Navid Zanganeh is an Iranian

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

and former member of the Iranian U-23 freestyle wrestling team.

Wrestling career

Zanganeh wrestled for club Atrak Khorasan and represented

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

on the world stage. During the 2018 Senior U23 World Championships in

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Zanganeh earned a bronze medal after defeating Azerbaijani wrestler Ismail Abdullaev. At the 2019 U-23 Senior Asian Championships Zanganeh won a silver medal after beating opponents from Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan before facing defeat in the finals. The Takhti freestyle wrestling tournament took place on 7 and 8 February 2019 with representatives from

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Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

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Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

and

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. Zanganeh placed third and was a part of Iran's overall victory in the tournament.

Arrest and asylum in Canada

Zanganeh was shot at anti-government

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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. ...

and was subsequently arrested after being taken to hospital. He was detained for 15 days and was eventually released from Fashafaviye prison. Zanganeh was immediately released from his club Atrak Khorasan and was unable to wrestle for Iran. After the arrest was made public, Zanganeh

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in the hopes to resume his

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

career representing

Violation of anti-doping rule and sanction

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) gave an announcement which stated that Zanganeh was subjected to a four-year suspension due to a violation of anti-doping

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

s. The violation stemmed from the detection of

oxandrolone Oxandrolone is an androgen and synthetic anabolic steroid (AAS) medication to help promote weight gain in various situations, to help offset protein catabolism caused by long-term corticosteroid therapy, to support recovery from severe burns, t ...

, a prohibited anabolic substance, in a

urine sample A urine test is any medical test performed on a urine specimen. The analysis of urine is a valuable diagnostic tool because its composition reflects the functioning of many body systems, particularly the kidneys and urinary system, and specimens ...

of Zanganeh. The urine sample was collection during an in-competition sampling session on March 11, 2023. The sanction entails an ineligibility to participate in any sport signatory to the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP) at any capacity (including training with teammates), and concludes on April 24, 2027.

Criminal Charges

A Vancouver Police investigation into alleged drug trafficking at a Marpole nightclub has led to the arrest of Navid Zanganeh. VPD launched the investigation in December 2023 after receiving a tip that drug trafficking was taking place inside Gallery Nightclub located near SW Marine and Hudson Street. Over the course of a 15-month investigation, officers gathered evidence that led to the arrest of Navid, who was the employee of the nightclub. The BC Prosecution Service has approved charges against: Navid Zanganeh, 28, with four counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, three counts of trafficking a controlled substance, one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and one count of possession of an unauthorized weapon.

Mixed martial arts career

Navid began his

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

career in

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, Canada. His

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is currently Achilles Estremadura out of InFight MMA in

Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanganeh, Navid Iranian male sport wrestlers Living people 1996 births Sportspeople from Tehran province Sportspeople of Iranian descent Iranian refugees 21st-century Iranian sportsmen