The 2026 World Wrestling Championships in Greco-Roman style began in Astana, Kazakhstan, and on the first day of the competition, four Iranian wrestlers, namely Payam Ahmadi, Ali Ahmadi-Vafa, Ali Askou, and Gholamreza Farrokhi, passed their opponents with impressive displays and reached the top four.
The First Day of Competitions and the Wrestlers' Performance
In the 55 kg weight class, with 23 wrestlers participating, Payam Ahmadi, the silver medalist of the 2025 World Championships, had a bye in the first round and faced Max Emiliano Nuri from the USA in the second round. Ahmadi won this match with an excellent score of 10 to 1. In the third round, he also managed to defeat Lalit from India 9 to 0 with a beautiful wrestling performance and advanced to the semifinals.
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Ali Ahmadi-Vafa, an Iranian-born wrestler, had a bye in the first round of the 60 kg weight class and faced Abdol-Mohammad Papi in the second round, winning with a score of 9 to 1. In the third round, Ahmadi-Vafa defeated Rezvan Arnat from Romania with a score of 8 to 0 in a stormy match and advanced to the semifinals.
A Display of Power and Resilience
Ali Askou, in the 77 kg weight class, defeated Chapauskas from Lithuania 11 to 0 in the first round and was set to compete against the winner of the match between Kyrgyzstan and Germany in the next round. In the second round, he defeated Yerskeldi Matsatbek Ulu from Kyrgyzstan 12 to 1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. In the third round, Askou managed to defeat Robert Attila Fritsch from Hungary with a score of 5 to 1 and reached the semifinals.
Gholamreza Farrokhi, the gold medalist in the 82 kg weight class, had a bye in the first round and faced Zoltan Luvai from Hungary in the second round, winning by technical superiority. In the third round, he defeated Mihail Bradu from Moldova 9 to 0 and advanced to the semifinals.
These successes of Iranian Greco-Roman wrestlers on the first day of the World Championships demonstrate their talent and effort, increasing hopes for more medals in this competition. The presence of four Iranian wrestlers in the semifinals heralds good days for the sport of wrestling in the country.
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