Iran Wrestling

Iran's Tokyo Olympic Lineup Set

By Ali Feizasa

TEHRAN, Iran (June 17) --- Iran finished the '16 Olympic Games with five medals (one gold, one silver and one bronze in freestyle and two bronze in Greco-Roman).  From the five Rio Olympic medal winners, superstar Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) is the only returning Olympic representative. The other ten will experience their first Olympics in Tokyo. 

"The Greatest," Yazdani has the chance to make history in Iran by winning his second gold medal in Olympic Games.

Iran line-up for Tokyo Olympic Games:

ATRI

Men’s Freestyle:
57kg - Reza ATRI 
After the retirement of Hassan RAHIMI, Reza Atri became the number one wrestler in Iran at 57kg. Atri earned the Olympic spot for Iran after he placed fifth at '19 World Championships in Nur-sultan. The '19 Asian champion defeated youngster Rahman AMOUZAD KHALILI Khalili in the team trials and was selected for Olympic Games.

65kg- Morteza GHIASI 
Amir Mohammad YAZDANI secured Iran's ticket to Tokyo at the Asian Olympic Qualifier, but Yazdani lost to Morteza GHIASI and will miss the Olympic Games.  Ghiasi, a '21 Asian bronze medalist, beat Yazdani by fall in the team trials and earned the right to represent Iran at 65kg.

74kg- Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI 
Iran's coaching board decided to send two 74kg wrestlers to the Poland Open to determine their 74kg team member. Hosseinkhani, the '16 world bronze medalist and Younes EMAMI, a '19 world bronze medalist at 70kg, competed in Poland but didn’t meet each other.

It was Emami who earned the Olympic spot for Iran at the Asian Qualifier, but he fell to Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) while Hosseinkhani succeeded to beat the Azeri, 3-0, in their semifinal mee

SIDE NOTE: Hosseinkhani holds five Asian medals -- including two gold (2014 & 2016) -- and one world bronze medal (2016).

yazdani

86kg- Hassan YAZDANI
Iranian superstar Hassan Yazdani has aimed to be the first Iranian wrestler in history to obtains two Olympic gold medals. But one of Yazdani's toughest rivals is not only inside of Iran -- but he's inside of his town, Juybar! Kamran GHASEMPOUR, the two-time Asian champion and two-time U23 world champion, competed against Yazdani in the team trials. But, like last year, Yazdani downed Ghasempour, 5-3, and will represent Iran at 86kg.

The 27-year-old Yazdani has five world and Olympic medals in his collection ('16 Olympic gold, two world gold medals ('17 & '19), one world silver medal ('15), and one world bronze medal ('18).

97kg- Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian
Earning the Olympic quote was only the start for Iran's 97kg wrestlers. They had a difficult national trial at the Poland Open to determine the spot. Three Iranian contenders were looking for that 97kg Olympic. They were '14 world bronze medalist Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN, three-time world medalist Alireza KARIMI and '21 Asian champion Ali SHABANI. 

Mohammadian grabbed the Tokyo ticket by defeating both of them and by winning gold in Poland.

125kg- Amir Hossein Zare
Like 74kg and 97kg, the same selection process was followed in Poland at 125kg between Amir ZARE and Amin TAHERI.

Zare, a U23 world champion, had a brilliant performance and captured gold while Taheri was eliminated after falling to the Egyptian wrestler. So, 21- year-old Zare received the Olympic spot and will represent Iran at heavyweight in Tokyo.

Nejati

Greco-Roman:
60kg- Alireza NEJATI 
Nejati, the 23-year-old, was a newcomer at the '19 World Championships but by winning the bronze medal, he introduced himself to the 60kg weight class. Nejati tightened his place in the Iranian GR lineup as captured gold medal in at the Ukranian tournament.

67kg- Mohammadreza GERAEI
Mohammadreza Geraei earned the 67kg Olympic spot for Iran by winning gold amongst a couple of past world medalists, RYU Hansu (KOR) and Armen VARDANYAN (ARM). The strong performance from the '19 U23 world champion convinced head coach Maohammad BANA to select him for Tokyo Olympic Games.

77kg- Mohammad Ali GERAEI 
The older brother is happy to see his younger brother beside him at the Olympic Games. Two-time world bronze medalist Mohammad Ali qualified for Tokto by winning a bronze medal in Nur-Sultan. Meanwhile, the trial for Iran 77kg Olympic spot was at the Ukrainian Tournament, where Geraei defeated Amin KAVIANINEJAD, 4-2, in the final match to receive a ticket to Tokyo.

Now, the Geraei brothers have the chance to make history by winning medal in Tokyo.

97kg: Mohammad Hadi SARAVI
The Poland Open acted as a team trial for at 97kg and 130kg. At 97kg, Mohammad Hadi Saravi, the one who achieved gold at the Asian Olympic Qualifier, met Iranian rival Mehdi BALI in the Poland Open finals earned his spot in Tokyo with a 3-0 win.

Amin

130kg- Amin MIRZAZADEH
At heavyweight, Amir GHASEMI placed fifth in Nur-Sultan to earn Olympic spot, while Ali Akbari YOUSEFI succeed to win gold at the '21 Asian championships but none of them represent Iran in Olympic Games.

During the Poland Open,  Ghasemi was eliminated but Yousefi and Amin Mirazazadeh advanced to the final bout. 

Mirzazadeh, the young and motivated '18 junior world champion, celebrated his Olympic license by winning the match, 3-1.

#WrestleSamokov

U20 World Championships 2025 Day 5 Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 20) -- The U20 World Championships will continue with Women's Wrestling in 50kg, 53kg and 72kg. Greco-Roman will begin with 60kg and 82kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 4 RESULTS

The semifinals will begin at 16:45 hours local time

14:00: SHRUTI (IND) with another tough defense in the final 20 seconds to claim a 4-0 win over Anna YATSKEVYCH (POL) and reach the semifinals at 50kg. She will face Audrey JIMINEZ (USA).

13:50: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) with a reverse throw for four from par terre for a 5-0 lead against Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL) in the 82kg quarterfinal. Yoshida finishes the bout with a 6-0 win.

13:45: Audrey JIMINEZ (USA) with a takedown masterclass as she beats Na HU (CHN) 10-0 to enter the semifinals at 50kg. She will take on Diana RYSOVA (UKR) for a place in the gold-medal bout. 

13:40: European U20 champion Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) gives nothing away and has an easy 8-2 win over Omer ALTAS (TUR) as Javadov enters the 60kg semifinals. He will take on Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO).

13:36: Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW), 2024 world U17 champion, with his serious gut-wrench hands Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB) an easy defeat and enters the 82kg semifinals.

13:31: 2024 world U17 bronze medalist Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) with two four-pointers in his 11-2 victory over Maksut SULTANOV (UKR) at 60kg. He will face SURAJ (IND) in the semifinals.

13:30: Former world U17 champion and Asian U20 champion SURAJ (IND) with a 3-1 victory over returning bronze medalist Papik DZHAVADIAN (UWW) at 60kg. Suraj with a correct throw for two points from par terre to win the bout.

13:28: Returning silver medalist at 72kg Yuqi LIU (CHN) gets a 10-0 victory over Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW) and reach the semifinals in which she will face Haticenur SARI (TUR)

13:27: Rinka OGAWA (JPN) with a fall over Songul KAVAK (TUR) in 22 seconds to reach the 50kg semifinals. Ogawa is looking to add a U20 world title to her 2023 world U17 gold.

13:24: Asian U20 champion Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ) gets the par terre advantage in the first period and turns PRINCE (IND) three times from par terre to win 8-0 and advance to the 82kg semifinals

13:20: Martik PETROSYAN (ARM) gets a huge headlock throw for four points in the second period to beat Seyed AZARSHAB (IRI) 7-3 and enter the semifinal at 82kg. Second loss for Iran in Greco-Roman 

13:13: KAJAL (IND) earns herself a place in the 72kg semifinals against defending champion Jasmine ROBINSON (USA) after a 7-0 victory over Kaiyrkul SHARSHEBAEVA (KGZ).

13:05: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) gets a stepout with 30 seconds left on the clock to beat Kubanych ARINOV (KGZ) 4-4 on criteria at 60kg. Lolua was down 4-3 with more than one minute left in the match but managed to score the match-winning stepout.

13:02: 2023 world U17 champion Natsumi MASUDA (JPN) has little trouble in seeing off  Kseniya KOSTSENICH (UWW), the European U20 champion at 50kg. Just a takedown masterclass to win 10-2

12:58: A 16-second 10-0 technical superiority win for Audrey JIMINEZ (USA) over Adriana DANISEVICIUTE (LTU) at 50kg. Jiminez is a multiple time age-group world medalist but is still searching for the gold medal.

12:56: A second fall in three bouts for defending champion Jasmine ROBINSON (USA) as she jumps over Veronika VILK (CRO) and keeps her back on the mat to secure the fall and enter the 72kg semifinals.

12:55: Rinka OGAWA (JPN) and Josephine WRENSCH (GER) had to wait three hours since the start of the action today. Ogawa had built a 9-0 lead before securing the fall over Wrensch and win at 50kg

12:50: Rematch of European U20 Championships final at 53kg as gold medalist Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR) clashes with Ilona VALCHUK (POL). Valchuk is the first to strike with a takedown on the edge for two points. But Polska scores a takedown and turn for 4-2 lead. Valchuk cautioned and bout restarts in par terre and Polska turns her two more times for a 9-2 lead. Just before the break, a takedown and another turn for 13-2 victory for Polska. 

12:35: Na HU (CHN) with a huge under-over arm throw to plant Sviatlana KATENKA (UWW) and gets the fall to enter 50kg quarterfinal.

12:22: At 60kg, European U20 champion and 2024 U17 world champion Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) with a 10-0 technical superiority win over Kacper SOBCZYK (POL). He used the gut-wrench to turn him

12:20: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) with an 9-0 technical superiority win over Omer ILDES (TUR) at 82kg. He controls Ildes and plants him on the mat for four outside the zone. He scores a takedown and turn to win 8-0. Turkiye challenge only to lose one more point.

12:17: European U20 champion Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) with a technical superiority win over Elmin ALIYEV (AZE) at 82kg. Shkarin looked in complete control.

12:15: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO), a senior European bronze medalist at 55kg, gets three turns from par terre and he downs Danila CHARAPENKA (UWW) 8-0, at 60kg in Samokov.

12:12: Papik DZHAVADIAN (UWW), a returning bronze medalist at 60kg, hands Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) a 8-5 defeat. Cortez was a silver medalist at 55kg last year but cannot match Dzhavadian in this bout

12:05: Omer ALTAS (TUR) with a takedown in the final minute after being down 2-1 to beat Amin ABDEVALI (IRI) at 60kg. First loss for Iran in Greco-Roman.

11:55: Pedro DE SOUZA (BRA) fails to hold on to his 6-1 lead in the second period against SURAJ (IND) and drops his 60kg Greco-Roman 1/8 bout 8-6. Suraj did not get any par terre but scored a takedown and got four when De Souza tried to throw him.

11:50: At 50kg, European U20 champion Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR) pins Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN) and advances to the quarterfinals in which she will face Ilona VALCHUK (POL)

11:45: SAARIKA (IND), Asian U20 champion, works to an controlled 10-0 win against European U20 bronze medalist Sevval CAYIR (TUR) at 53kg and enter the quarterfinals.

11:40: A 15-4 victory for KAJAL (IND) after she survives a big four-point throw from Emili APOSTOLOVA (BUL) at 72kg. Kajal managed to compose herself and worked for a technical superiority win. Kajal is a former world U17 champion and won silver medal at 73kg at this year's World U17 Championships.

11:35: Veronika VILK (CRO), the country's first-ever world champion in Women's Wrestling at any level, starts with a fall over Meiramgul MAKSOT (KAZ) at 72kg.

11:25: Yuqi LIU (CHN), the returning silver medalist at 72kg, begins her campaign with a 10-0 technical superiority win over Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE). Leg lace for the win.

11:20: Jasmine ROBINSON (USA) with a 34-second fall over Ai SAKAI (JPN) at 72kg as she moves into the quarterfinals. Sakai with a double-leg but Robinson with a lat drop and fall. Robinson is looking even more dominant than last year.

11:00: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) starts his run for a U20 world title with a victory over Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN). Yoshida is a former U17 world champion and senior Asian champion but finished with a bronze at the World U20 Championships last year. Yoshida and Szinay scored stepouts but the Japanese scored a takedown and side suplex for four points. Hungary challenge for a foul but there is non. A stepout in the second period and Yoshida wins 9-1.

10:45: Amin ABDEVALI (IRI) with a takedown and six three turns to win 8-0 against Dragos DRAGA (ROU) at 82kg.

10:35: Papik DZHAVADIAN (UWW) gets both par terre advantages in his opening bout against Takuma NAKASHIMA (JPN) at 60kg and scores from both to win 5-0.

10:30: Returning silver medalist Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) with a big headlock and four against Kristin PETROV (BUL) to secure the fall at 60kg.

10:20: Defending champion at 72kg Jasmine ROBINSON (USA) wastes no time in finishing her opening bout against Elvira ERSSON (SWE) with a lace and a double-leg for four. She is the favorite to win gold again

10:15: In the first bout at Greco-Roman 60kg, Asian U20 champion and former world U17 champion SURAJ (IND) rallies in the second period to score six turns after a takedown to beat Salamat MURATULY (KAZ)