Seven Iranian Greco-Roman wrestlers ranked among world’s top ahead of Astana Worlds
Tehran - BORNA - The rankings, released by United World Wrestling (UWW), take into account points accumulated during the 2026 season, continental competitions and the 2026 world ranking series.
Payam Ahmadi is ranked third at 55kg, while Mohammad Keshtkar is fourth at 63kg. Saeid Esmaeili also sits fourth at 67kg.
At 72kg, Seyed Danial Sohrabi is ranked fourth, with Alireza Mohmadi fourth at 87kg. Olympic and world champion Mohammad Hadi Saravi is third at 97kg, while Amin Mirzazadeh is second at 130kg.
The rankings underline Iran's depth in Greco-Roman wrestling across several divisions as the team prepares for the season's main international event.
Ahmadi, who won silver at the 2025 World Championships, has already secured a place on Iran's 2026 world team. He also won the 55kg title at the Ulaanbaatar Open Ranking Series in June, dominating the competition without conceding a point.
Sohrabi likewise booked his place in Iran's squad for Astana after successfully defending his Ulaanbaatar Open title at 72kg. He won bronze at last year's world championships and will look to improve on that result in Kazakhstan.
The picture at 130kg has changed, however. Mirzazadeh, the reigning world champion, was beaten by Fardin Hedayati in Iran's selection series and will not defend his title in Astana. Hedayati defeated Mirzazadeh 5-1 in the opening bout to secure Iran's spot in the division.
The 2026 Senior World Championships will be held in Astana from October 24 to November 1 at Barys Arena.
Kazakhstan was selected as the replacement host after the tournament was moved from Manama, Bahrain, with UWW citing uncertainty surrounding the original host location and international travel as US aggression on Iran has created insecurity in the region.
The nine-day championships will feature men's freestyle, women's wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling. UWW describes the Senior World Championships as its flagship event, bringing together around 800 of the world's leading wrestlers from approximately 100 countries.
Final seeding for the Greco-Roman competition will be determined after the participating countries submit their entries. The current rankings therefore provide an indication of the likely seeds but do not represent the final tournament draw.
For Iran, the focus now turns to preparations for Astana, with seven wrestlers already positioned inside the top four of their weight classes in the latest ranking picture.
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