Top 5 Iranian Wrestlers of All Time
It’s reasonable to assume that Iran has a long and glorious wrestling legacy; Iranian wrestlers are among the best in the whole world. The Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 were the igniting spark for the nation’s future grandeur, as the country won an incredible five medals. Since that brilliant start, Iran has maintained its dominance, claiming Olympic and world titles year after year. It may be interesting to know that the national sport of Iran is wrestling. This article will introduce you to the best Iranian wrestlers, so keep reading!
Who Are the Top 5 Iranian Wrestlers?
If you’ve been a wrestling fan for some time, you certainly have come across an Iranian wrestler. Iran (also known as Persia) was formerly famous as the “cradle of civilization” because of its role in developing culture. Wrestling was prevalent in Greece and Persia during that historical period. In Persia, people would call wrestling Varzesh-e-Bastani (translates as Ancient sport), renowned for helping people better their mental and physical health. According to tradition, Iranian wrestlers were supposed to exemplify compassion and humility while also protecting society against evils. Now, let’s get familiar with the top 5 Iranian wrestlers.
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Gholamreza Takhti (غلامرضا تختی)
When it comes to wrestling, Gholamreza Takhti is always the first for Iranians. Known as Jahan Pahlevan (which translates as World Champion), Takhti was the most famous Iranian athlete of the twentieth century because of his noble nature and sportsmanship. However, other Iranian sportsmen have won more world medals than he did. Takhti is one of the best Iranian wrestlers ever, not just because of his medals but also his chivalrous deeds. Takhti was born in 1930 and died in 1968 when he was 37. On his first overseas tour, Takhti earned a silver medal in the world freestyle championships held in Helsinki in 1951, which was the first international medal ever won by an Iranian wrestler. It was at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki that he earned his second silver medal. After the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, he won a gold medal in Tehran at the world championships in 1959. His Olympic career came to a close with one gold medal and two silver medals to his credit.
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Rasoul Khadem (رسول خادم)
Rasoul Khadem was born on March 18, 1972, in Mashhad, Iran, and is still one of the best Iranian wrestlers. Khadem is a former Iranian wrestler who competed in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, where he earned a bronze medal and a gold medal, respectively. He also won the global championships in 1994 and 1995 and even the Asian championships in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. He received instruction from his father, Mohammad Khadem. From January 4, 2014, until November 3, 2018, he served as the Islamic Republic of Iran Wrestling Federation president. From January 2012 until 2018, he served as the technical director of Iran’s wrestling national teams and also the head coach of Iran’s freestyle wrestling national team. Furthermore, on January 20, 2014, he became the executive board of the Iranian National Olympic Committee, where he remained until January 2018.
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Alireza Dabir (علیرضا دبیر)
Alireza Dabir is one of the best Iranian wrestlers, born on September 16, 1977, in Rey, Iran. Since July 2019, he has served as the Islamic Republic of Iran Wrestling Federation president. He is a freestyle wrestler who has won several international championships during different matches. Dabir earned a gold medal in the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 and the World Championships in 1998, among other achievements. In 1999, 2001, and 2002, he topped as a runner-up. Due to a shoulder injury suffered at the Athens Olympics, Dabir could not compete. Interestingly, he served as a member of the Tehran City Council.
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Hassan Yazdani ( حسن یزدانی)
Hassan Yazdani was born on December 28, 1994, in Mazandaran, Iran, and is among the best Iranian wrestlers ever. Generally speaking, Mazandaran province is home to many great wrestlers. Yazdani has competed at the highest levels as an Olympic and World champion in freestyle wrestling in two weight divisions. Following his victory against Russian wrestler Aniuar Geduev in the final, he became the 2016 Summer Olympic champion in the 74kg weight class. He won the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in the Men’s freestyle 86 kg group the following year. The 2019 World Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan were his second world championship, and the 2021 World Wrestling Championships in Norway were his third. He’s now renowned as the world’s top wrestler.
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Hamid Sourian (حمید سوریان)
Hamid Sourian was born on August 24, 1985, in Rey, Iran, and is now among the best Iranian wrestlers of all time. Sourian is a young Persian wrestler who competes in the Greco-Roman style. He has won the World Championship six times. In 2005, Sourian won the Junior World Championships and also the Senior World Championships in the same year. He also won gold medals in the Asian countries in 2007 and 2008. During the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sourian won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman tournament for the men’s 55 kg weight class. As a result of his many world and Olympic victories, he’s famous as “7 Star General.”
Iranian Wrestling Team
Originally from Tehran, Iran, Mohammad Bana, born on August 6, 1958, is a former wrestler who currently works as the head coach for the Iranian national Greco-Roman wrestling team. At the London Olympics in 2012, Bana served as the head coach of the Iranian national Greco-Roman wrestling team, winning three gold medals. He’s widely famous as the most successful coach in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling in Iran. Pejman Dorostkar was born on August 18, 1976, in Tehran, Iran. Iranian freestyle wrestling head coach and former wrestler, he’s also one of the best Iranian wrestlers ever. Dorostkar participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in the men’s freestyle 76 kg. At the Asian Championships in 2001 and 2003, he took home two gold medals. At the 2021 World Wrestling Championship, the Iranian national freestyle wrestling team led by Pejman Dorostkar won three gold, three silver, and one bronze medal and managed to get 163 points.
