TEHRAN – Amirhossein Zare is happy to beat defending champion Taha Akgul and is ready to win his second gold medal in the World Wrestling Championships.

For the third straight year, Zare had to take on Turkey’s Akgul in the semifinals at freestyle 125kg and for the second time, the Iranian came out on top, even by the same score.

Zare forged a 4-0 victory over Akgul in the tournament's first major clash of titans -- and secured the bonus of a berth for Iran at next year's Paris Olympics -- on Saturday, the opening day of the nine-day tournament in Belgrade, Serbia.

“I hope I can wrestle well against Geno Petriashvili and not make my last year's mistake and present a beautiful gold medal to my dear people,” Zare said through an interpreter.

“I dedicate this win to all of the dear people of Iran and to all who waited for this victory,” Zare said. “I lost this match by mistake last year but thanks to god, with the help of coaches, a ready body and a good analysis, we were able to go according to plan and I implemented this analysis.”

The tournament is serving as the first qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics, with five quotas on offer in each Olympic weight class. The winners of the semifinals automatically secured one for their national federation, while the bronze medalists and the winner of a playoff between the losers of the bronze-medal matches will secure the remaining three.

Photo credit: UWW.org