Iran saber coach unfazed by poor World Ch’ships run, eyes Asian Games glory
Iran’s men’s saber head coach, Mohammad Rahbari, downplayed his team’s disappointing campaign at the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong, insisting his ultimate goal is to deliver a strong performance at September’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Ali Pakdaman’s last-16 finish in the men’s individual saber competition stood as Iran’s best result in Hong Kong, as Mohammad Fotouhi, Nima Zahedi, and Taha Kargarpour failed to advance beyond the round of 64.
Zahedi was beaten 15-13 by Uzbekistan’s Sardor Abdukarimbekov in his second knockout bout, while Kargarpour defeated Ukraine’s Oleksiy Statsenko 15-13 before losing 15-11 to Russia’s Kamil Ibragimov.
Fotouhi suffered a 15-10 defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Adel Almutairi in the opening knockout round.
A 45-35 defeat to Japan for the Iranian quartet of Pakdaman, Fotouhi, Zahedi, and Kargarpour in the opening round of the team event on Thursday summed up the country’s dismal campaign in Hong Kong. Pakdaman scored 24 of Iran’s 35 points in the contest, while his three teammates combined for the remaining 11.
“The results were not good at all and they need to be reviewed,” Rahbari told ISNA after the championships.
“We will give the fencers a few days of rest and then hold a video conference with our foreign coach, the technical committee, and the coaching staff to make decisions regarding the Asian Games.”
Rahbari said it was too early to determine whether changes would involve personnel, training methods, or both, adding that a final decision would be made after discussions within the federation’s technical committee.
Asked about the team’s biggest challenge, the former Olympian said Iran was going through a transitional period as it sought to balance the use of experienced athletes with the development of younger talent.
“Unfortunately, we are going through a difficult period in saber fencing,” he said. “We are in the middle of a generational transition, but at the same time we need experienced fencers for the Asian Games.
“Our main target is the Asian Games, and we want to improve our level so that we can win a medal in Nagoya. After the Games, the transition process will be completed and we will rely more on younger athletes.”
Rahbari noted that similar rebuilding phases had affected many leading nations, citing Romania as an example.
“Romania won Olympic silver in 2012 and then went through a long transition period without major results before claiming a bronze medal at this year’s World Championships,” he said.
“A transition takes time, but with the efforts of our athletes we hope to shorten that process and build a strong team for the Olympics while introducing more talented fencers to senior international competitions.”
Rahbari won the men’s individual saber bronze medal at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games and was also part of the Iranian quartet, alongside Pakdaman and Fotouhi, that claimed bronze in the team event.