Refugee Jamal Valizadeh does his family of wrestlers proud in Greco-Roman event at Paris 2024 Olympics
Jamal Valizadeh did his family of wrestlers proud at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Representing the Refugee Olympic Team, 32-year-old Valizadeh made his Olympic debut in the men’s Greco-Roman 60kg event on Monday (6 August).
He faced a mammoth task of grappling with 2023 world bronze medallist Islomjon Bakhramov of Uzbekistan, who progressed from the contest 9-0 to reach the quarter-finals.
It means Valizadeh bows out of Paris, but having only recently returned to the sport, he has already admitted to having LA 2028 on his mind.
Wrestling is in the family genes, but initially Valizadeh was the only male in his family of 34 cousins who did not practise the sport.
He preferred handball growing up, but quickly became obsessed with wrestling once he was shown the tricks of the trade.
“Every night I started practising at home with them, and they showed me the technique, and how to attack,” he told Olympics.com ahead of Paris 2024.
“After that, the first day in the wrestling hall, I beat the regional champion.”
Valizadeh became a national champion in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and after settling in France in 2023, he resumed the sport after eight years away.
“That decision changed my life,” he added. “When I arrived in France, I didn't speak French and I didn't know anyone. I decided to find a wrestling club, and that helped me to learn French, and get back to a normal life.”
Now training with the French national team, Valizadeh made his Olympic debut in the country where he has settled, and did so representing the more than 100 million refugees around the world.
On Monday, he faced the 2019 Asian champion and bronze medallist from the worlds last year in Bakhramov, making for a difficult bout.
The pair were made to wait with the two previous matches featuring challenges, but eventually on Mat A at the Champ-de-Mars Arena it was Bakhramov whose experience told out.
Both wrestlers had remained on their feet for the first minute, but Bakhramov got points on the board to lead 3-0 at the halfway point.
In the second period, Bakhramov upped his level to secure the 9-0 win and advance, while Valizadeh departed richer for the experience.