Alireza Rezaei's Participation in the Yarygin Cup

Alireza Rezaei, the heavyweight wrestler from Iran and third place winner at the World Championships in New York, will leave Tehran for Moscow tomorrow to compete in the Yarygin Cup against top heavyweight wrestlers from around the world. Before this trip, Rezaei stated in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) that winning or losing is not important; rather, he aims to familiarize himself with the caliber of heavyweight wrestlers worldwide. He continued that he was injured in his leg after the World Championships and had his leg in a cast for 20 days. After removing the cast, he has only trained for 4 or 5 sessions, so he is not in peak condition for the Yarygin Cup, and under these circumstances, few would be willing to compete. He added that not achieving results in preparatory competitions is not of great importance, as such fields pave the way for the wrestler's progress and future successes. By participating in the Yarygin Cup, he intends to become more acquainted with the various classes of wrestlers worldwide to get closer to his main goal of winning a medal at the Olympics. In the continuation of his conversation with ISNA, Rezaei considered the idea of participating in a tournament at 100% readiness to be a mistake and emphasized that if less attention is paid to winning and losing, one can participate in tournaments with relative readiness to achieve their subsequent goals of victory in official arenas. The third-place world champion in the 120 kg category commented on the presence of foreign wrestlers like Recep Kara in the league, stating that the presence of freestyle wrestlers from Russia and Turkey is very beneficial for Iranian wrestling and contributes to its growth. The class confrontation between Iranian, Russian, and Turkish wrestling brings progress to the sport and also significantly aids in its promotion. Rezaei concluded by mentioning recent discussions about appointing Borzgar as the head coach of the national team, stating that there is no doubt about his technical and managerial abilities, and he hopes that with the determination of the national team coaches, all of whom are experts and passionate about this sport, they can work together to ensure the national team's success at the Athens Olympics.