Iranian wrestler Amir Hossein Abbas Zare has no shortage of laurels.

The 25-year-old, who competes in the men’s 125kg freestyle division, is the reigning world champion – a title he’s won three times. He’s also a two-time Olympic medallist, with a bronze from Tokyo and a silver at the 2024 Games in Paris.

Of all these medals, Zare counts the gold he won on Sunday evening — in Bishkek at the Asian Championships — as the one that means the most to him

“This gold medal is 100 per cent the most emotional one for him. I was able to win this despite the situation my country is in,” Zare said after beating Bahrain’s Shamil Sharipov 4-0 to claim the Asian 125kg freestyle title.

The past few weeks have indeed been difficult for Zare’s nation.

Attacks by the USA and Israel in early March have affected thousands of civilians and have led to widespread destruction of infrastructure across the country.

The Iranian wrestling community has not been unscathed. The national camp before the Asian Championships, which was initially to be held in Tehran, was shifted to Mazandaran, on the Caspian coast in the north of the country, after the Iranian capital was made subject to heavy bombings.

The national home of Iranian wrestling — Azadi Indoor Stadium — in Tehran was also destroyed in a bombing.

Rows of destroyed seating visible among the debris of the Azadi Sports Complex indoor arena in Tehran, following a wave of strikes by the United States and Israel in mid-March 2026. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

“It was a very difficult situation because Tehran, which is the base of our national teams, was under bombardment and the war that was imposed on us caused even our home and the base of our national teams to be damaged,” says Iranian freestyle chief coach Pejman Dorostkar.

“The security situation was very poor. We spent many days trying to find a safe place to practise. With the help of the head of the federation, we were able to find a place to practice in the north of Iran (Mazandaran). But we were nowhere close to the kind of readiness and calm we needed to be before a major competition,” he added.

While Mazandaran, some 200 kilometres north of Tehran, was spared attack, Dorostkar says it was still hard to keep their minds on training. “It was a very difficult situation. It was something that we hadn’t ever faced before. We were in a state of war. Our country was under bombardment. Our guys were worried about their families,” he says.

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As the war raged on, Zare says the team tried to be there for each other.

“All the guys in the team supported each other. We cheered for each other. We also understood, however hard it was, that what we were doing, it wasn’t harder than what others were facing. We were wrestling. They were having bombs dropped on them.

“There were children who were martyred. There were young people who were killed and people who were made homeless. There were people in the cities and on the border who slept with stress. They faced things that were much harder than anything we faced. With their love, we faced whatever challenges we had to face,” he says.

Missiles were still flying (the ceasefire between Iran and the USA was only brokered one day into the start of the Asian Championships) when the team left for Bishkek – a challenge in itself.

With every international airport in Iran heavily bombed, and the transport hub of Dubai declaring that Iranians were not permitted to use transit facilities, Dorostkar says the team had to travel by road to leave the country. “We were on the bus for 22 hours on the way from the north to the border,” says Dorostkar.

Despite the nature of their preparation, it says something of the standard of wrestling in that country that Iran still managed to win team titles in both the Greco-Roman and Freestyle categories at the Asian Championships.

Winning for the people

Zare, who won Iran’s final gold medal of the tournament, says nothing less would have done.

“We are not rich people. But we will always perform at the highest level against any competition. We have a tradition of wrestling. Our coaches protected and guided us. If it wasn’t for who we are, we wouldn’t have been able to form a team and even come to this competition. We have pride in our country. This pride gives us a sense of nationalism,” he says.

After Zare secured his win and then held his country’s flag aloft, he says he was thinking of his countrymen. “I know whenever I fight, the people of my country support me. That is what gives me strength. For me, lifting the flag is the least I can do,” he says.

File photo: Amir Hossein Zare celebrated his win by holding Iran’s flag aloft and spared a thought for his countrymen, who were bearing the brunt of the war back home. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

While he is uncertain about the future, there is also a sense of defiance.

“I don’t know what will happen in the future. Only God knows what will happen. I’m not sure whether it will be good for the people of Iran or not. So many children have died. So many innocent people have died. I have nothing to do with any sect or political side, but I condemn every form of oppression in the world. Our country was attacked. We did not attack anyone’s country. Our country is miles away from the United States,” he says.

“It has nothing to do with whether you want to enter our region or rule it, no matter how rich or powerful you are. And we are Iranian. In my opinion, my country has done the right thing and responded well to the actions against it. I don’t want even a little bit of my country’s soil to be lost. I want the borders of my country to be preserved. Iran will be the winner of this war,” he says.

Uncertain future

As his team returns home, Coach Dorostkar rues the damage to his shattered nation but also remains optimistic about the future. The damage dealt to Tehran’s Azadi stadium following a bombing on March 5, at the start of the war, he feels is emblematic of the destruction his country will have to recover from.

“Azadi Stadium was a piece of history. I don’t know why they attacked it. In war, you aren’t supposed to attack stadiums. You don’t attack historic places. Azadi Stadium was something that held a lot of memories for the people of Iran, and especially the wrestlers who have competed there. There have been five World Cups that were held in this venue,” he says.

“We became champions of the world twice in that venue. But we are not worried. Our enemies can’t cut out our roots (for the sport). That stadium will be rebuilt. it will be better, and I hope we will be champions again.”

Published on Apr 13, 2026