MHSN

parliament member, mayor, Tehran city council member, head of Qom's health organization. the guy next to deputy health minister in that video is also suspected (government's spokesperson)
 
officially right now the number is 95 with 15 confirmed deaths but nobody believes it. it can't be just 95 with at least 30-40 tested positive while traveling to other countries (Iranians or non-Iranians) and more provinces are discovering positive cases , first death also being confirmed in my town
 
in less than a week the situation changed from being "pretty normal" to "extremely dangerous", dangerous to even leave your house

You are right , if the rules will be respected, and Colombia is a medal contender in all 4 men weight, and also in women are good outsider.

always check this link . the only good thing about IWF is they publish the names even after the initial test
https://www.iwf.net/category/anti-doping-news/
 
Ana Iris SEGURA
Juan Felipe SOLIS ARBOLEDA
Yenny SINISTERRA

the decision was taken only yesterday...it's quite normal that nobody is aware of that, yet...

p.s. the next men's Sabre world cup stage (originally to be held in Padua, ITA from March 6th through March 8th) has been officially cancelled (actually, postponed to undefined date...however, surely it won't be held before the end of the OQP anymore) because of Coronavirus, which is spreading very quickly in that area of North-East Italy...

2020 Grand Slam (Düsseldorf, GER)
 
Day #2 Recap
 
Japan's domination was expected...and Japan's domination actually happened...
 
Today the Judo players from the Country of the Rising Sun won 3 out of 4 contested weight categories: both women's events thanks to Miku Tashiro (-63kg) and Chizuru Arai (-70kg) and the men's -73kg thanks to the amazing Shoei Ono...
 
the only Gold Medal not won by a Japanese athlete went to Georgia, thanks to Tato Grigalashivili, who was capable of taking the men's -81kg class trophy home for his Nation...
 
Full Results
http://www.ippon.org/gs_ger2020.php
 
Day #2 Medal Session Replay
 

 
 
p.s. @MHSN the "new Mongolian" Saeid Mollaei today ended up in 7th place, losing to Khasan Khalmurzaev in the quarterfinals and to Frank De Wit in the repechage round...

Great analysis.. Please continue reviewing ??

1st day of freestyle finalists
 
57: Vokhidov vs Ravi
65: Otoguro vs Bajrang
70: Hosseini vs Bekbulatov
79: Gourav vs Budazhapov
97: Kadian vs Goleij
 
I predicted 7 of the finalists correctly (7 out of 9 actually) , I forgot that Vokhidov guy at 57kg and of course I didn't know this guy Budazhapov who is a very good Russian wrestler. it was quite a day for India, 4 in the final, only Hosseini spoiled their party in the last semifinal.
 
as for Iran, the results are disappointing but expected. it was exactly my prediction to see Hosseini and Goleij in the final. Savadkouhi had gold medal in his pocket IMO but made some stupid mistakes and had a terrible strategy in his semifinal. hearing the conversation our coach was ready to slap him after the match, he was extremely angry ! Sarlak lost narrowly to Sanayev and got eliminated when Ravi Kumar ran over The Kazakh guy. I really think this guy Ravi Kumar is now a gold medal candidate for the Olympics, he keeps improving ! and Maghsoudi was the biggest disappointment of the day ! I didn't expect him to beat Bajrang but what the hell was that ! he beat that Russian kid Kurban Shiraev in World Juniors final few months ago and now Shiraev is the European Champion while Maghsoudi got destroyed by Bajrang.
 
I think Ravi, Bekbulatov, Budzhapov and Goleij will win the gold later today, to me they are all easy predictions. the most interesting match is 65kg final with those 2 guys repeat of  that amazing 2018 World Champs final. Goleij was the same as usual. only pushing and pushing. that will bring him gold in Asia but that doesn't help against better wrestlers. I would consider him #5 in Iran but since Mohammadian is preparing for the AQT and the other guys were unavailable they had to send him. but this is a waste of time, he is not going to improve.
 
India will be in the lead after the first day with probably a good margin over Iran but I think we have better wrestlers for the 2nd day, except for 61kg the other guys will be favorite for the gold. at least 3 of them.
 
and one last thing, Kazakhstan finished 2nd in World Championship only behind Russia, with getting some helps from that magical draw software ! now they are bringing almost the same squad here, only their 70kg guy was different, but none of them made it to the final today ! speaking of cheating with no shame

Yes I saw the brackets, I have to say the level is much better than what I was expecting. India is not the only team bringing A squad. but for Iran this is not our A team, even in non-Olympic weights. but still some of these guys claim to be our #1. so we are still expecting to win the team title.
 
I have to say brackets are quite unbalanced in most weights. they probably used that Kazakhstani software once again even though I don't see any specific country taking advantage of it. but I can say almost all of Iranian wrestlers are in bottom half and facing tough draw. here is my quick review and prediction about all 10 weights.
 
