TEHRAN - Iran claimed the team title at the 2026 U-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, collecting three gold and two bronze medals for 119 points to finish ahead of Kazakhstan and Russia.
The Iranian team topped the standings by five points over Kazakhstan, which scored 114, while Russia finished third with 105. Georgia placed fourth with 97 points.
Erfan Jarkani, Abolfazl Mohmedi and Yasin Yazdi struck gold for Iran, while Muhammad Kamali and Mohammad Hadi Seydi secured bronze medals.
Jarkani opened Iran’s gold-medal run in the Greco-Roman 63-kilogram final, edging Japan’s Manato Nakamura 2-1. He reached the final with victories over opponents from Georgia, Albania, Moldova and Türkiye, including a 5-1 semifinal win over Servet Angi.
Mohmedi followed with gold in the 82kg division, defeating Armenia’s Martik Petrosyan 2-1 in the final. After receiving a first-round bye, Mohmedi beat Tornike Mikeladze of Georgia 4-1, Croatia’s Michael Lukac 9-0 and Russia’s Ramazan Arapkhanov 5-0 to advance to the final.
Yazdi completed Iran’s gold-medal haul in the 87kg category with a commanding 4-0 victory over Kazakhstan’s Temirlan Turdakyin in the final. He had earlier defeated Serbia’s Vamos 11-0, Azerbaijan’s Hajiyev 6-2 and Norway’s Martin Ljosaak 3-1 to reach the title bout.
Kamali earned bronze in the 67kg division after beating Armenia’s Yorik Hovhannisyan 6-0 in the medal match. He had advanced through victories over opponents from Chile, Bulgaria and Poland before losing 13-2 to Russia’s Erzu Zakriev in the semifinals.
Seydi also took bronze at 97kg, defeating Kazakhstan’s Nurasil Amanali 8-0 in the third-place bout. He reached the semifinals with wins over Ecuador’s Zambrano, Greece’s Chatsaturov and Poland’s Wojciech Ivanovski before falling 4-1 to Ukraine’s Yehor Yakushenko.
The IRGC commander praised Iranian youth for defending the country’s honor and flag both on the battlefield and in sports arenas, congratulating the national Greco-Roman wrestling team on its championship at the U-23 World Championships in the U.S.
In a congratulatory message on Friday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Ahmad Vahidi said the wrestlers’ achievement demonstrated the ability, faith and determination of Iranian youth, who continue to bring honor to their country in international competitions.
General Vahidi said the team’s success reflected the efforts of the athletes, coaches and technical staff, as well as scientific management and purposeful planning. He noted that the wrestlers have turned the hard work of training and the challenges of competition into a source of national pride.
The IRGC commander congratulated the Iranian nation, the wrestlers, their coaches and technical staff, the wrestling community and federation officials on the achievement, expressing hope for continued victories by Iranian athletes and the continued flying of the country’s flag at international sporting events.
The U-23 World Championships, organized by United World Wrestling, are being held in Las Vegas from Oct. 12-18, with Greco-Roman wrestling opening the competition ahead of women’s wrestling and men’s freestyle.
Iran has established itself as a leading force in Greco-Roman wrestling at the U-23 World Championships, winning the team title in 2024 with 149 points before sweeping all four Greco-Roman world team titles across the U-17, U-20, senior and U-23 levels in 2025.