World champions to headline Iran’s wrestling charge at Asian Games
Reigning world superheavyweight champions Amirhossein Zare’ and Amin Mirzazadeh will spearhead Iran’s freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling squads, respectively, at the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
With the wrestling competition at the multi-sport event, which will kick off on Sept. 30, and the following World Championships – starting Oct. 24 in Astana, Kazakhstan – separated by less than a month, the Iranian Wrestling Federation has opted for different lineups at the two major tournaments.
Despite global stars Hassan Yazdani, Kamran Qassempour, Rahman Amouzad, Saeid Esmaeili and Mohammad-Hadi Saravi all being left out of the equation, the two rosters will still be rich in international pedigree for the four-day continental showpiece at Nagoya’s Inae Sports Center.
Zare’, who will chase a second successive 125kg gold at the Asian Games, is one of three Iranian wrestlers across the two disciplines who will also compete at the World Championships.
Joining Zare’ in the freestyle squad is three-time world silver medalist Mohammad Nokhodi, who will be among the favorites in the 86kg contest in Nagoya before dropping to 79kg for the Senior Worlds.
Former world U23 bronze medalist Ali Momeni will compete in the 57kg category, while Abbas Ebrahimzadeh will aim for a second continental medal of his career after winning bronze at last year’s Asian Championships.
Two-time world bronze medalist Younes Emami will also go after back-to-back Asian Games titles in the 74kg category, while Olympic bronze medalist and world silver winner Amirali Azarpira, who fell short against Yazdani in the battle for a Senior Worlds spot, will be the wrestler to beat in the 97kg event.
Aiming for solace
Unlike Zare’, Mirzazadeh was denied a chance to defend his world title after being stunned by world U23 champion Fardin Hedayati in the domestic 130kg trials, and nothing short of a second Asian Games triumph would provide some consolation for the Olympic bronze medalist.
Elsewhere in the Greco-Roman contests, Mohammad-Javad Rezaei will look to improve on his silver-winning run at June’s Asian Championships when he gets his 72kg campaign underway in Nagoya.
Alireza Abdevali will compete in the 77kg event, where the 22-year-old will go after his maiden senior international gold after winning two world U20 titles.
Gholamreza Farrokhi is the third Iranian wrestler set to feature at both the Asian Games and the World Championships.
The 23-year-old will be the wrestler to watch in the 87kg contest in Nagoya before putting his world 82kg title on the line in Astana.
A glorious 2025 season saw Farrokhi post an impressive 17-0 record, including 11 technical-superiority wins, across different tournaments, collecting gold at the Senior and U23 World Championships as well as the Islamic Solidarity Games. His performances earned him United World Wrestling’s recognition as the Greco-Roman Breakout Performer of the Year.
However, Farrokhi will still need a surge in form at the Asian Games after suffering a shock 11-4 loss to Kyrgyzstan’s Asan Zhanyshov in the 87kg final at the Asian Championships.
Three-time Asian champion Mahdi Bali completes the Iranian six-man Greco-Roman squad, eyeing glory in the 97kg category in his first international appearance in three years.
Yielding a record 155 medals, wrestling has been Iran’s most prolific sport in Asian Games history, accounting for 74 of the country’s 192 gold medals across all sports and editions.
Iran bagged five golds, four silvers and one bronze across 12 freestyle and Greco-Roman categories in Hangzhou 2022.