Soryan wins Iran’s first Greco-Roman gold

(Reuters) – Iranian wrestler Hamid Soryan won his country’s first ever gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling on Sunday, defeating Azerbaijan’s Rovshan Bayramov in the 55kg final at the London Olympics.

The 26-year-old favorite brushed aside Bayramov, erasing memories of his shock defeat in the quarter-finals in Beijing four years ago.

The Iranian is a five-time world champion, but had never before won an Olympic medal in one of the world’s oldest sports. It was Iran’s first gold of the London Games.

He comfortably won the final, taking the first two rounds without losing a point.

Soryan had cruised into the gold medal final in the lightest weight category. He did not drop a point in his quarter-final bout with Hungary’s Peter Modos or in his semi-final clash with Haakan Nyblom of Denmark.

It was the first of 18 medal events in the wrestling this week. Seven of those are in the Greco-Roman discipline, where competitors can only use their upper bodies and arms.

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