#WrestleIstanbul

World Paris Olympic Qualifier 2024 Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

ISTANBUL, Turkiye (April 29) -- After the World Championships and four continental qualifiers, it all comes down to the last chance World OG Qualifier in Istanbul for the wrestlers hoping to earn a spot for the Paris Olympics.

The qualifier in Istanbul will offer 54 Olympic quotas in each of the six weight classes of the three styles. Every weight category offers three Paris Olympic spots -- one each to the two finalists and one to the winner of the playoff between the two bronze medalists.

Greco-Roman will kick off the competition on May 9 followed by Women's Wrestling and Freestyle finishing it on May 13. All details of the schedule can be found here -- World OG Qualifier Schedule

Freestyle

57kg
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Zhipeng JIANG (CHN)
Roland TAMBI (CMR)
Peter HAMMER CUDE (CRC)
Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU)
Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Tsz Shing LEUNG (HKG)
AMAN (IND)
Alireza SARLAK (IRI)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Ali ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Chong HAN (PRK)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Kabe MATJANOV (TKM)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Spencer LEE (USA)

65kg
Niurgun SKRIABIN (AIN)
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Josh FAILAUGA (ASA)
Shannon HANNA (BAH)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN)
Baowen WEI (CHN)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Joshua KRAMER (ECU)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM)
Gibriel CHOW (GAM)
Andre CLARKE (GER)
Tsz Hei HEUNG (HKG)
Sujeet SUJEET (IND)
Joshua Stuart FINESILVER (ISR)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Davies ORIWA (KEN)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Lowe BINGHAM (NRU)
Muhammad ABDULLAH (PAK)
Abdullah ASSAF (PLE)
Cristian NICOLESCU (PLW)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Kwang Jin KIM (PRK)
Stefan Ionut COMAN (ROU)
Sahid Tejan KARGBO (SLE)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Jelaletdin SEYIDOV (TKM)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
Zain RETHERFORD (USA)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)
Ibrahim GUZAN (YEM)

74kg
Cherman VALIEV (ALB)
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Ibragim VELIEV (BEL)
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Miroslav KIROV (BUL)
Stone LEWIS (CAN)
Michel DOLE BONDELE (CGO)
Yi LI (CHN)
Jacques MONTY (CMR)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Luis BARRIOS (HON)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Raul PALACIOS (MEX)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Rasul SHAPIEV (MKD)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Viktor RASSADIN (TJK)
Arslan AMANMYRADOV (TKM)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Jamal ABDUL (UGA)
Vadym TSURKAN (UKR)
*Iman MAHDAVI (UWW)
Abdulkareem AL RABEDHI (YEM)

86kg
Arkadzi PAHASIAN (AIN)
Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Ariston BARTLEY (ASA)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Pedro GONCALVES (BRA)
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Peilong LI (CHN)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Yip Cheuk YEUNG (HKG)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Atai IZABEKOV (KGZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Saad AMANDAR (MAR)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Noel TORRES (MEX)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Pool AMBROCIO (PER)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Ivan MASAKWE (UGA)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN)

97kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Thomas BARNS (AUS)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
Cedric ABOSSOLO (CMR)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Babacarr MBOGE (GAM)
Erik Sven THIELE (GER)
Theodoros KYRIAKIDIS (GRE)
Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN)
DEEPAK (IND)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Andrei ARONOV (KGZ)
Juhwan SEO (KOR)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB)
Cristian SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Jose CUBA VAZQUEZ (ESP)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Gino AVILA DILBERT (HON)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
SUMIT (IND)
Abraham CONYEDO (ITA)
Aaron JOHNSON (JAM)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Joel TUKAI (KEN)
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Yeihyun JUNG (KOR)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)
Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN)

Selcuk CAN (TUR)Selcuk CAN (TUR) will look to win the Paris Olympic spot in Greco-Roman 67kg in front of the home crowd in Istanbul. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN)
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Josh FAILAUGA (ASA)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)
Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Christopher KRAEMER (GER)
SUMIT (IND)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Dahyun KIM (KOR)
Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR)
Alexis RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Romio GOLIATH (NAM)
Michal Jacek TRACZ (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Umit DURDYYEV (TKM)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)
Dalton ROBERTS (USA)
*Jamal VALIZADEH (UWW)

