New Coaches Appointed for Iran's National Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling Teams

Mohammad Talaei and Ali Ashkani have been appointed as the new head coaches for Iran's national freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling teams. In recent decisions by the Wrestling Federation, Reza Laiq and Mohammad Talaei, who have been the closest individuals to Rasoul Khadem, have taken on important positions as the secretary of the federation and head coach of the national team. In the meeting of the technical council for the national freestyle wrestling teams, Mansour Barzegar, Ebrahim Javadi, Ali Bayat, Mohammad Hossein Mohabi, Majid Torkan, Askari Mohammadian, Hassan Hamidi, Amir Tavakolian, and Majid Khodaei were present. They made new decisions regarding the selection of the national team manager and head coach for adults in the presence of Rasoul Khadem, the president, and Reza Laiq, the acting secretary of the federation. It was stated in this meeting: "Considering the necessity of direct oversight from senior management, the federation should not delegate its authority in the adult category to the manager of the national freestyle wrestling team." This means that the federation president has eliminated the position of national team manager. This responsibility was previously held by Alireza Rezaei, who resigned due to disagreements with Rasoul Khadem before the Olympics. Majid Torkan, the 1990 world champion, has been appointed as the technical manager for the national teams in the youth, junior, and cadet categories. Mohammad Talaei, the 1997 world champion who was previously the head coach of the youth national team and assistant coach for adults, has been introduced as the new head coach of the national team. Reza Laiq will also take on the responsibility of "federation supervisor" in national team affairs in addition to being the secretary of the federation. After the meeting, Ali Ashkani was chosen as the new head coach of the national Greco-Roman wrestling team. Previously, Mohammad Bana led the national team. Hossein Malagasemi, Rahim Aliabadi, Mohammad Delyarian, Bahram Moshtaqi, Ahad Pazaj, Alireza Lorestani, Hossein Marashian, and Hamid Bavafa were members of the technical council in this meeting. It was decided that Hassan Babak, the current manager of the national Greco-Roman teams in the youth categories, would continue his activities. Ali Ashkani is the 2005 world runner-up. He has three golds and one silver from Asia and has been a member of the Iranian national team in the Sydney and Athens Olympics. Last week, Ashkani's students became world champions in the youth category after 20 years, which is a notable achievement for the successful head coach of the youth national team. Ashkani has been selected until the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, and Mohammad Talaei will hold this responsibility until the 2017 World Championships in Paris. Hamid Bani Tamim, the acting vice president of the wrestling federation who was previously dismissed from the secretary position, has been appointed as a supervisor in the affairs of the national Greco-Roman wrestling team.