#WrestleTirana

Interview: Iran Greco-Roman coach Hassan Rangraz

Sunday, February 16, 2025 - 10:38 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 14) -- Iran won its first Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman at the 2012 London Games. Rio 2016 was a blank but Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) won at the Tokyo Olympics. Soon, Iran changed the coaching staff and brought in Hassan RANGRAZ to lead the Iran team.

Rangraz enjoyed success at various levels but the 2024 Paris Olympics was one of the best that Iran had. Two gold medals, one silver and one bronze made it the most successful Olympics for Iran.

The 44-year-old soft-spoken former world champ has a different personality while coaching. He rarely takes the role of first coach during the bouts. But he is always animated in the corner, shouting instructions to his wrestlers and sometimes reacting to the referee's decisions.

As the new Olympic cycle for the 2028 Los Angeles Games begins, United World Wrestling caught up with Rangraz at the season opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series. Rangraz explained the success of Iran's Greco-Roman team, training in Tehran, defended the selection process and the fans who have a say on everything in Iran wrestling.

Hassan RANGRAZ (IRI)Iran's national Greco-Roman coach Hassan RANGRAZ during the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Excerpts:

- How do you see the success of Iran Greco-Roman team at the Paris Olympics?

Rangraz: In my opinion, the result of the Paris Olympics, with four medals, two of them gold, was a remarkable achievement in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling for Iran. This success was primarily due to the six years of planning by the federation, the efforts of former head coaches and previous coaches. I played a very small part in this journey.

- What is it like in the national camp for Iran?

Rangraz: Right after the Olympics, with a very short break, we began our planning. From the Olympics to the 2025 World Championships, we will have 22 training camps, totaling 220 days. We will also be competing for nearly 80 days. Out of the 365 days in a year, our wrestlers will be under direct supervision of the coaching staff for about 300 days. They will follow intense training programs and preparation matches. Even during the remaining 60 days, they will still be monitored indirectly through technical and strength training programs provided by the coaching staff.

- Iran's selection process often comes under scrutiny. Despite that, it keeps producing results. What are you thoughts on the current selection process in Iran?

Rangraz: We have a process and young wrestlers can enter this cycle to compete and prove their worth. The prime examples of this process are Esmaeili and Mohammadi. They shone in domestic and international tournaments, competed with top wrestlers in their weight classes. They performed and won Olympic medals. We are committed to implementing the national team’s selection process and giving talented young wrestlers the opportunity to prove themselves. This way, we can execute the talent identification process in the best possible way.

- What are the responsibilities and challenges as the national coach?

Rangraz: Wrestling is the number one sport in Iran and our national, patriotic, and traditional sport. Wrestling is part of Iran’s culture. Therefore, taking on the technical responsibility as the head coach primarily brings stress, anxiety, and immense pressure. On top of that, you have to be accountable for the results and take responsibility for the team’s performance. In terms of difficulty, I can confidently say that considering the intense scrutiny, being the head coach of the national team is so challenging it’s like working in a mine.

- The fans of Iranian wrestling are always involved. How do you see this and does it affect you in any way?

Rangraz: As I mentioned earlier, 80 million Iranians have a deep love for wrestling. Perhaps that’s why a tournament that may not hold much significance for people from other countries is so important to our people. They follow it closely, they care about it, they rejoice in victories and worry about defeats. This immense passion and support from fans is the greatest strength and asset for wrestling in our country.

- What is the roadmap for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?

Rangraz: We believe that the Olympic Games are just around the corner. Four years go by very quickly. To succeed in the Olympics, you need to work hard, but also work smart. You can’t afford to miss a single training session or day. With this mindset and determination and knowing how high and legitimate the expectations are, we continue on our path with great strength, despite all the pressures we feel in every competition.

I believe the future of Iranian wrestling is very bright. Iran is passionate about wrestling. One of my dreams is that, just like in 1998 and 2002, we can once again host the World Wrestling Championships in Iran. The main reason for this is that nowhere else in the world will you find such passionate and numerous fans. These fans are the greatest asset of world wrestling, not just Iranian wrestling, and their expectation is to host a World Championship event.

