Sajjad Barzi

Sajjad Barzi (Persian: سجاد برزی; born March 5, 1981, in Tehran) is a retired amateur Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category.[1] Barzi has claimed three medals (one silver and two bronze) in the 120-kg division at the Asian Championships (2004, 2005, and 2006), and later finished fourth at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Throughout his sporting career, Barzi trained full-time for Hafti Wrestling Club in Tehran, under his head coach Hassan Babak.

Sajjad Barzi
Personal information
Full nameSajjad Barzi
Nationality Iran
Born (1981-03-05) 5 March 1981
Tehran, Iran
Height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight120 kg (265 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubHaftir Tehran
CoachHassan Babak
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Iran
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place2006 Almaty120 kg
Bronze medal – third place2004 Almaty120 kg
Bronze medal – third place2005 Wuhan120 kg

Barzi qualified for the Iranian squad in the men's 120 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by placing first and receiving a berth from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro.[2] Emerging as a surprise medal contender in his category, Barzi quickly edged Hungary's Mihály Deák-Bárdos out of the ring in his opening match, and then grappled Finnish wrestler and four-time Olympian Juha Ahokas by a 2–1 sudden death decision in the round-robin pool to secure him a spot in the knockout rounds. He delivered a stunning maneuver to beat France's Yannick Szczepaniak 3–0 on his quarterfinal match, before being tamed by Russia's reigning world champion Khasan Baroyev in the semifinals.[3] Facing off against U.S. wrestler and defending Olympic champion Rulon Gardner for the bronze medal, Barzi could not throw his formidable opponent off the mat and lost the match 3–0 in overtime.[4][5][6]

At the 2006 Asian Wrestling Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Barzi captured the silver medal in his final showdown against the host country's Georgiy Tsurtsumia, producing his marvelous career record to three medals in total (two of which were bronze in 2004 and 2005).[7]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sajjad Barzi". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  2. Abbott, Gary (28 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  3. "Baroev beats Barzi in semi, Monzon tames Ashkani in Olympics Greco-Roman wrestling". Payvand. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  4. "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 120kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  5. Zinser, Lynn (26 August 2004). "A Tearful Retiring Image Is Bronzed for Gardner". New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  6. Garcia, Marlen (26 August 2004). "Gardner Walks Away With Bronze". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  7. "Iran ranks third at Asian Greco-Roman wrestling meet". Payvand. 10 April 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2014.


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