalize their 10-man squad.
Milad Valizadeh (57kg), Ahmad Mohammadnejad-Javan (61kg), Rahman Amouzad (65kg), Sina Khalili (70kg), Mohammad Nokhodi (79kg), Kamaran Qassempour (86kg), and Amirhossein Zare’ (125kg) have received call-ups for the upcoming camp. All seven have already secured their places at the World Championships under the national team selection process.
Valizadeh, Qassempour, and reigning world champion Zare’ claimed gold at the Asian Championships in Bishkek in early April to lock in their spots. Javan and Khalili also earned shots at world glory despite settling for bronze in their respective weight classes in the Kyrgyz capital.
Meanwhile, Amouzad and Nokhodi – gold and bronze medalists, respectively, at last year’s World Championships – are set to return to the global stage after their domestic rivals turned in poor performances at the Asian Championships.
Peyman Ne’mati suffered a first-round exit in the 65kg division, while under-20 world champion Mahdi Yousefi fell to Olympic gold medalist Razambek Zhamalov of Uzbekistan in the 79kg quarterfinals.
The race for the remaining three spots, however, remains wide open. June’s Ranking Series event in Ulaanbaatar, the International Takhti Cup, and domestic trials are expected to settle the 74kg, 92kg, and 97kg classes.
All eyes will be on the 97kg division in the coming months, with two global stars – Hassan Yazdani and Amirali Azarpira – in the mix despite shaky recent form.
Yazdani, winner of a national-record 10 world and Olympic medals, made a statement return to action on the final day of the Iranian Wrestling Premier League last December. He had been sidelined for 489 days after undergoing shoulder surgery, which cost him the 86kg final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Iranian sensation appeared back to his ruthless best when he cruised to three technical-superiority victories en route to the Zagreb Open final in February. However, a comprehensive 13-3 loss to unheralded American Stephen Buchanan – the first technical-superiority defeat of Yazdani’s career – raised serious doubts about his bid for an elusive second Olympic gold at Los Angeles 2028.
World silver medalist Azarpira was also far from his peak form at the Asian Championships, finishing second best against Japan’s Arash Yoshida in the final, losing 4-0.
The two Iranians will compete at the Takhti Cup, hosted by Iran, where they must come out victorious in a best-of-three series if they face each other to secure a national team spot.
A gold medal at the Takhti Cup, even without facing Yazdani, will be enough for Azarpira to punch his ticket to the world event. But if Azarpira is knocked out before meeting Yazdani, he will get a second chance against his compatriot at a future event, the Iranian Wrestling Federation has confirmed.
The domestic battle at 92kg will also be one to watch, as Amirhossein Firouzpour and Mohammad-Mobin Azimi look to build on strong results over the past 12 months to aim for World Championships success.
Firouzpour, a winner of four combined junior and under-23 world golds, bagged Asian gold last year and then marked his senior World Championships debut with a bronze medal.
Azimi, meanwhile, won the title at last October’s U23 World Championships before dominating the 92kg event at the Asian Championships, where he reached the top of the podium without conceding a single point.
The 74kg race will feature Amir-Mohammad Yazdani and Younes Emami, both of whom have struggled with consistency throughout their careers.
The Asian Championships were barely a campaign to remember for two-time world silver medalist Yazdani, who had to recover from a quarterfinal loss to world champion Yoshinosuke Aoyagi of Japan to finish with a consolation bronze.
Emami already has two world bronze medals to his name but left last year’s World Championships empty-handed, following a quarterfinal defeat to eventual gold medalist Kota Takahashi of Japan and a loss to Slovakia’s Tajmuraz Salkazanov in the bronze-medal match.