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Kamal survives scare in Ulaanbaatar amid Turkiye gold rush

Friday, May 30, 2025 - 13:58 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (May 30) -- Turkiye captured all three Greco-Roman gold medals on offer on Friday with European champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR) surviving a tough final to win at 63kg, and Paris Olympians Enes BASAR (TUR) and Hamza BAKIR (TUR) winning at 60kg and 130kg respectively.

Kamal, who won European Championships gold in dominant fashion, could not replicate that performance from April but still managed to win gold. In the final, he survived a scare against Asian Championships bronze medalist Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), winning 6-6 on criteria, thanks to a foul from Chung.

Both had wrestled in the group stages as well as this weight category only had seven wrestlers and were divided into two groups. Kamal came out on top 6-3 in that match.

But the final began with Chung scoring a takedown in the first minute and then adding another point when he was given the par terre advantage. However, he failed to score from that position.

In the second period, Kamal scored a push from par terre and had Chung's back on the mat for two points. He then lifted Chung upside down and completed a throw during which Chung committed a defensive leg foul.

Korea challenged the call but lost which gave Kamal a 6-4 lead. Chung tried to score and during the final 10 seconds, he pushed Kamal to the zone and the Turkish wrestler lost his balance, giving up a takedown.

Chung tied it 6-6 but Kamal led on criteria as Chung had committed the leg foul earlier. Chung realized it later that he was losing the final.

"I think it was a bit of a misjudgment because I thought I was winning and I didn't try hard for last 7 seconds at the end," Chung said. "I'm training hard with [former world champion] Hansu RYU (KOR) as my role model, and I'm trying to copy his style a lot."

For Kamal, the tournament was an eye-opener, especially for his performance against the Asian wrestlers.

"It was a very difficult tournament," Kamal said. "From the first round to the final match, I had very strong and very tough opponents. It was one of the hardest matches I've had this year. Winning is important, but in this tournament I realized that I have many mistakes. I'm thinking that I'm going to watch all my matches over and over again and analyze them and try to wrestle in a way that is more error-free and less pointless."

As he gears up to win his first senior world title in Zagreb later this September, Kamal is now wary of his opponents from Asia and wants to tackle them with more conviction.

"All my opponents are Asian," he said. "Kyrgyz, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Iranian. These are my strongest opponents. When you look at it, most of my opponents are from Asia, so I try to wrestle like Asians. I try to train like them, because they are very difficult to keep up with, they are very active. But as I said, as much as I can stop them, as much as I can do, as long as I can, I will continue to wrestle with them and wrestle like him."

Despite his close matches against Chung, Kamal looked in supreme form, especially while defending on par terre, as he captured his second Ranking Series gold medal of the year. His first gold was in Tirana, Albania.

"I don't think about it there [on the mat], to be honest, because I'm in a completely negative position," he said. "I'm trying to get out of it by doing all the weird things I can. The important thing is that I don't get scored there. It doesn't matter how I do it, what I do, the important thing is not to give points to my opponent and to continue in that way. So I'm very happy that I was able to do that."

Enes BASAR (TUR)Enes BASAR (TUR), blue, won gold medal at 60kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Basar, who was at the Paris Olympics at 60kg, won four bouts in the day to claim the gold medal. He began with an 8-3 win over Kurmanbek ZHAPAROV (KGZ) but his second against Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ) tested him to the limits. He made two comebacks to win 16-5, using a strong gut-wrench.

He followed that win by beating SURAJ (IND), 8-0, in a minute and 13 seconds before finishing his campaign with a 10-2 win over Ganbayar NAMSRAI (MGL).

Hamza BAKIR (TUR)Hamza BAKIR (TUR) claimed the 130kg gold medal in Ulaanbaatar. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The most dominant run of the day came from Hamza BAKIR (TUR) at 130kg, as he won all his four bouts via technical superiority.

In his first bout, he gave up a point for passivity but still managed to win 9-1 against Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ). That was the only point he gave in the competition, winning his next three bouts via technical superiority.

He defeated Turbat BATBAYAR (MGL), 8-0, in Round 2, PREM (IND) with identical scoreline in Round 3 and in Round 5, he won against Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL), 8-0.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Enes BASAR (TUR)
SILVER: SURAJ (IND)
BRONZE: Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ)

63kg
GOLD: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), 6-6

BRONZE: Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT) df. Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI),

130kg
GOLD: Hamza BAKIR (TUR)
SILVER: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL)
BRONZE: Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ)