Anti-Doping

Khasanboy RAKHIMOV Suspended for Anti-Doping Violation

Thursday, August 27, 2020 - 18:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 28) -- In accordance with Article 14.3 of the United World Wrestling Anti-Doping Rules (“UWW ADR”), the UWW hereby reports that the Athlete Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (Uzbekistan) has committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the UWW ADR – Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in an Athlete’s Sample. 

More precisely, a sample collected from the Athlete on 21 September 2019 during the UWW Senior World Championship 2019 has revealed the presence of the prohibited substance clomifene and its metabolites, listed under S.4 Hormone and Metabolic Modulators of the 2019 and 2020 WADA Prohibited Lists and prohibited at all times. 

The Athlete and UWW have agreed with on the consequences and the Athlete has been sanctioned as follows: 
1. Mr. Khasanboy RAKHIMOV has committed a violation of Article 2.1 of the UWW ADR. 
2. Mr. Khasanboy RAKHIMOV is suspended for a period of Ineligibility of 24 months. 
3. The period of Ineligibility starts from the date of the agreement on consequences (13 August 2020), with deduction of the provisional suspension already served by the athlete as from 13 February 2020 and shall remain in full force and effect until 12 February 2022. 
4. In accordance with Articles 9 and 10.8 of the UWW ADR, all the competitive results of the Athlete from 21 September 2019 until 13 February 2020 are disqualified with all the resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

Revised Final 125kg Standings from 2019 World Championships
01 - Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
02 - Taha AKGUL (TUR)
03 - Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
03 - Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
05 - Egzon SHALA (KOS) 
06 - Yadollah MOHEBI (IRI)
07 - Jamaladdin MAGOMEDOV (AZE)

'I was destroyed, couldn't sleep': Ghasempour recalls painful loss to Sadulaev

Monday, March 10, 2025 - 10:53 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 10) -- "I've thought about it a lot. Of course, it's in the past and thinking about it won't change anything. But I've thought a lot about why I made a mistake in those four seconds and I could have managed the wrestling differently and finished it very easily."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) stares at the empty walls of the interview room as he recalls the heartbreaking and shocking 5-3 loss to Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) in the semifinal of the World Championships last October.

The images of Ghasempour holding his head in hands after the loss went viral on social media. Sadulaev was praised for his champion mindset and his ability to script a remarkable late turnaround. Ghasempour was consoled by his fans, who urged him to not lose heart.

Those comforting words felt hollow at that point and Ghasempour felt 'lost'.

"The reality is that the fighting spirit and the feeling I had on the first day of the competition caused all those feelings to disappear and I was destroyed. I couldn't control myself and I just wanted the competition to end and go back," Ghasmepour says, with his voice breaking as he recollects his thoughts.

For 5 minutes and 55 seconds, Ghasempour controlled the 92kg semifinal against Sadulaev, a two-time Olympic champion known for his must-win attitude. A loss would have reinforced the belief that the Sauldaev aura was fading. A win for Ghasempour, a two-time world champion at 92kg, would make him only the third wrestler to beat Sadulaev.

But with five seconds remaining, Sadulaev snapped the Iranian down, spun behind, then managed to fling him to the mat for a 4-point takedown.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), behind, hits the match-winning takedown on Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"It was also very difficult for me to come to terms with the loss," Ghasempour recalls. "After the match, I felt very bad and didn't sleep all night. I was awake from the intensity of thought and pressure, and it was very difficult for me. Due to the pressure I was under, I took four painkillers after the match."

A few hours of sleep was never going to be enough for Ghasempour to return for his bronze-medal bout against David TAYLOR (USA), which he lost 6-2.

Four months have passed since that day in Tirana, a city Ghasempour returned for the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series last week and captured the gold medal. Though not the World Championships and there was no Sadulaev in the field, Ghasempour managed to bring a smile on his face as he stood on the podium.

However, memories flashed back.

"When I was going up to the podium [after winning gold], I thought again that I could have been standing on the Worlds podium a few months ago, not this tournament," he said. "But that's how sports is, and if a professional athlete wants to continue their path, they must know that winning and losing are part of sports."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) won the 92kg gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in February. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Ghasempour did take comfort from the messages he received. Yet, he is unable to move on from those five seconds of lapse in concentration.

"People gave me a lot of good energy and praised me constantly, which shows the kindness of the people," he says. "But what I wanted didn't happen and the result wasn't as I wanted. It would have been better if it ended with a good result."

As the new Olympic cycle begins, Ghasempour wants to make amends. There will be many pit stops before he can be at his first Olympics and he wants to capture every gold medal that comes his way.

"There are three more World Championships left before the Olympics [in 2028]," he says. "The World Championships are very important to me, and after that, it's the Olympic medal that I want to have in my medal showcase. In the year leading up to the Olympics, I will make the decision and compete in a weight class so that I can participate in the Olympics."