TEHRAN – Iran Greco-Roman team finished in fourth place at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Iran won three bronze medal in the competition. Saeid Abdvali bagged a bronze medal in the 82kg weight class in the first day.

Alireza Nejati and Mohammad Ali Geraei also won two bronze medals in the 60kg and 77kg respectively.

In the team standings, Russia was unable to match its six golds from Budapest 2018, but still comfortably topped the standings with 132 points after capturing two golds and three silvers.

Uzbekistan, with a silver, two bronzes and two fifth places, finished second at 90.

Georgia, which had two champions and a bronze medalist, was third with 79, just edging Iran with 75. 

Iran national team coach Aziz Naghousi said he was neither happy nor sad at missing out on the top three, noting it was quite an improvement from the 11th-place finish in Budapest. He also pointed out that nine of the team members were competing at their first world championships, and six of them are under 23. 

“Our coach said finishing third would be good, but I think fourth is better,” Naghousi said. “We must work harder and harder.”