57kg:
the magical draw put almost everybody in bottom half, it will be UZB and KGZ in top half, both of them unknown to me, but in bottom half we have 3 current or former world medalists + Mongolia and Iran !! former world champion Takahashi will face Ravi Kumar in first round , Ravi beat him in Nur-Sultan but that doesn't guarantee him another win. Nurislam Sanayev (aka Artas Sanaa from Russia) is also there. I don't see much chance for our Sarlak. still it will be really hard to pick between those 3 top guys.
my pick for the final: vs
 
61kg:
once again most of the favorites are in the bottom half, I think top half will be between JPN and KOR. there are two Russian born wrestlers representing Bahrain and Philippines but as far as I know they are not that good.
we have some big names in bottom half, but to me it will be between Aware of IND and that Kyrgyz guy who is really good and dangerous. our wrestler Majid Dastan is also there but again I can't see much chance for him. he is #3 in this weight in Iran.
my pick: vs
 
65kg:
this one is bit more balances, we have two big names in top half Otoguro and Niyazbekov, plus very good wrestlers from Mongolia and Bahrain (of course Russian born) in bottom half Bajrang is the clear favorite but I like to hope that our Maghsoudi has some tricks in his sleeves Maghsoudi has chance to be our representative at the Olympic qualifier if he performs well here. this is our weakest weight in freestyle and coaches are trying everybody, this time is Maghsoudi's turn.
my pick: vs
 
70kg:
the level is not that great since this is a non-Olympic weight, I'm not convinced about our guy in this weight but since I don't know much about his opponents here I prefer to be optimistic . but in bottom half we have a clear favorite, former European Champion Bekbulatov who is now representing Uzbekistan
my pick: vs
 
74kg:
top half will be about the SF between Kaisanov and Takatani. bottom half will be more interesting , Uzbeks didn't send their top guy Abdurakhmanov so I think our Hosseinkhani has a good chance there. but he is coming from a surgery so I'm not so sure about him.
my pick: vs
 
79kg:
this one is hard for me to predict, all of those guys are unknown to me ! I only know that Kazakh guy (5th place at the worlds and Olympics) so I don't make a prediction about this weight, it seems all 8 wrestlers are capable of winning medal.
my pick: vs
 
86kg:
balanced draw here, I think Bazri will be favorite for the top half, yes he is #3 in Iran but only behind two very great wrestlers, I expect him to win the gold. in bottom half Deepak of India is the biggest name but then that Kyrgyz guy (do I need to say he is originally Russian ?) is also good.
my pick: vs
 
92kg:
all good 8 wrestling nations in Asia have wrestlers in this weight, again hard to predict, but I can say Ebrahimi is the huge favorite for the gold. I can't predict the other finalist.
my pick: vs
 
97kg:
looks like walk in the part for Kadian in top half, but bottom half is a different story, I think I will pick our pushout specialist Goleij from the bottom half. he is a terrible wrestler but he can push anybody out of the mat !
my pick: vs
 
125kg:
no clear favorite in top half but I think that Mongolian guy is a bit better but that Korean guy Nam is quite a fighter. in bottom half obviously my pick is Parviz Hadi but he is coming from an injury, still I can't see anybody capable of beating him.
my pick: vs
 
 

Yes I saw the brackets, I have to say the level is much better than what I was expecting. India is not the only team bringing A squad. but for Iran this is not our A team, even in non-Olympic weights. but still some of these guys claim to be our #1. so we are still expecting to win the team title.
 
I have to say brackets are quite unbalanced in most weights. they probably used that Kazakhstani software once again even though I don't see any specific country taking advantage of it. but I can say almost all of Iranian wrestlers are in bottom half and facing tough draw. here is my quick review and prediction about all 10 weights.
 
57kg:
the magical draw put almost everybody in bottom half, it will be UZB and KGZ in top half, both of them unknown to me, but in bottom half we have 3 current or former world medalists + Mongolia and Iran !! former world champion Takahashi will face Ravi Kumar in first round , Ravi beat him in Nur-Sultan but that doesn't guarantee him another win. Nurislam Sanayev (aka Artas Sanaa from Russia) is also there. I don't see much chance for our Sarlak. still it will be really hard to pick between those 3 top guys.
my pick for the final: vs
 
61kg:
once again most of the favorites are in the bottom half, I think top half will be between JPN and KOR. there are two Russian born wrestlers representing Bahrain and Philippines but as far as I know they are not that good.
we have some big names in bottom half, but to me it will be between Aware of IND and that Kyrgyz guy who is really good and dangerous. our wrestler Majid Dastan is also there but again I can't see much chance for him. he is #3 in this weight in Iran.
my pick: vs
 
