Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) won the 130kg gold medal at the World Championships in Astana after five technical superiority wins.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (October 26) -- Arguably the toughest match Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) had on the path to the gold medal in his senior World Championships debut came four months earlier and over 2,600 kilometers away.
That was when he defeated reigning world champion and compatriot Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) in a domestic playoff to make Iran’s team to Astana, where he would rampage to the Greco-Roman 130kg title.
Hedayati followed Mirzazadeh as world champion with a quicksilver 8-0 rout of Darius VITEK (HUN) in the final on Monday, when three Greco-Roman titles were decided at the World Championships in Astana’s Barys Arena.
“To win the most precious medal, the gold, in my very first senior World Championships is incredible, and it brings me such joy to make my fellow countrymen happy,” Hedayati said. “Seeing my dear compatriots happy means the world to me. It’s worth even more than a World or Olympic gold medal.”
Two returning bronze medalists stepped up to the top of the medal podium by taking the other golds at stake, as Danial SOHRABI (IRI) prevailed at 72kg in another Iran-Hungary matchup and Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) became Belarus' third-ever Greco-Roman title with a hard-earned victory at 97kg.
Iran, with three champions and potentially two more on Tuesday when the final Greco-Roman medals are awarded, has already clinched the team title.
Nothing personified Iran’s dominance more than the devastation that Hedayati left behind in his wake in adding the senior world gold to his world U20 title in 2023 and world U23 crowns in 2024 and 2025.
Hedayati won all four of his matches by technical superiority, all without conceding a point and all within the first period. His total time spent on the mat was 6:58, just a bit more than one match’s worth.
In the final, Hedayati continually kept the pressure on Vitek, rapidly stringing together a series of point-producing moves. A stepout was followed by a takedown, a two-point tilt and a gut wrench for a 7-0 lead before either could break a sweat. The gold-clinching stepout came just 42 seconds after the match started.
To get to Astana, Hedayati first had to get over the man-mountain of two-time world champion and Paris Olympic bronze medalist Mirzazadeh. A year ago, Mirzazadeh defeated Vitek 7-2 for the world gold in Zagreb.
“Hedayati is more explosive,” Vitek said when asked to compare the two Iranian champions. “I tried to prepare for this, but he was better.”
In the team selection playoff in June in Kerman, Iran, Hedayati got the best of Mirzazadeh with a 5-1 victory in the first of what was supposed to be a best-of-three series. Mirzazadeh opted to forgo the remaining matches, symbolically handing the baton to Hedayati.
Whether he can ever get it back again remains to be seen. Emboldened by his triumph, Hedayati is now determined to put in the hard work that will reap even bigger rewards.
“Wrestling is a sport where there are no fixed limits or records,” Hedayati said. “My task has become harder today compared to yesterday.
“I didn’t have a senior world championships gold medal, but now I’ve secured one. It’s going to require a tremendous amount of effort. From this point forward, I am fully committed to continuing on this path, with the aim of winning multiple world and Olympic medals, all through hard work and dedication.”
In the 72kg final, Sohrabi grinded out a 4-0 victory over Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) to add the world title to his Asian gold from 2025.
“Over the past year, the only thing on my mind was winning the world gold medal,” Sohrabi said. “Every single day, I would write down: ‘I must win the world gold medal.’ I wrote it down every single day.
“Thankfully, through the kind prayers of the people, I was able to win the gold and bring happiness to my dear fellow countrymen.”
Sohrabi, getting the first and only chance of the match on top in par terre, was unable to turn Vancza, but managed get a stepout to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
In the second period, Sohrabi charged in for a bear hug, then maneuvered Vancza to the mat for a takedown that would conclude the scoring.
The victory was repeat of Sohrabi’s 6-1 win over Vancza, the 2022 European silver medalist at 67kg, in the semifinals at the Zagreb Ranking Series in February 2025.
At 97kg, Maskevich defeated fellow two-time world medalist Artur SARGSIAN (RUS), 7-1 in an untidy final that turned on a singlet-grabbing penalty.
“I had two World Championship medals to my name, but today was the first time I’ve actually stood on the top step of the podium. It’s an unforgettable feeling,” Maskevich said.
“The very thing I’m always chasing and I couldn’t be happier. Honestly, we’ve really missed hearing our national anthem. It’s doubly rewarding to hear it now, especially while standing on the podium myself.”
After conceding a passivity point in the first period, Maskevich got his chance on top in par terre in the second. While Sargsian kept from being turned, he was flagged for grabbing the singlet, a two-point penalty.
Sargsian got another chance in par terre with a minute left, but was unable to budge Maskevich, and his desperation flying squirrel in the final seconds only opened the door for Maskevich to add four more points to his tally.
