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Olympic Channel: Iran's 'Greatest' Hassan Yazdani Seeks Wrestling Immortality

Thursday, June 25, 2020 - 12:35 By Andrew Binner

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Hassan YAZDANI, a 25-year-old native of Jouybar, is already a national hero in Iran. He's claimed gold at the Rio Olympic Games and has a pair of world titles on his resume. In an article published on the Olympic Channel, Andrew Binner broke down the career of "The Greatest" and looked at his path to a potential second Olympic title.

"Freestyle wrestling is Iran’s national sport, so when Hassan Yazdani pinned down the 74kg gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, he became an instant national hero.

He moved up to 86kg, which better suited his growing frame, taking out the world championships gold medal at his new weight division in 2017 and 2019.

Yazdani became known as The Greatest and Fearless back home, while his Instagram account swelled to over 500K followers. Quite simply, he could walk the streets of Iran like he was The King… which is incidentally another one of his nicknames there.

“The truth is that I hope I am worthy of these nicknames,” he told Tehran Times. “Each one is valuable for me and so I hope I can live up to the nicknames and the expectations of my great fans. I always want to keep their hope, so I accept them all and just hope that I am worthy.”

Read more on the Olympic Channel's site ... here

#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships Day 1

Monday, October 17, 2022 - 08:31 By Vinay Siwach

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 17) -- The U23 World Championships begins in Pontevedra with five Greco-Roman weight classes in action. Wrestlers from 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg will be on the mat for day one of the tournament.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

13:45: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) with a late takedown to pull off a 4-2 win over Rassul ZHUNIS (KAZ) in the 77kg quarterfinals. In the next match, Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) scores a stepout to win 2-1 against Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ)

13:25: Denis MIHAI (ROU) moves closer to winning his first gold medal of the year. After missing out on the U20 world and European Championships, he moves into the semifinal at the U23 Worlds.

12:55: That's the big upset of the day. U20 world champion Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) continues his impressive year with another big win. He goes past Oslo world champion Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) 7-1 at 130kg. Yousofi got the par terre first but Vyshnyvetskyi locked his arm for two. In the second period, he extended his lead to 3-1 before a last-second four-pointer got him the win 

12:25: Maksat SAILAU (KAZ) with a bear hug against Sunil KUMAR (IND) and then keeps him down for a fall at 87kg. That came out of nowhere from Sailau.

12:00: U20 world bronze medalist Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) begins with a commanding 8-0 win over Sajan BHANWALA (IND). This is the sixth tournament of the year for the U20 European champion.

11:45: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)  Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) and it's Amoyan who has been called passive in the first period. He is up 1-0 but can't get the turn from par terre. In the second period, Amoyan is on the top but he also fails to get any turn. 1-1 criteria lead for Amoyan. He will hang on for the 1-1 win

11:30: Idris IBAEV (GER) continues his good form from the senior world championships and begins his defense of the 77kg gold medal with an 11-2 win over Davit SOLOGASHVILI (GEO) 

11:00: Returning silver medalist Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) got a turn from par terre while Ahmet TASKINOGLU (TUR) failed to do so and Dad Marz wins the 55kg bout 3-1.

10:55: U20 world champion Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) takes no time in winning by fall over Marin NISHIMURA (JPN) at 130kg.

10:50: World champion from Oslo at 130kg Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) up against Paul MORALES (MEX). Yousofi keeps it a low affair and wins 6-0

1030: Welcome to Pontevedra. A rainy day here in the east coast city in Spain but the wrestlers are ready for their bouts.