Iran's Failure in the Start of Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Qualifiers

In the first two days of the Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling qualifiers for the 2016 Olympics, hosted by Kazakhstan, two Iranian representatives were eliminated after losing to their opponents. This competition is the last sporting event for Iran in the year 1394. So far, two Iranian wrestlers have taken to the mat, both exiting the competition without a victory. On the first day, Hamid Sourian, a seven-time world and Olympic gold medalist, competed. He had failed to secure a quota in the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas and was also unsuccessful in Kazakhstan. The captain of the Iranian national team scored four points against his Japanese opponent at the start of the match but later lost seven points and was defeated. Sourian had easily defeated this Japanese wrestler in the 2014 Zumbatli Cup. Bashir Babajan-Zadeh, representing the heavyweight category, faced Normakhan Tinaliev from the host country in his first match and lost 4-1, thus failing to secure an Olympic quota like Sourian. The coaching of the Greco-Roman wrestlers is led by Mohammad Bana, and Rasoul Khadem, the president of the wrestling federation, is also present at the competition venue. Only the finalists in various weight categories can qualify for the Olympics. 40 days ago, Babajan-Zadeh traveled to Hungary for a preparatory tournament. The Greco-Roman coaching staff announced before the start of the competitions that they did not intend to participate. The plan was later changed, and two wrestlers went. However, Babajan-Zadeh did not compete in the final against his Chinese opponent! Mohammad Bana told reporters, "Babajan-Zadeh was not injured, and I told him not to wrestle against the Chinese opponent! If we wanted to use him in the final, our strategy would be revealed, and they would focus on our heavyweight for the Kazakhstan competitions." These statements faced criticism, suggesting that after about ten years of competing internationally, Bashir had nothing to hide at the Asian level, and now that he was sent, it would have been better for him to compete in this match as well. The coaching staff's efforts to keep Babajan-Zadeh hidden from opponents were unsuccessful, and like Sourian, he only competed once in the qualifiers. In the continuation of these competitions, on Sunday, Omid Norouzi, representing the 66 kg Greco-Roman wrestling, and Kamal Ghasemi, representing the heavyweight freestyle wrestling, will compete for their Olympic quotas. This competition is not the last opportunity to obtain Olympic qualification, as there are still two more events remaining for wrestlers worldwide. The next Olympic qualifiers will be held in May in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where three wrestlers from each weight category will qualify for the Olympics. Unlike the Kazakhstan competitions, there are no continental restrictions in these competitions, and they will be held globally. The last Olympic qualifying competition will also be global and will take place from May 16 in Istanbul, where the top two in each weight category will qualify for the Olympics. However, for athletes aiming to shine at the Olympics, securing a quota should be done sooner to focus on their training and Olympic plans. In the first day of the Olympic qualifiers, in the 57 kg freestyle wrestling, Higuchi from Japan and Sik Yu from South Korea successfully secured Olympic quotas. In this weight category, Iran had previously secured a quota through Hassan Rahimi at the World Championships in Las Vegas. In the 74 kg freestyle wrestling, Takatani from Japan and Galimjan (Alimjan) from Kazakhstan reached the finals to secure Olympic quotas. Iran had previously secured a quota in this weight through Alireza Ghasemi in Las Vegas. In the 59 kg Greco-Roman wrestling, Shinobu Ota from Japan, who defeated Sourian in the first round, reached the finals along with Wang from China and secured Olympic spots. In the 85 kg Greco-Roman wrestling, Fei Peng from China and Yanarbek from Kyrgyzstan reached the finals and secured their quotas. Iran had also previously secured an Olympic quota in this category at the World Championships in Las Vegas.