“A final match is, in many ways, a battle of the mind, and today, I had the edge in that regard,” Maskevich said. “At this level, wrestlers are all fairly evenly matched technically, which is why, as I said, psychology plays such a decisive role.”
For Maskevich, the win avenged a 4-1 loss to Sargsian in the bronze-medal match at this year’s European Championships in April. That came two months after they had both advanced to the final at the Tirana Ranking Series, but Maskevich defaulted due to injury.
Maskevich won his first world medal at 87kg, a silver in 2021, and feels confident about his transition to the higher weight.
“I’ve only recently moved up to 97kg weight class,” he said. “Last year was my first in this new category, and I managed to reach the podium and take bronze. This year, everything came together, and I won.”
Maskevich gave Belarus its third world gold after the two won by Alim SELIMOV (BLR) at 84kg in 2005 and 2011. Overall across all three styles, it was the country’s seventh since gaining independence in 1991.
In the bronze-medal matches, dethroned 97kg champion Hadi SARAVI (IRI) bounced back from his devastating semifinal loss to Sargsian by earning his fourth career medal, although it didn’t come that easy.
Saravi combined a passivity point in the first period with a go-behind takedown in the second to edge veteran Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) 3-0 to add to his 2021 and 2025 world golds and 2023 bronze.
His victory came a day after two other dethroned champions, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) at 55kg and Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) at 60kg, won bronze medals.
Saravi, the Paris Olympic champion and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist, won a third straight Asian title and fourth overall earlier this year.
The 31-year-old Kessidis was competing in his fourth different weight class at the World Championships. He has a silver medal from the last time Astana hosted the worlds in 2019 -- seven years and 20 kilograms ago at 77kg.
In the other 97kg match, Kiril MILOV (BUL) won his second straight bronze and third world medal overall, pulling off a sleek, twisting 4-point move to finish up a 10-0 victory over Markus RAGGINGER (AUT).
Milov stormed to a 5-0 with two gut wrenches off par terre in the first period. In the second, Ragginger seemed on the verge of getting behind in standing position when Milov latched onto a wrist and twisted him onto his back for 4 at 3:24. An unsuccessful challenge added the 10th point.
At 130kg, the two bronze medalists from 2025 were both looking to make it two in a row, and while Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR) managed to repeat, Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN) went down to somewhat suspect defeat.
Hlinchuk, also a European bronze medalist, got a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, and that made the difference in a 3-1 win over Asian silver medalist Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB).
Kuosmanen went down to a 9-4 defeat to Asian bronze medalist Wenhao JIANG (CHN), whose receiving of a 2-point penalty for head butt in the second period changed the complexion of the match.
Kuosmanen took a 4-2 lead in the first period with a pair of takedowns that bookended a precarious situation, when Jiang stepped over on a roll attempt for 2 and momentarily had a fall situation before the Finn extricated himself.
In the second period, Kuosmanen was assessed the penalty, with an unsuccessful challenge putting him behind 5-4. In a show of surprising agility in the final seconds, Kuosmanen leapt high for a flying squirrel, only to be dumped unceremoniously to the mat for 4 to secure the win for Jiang.
At 72kg, Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) added to the bronze he won at 67kg in 2021, overwhelming Mingiian GORIAEV (RUS) 10-0 in 1:41. After a two-point arm throw to get started, Ismailov made the most of being on top in par terre, muscling Goriaev over for a 2-point exposure, then ending the match with five-point lift and dump.
European silver medalist Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) held off a late charge from two-time Olympic 67kg medalist Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) to take home the other 72kg bronze with a 7-4 victory.
Lomadze looked to be complete control when he scored a 4-point throw from par terre in the first period and added a takedown to lead 7-0 in the second. Nasibov, however, was not quite done, scoring a takedown and two-point tilt to cut the gap to three points.
But that was as close as he would get.
Day 3 Results
Greco-Roman
72kg (27 entries)
GOLD: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Krisztian VANCZA (HUN), 4-0
BRONZE: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) df. Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), 7-4
BRONZE: Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) df. Mingiian GORIAEV (RUS) by TS, 10-0, 1:41
97kg (28 entries)
GOLD: Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) df. Artur SARGSIAN (RUS), 7-1
BRONZE: Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) by TS, 10-0, 3:24
BRONZE: Hadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Alex KESSIDIS (SWE), 3-0
130kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Darius VITEK (HUN) by TS, 8-0, :42
BRONZE: Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR) df. Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB), 3-1
BRONZE: Wenhao JIANG (CHN) df. Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN), 9-4
Senior World Championships • Astana, Kazakhstan