Iran’s freestyle wrestling team finished third at the 2026 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, after collecting six medals, including two golds, one silver and three bronzes.

The Iranian squad accumulated 133 points to finish behind the United States, who topped the team standings with 194 points, and Russia, who secured second place with 185 points. Azerbaijan finished fourth with 88 points, followed by Japan with 47.

Iran’s gold medals came from Ahmad Javan at 61kg and Amir Hossein Zare at 125kg. Rahman Amouzad (65kg), Amirmohammad Yazdani (74kg) and Hassan Yazdani (97kg) claimed bronze medals, while Mohammad Nokhodi took silver at 79kg.

The freestyle team's third-place finish came just days after Iran's Greco-Roman wrestlers dominated the same competition, securing the team title with 192 points. The Greco-Roman squad won four gold medals and collected medals in nine of the 10 weight categories.

2026 World C’ships: Amouzad, Yazdani strike bronze as Iran opens freestyle campaign with two medals

Amouzad and Yazdani put Iran on the podium with two bronze medals as the freestyle team launched its campaign at the 2026 World Wrestling Championships.

Nokhodi was among Iran's two medalists on the final day of freestyle competition on Sunday, reaching the 79kg final before narrowly losing to American Levi Haines.

The Iranian began his campaign with a commanding 10-0 victory over Tajikistan's Somonjon Ikramov before defeating Latvia's Alans Amirovs 12-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. He then produced an important performance against Belarusian Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau, a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, edging him 5-4 in a closely contested encounter.

Nokhodi continued his run with a 9-5 semifinal victory over Azerbaijan's Dzhabrail Gadzhiev to book his place in the gold-medal bout. However, Haines proved too strong in the final, edging the Iranian 4-3 to claim the world title and leave Nokhodi with silver.

The result added another major achievement to the 29-year-old Iranian's career. Nokhodi had previously won silver medals at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships, both at 79kg, establishing himself as one of Iran's leading freestyle wrestlers.

Javan, Zare power Iran to freestyle gold double at 2026 World Championships

Ahmad Javan and Amirhossein Zare strike gold in Astana, powering Iran to a double triumph at the Freestyle Wrestling World Championships.

Amirmohammad Yazdani secured Iran's bronze medal at 74kg after navigating a challenging route through the main draw and repechage.

After receiving a first-round bye, Yazdani opened his campaign with a narrow 4-3 victory over Hungary's Murad Kuramagomedov. He then overcame Cuba's Geannis Garzon 15-10 in a high-scoring encounter to reach the quarterfinals. His progress was halted by Russia's Inalbek Sheriev, who pinned the Iranian to send him into the repechage bracket.

Yazdani responded with an 8-2 victory over American James Green before producing another impressive performance against Slovakia's Taimuraz Salkazanov, winning 5-4 to secure the bronze medal.

The medal added to Yazdani's impressive international record. He is a two-time world silver medalist and has established himself among Iran's leading competitors in the lighter freestyle divisions.

The 2026 World Championships are being held at Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1, with freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling competitions featuring the world's leading wrestlers.