Iranian National Freestyle Wrestling Team Members 2022
In the following, we’ve provided a list of the Iranian national freestyle wrestling team members in 2022.
57 kg: Alireza Sarlak, Reza Momeni, Erfan Ayini
61 kg: Dariush Hazrat Gholizadeh, Mohammadbagher Yakhkeshi, Saeed Anvari
65 kg: Rahman Amouzad, Morteza Ghiasi, Mohammadreza Bagheri
70 kg: Mohammadmahdi yeganeh, Amir Mohammad Yazdani, Ali Akbar fazli
74 kg: Younes Emami, Mohammadsadegh Firouzpour, Amirhossein Hosseini
79 kg: Mohammad Nokhodi, Ali Savad Kouhi, Mostafa Ghiyasi
86 kg: Hassan Yazdani, Alireza Karimi, Mojtaba Asghari
92 kg: Kamran Ghasempour, Amirhossein Firuzpour, Ahmad Bazri
97 kg: Mojtaba Goleij, Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian
125 kg: Amir Hossein Zare, Yadollah Mohebbi, Mohammad Moradi
Iranian National Greco-Roman Wrestling Team Members 2022
Here is the list of Iranian national Greco-Roman wrestling team members in 2022.
55 kg: Ali Nourbakhsh, Pouya Dadmarz
60 kg: Mahdi Mohsen Nezhad, Alireza Nejati, Omid Arami, Pouya NaserPour
63 kg: Meysam Dalkhani, Iman Mohammadi, Shirzad Beheshti
67 kg: Mohammad Reza Geraei, Sjjad Iman Talab, Hossein Asadi
72 kg: Mohammad Reza Mokhtari, Ashkan Saadati Far, MohammadReza Rostami
77 kg: Mohammad Ali Geraei, Amin Kaviyani Nezhad
82 kg: Pejman Poshtam, Rasoul Garmsiri, Mohammad Hossein Mahmoudi
87 kg: Naser Alizadeh, Hossein Nori, Ali Sharifi, Ramin Taheri, Hamid Badkan
97 kg: Mohammadhadi Saravi, Mahdi Bali, Mahdi Falah
130 kg: Amir Ghasemi, Ali Akbar Yousefi, Alireza Hassanvand
Iran Wrestling Ranking
The World Wrestling Championships in Oslo began on Tuesday night, September 25, and concluded on October 10, 2021. Final results: Iranian wrestlers Hossein Yazdani in 86 kg, Kamran Qassempoor in 92 kg, and Amir-Hossein Zare in 125 kg earned gold medals, Ali-Reza Sarlak in 57 kg, Amir-Mohammad Yazdani and Mohammad Nokhodi in 79 kg won silver medals, while Mojtaba Goleyj in 97 kg took home the bronze. The Iranian National Freestyle Team won three gold medals, three silver medals, a bronze medal, and 162 points, ranking them third at the Oslo, Norway, 2021 World Wrestling Championship. On the other hand, Russia and the United States took first and second place, with 173 and 165 points.
Iranian Olympic Wrestlers
We’ve provided a list of some of the Iranian wrestlers in Olympic by year in the following.
Iranian wrestlers in Olympic in 2004
- Babak Nourzad
- Majid Khodaei
- Alireza Dabir
- Alireza Rezaei
- Ali Ashkani
- Behrouz Jamshidi
- Sajad Barzi
- Masoud Jokar
- Mehdi Hajizadeh
- Alireza Heidari
- Hassan Rangraz
- Parviz Zeidvand
- Masoud Hashem Zadeh
Persian wrestlers in Olympic in 2008
- Abbas Dabbaghi
- Mehdi Taghavi
- Reza Mohammad Yazdani
- Fardin Masoumi
- Ali Mohammadi
- Ghasem Gholamreza Rezaei
- Seyedmorad Mohammadi
- Meisam Joukar
- Saeid Abrahimi
- Saeid Abrahimi
- Hamid Soryan Reihanpour
- Saman Tahmasebi
- Masoud Hashem Zadeh
Persian wrestlers in Olympic in 2012
- Hassan Rahimi
- Mehdi Taghavi
- Ehsan Naser Lashgari
- Komeil Ghasemi
- Omid Haji Noroozi
- Ghasem Gholamreza Rezaei
- Bashir Babajanzadeh
- Masoud Esmaeilpoor
- Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi
- Reza Mohammad Yazdani
- Hamid Soryan Reihanpour
Persian wrestlers in Olympic in 2016
- Hassan Rahimi
- Hassan Yazdanicharati
- Reza Mohammad Yazdani
- Hamid Soryan Reihanpour
- Saeid Morad Abdevali
- Ghasem Gholamreza Rezaei
- Abolfazl Nasiri Meisam
- Alireza Karimimachiani
- Komeil Ghasemi
- Omid Haji Noroozi
- Habibollah Akhlaghi
- Bashir Babajanzadeh
Persian wrestlers in Olympic in 2020
- Hassan Yazdanicharati
- Amir Hossein Zare
- Mohammad Reza Geraei
- Mohammadhadi Saravi