Tehran - BORNA - Mirzazadeh’s dominance has forced rivals to sharpen their strategies, knowing full well they will need their absolute best to challenge him. The 130kg field in Zagreb features 27 wrestlers, but few carry the pedigree to seriously test the Iranian.

Among the challengers is Estonia’s Heiki Nabi, a 40-year-old veteran with multiple silver and bronze medals at world level, though he has never claimed a world title. Russia’s Sergey Semenov, 30, is a decorated European champion and Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo. Cuba’s Oscar Pino, 31, a Pan-American champion and world bronze medalist, has already tasted defeat against Mirzazadeh.

Other notable names include Pavel Hlinchuk of Belarus, a U23 world champion; American Cohlton Schultz, who finished runner-up at the Junior Worlds in 2019; Turkey’s Mehmet Bakir, seen as Kayaalp’s successor; and Azerbaijan’s Beka Kandelaki, with multiple European podiums. Lithuania’s Mantas Knystautas, Hungary’s Dariusz Vitek, and Kazakhstan’s Alimkhan Syzdykov all bring experience but have struggled against the Iranian before.

Japan’s Yuki Nara, China’s Wang Haojian, and Finland’s Matti Kuosmanen round out a strong international field, but history suggests they will find Mirzazadeh difficult to stop.

The Iranian will open his campaign in the round of 16 against the winner of Croatia’s Koscevic and India’s Suno, before potentially facing Finland’s Kuosmanen and Japan’s Nara. A quarterfinal showdown with Russia’s Semenov looms as one of the toughest hurdles en route to gold.

For Mirzazadeh, another world title would confirm not only his personal supremacy but also Iran’s enduring strength in Greco-Roman heavyweight wrestling. As Zagreb awaits, the question is less about whether he will win, and more about who, if anyone, can stand in his way.

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