Yazdani Forced Me to Get Better: David Taylor
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – American freestyle wrestler David Taylor says that his Iranian rival Hassan Yazdani has forced him to get better.
In the 86kg final, Taylor defeated Yazdani 9-3 to win a gold in the 2023 World Wrestling Championships.
“It's so many micro-adjustments, it's amazing,” Taylor said. “I have a plan, he has a plan, then you go out there and your plan works for about 20 seconds. When I wrestle him, it's like organized chaos, there's just so much happening. It becomes, honestly, a lot of instinct. It's what I've been doing for 25 years.”
Taylor, who beat Yazdani in the Tokyo Olympic final, said the key to handling the Iranian star was to neutralize his dangerous underhook.
“He's so good in that position, and it's forced me to get better,” Taylor said. “For me, the more action always benefits me. I feel like our matches had a lot of action...People will do the best they possibly can to slow me down, my job is to become a dynamic scorer and find ways to continue to score and that was what I was able to do.”
Taylor's lone loss to Yazdani was a 6-2 defeat in the 2021 final in Oslo, which he said he took to heart, UWW.org reported.
“He is an aggressive, fearless competitor,” Taylor said. “In Oslo, I gave him an inch and he took a mile. I learned my lesson the hard way in that match. Every time I have to try to stay one step ahead.”
