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Iranwire – Iran brought home its first gold medal for wrestling in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday courtesy of 25-year-old Mohammad Reza Geraei. The Greco-Roman wrestler, a former youth world champion and gold medalist at the Asian Championships, won his last fight in the 67kg class 9-1 over Parviz Nesibov of Ukraine.
The fifth and last representative of Iranian wrestling in this year’s games, Mohammad Reza stepped onto the mat a day after his older brother Mohammad Ali Geraei, who came fourth in his group.
The Geraei brothers came to the attention of Iran’s security forces last year when both spoke out on Instagram against the death sentence issued to Mohammad Ali’s long-time friend and fellow wrestler from Shiraz, Navid Afkari. Mohammad Ali was arrested and held in custody for several days.
Despite the pressure, Mohammad Reza Geraei shone this week. He won his first round against Julian Horta of Colombia with a score of 8-0, going on to startle many by defeating the German Frank Steabler, a triple-gold-winning athlete at world contests, 5-5. He then beat Ramaz Zoidze of Georgia 6-1 in the semifinals.
Iranian sports fans are now waiting with bated breath to see if Geraei’s fellow young world champion, Hassan Yazdani, can clinch another gold in the freestyle wrestling tomorrow.
Gold-Winning Sharpshooter Lauded as a “Believer” by IRGC Commander Hossein Salami
Also on Wednesday, Iran’s first gold medallist of the 2020 Games, Javad Foroughi, received a hero’s welcome back in Iran from colleagues in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Foroughi’s win in the men’s 10 meter air pistol contest on July 24 sparked a global controversy because he had served with the IRGC’s expeditionary Quds Force in Syria, on behalf of the Al-Assad regime. There were calls for him to hand back his medal, as Olympic athletes are forbidden from being members of sanctioned military entities or terrorist organizations.
At a ceremony on Wednesday the 41-year-old marksman, who had given a military salute on being presented with his gong in Tokyo, was received by IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami. He wore a plain white robe and was presented with a portrait of himself in nurse’s uniform. Salami described Foroughi as a “hero” and “a revolutionary man in various fields”.
