Iran Wins Greco-Roman Team Title at 2026 U23 World Championships

The Greco-Roman competition at the 2026 U23 World Championships wrapped up in Las Vegas with Iran claiming the team title after three gold medals and two bronze medals.

Iran finished with 119 points, edging Kazakhstan, which placed second with 114 points. Russia finished third with 105.

Iran’s gold medals came from Erfan Jarkani at 63 kg, Abolfazl Mohmedi at 82 kg, and Yasin Yazdi at 87 kg.

Photo: Sportaran.com

Jarkani defeated Japan’s Manato Nakamura 2–1 in the 63 kg final, while Yazdi controlled his 87 kg championship bout against Kazakhstan’s Temirlan Turdakyn for a 4–0 victory. Mohmedi had secured the 82 kg title a day earlier with a 2–1 win over Armenia’s Martik Petrosyan.

Mohammad Kamali added a bronze medal for Iran at 67 kg after his semifinal loss to eventual champion Erzu Zakriev of Russia. Hadi Seydi also reached the podium at 97 kg, defeating Kazakhstan’s Nurassyl Amanaly 8–0 for bronze.

Zakriev produced one of the most dominant performances of the tournament at 67 kg, winning all five of his matches by technical superiority before defeating Türkiye’s Azat Sariyar in the final.

Photo: Kazakhstan NOC Press Service / Sports.kz

At 72 kg, Kazakhstan’s Yussuf Ashrapov came back from a 3–0 deficit against Gaspar Terteryan of Armenia to win the final 4–3.

One of the most dramatic finals came at 55 kg. Georgia’s Koba Karumidze and India’s Vishvajit More combined for 25 points, with Karumidze forcing a step-out in the final second to take the title 13–12. More’s silver was nevertheless historic, making him India’s first Greco-Roman finalist at the U23 World Championships.

Egypt’s Moustafa Alameldin captured the 77 kg title with a 5–2 victory over European champion Levente Levai of Hungary, while China’s Wenhao Jiang defeated defending U20 world champion Ali Iliasov of Russia 5–0 to take gold at 130 kg.

2026 U23 World Champions — Greco-Roman

55 kg — Koba Karumidze (GEO)
60 kg — Aibek Aitbekov (KAZ)
63 kg — Erfan Jarkani (IRI)
67 kg — Erzu Zakriev (RUS)
72 kg — Yussuf Ashrapov (KAZ)
77 kg — Moustafa Alameldin (EGY)
82 kg — Abolfazl Mohmedi (IRI)
87 kg — Yasin Yazdi (IRI)
97 kg — Abubakar Khaslakhanau (BLR)
130 kg — Wenhao Jiang (CHN)

With three individual champions and enough depth across the ten weight classes, Iran ultimately emerged on top of one of the closest team races of the championships.