September 10th was the birth anniversary of Iran’s greatest wrestler, Gholamreza Takhti.
Takhti has not only remained in the hearts of Iranians just for his sporting prowess and his medals; he was an icon, a true champ, a humble, gracious and valiant man who loved his people and stood by them until his last day.
Popularly nicknamed Jahan Pahlevan (The World Champion) because of his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship (Javanmardi), he was the most popular athlete of Iran in the 20th century. Takhti is still a hero to many Iranians. He is listed in the FILA wrestling Hall of Fame.
Takhti was born 84 years ago in South Tehran’s working class district of Khani-Abad and started to train in the ancient art of Zurkhaneh (house of strength), a traditional gym, before being introduced to freestyle wrestling. Iran’s Wrestling Federation is planning to designate his birthday as the official ‘national wrestling day’’. Wrestling is Iran’s national sport.
