U17 Wrestling World Championships:
Iran FS coach hails future prospects despite missing out on team crown
Iran head coach Sadeq Goudarzi blamed “individual errors” for his team’s failure to win the freestyle team title at the U17 Wrestling World Championships in Baku last week, but highlighted several promising wrestlers he believes can go on to represent the senior national team.
A haul of three golds, one silver and two bronze medals across the 10 weight classes saw Iran finish runner-up with 145 points – just one point behind Russia, which was eligible for team points for the first time in five years.
Benyamin Ashofteh (51kg), Reza Shamsipour (71kg) and Amirali Ferasati (80kg) won gold in their respective categories, while Amirhossein Esmali settled for silver in the 110kg event, with Arman Elahi (55kg) and Sam Arshad (65kg) adding two bronzes. The impressive haul still proved insufficient for Iran to secure its first freestyle crown since 2023.
Speaking to Mehr News Agency, Goudarzi said Iran faced a difficult draw from the outset but managed to overcome the challenges.
“Most of the Iranian wrestlers were drawn alongside Russian and American wrestlers in the same half of the bracket, but gradually found their rhythm on the mat,” Goudarzi said.
Goudarzi said most of the wrestlers performed according to plan but acknowledged that mistakes are common at the youth level.
“They followed the plan, but at this age group, there are always individual errors, and it is natural for the wrestlers to make mistakes. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes in some weight classes,” he said.
“Instead of winning one or two bronze medals, we ended up with two fifth-place finishes and were eliminated in another weight class. These mistakes meant we lost the championship very easily.”
Despite the disappointment, Goudarzi was pleased with his wrestlers’ performances, particularly their takedowns, neck control and execution of techniques on the mat.
The former world and Olympic silver medalist stressed that the team’s objective went beyond winning medals, saying several wrestlers had emerged as potential future members of Iran’s senior squad.
He singled out Ashofteh, Ferasati, Elahi and Arshad as promising prospects, while he was particularly impressed by Esmali, who he believes could eventually challenge for the superheavyweight spot in the senior national squad, currently occupied by world-class star Amirhossein Zare.
“We have introduced wrestlers who can certainly move closer to the senior national team once the current generation moves on and can even compete for a place in the national team,” said Goudarzi.
“The level of competition, the atmosphere in the arena and the quality of the bouts were really high.
“In my opinion, this edition was no less impressive in terms of quality than the junior and even senior world championships. The arena was packed, and even the president of Azerbaijan was present during the 51kg final, with the fans passionately supporting their wrestlers.”
Goudarzi recalled how Ashofteh handled the pressure of wrestling an Azerbaijani opponent in front of a partisan crowd.
“I had been to so many competitions and thought to myself, ‘How is this kid going to wrestle in this atmosphere?’” he said. “He was leading 1-0 at the end of the first period. During the 30-second break, I told him he needed to score a takedown and a gut wrench to win.
“Interestingly, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘That’s exactly what I’ll do.’ And that is what happened.”
Goudarzi, meanwhile, acknowledged the strength of the Russian team and the emergence of Azerbaijan as a serious contender.
“Russian wrestlers were in better shape than in previous years, and Azerbaijan is gradually becoming a serious contender as well,” he said. “Despite all that, thankfully, we achieved a good result. It was really unfortunate that we lost the title in the final moments, but the world silver medal was the result of these kids’ efforts.”
Goudarzi insisted that developing young wrestlers must be an ongoing process, with athletes taught the fundamentals correctly before progressing to the junior and senior levels.
“Every year, we need to guide several U17 wrestlers toward the junior and then senior levels,” he said. “They must learn the correct techniques from this age so that when they reach the junior and senior levels, they are fully prepared.
“Courage, confidence in executing techniques and all the basics are developed at the U17 level. At the junior and senior levels, the focus should then be on technical details and strategy.”