TEHRAN – Ahmad Muhammadnejad Javan and Amirhussein Zareh on Saturday claimed two gold medals for Iran after defeating their opponents in the 61kg and 125kg finals at the 2026 World Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan.
 The two Iranian freestyle wrestlers delivered impressive performances in the finals of the second set of four weight categories, securing their places at the top of the podium.
In the 61kg category, Muhammadnejad Javan advanced to the semifinals after defeating opponents from India and the United States. He then edged past Asian silver medalist Aytikhan 3-1 to book his place in the final.
In the gold-medal bout, the Iranian wrestler faced Russia’s Zaur Uguev, a world and Olympic champion. Muhammadnejad Javan produced an outstanding performance to secure a 5-1 victory and claim his first world championship title.
In the 125kg category, Amirhussein Zareh also enjoyed a dominant run to the final. After defeating opponents from India and Jamaica, he secured a commanding 10-0 victory over American wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson in the semifinals.
Zareh maintained his dominance in the final, defeating Russia’s Abdulla Kurbanov 11-0 to capture the gold medal. He completed his campaign without conceding a single point in any of his four matches, reaffirming his status as one of the world’s leading heavyweight wrestlers.
Earlier, Rahman Amouzad and Hassan Yazdani had won bronze medals for Iran on the previous day of competition.
In other categories, in the 57kg, Milad Valizadeh began his campaign with a commanding 11-0 victory over Hutsuliak of Ukraine to advance to the round of 16.
However, Valizadeh suffered a heavy 12-2 defeat against American wrestler Spencer Lee, an Olympic silver medalist, missing out on a place in the quarterfinals.
Valizadeh must now wait for Lee to reach the final to qualify for the repechage round and retain a chance of competing for the bronze medal.
In the 74kg category, Amir Muhammad Yazdani, a two-time world silver medalist, received a first-round bye before securing a narrow 4-3 victory over Kurmagomedov of Hungary in the final eight seconds of their encounter.
Yazdani then faced Tamayo of Cuba in the round of 16 and emerged victorious in a high-scoring contest, winning 15-10 to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the same weight category, American world bronze medalist James Green suffered a heavy 10-0 defeat against Russia’s Inalbek Sharipov.
In the 79kg category, Mohammad Nokhodi, a five-time world silver and bronze medalist and Asian Games champion, opened his campaign with a dominant 10-0 victory over Akramov of Tajikistan.
Nokhodi continued his impressive performance in the round of 16, defeating Amiros of Latvia 12-2 by technical superiority to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
He will next face Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov, a Russian-born wrestler representing Belarus and an Olympic silver medalist, in what is expected to be a challenging encounter.
In the 92kg category, Amirhussein Firouzpour received a first-round bye before facing Chaplin of Kyrgyzstan in the round of 16.
Firouzpour secured a convincing 12-1 victory by technical superiority to advance to the quarterfinals.
Iran’s freestyle wrestling team has so far claimed two bronze medals through Rahman Amouzad and Hassan Yazdani.
Sina Khalili in the 70kg category and Kamran Ghasempour in the 86kg division have been eliminated from the competition.