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| Two wrestlers fighting at the Sports Palace in Tirana (archive) |
The 23-year-old World Wrestling Championship, the major event that will be held for the first time in Albania, loses a team before it even begins. The representative of Iran's wrestling team will not be present at the event taking place from October 23 to 29 in Tirana, locals say.
The reason is related to the refusal of visas by the Albanian government. The decision stems from the events of last year, when following a cyberattack on the digital infrastructure of the Government of the Republic of Albania, our country severed diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
On September 7, 2022, all diplomatic and technical administrative staff of the Iranian Embassy in Tirana were ordered to leave the territory of the Republic of Albania.
The International Wrestling Federation and the Iranian Federation were aware of the issue for several weeks. Despite attempts and negotiations with the Albanian government, the athletes were not issued visas under the argument of "political reasons."
Iran was expected to present 20 wrestlers in Tirana, with half competing in freestyle and the other half in Greco-Roman style. At least 5 athletes had aspirations for medal positions, as they were ranked among the top 20 countries in the world.
According to the International Federation, obtaining visas remains the biggest problem in the sport of wrestling.