Parviz Zeidvand (Persian: پرويز زيدوند; born August 16, 1980, in Khorramshahr) is a retired amateur Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's welterweight category.[1] He won two gold medals at the Asian Championships (2001 and 2003), picked up a bronze in the 74-kg division at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and represented Iran in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Zeidvand trained full-time for Rahahan Wrestling Club under his coach and mentor Gholamreza Ghetassi.

Parviz Zeidvand
Personal information
Full nameParviz Zeidvand
Nationality Iran
Born (1980-08-16) 16 August 1980 (age 43)
Khorramshahr, Iran
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7+12 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubRahahan Wrestling Club
CoachGholamreza Ghetassi
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Iran
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Busan 74 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Ulan Bator 69 kg
Gold medal – first place 2003 New Delhi 66 kg
Silver medal – second place 2000 Seoul 69 kg

Zeidvand made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's welterweight category (69 kg). He lost two straight matches each to Azerbaijan's Islam Dugushiev (5–0) and Finland's Juha Lappalainen (2–1), leaving him on the bottom of the prelim pool and placing sixteenth in the final standings.[2][3]

After his first Olympics, Zeidvand proved particularly successful in his career with two gold medals in both 66 and 69-kg division at the Asian Championships (2001 and 2003).[4][5] Fighting at five pounds heavier than in his early 2000s, Zeidvand picked up a bronze over Uzbek wrestler and 2000 Olympian Ruslan Biktyakov in the men's 74 kg category at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Zeidvand qualified for his second Iranian squad, as a 24-year-old, in the men's 66 kg class. Earlier in the process, he finished second at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro to guarantee his spot on the Iranian wrestling team.[6] Redeeming from his previous Olympic setback, Zeidvand dominated the prelim pool with two powerful verdicts over Kyrgyzstan's Kanatbek Begaliev (5–0) and Spain's Moisés Sánchez (3–1) to secure his place for the next round. Zeidvand kept his Iranian squad wrecking with a grueling 2–1 defeat to Azerbaijan's Farid Mansurov in the quarterfinal match.[7] For refusing to appear in the fifth-place match, Zeidvand, along with reigning Olympic silver medalist Kim In-Sub of South Korea, were disqualified from the tournament and thereby received a lifetime ban from the sport by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling (FILA).[8]

References edit

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Parviz Zeidvand". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Welterweight Greco-Roman (69kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 103–104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  3. ^ Hirsley, Michael (27 September 2000). "Wisconsin Wrestler Grabs Bronze". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Iranians shining in Asian wrestling events". Payvand. 7 June 2003. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  5. ^ Patil, Kirti (8 June 2003). "Geetika, Gurbinder settle for silver". Payvand. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  6. ^ Abbott, Gary (16 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Baroev beats Barzi in semi, Monzon tames Ashkani in Olympics Greco-Roman wrestling". Payvand. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 66kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.

External links edit