Wrestling: Hamid Soryan Wins Iran's First Greco-Roman Gold

This article, written by Paul Hirst, appeared on The Independent on August 05,2012

Hamid Soryan hoped he had put a smile on the faces of the Iranian people after he finally delivered the country their first Greco-Roman gold this evening.

Despite being one of the powerhouses of Olympic wrestling, Iran had never topped the podium in the 116-year history of the Greco-Roman discipline before Soryan's victory over Rovshan Bayramov in the -55kg category today.

The 26-year-old went in to the fight as favourite and gut-wrenched his Azerbaijani opponent to win the first period before winning the second period 1-0 to seal victory.

"I am hoping that this will make everyone happy back home," five-time world champion Soryan said.

"We have got a great people back home who are very kind to our sports people and I am hoping that I brought smiles to their faces for a little time today."

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