67kg
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (AIN)
Aslan VISAITOV (AIN)
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Ji LENG (CHN)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Muhammad ALIANSYAH (INA)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Din Mukhamed KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Nilton SOTO GARCIA (PER)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Yong Jin RO (PRK)
Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)
Sahid Tejan KARGBO (SLE)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas Jan Olov Pontus OEHLEN (SWE)
Begmyrat NOBATOV (TKM)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Ellis COLEMAN (USA)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)

77kg
Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN)
Tsimur BERDYIEU (AIN)
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Joilson RAMOS (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
John YEATS (CAN)
Tongyu CHEN (CHN)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Vikas VIKAS (IND)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Dowon LEE (KOR)
Hassan BARNAWI (KSA)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Jonathan VIRUET (PUR)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Bazargeldi EZIMOV (TKM)
Volodymyr YAKOVLIEV (UKR)
Kamal BEY (USA)

87kg
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Elias Lauofo VAOIFI (ASA)
Lukas STAUDACHER (AUT)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Daniel GREGORICH (CUB)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Raido LIITMAEE (EST)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Ariel ALFONSO (HON)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Sanghyeok PARK (KOR)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Jose VARGAS (MEX)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Yhlas ABDURAZAKOV (TKM)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

97kg
Artur SARGSIAN (AIN)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Houzhi HAO (CHN)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN)
Nitesh NITESH (IND)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Badamdorj BALTMUNKH (MGL)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Metehan BASAR (TUR)
Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR)

130kg
Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Darius VITEK (HUN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Roman KIM (KGZ)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Eduard BABENOSHEV (TJK)
Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Moises PEREZ (VEN)

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Four-time Olympic medalist Mariya STADNIK (AZE) will wrestle in Istanbul for a Paris spot in 50kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Viyaleta REBIKAVA (AIN)
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Geneviève MORRISON (CAN)
Rosine NTSA ASSOUGA (CMR)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA (ECU)
Aintzane GORRIA GONI (ESP)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Marina KARAPANAGIOTIDOU (GRE)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ)
Emma WANGILA (KEN)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Mariana DIAZ MUNOZ (MEX)
Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR)
Yorlenis MORAN (PAN)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Son Hyang KIM (PRK)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Nipuni WASANA (SRI)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Thi Xuan NGUYEN (VIE)
 
53kg
Oleksandra KOGUT (AUT)
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Sabrina GAMA TAPAJOS (BRA)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV)
Miriam NGOE WASE (CMR)
Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB)
Maria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Sztalvira ORSOS (HUN)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyoung PARK (KOR)
Zineb ECH CHABKI (MAR)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Veronika RJABOVOLOVA (MKD)
Yusneiry AGRAZAL WEST (PAN)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE)

57kg
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN)
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Yaynelis SANZ (CUB)
Graciela SANCHEZ (ESP)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR)
Alma VALENCIA (MEX)
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
Marija CVETANOVA (MKD)
Ester ABRAHAM (NAM)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
In Sun JONG (PRK)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Nachi MASUDA (AUS)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Yaru WU (CHN)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Mansi MANSI (IND)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA)
Melanie JIMENEZ (MEX)
Arian CARPIO (PHI)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

68kg
Alina SHAUCHUK (AIN)
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Qian JIANG (CHN)
Blandine NGIRI (CMR)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Ilana KRATYSH (ISR)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Ohyoung HA (KOR)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Ambar GARNICA (MEX)
Uilau TARKONG (PLW)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Alina BEREZHNA (UKR)
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) 

76kg
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Annie ALOISIO (ASA)
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Amy YOUIN (CIV)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAE (EST)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Agoro PAPAVASILEIOU (GRE)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Eunju HWANG (KOR)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Maria ACOSTA (VEN)

Iman MAHDAVI and Jamil VALIZADEH are part of the refugee and will be eligible for qualification in Istanbul as both are already qualified as part of the IOC Refugee Team for the Paris 2024. 

#WrestleTirana

Interview: Iran Greco-Roman coach Hassan Rangraz

By Vinay Siwach

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.