American Kyle Snyder has never faced Hassan Yazdani of Iran in an official match, given that the two superstars have built their individual legends in disparate weight classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paths of the fellow 2016 Olympic and multi-time world champions may finally cross this week in Astana, and both \u2013 along with the entire wrestling world, no doubt \u2013 would like to see them face each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI spoke with Yazdani maybe a month ago and we both said it would be great to compete against each other at this tournament, so hopefully it happens,\u201d Snyder said at a press conference Friday on the eve of this year\u2019s World Championships, where he will attempt to defend his freestyle 97kg title and claim a fifth gold overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Snyder, the ninth World Championships of his career could hardly be more challenging — and exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that this is the deepest weight class that I\u2019ve ever wrestled in in my life,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of really tough guys in the weight class. That\u2019s what makes it exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not hard to see what has gotten the juices flowing for the 30-year-old two-time Olympic medalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A week before the 97kg competition begins, one known factor is that Snyder, as the top seed, faces a potential quarterfinal (!) clash with longtime nemesis and eighth seed Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia, who will be chasing a seventh world gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What remains unknown is who Snyder will have to first beat to get to the quarterfinals. And, as he pointed out in the press conference at Barys Arena, any one of a number of unseeded wrestlers are capable of taking down the reigning champion in the first round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Topping that list is Yazdani. After taking a second career Olympic silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics at 86kg, he took the great leap upward this year to 97kg. Yazdani showed he could handle the extra weight by defeating world silver medalist and Paris bronze medalist Amirali Azarpira of Iran in a two-match playoff to make the world team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Snyder said he was impressed with Yazdani and said he appeared to have no difficulty making the transition in terms of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I watched him wrestle Azarpira, I didn\u2019t see any difference between [the two. They] both looked similar in regard to strength, and I think Azarpira is one of the strongest guys in the weight class,\u201d Snyder said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Snyder has gotten a tiny glimpse of what he might expect should he face Yazdani in Astana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wrestled Yazdani one time in practice, for about 20 minutes,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cIt was many years ago, so we haven\u2019t wrestled in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, he knows that Yazdani could not have accomplished what he did without having what Snyder called \u201cthe will of a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s so determined, he\u2019s so resilient. I think about all the things that he has gone through and experienced in his career. All of the legends that he has defeated. There aren\u2019t many wrestlers who have had that level of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd then, of course, tactically everyone knows he\u2019s going to underhook you, he\u2019s going to wrestle at a really high pace immediately when the match starts. He\u2019s a good scrambler, he has good leg attacks. So, being ready for all those different things. I think that he\u2019s a very worthy competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for Sadulaev, when pressed Snyder singled him out as his toughest foe. The two have had epic battles in the past that have been dubbed \u201cSnydulaev.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t wrestled Yazdani so I don\u2019t know what that match would be like,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cBut, just from my past, Abdulrashid Sadulaev is the toughest competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, experience keeps Snyder from looking ahead to a potential encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be in the same quarter, but we both still got to win in order to wrestle each other,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cI think at a tournament like this that the wisest thing to do is take it match by match, because there are a lot of guys who are unseeded who I potentially wrestle first who are really high-level champions in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve spent all summer preparing for all the different guys I could wrestle in the bracket\u2026The guys in my weight class are so talented and there\u2019s going to be a lot of matches that come down to one exchange, one point, one second.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is interesting to note that 10 years after all three struck gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Snyder (97kg), Sadulaev (86kg) and Yazdani (74kg) are competing in the same weight class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Paris champion, Akhmed Tazhudinov of Bahrain adds a fourth Olympic gold medalist to the field, to go along with world and\/or Olympic medalists Magomedkhan Magomediv of Azerbaijan, Givi Matcharashvili of Georgia, JAPAN”S Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) and Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With five days left to go until the draw for 97kg, Snyder said he is unconcerned about who his first-round opponent will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care, because I have no control over it,\u201d he said. \u201cI like looking at the brackets when they come out and seeing who I\u2019m going to wrestle and get my mind ready for that. But at this point, I don\u2019t care. I\u2019ll start getting ready when they come out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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