65kg:
this one is bit more balances, we have two big names in top half Otoguro and Niyazbekov, plus very good wrestlers from Mongolia and Bahrain (of course Russian born) in bottom half Bajrang is the clear favorite but I like to hope that our Maghsoudi has some tricks in his sleeves Maghsoudi has chance to be our representative at the Olympic qualifier if he performs well here. this is our weakest weight in freestyle and coaches are trying everybody, this time is Maghsoudi's turn.
my pick: vs
 
70kg:
the level is not that great since this is a non-Olympic weight, I'm not convinced about our guy in this weight but since I don't know much about his opponents here I prefer to be optimistic . but in bottom half we have a clear favorite, former European Champion Bekbulatov who is now representing Uzbekistan
my pick: vs
 
74kg:
top half will be about the SF between Kaisanov and Takatani. bottom half will be more interesting , Uzbeks didn't send their top guy Abdurakhmanov so I think our Hosseinkhani has a good chance there. but he is coming from a surgery so I'm not so sure about him.
my pick: vs
 
79kg:
this one is hard for me to predict, all of those guys are unknown to me ! I only know that Kazakh guy (5th place at the worlds and Olympics) so I don't make a prediction about this weight, it seems all 8 wrestlers are capable of winning medal.
my pick: vs
 
86kg:
balanced draw here, I think Bazri will be favorite for the top half, yes he is #3 in Iran but only behind two very great wrestlers, I expect him to win the gold. in bottom half Deepak of India is the biggest name but then that Kyrgyz guy (do I need to say he is originally Russian ?) is also good.
my pick: vs
 
92kg:
all good 8 wrestling nations in Asia have wrestlers in this weight, again hard to predict, but I can say Ebrahimi is the huge favorite for the gold. I can't predict the other finalist.
my pick: vs
 
97kg:
looks like walk in the part for Kadian in top half, but bottom half is a different story, I think I will pick our pushout specialist Goleij from the bottom half. he is a terrible wrestler but he can push anybody out of the mat !
my pick: vs
 
125kg:
no clear favorite in top half but I think that Mongolian guy is a bit better but that Korean guy Nam is quite a fighter. in bottom half obviously my pick is Parviz Hadi but he is coming from an injury, still I can't see anybody capable of beating him.
my pick: vs
 
 

Been looking all day with no luck, hopefully they are out early tomorrow.

it seems what you read was indeed correct, there are Chinese workers in Qom (very surprising for me) and they are presumed to be the source !
 
on Tuesday Corona didn't exist in Iran (according to officials on that day), it was 5 cases on Thursday morning and 18 on Friday ! (4 death already) 11 of them in Qom but other 7 are also related to Qom.
 
and two Iranians traveling to Canada and Lebanon are also confirmed to be sick 

I know they are building another highway between Qom and Tehran (maybe it's done already ?! I didn't travel that path to see that myself) but not sure about Chinese workers, in Iran they mostly use Afghan workers because of being cheap.
googled about it and found nothing. so I guess the correct answer is "I don't know" that's possible but kind of unlikely.

now you told me this, I think I can tell you why he didn't participate, considering he also participated in Italian tournament at 82kg (and not his own weight class) it seems he has problems making weight for 77kg and prefers to do it only once for the Olympic Qualifiers, cutting weight twice in a period of one month is not a wise idea, that's why some top wrestlers were absent here, for example none of Iranian wrestlers here are planned to wrestle at the AQT except just one who is already underweight for his wight class (97kg) and doesn't need to cut weight. I think the same applies for all other countries.
 
yeah Sunil Kumar is a tough guy in standing position. Nouri had hard time against him, (it was in 2019, not 2018) because Nouri is not a par-terre specialist and he only beat opponents by tiring them down. and obviously it didn't work very well against Sunil. this year Nouri finished 5th in our pre-trials, we most probably will send Ramin Taheri to the AQT but Taheri is more or less the same type of wrestler. so Sunil isn't without a chance against him. I think I prefer them in opposite sides of the draw in AQT 

And Bishkek it is!!Chinese wrestlers to attend
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/article/bishkek-announced-new-host-2020-asian-olympic-qualifier-team-china-attend

no, at least we know none of those 5 confirmed cases ever traveled to China which means the situation is more serious. and Qom has no connection with any other places ! the last place in the world a Chinese tourist wants to visit. that's a sure thing Qom is not the source of Corona in Iran, that's somewhere else we just don't know that yet ! there are two other suspected cases in other cities (one in Tehran) but right now only Qom is in red situation, but I can see even in my own town people are lining in pharmacies to buy face masks !

