According to the Wrestling Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships were held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to 27, 2026. Iran topped the team standings with 192 points, well ahead of Azerbaijan, which finished second with 104 points.
Saeed Esmaeili (67kg), Danial Sohrabi (72kg), Gholamreza Farokhi (82kg) and Fardin Hedayati (130kg) won gold medals for Iran. Payam Ahmadi (55kg), Ali Ahmadi-Vafa (60kg) and Alireza Mohmadi (87kg) claimed silver, while Ali Esko (77kg) and Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (97kg) secured bronze.
In the 55kg final, Payam Ahmadi lost 3-1 to Azerbaijan’s world champion Eldaniz Azizli after defeating opponents from the U.S., India and Kazakhstan on his way to the final.
Ali Ahmadi-Vafa reached the 60kg final after victories over Germany’s Abdol-Mohammad Papi, Romania’s Razvan Arnaut and Uzbekistan’s Alisher Ganiev. He was leading Japan’s Koto Gomi 7-1 in the final before losing by fall and settling for silver.
Saeed Esmaeili captured gold in the 67kg category after a series of dominant victories, including a 10-0 win over the Netherlands’ Laovina, an 11-0 victory against China’s Jin Sinxin and an 8-0 triumph over Uzbekistan’s world champion Aytjan Khalmakhanov in the final. Esmaeili also defeated Azerbaijan’s Olympic bronze medalist and world silver medalist Hasrat Jafarov in the semifinals.
Danial Sohrabi won the 72kg gold medal after defeating opponents from Sweden, Kyrgyzstan and Russia before beating Hungary’s Vankza 4-0 in the final. Ali Esko took bronze in the 77kg category after reaching the semifinals, where he lost 2-0 to Azerbaijan’s world silver medalist Sanan Suleymanov, before defeating Uzbekistan’s Nekibov 4-3 in the bronze-medal bout.
The final team standings were:
Iran — 192 points
Azerbaijan — 104 points
Uzbekistan — 80 points
Belarus — 63 points
Kazakhstan — 63 points
Russia — 61 points
Bulgaria — 60 points
Georgia — 53 points
China — 51 points
Armenia — 50 points
Iran’s latest triumph reinforces the country’s position among the leading powers in international Greco-Roman wrestling.
ahmad shirzadian - H.Hakimzadeh
