Mohammad Hossein Askari’s comeback to the mat has made 97kg men’s freestyle a battleground in Iran. Askari made a comeback to the mat in 2019 after serving a four-year ban. His biggest win after the return was in 2020 when he defeated Kyle Snyder to win gold at Rome Ranking Series. Now, he has thrown in his hat for the Olympic berth. His biggest challenger will be three-time World medallist Alireza Karimi.
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“I hope that the wrestling, which is the most worthy, will go to the Olympics by holding the selection competition. I am looking to win the most colourful medal in the Olympic Games and I am trying to do that.”
In response to the question that the postponement of the Olympics gave time for Karimi to get his knee surgery done and his chances to make a timely comeback, he said, “Now I have one more year to be more mature. Alireza Karimi will arrive by then and a good selection will be held in the weight of 97 kg. To be selected as a good wrestler who deserves it. Certainly, these selections will help the best person to win the national team doubles and we will have a colourful medal in this weight”.
Askari is now being dubbed as a possible challenger Abdulrashid Sadulaev’s crown at Olympics. And his win over Snyder proves it. Askari on his victory of the US world champ in January says, ” With the help of the technical staff, I was able to get a good result in Italy, but it was a tournament and it should be forgotten. These victories are sweeter in official competitions and must be formed in the world and Olympic competitions. I try my best to get the main result in the Olympics,”
Askari clarified about the need for wrestlers to participate in the national team camp and said, “We have to go through some good camps in order to reach relative readiness. The more we practice wrestling, the more the body will help us to eat with different opponents, and we must leave a few camps behind”.