Iran finished the competition with 5 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze and of course a doped wrestler ! plus the team title. it wasn't a bad tournament but still some of those defeats were disappointing, and that Hedayat accident overshadowed everything else. half of these guys are not #1 here , almost all Olympic weights except 97kg. almost all of them were 21 or 22 with one or two exceptions. looks like we have a new generation in our Greco program.
 
but most importantly our wrestling federation released a statement regarding Behrouz Hedayat and 87kg semifinal accident. these are important points
 
* he was tested during Takhti Cup (which was indirectly Iranian trials and was held a month ago), they sent the samples to Germany and since coaches were suspicious of this guy they asked the German lab for quick results.
* Our coach didn't want to send him to New Delhi but they had to because they had no proof of his guilt and they didn't receive the news from Germany in time.
* They received the preliminary results from Cologne only minutes before his semifinal match and told him to lose ! because when you test positive in an international competition your national federation has to pay something as fine.
 
I believe there are some lies here, there was only 40-50 minutes between QF and SF, hard to believe they received the news only in that short period of time ! they claim they told him to lose because it wasn't "fair" for other wrestlers, what about not just participating at all ?! and what about the Uzbek wrestler he beat in the first round ?
 
personally I guess they found out about it in India when it was too late to replace him with someone else, after receiving the draw he had to wrestle Uzbekistan in the first round which was Iran's direct rival for the team title. they let him beat and eliminate the top favorite for the gold medal and then told him to lose, but since he wasn't smart he played it very bad and now everybody knows about it. this is just my guess but that was unfair and unsportsmanship they had to kick this guy out of the team the moment they received the news. Iranian team was good enough to win the team title even with one less wrestler.

yes, in all the weight classes where 3 places are up for grabs, there will be box-off matches between the semifinals losers...
 
so, we can already see the difference between a somehow serious attempt to have fair conditions for the athletes and a bunch of cheaters like AIBA...

yes, it's also reported on UWW's official website with a full news  article...
 
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/article/trio-olympic-licenses-reassigned-after-anti-doping-rules-violations

From what I gather, results will be post here. Hopefully it's done in a timely manner.

it seems your guess was correct, or at least that's what he claims. he is training in Oman and UAE these days and works in an Emirate club. he claims he has no intention to represent another country even though he knows it will be an uphill task for him to find his way back to the Iranian national team.

Extremely useful official website.

strict limitations but not a blanket ban but Iran can't host the women's competition. it seems if a country wants to host the Olympic qualifier (the way it was supposed to be) it has to host both genders.
 
that's the issue otherwise Iran would host all those Olympic qualifiers in all sports (and I'm not exaggerating) and actually they are thinking about it. that's impossible in sports like waterpolo or wrestling. but at least in taekwondo they already offered WT to host the competition as well as the Asian Championships. of course not in mainland Iran but in one of the islands where rules are let's say a bit less strict
 
but honestly I think FINA could find a solution for this if they were really committed. maybe separating men and women competitions, finding a host for each one, or having the competition in Italy and the Netherlands if nobody is interested, cancelling the event was the worst possible solution.

IWF officially disqualified almost the whole Thai squad from 2018 World Championships (not exactly the whole squad but still) there are lots of medal reallocation. mostly in favor of China and Romania !
 
45kg:
Gold: Sukcharoen ===> Jumabayeva
Silver: Jumabayeva ===> Nanthawong
Bronze: Nanthawong ===> Echandia
 
49kg:
Gold: Pamongkhol ===> Hou
Silver: Hou ===> Jiang
Bronze: Jiang ===> Andries
 
55kg:
Gold: Srisurat ===> Li
Silver: Li ===> Zhang
Bronze: Zhang ===> Iovu
 
64kg:
Bronze: Wamalun ===> Toma
 
+87kg:
Bronze: Chaidee ===> Kim
 
in general Thailand lost 3 gold and 2 bronze medals. 2 of those golds went to China and one of them to Turkmenistan ! 3 bronze medals also went to Romania ! and Echandia became the first ever female world championship medalist from Venezuela !
 

that's unlikely because the Uzbek guy apparently got busted after the 2018 Worlds, and it seems IWF doesn't like to touch World Champs results unless the athlete in question tested positive exactly in that competition. but his case is still open, we will know more when IWF officially disqualifies him (specially about when he got caught) but they have to be quick. all these disqualifications have direct impact on 2020 Olympic qualifications. (I mean the number of disqualified athletes which will determine how many quota they can win maximum)
 
I think Reis has more chance with his Rio Olympics 5th place ! because they test Olympic samples so many times in next few years and there are some suspicious guys above him in the final standing.
 
but he has a good chance for a medal on the competition day in Tokyo. if nothing special happens, we will have at least one new country on the Olympic podium. it will be either Brazil, Algeria, Syria or Turkmenistan.
 
Reis has the 4th best result in the Olympic qualification period among eligible weightlifters for Tokyo, and if we remove both Armenian guys (I assume they won't participate in Tokyo) he will be 2nd behind only Talakhadze !! he will be 3rd though when they update the ranking, still that means podium.