Three slots up for grabs as Iran names Greco-Roman squad
With two major wrestling tournaments fast approaching in the coming months, head coach Hassan Rangraz is yet to decide on three slots in the Iranian Greco-Roman 10-man squad.
Rangraz called up a 13-man roster for a training camp – starting Wednesday in northern Iran – as the national team is set to step up preparation for September’s Aichi–Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan, followed by the Senior World Championships in October.
Manama had originally been named host of the world showpiece, but the hosting rights have been withdrawn from the Bahraini capital amid the military conflict in the Middle East, with United World Wrestling yet to announce the new host nation.
Reigning world and Olympic champions Saeid Esmaeili (67kg) and Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (97kg), as well as world silver medalist Payam Ahmadi (55kg), Ali Ahmadi Vafa (60kg) – who won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships in April – Ali Oskou (77kg) – silver winner at the Asian event – senior and under-23 world champion Gholamreza Farrokhi (82kg), and world and Olympic silver medalist Alireza Mohmadi (87kg) have already secured their places in the national team, with the 63kg, 72kg, and 130kg slots up for grabs in the coming months.
All eyes will be on the superheavyweight class, where two-time defending world champion Amin Mirzazadeh – also a bronze medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics – will face domestic rivalry from 21-year-old prodigy Fardin Hedayati, a world U23 champion for the past two years.
Hedayati, who made his senior international breakthrough in style at the 2024 Ranking Series event in Budapest – defeating Turkish great Rıza Kayaalp and Georgian Olympic silver winner Iakobi Kajaia en route to the top of the podium – will have every reason to fancy his chances of going all the way on a potential debut at the Senior Worlds.
The two-horse race in the 63kg category will feature Mohammad-Mahdi Keshtkar and Erfan Jarkani. Keshtkar enjoyed a decent run of results last year, bagging silver at the Asian Championships before claiming an impressive bronze on his debut at the World Championships. Former junior and under-23 world bronze medalist Jarkani, meanwhile, will be looking to build on an Asian silver-winning campaign in Bishkek, where he suffered a final loss to the host nation’s Aftandil Taalaibek Uulu.
In 72kg, world bronze medalist Danial Sohrabi will take on Mohammad-Javad Rezaei, who tops the 2026 domestic selection cycle and also settled for silver at the Asian Championships after being pinned by Kazakhstan’s Almatbek Amanbek in the final.
The decisive trials for these three weight categories are expected to be held in May or June, either in the form of domestic wrestle-offs or through assignment to an international tournament. Given the current wartime circumstances in the country, the coaching staff may lean toward holding domestic head-to-heads.