U20 Wrestling World Championships:
Khalili, Mohammadnejad win freestyle golds, but Iran hits decade-low finish
Iranian wrestlers ultimately enjoyed a taste of freestyle glory at the U20 Wrestling World Championships, winning two gold medals through Sina Khalili and Abolfazl Mohammadnejad on the final day in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Sunday.
However, the two golds, coupled with Abolfazl Rahmani’s 92kg silver and a 61kg bronze for Ahoura Khateri on the preceding days, did little to prevent Iran, which had been crowned champion three times over the previous five editions, from recording its lowest finish in the freestyle standings in a decade.
With six other members of the squad finishing empty-handed in their respective categories, Iran had to settle for fourth place with 103 points.
The United States, which completed a clean sweep of medals across all 10 classes, including four golds and three silvers, collected 205 points for a third successive team crown.
Eligible for team points for the first time since 2022, Russia finished runner-up with 155 points, thanks to a seven-medal haul, including two golds. Japan was third with 130 points, bagging one gold, two silvers and three bronze medals.
Golds bring relief
It was perhaps destiny that Khalili met Haji Karimov in the 70kg final, after the Iranian had suffered a final defeat against another Azerbaijani opponent in Kanan Heybatov at the U23 World Championships last year.
A former U17 world champion, Khalili did not take any chances in Sunday’s showdown, starting on an aggressive note and keeping Karimov, who was soon called for passivity, on the back foot.
Khalili worked on his snapdowns and scored a takedown for the first points of the final before wrapping the Azerbaijani wrestler’s legs around his head and turning him three times to lead 7-0 in the first two minutes.
Khalili decided to switch his strategy in the second period and sat on his lead. Karimov managed a stepout and a takedown, but that was never going to trouble Khalili, who captured Iran’s first freestyle gold with a 7-3 victory.
“I had some really tough opponents, including wrestlers from the United States and Azerbaijan,” Khalili said. “They were strong competitors, but I was able to perform at my best and win the gold medal.
“Last year at the U23 Worlds, I lost to Heybatov after one moment of carelessness. When I saw that another Azerbaijani wrestler had reached the final, I was even happier, and it gave me even more motivation.”
Later in the day, making amends for his defeat in the 2025 final, reigning U23 world champion Mohammadnejad defeated American Dreshaun Ross 5-3 in the 125kg final.
Ross was put on the activity clock after some early hand-fighting, while Mohammadnejad was in trouble when the American caught his leg. However, the Iranian was quick to escape the hold and counter Ross for a stepout. Once the activity clock expired, Mohammadnejad led 2-0. A later stepout stretched his advantage to 3-0.
In the second period, Ross shot a double-leg, but Mohammadnejad managed to counter with a takedown to lead 5-0. Ross bounced back with a stepout and a takedown in the final five seconds, but it was too little, too late.
The under-par freestyle campaign came after Iran also endured a Greco-Roman tournament to forget, at least by its own standards, earlier in Bratislava, missing out on a fifth successive team crown.
Armin Shamsipour was the only Iranian gold medalist across the 10 divisions, triumphing in the 55kg class, while Amirali Heidari (60kg), Ali Gharibi (63kg), Amirmahdi Saiedi-Nava (77kg) and Ali Nematzadeh (87kg) added four bronzes to the medal haul.
Iran settled for the runner-up spot with 109 points, 33 behind Russia, which collected three golds, two silvers and one bronze.