Iranian wrestlers to chase Senior Worlds spots at Ulaanbaatar Open
Two World Championships spots on the Iranian Greco-Roman national team will be up for grabs when the country’s wrestlers compete at the upcoming Ulaanbaatar Open.
The third UWW Ranking Series event of the season will kick off on Thursday at Buyant Ukhaa Sport Palace in the Mongolian capital.
The 72kg spot will be on the line between Danial Sohrabi and Mohammad-Javad Rezaei, who will go head-to-head in a best-of-three series. Sohrabi needs just one victory to secure his place at the World Championships, which begin on October 24 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
A gold medalist in Ulaanbaatar last year, Sohrabi will be eager to earn another shot at the world stage after last September’s heartbreak in Zagreb, where he suffered a controversial quarterfinal defeat to French wrestler Ibrahim Ghanem before rebounding to claim bronze through the repechage.
Rezaei, an Asian silver medalist in April, will look to build on his strong form after winning gold at February’s Muhamet Malo Ranking Series tournament in Tirana, Albania.
Meanwhile, Mohammad-Mahdi Keshtkar and Erfan Jarkani will battle it out for the 63kg berth.
Keshtkar also needs only one win to punch his ticket to Astana after capturing an impressive bronze medal on his Senior World Championships debut in Zagreb.
Jarkani enjoyed Ranking Series success at the Zagreb Open in February, but a defeat in the final to Kyrgyzstan’s Aftandil Taalaibek Uulu forced the former world junior and under-23 bronze medalist to settle for silver at the Asian Championships.
Elsewhere in Ulaanbaatar, Payam Ahmadi and Ali Ahmadi-Vafa, both already guaranteed spots in Astana, will compete in the 55kg and 60kg divisions, respectively.
The highly touted Ahmadi enjoyed a prolific international campaign last year, winning world and Asian under-20 titles before claiming silver at the Senior World Championships.
Asian bronze medalist Ahmadi-Vafa, who suffered a first-round exit on his World Championships debut last year, will be eager to add a senior international medal to his collection of three world titles across different age groups.
Reigning world and Olympic champions Saeid Esmaeili (67kg) and Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (97kg) will headline Iran’s Greco-Roman squad for Astana. The lineup also includes Asian silver medalist Ali Oskou (77kg), world champion Gholamreza Farrokhi (82kg), and Alireza Mohmadi (87kg), who has won consecutive world silver medals on either side of his Olympic silver at Paris 2024.
The remaining national team spot will be decided in a highly anticipated 130kg showdown at the International Takhti Cup, which begins on June 15 in Kerman.
Two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Amin Mirzazadeh will need a victory in a best-of-three contest against Fardin Hedayati, who is aiming for a breakthrough at senior level after already collecting three world age-group titles.
The Greco-Roman competition in Ulaanbaatar will be followed by the freestyle event, with Ahoura Khateri (61kg), world champion Rahman Amouzad (65kg), Mohammad Nokhodi (79kg), and Abolfazl Rahmani (92kg) representing Iran across various weight classes.