TEHRAN – Iranian freestyle wrestler Hassan Yazdani says that he wants to make his nation happy once again.

Yazdani could have won his back-to-back Olympics gold but American wrestler David Taylor got a two-point takedown to give him a 4-3 lead less than 20 seconds in the final bout of 86kg.

“I wished to repeat my Olympics gold once again to share happiness with you and I am ashamed that I failed to accomplish that,” Yazdani said. “I feel motivated and encouraged by you for all these years. It will be a reason to stay motivated in the upcoming competitions and fight for medal to make you happy once again.”

“In the end, I would like to thank everyone who sent me encouraging message,” Yazdani added.