Iran Marks Anniversary of Death of Wrestler Takhti
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran marked the 48th anniversary of legendary wrestler Gholamreza Takhti’s death on Thursday.
A number of Iranian sports officials attended the ceremony held at Ibn-e Babawayh cemetery in southern Tehran.
Mohammad Reza Yazdani-Khorram, former president of Iran Wrestling Federation, Esteghlal club acting-president Bahram Afsharzadeh, Mohammad Ali Shojaei, Iran Archery Federation president, Farhad Touloukian, the head of Iran Zurkhaneh Sports Federation, veteran wrestlers and several hundred people were present at the ceremony.
Takhti was born in Tehran on August 27, 1930 and was found dead in a hotel room on January 7, 1968. He was laid to rest at Ibn-e Babawayh cemetery and is commemorated by Iranians every year.
Takhti won the gold medal in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, after defeating Boris Kulayev from Soviet Union in the final match.
He also claimed two Olympics silver medals in 1952 Helsinki and 1960 Rome. Takhti won two World Championships gold medals in 1959 Tehran and 1961 Yokohama.
The free-style wrestler also seized a gold medal in the 1958 Asian Games held in Tokyo, Japan.
