It’s Raining Gold Medals for Iran

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Iran’s Behdad Salimikordasiabi (R) and compatriot Sajjad Anoushiravani Hamlabad celebrate with their natinoal flag winning gold and silver respectively at the end of their men’s +105kg Group A weightlifting competition at the ExCel venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 7, 2012. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

Wrestler Hamid Sourian won Iran its first gold medal of the 2012 London Olympic Games with a victory in the finals of the 55kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition. This was Sourian’s first ever Olympic medal, and Iran’s first ever gold medal in the Greco-Roman category.

The 26-year-old Sourian hails from the south of Tehran, and is a five-time world champion, including a gold medal at the 2010 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Russia. His previous best Olympic finish was fifth place in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after a defeat in the quarter-finals.

Iran’s Greco-Roman world champion Omid Haji Norouzi followed that up by taking gold in the men’s 60kg category. Rezaei overpowered wrestlers from Turkey, Armenia and Cuba before defeating Russia’s Totrov in the first and second periods with similar results of 1-0 in the final, which brought him an Olympic gold medal. Ghasem Gholamreza Rezaei’s then brought Iran its third gold medal of the London Games with a victory in the 96kg Greco-Roman category.

Iran’s weightlifters have been faring well also. Navab Nasirshelal won a silver medal in the 105 kg weightlifting category. And Kianoush Rostami won a bronze medal in the men’s 85kg weightlifting competition. London was the site of Iran’s first participation in the Olympics back in 1948.

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