U20 Wrestling World Championships:
Dire Day 1 as all Iranians miss out on Greco-Roman finals
Iran’s bid for a fifth successive Greco-Roman team title at the U20 Wrestling World Championships got off to a dreadful start on Sunday as all four of its representatives failed to reach the final in their respective weight classes on the opening day of the competition in Bratislava, Slovakia.
An U20 Asian gold medalist in June, Ali Gharibi began his 63kg campaign with emphatic victories over Moldova’s Vlad Duminica (9-0) and Egyptian Ahmed Youssef Ahmed (12-3), before defeating Armenia’s Aleks Margaryan by technical superiority (12-4) to progress to the semifinals.
However, a 4-1 setback against Russia’s Salim Kazmakhov sent the Iranian into the third-place contest. Kazmakhov scored a turn from par terre in the second period to lead 3-1 before being awarded a point after Iran’s challenge was unsuccessful.
Gharibi’s compatriot Amirmahdi Saeidi-Nava will also have to fight for a consolation bronze after suffering a 7-1 loss to Azerbaijan’s Javidan Nahmatov in the 77kg semifinals.
Nahmatov needed a counter four-point action to claim victory after the Iranian had tied the bout at 1-1 on criteria. Saeidi was looking for a duck-under to control Nahmatov, but the Azerbaijani wrestler stepped over and threw the Iranian for four points.
Saeidi was docked two points for a caution late in the bout, securing the victory for Nahmatov.
Saeidi made quick work of Sweden’s Ruben Straakeved (9-0) in the first round before defeating Russia’s Nazar Berkovskii (9-4) and Ukraine’s Nestor Baran (8-0) to reach the last four.
Amirhossein Nematzadeh, having beaten Kazakhstan’s Alikhan Tagayev by technical superiority (8-0) in the first round, fell short against Iurik Petrosian in the quarterfinals, losing 5-1, but was given a second chance for a podium finish in the repechage after the Armenian wrestler advanced to the 87kg final.
In 130kg, a traditional stronghold for Iran across all age groups in recent years, Amirhossein Abdevali, who also entered the tournament as the reigning U20 Asian champion, outmuscled American Trayvn Boger 9-1 in his first bout but crashed out in the quarterfinals after a shock 6-5 loss to Egypt’s Essam Anwar Hussein, who went on to lose in the semifinals. The U20 African champion stunned Abdevali with a four-pointer to take a 5-5 criteria lead. Iran lost the challenge as well, and Hussein pulled off an upset against the U20 Asian gold medalist, meaning Iran missed out on the superheavyweight podium for the first time in a decade.
The Greco-Roman event will be followed by the women’s competition before the freestyle contests get underway on Friday, where Iran will chase a first team title in three years after finishing third behind the USA and Kazakhstan in the 2025 edition.