Yazdani Striving for Gold after 97kg Bronze at World Championships

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (October 31) -- Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), who finished with a bronze medal in the 97kg weight category at the World Championships, said that this is not the end of the road for him.

Yazdani, the 2016 Rio Olympic champion at 74kg, finished with silver medals at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games at 86kg. But earlier this year, he made the Iran team for the 2026 World Championships at 97kg after beating Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI).

"This medal is not the end of the road for me," Yazdani wrote on his social media. "I still have the dream of [winning] the championship on my mind and I will try with all my might to make the flag of Iran fly high in the world once again.

The 31-year-old underwent two surgeries after the 2024 Paris Olympics but marked a return at the Zagreb Ranking Series this year. He lost in the 97kg final to Stephen BUCHANAN (USA).

But at the his first World Championships in three years, Yazdani managed to win his eighth world medal.

"In this comeback I was able to bag another medal for Iran," he wrote. "I know this position [third] is not what I have strived for and my fans deserve a greater honor."

Yazdani arrived in Astana for the World Championships as one of the four Olympic champions at 97kg along with Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS), Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN).

He won his first bout with rather ease before setting up a match against Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), a bronze medalist from the 2025 World Championships. Yazdani was on his way to beat Yoshida but gave up a takedown with 0.1 seconds remaining to drop the bout 7-5.

As Yoshida made it to the final, Yazdani was pulled back into repechage and he reached the bronze-medal bout against Tazhudinov. He managed to capture the bronze medal after a 5-0 win over the Bahrain wrestler.

"Returning after two years off the mat was not easy for me," Yazdani wrote. "I went through hard days to have the opportunity to wear the Iran's singlet and wrestle for Iran and its people. All this time, your encouragement has been one of my biggest motivations to keep going."