Abbas Zand more known as Abbas Zandi (; 3 June 1930 – 30 October 2017) was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

''bastani'' practitioner,

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. Zandi competed in three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

1948 in London Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, 1952 in Helsinki, and 1956 in Melbourne.

Early life and career

Zandi was born in the ''Sang-e-laj'' neighborhood of

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. When he was 14, he began training in wrestling at ''Babr Club'', coached by Abdolhossein Feyli and Hassan Sa'dian. At 17, he began representing Iran in international competition. At 18, Zandi won an annual tournament to become the youngest ''

Pahlevan of Iran Pahlevan of Iran () is a national championship for pahlevani wrestling (''koshti pahlavāni'') held annually in Iran. Though the competition has ancient roots, its modern form began in 1944. The champion earns the title of ''Pahlevan'' and the ri ...

''. He would become ''Pahlevan'' three more times between 1950 and 1953. He won

gold medals A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the 1954 World Wrestling Championships at 79 kg and the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games () and commonly known as Tokyo 1958 (), were a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes repr ...

at 87+ kg. Zandi died on October 30, 2017, at the age of 87.

References

External links

* * 1930 births 2017 deaths Olympic wrestlers for Iran Wrestlers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Iranian male sport wrestlers Sport wrestlers from Tehran Asian Games gold medalists for Iran Asian Games medalists in wrestling Pahlevans of Iran Wrestlers at the 1958 Asian Games Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games 20th-century Iranian sportsmen 21st-century Iranian sportsmen World Wrestling Champions {{Iran-wrestling-bio-stub