TEHRAN (February 18) – Defending champion Iran, which has lifted four of the last five Greco-Roman World Cups, will seek a repeat at home when wrestling gets under way at Azadi Sport Complex on Thursday in Tehran.
The Iranians, however, will apparently try for No.5 without the help of their four pillars of recent Greco-Roman success – London 2012 Olympic Games gold medalists Hamid SORYAN (59kg), Omid NOROOZI (66kg), Ghasem REZAEI (98kg) and 2011 world champion Saeid ABDVALI (71kg).
Soryan won his sixth world title in Tashkent last September while Omid had to settle for a silver medal and Rezei earned a bronze. Abdvali, meanwhile, took a bronze medal the Asian Games in Incheon, Korea. But, all will be sitting on the sidelines.
Ready to step in for the Fab Four will be 2014 Yadegar Imam Cup winner Mohsen HAJIPOUR (59kg), world and Asian Games bronze medal winner Afshin BYABANGARD (66kg), junior world runner-up at 75kg Payam BOUYERI (71kg) and Asian Games gold medalist Mehdi ALIYARI (98kg).
Asian Games champion Habibollah AKLAGHI (80kg) as well as Asian Games bronze medalists Mojtaba KARIMFAR (85kg) and Bashir BABAJANZADEH (130kg) will help to fill out the Iranian line-up.
Competing in Group A, Iran will face Azerbaijan, Sweden and Germany in preliminary dual meets and will take on the winner from Group B, led by last year’s runner-up Russia, for the World Cup. Also competing in Group B will be Hungary, Armenia, and Turkey.
Russia, which halted Iran’s bid for a fourth straight World Cup in 2013 with a 5-2 victory in the final in Tehran, brings in a group of decorated veterans along with two-time junior world champion Sergey SEMENOV (130kg) in their bid to reclaim the Cup.
World champion Chingiz LABAZANOV (71kg) spearheads a Russian “first team” that includes London 2012 gold medalist Roman VLASOV (75kg), silver medalist Rustam TOTROV (98kg) and last year’s world runner-up Evgeny SALEEV (80kg).
Russian alternates include Olympic champions Islam-Beka ALBIEV (66kg), Aleksey MISHIN (85kg), Alan KHUGAEV (85kg), 2013 world champion Nikita MELNIKOV (98kg) and last year’s runner-up to Soryan, Mingiyan SEMENOV (59kg).
Azerbaijan, which finished in third place last year with a 6-2 win over Hungary, returns with its first team line-up largely intact and two-time world silver medalist Saman TAHMASEBI (85kg) leading the way.
World bronze medalist Rasul CHUNAYEV (71kg) is listed as an alternate along with four of last year’s junior champs, including Murad MAMMADOV (59kg) and Orkhan NURIYEV (98kg).
World champion Peter BACSI (80kg) leads a solid Hungarian squad that includes world bronze medalists Peter MODOS (59kg), Tamas LORINCZ (71kg) and Balazs KISS (98kg).
Turkey arrives with world silver medalist Riza KAYAALP (130kg) anchoring a steady side with two-time former world champion Selcuk CEBI (80kg), world runner-up Yunus OZEL (71kg) and 2013 world bronze medal winner Emrah KUS (75kg).
Sweden, which hosted the first Greco-Roman World Cup in 1980, returns to Cup competition for the first time in 25 years led by London 2012 bronze medalist Johan EUREN (130kg) and world bronze medal winner Jim PETTERSSON (85kg).
Armenia, appearing in the World Cup for the seventh year in a row, is without world champions Arsen JULFALAKYAN (75kg) and Artur ALEKSANYAN (98kg). They will be led by 2013 junior world champion Karapet CHALYAN (75kg) and military world bronze medalist Rafayel ALEKSANYAN (71kg).
Germany, meanwhile, makes only its second appearance at the World Cup and first since hosting the event in 1995. Eduard POPP (130kg), who finished fifth at super heavyweight in Tashkent, is the only wrestler of four main point-scorers for Germany at the world meet to make the trip to Tehran.
Popp is joined by two fifth-place finishers from the European championships last April – Jan FISCHER (85kg) and Felix RADINGER (98kg), who is stepping in for world silver medalist Oliver HASSLER (98kg).
Group A: Iran, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Germany
Group B: Russia, Hungary, Armenia, Turkey
February 19, Thursday
09:30-13:30 Competition – Sessions 1 & 2
16:00-16:30 Opening Ceremony
16:30-21:00 Competition – Sessions 3
February 20, Friday
09:30-13:30 Finals – 7th-8th, 5th-6th
15:00-19:00 Finals – 3rd-4th, 1st-2nd
Award ceremonies
