Top 5 competitors of Team USA Wrestling at Paris Olympics 2024 ft. Iran, Japan

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Jul 25, 2024 04:53 GMT

Team USA will be sending a nearly full-strength team of wrestlers to the Paris Olympics. 12 freestyle wrestlers will be representing the United States, including the likes of Spencer Lee, Kyle Snyder, Sarah Hildebrandt, Dominique Parrish, etc., who have won laurels for the country at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.

The wrestling event will commence from August 5 at the Grand Palais Ephemere in Paris, and continue until the penultimate day of the Paris Olympics, i.e. August 11. However, the journey for the freestyle wrestlers from Team USA is far from a cakewalk, even though Russia & Belarus will not be in action for most of the events, thanks to the sanctions imposed by IOC.

As per United World Wrestling, the top 3 teams in contentions for topping the medal table in freestyle wrestling would be Team USA, Team Iran, and Team Azerbaijan. However, apart from Team USA, here are some countries that could give tough competition in terms of winning the most of number of Olympic medals in freestyle wrestling:

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Top 5 competitors of Team USA Wrestling at Paris Olympics 2024 ft. Iran, Japan

#5) India

Can the dark horses from India outmatch Team USA? [Image Source: UWW]

It might come as a surprise to many, but Team India is one of the dark horses of freestyle wrestling, which is yet to unlock its potential.

Ever since Sushil Kumar won the first medal for India in wrestling after 56 years, Team India is again on the rise. Even the best from Team USA, Team Azerbaijan, Team Iran, & Team Russia have a tough time against the Indian grapplers, and this was proved at the Tokyo Olympics as well.

With one male wrestler and five freestyle wrestlers, Team India is aiming for one of its best performances in the history of the Summer Olympics. Aman Sehrawat is the junior world champion, who might achieve what his compatriot Ravi Kumar Dahiya couldn't in the men's 57 kg last time: an Olympic gold medal.

Apart from Sehrawat, there is Antim Panghal, who has been a two-time junior world champion, and a bronze medalist in the senior World Championships the previous year. She is closely followed by Anshu Malik, who is the only woman freestyle wrestler from India to have won a silver medal at the World Championships.

#4) Kazakhstan:

Azamat Dauletbekov, one of the strong hopefuls for Kazakhstan

Another dark horse of this sport is Team Kazakhstan. They have a unique record of never returning empty-handed from this sport since the Beijing Olympics in 2008, irrespective of the category.

Although there are hardly any female wrestlers representing the country this time, champions like Azamat Daulatbekov will be looking forward to making the country proud with their prowess on the mat.

#3) Azerbaijan:

Haji Aliyev [L] with the bronze medal at Rio Olympics [Image Source : Getty]

It's been 12 years since Azerbaijan last dominated this sport at the Summer Olympics. However, this time, the team wants nothing less than a gold medal in almost every category they step in.

For Team USA, Azerbaijan can be one of the biggest challengers, since they have been among the top 10 in the medal table for the past five years. In fact, in the 2023 World Championships, Azerbaijan posed a significant challenge, bagging two gold medals and five silver medals in this event.

With wrestlers like Haji Aliyev in the fray, who had won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in Men's 65 kg, Azerbaijan would love to give a tough run for the money to Team USA at Paris Olympics.

#2) Japan:

Kaori Icho, the only undefeated female freestyle wrestler at the Summer Olympics till date [Image Source: Getty]

If there's one team that Team USA would think twice before taking on in freestyle wrestling, especially in the female category, that's Team Japan. Kaori Icho may not be representing Team Japan this time, but her clean slate at the Olympics is more than enough to prove the caliber of Team Japan.

With wrestlers like Yui Sasaki and Akari Fujinami, Japan would be looking forward to dominating women's freestyle wrestling at the Summer Olympics. At the Tokyo Olympics, Japan had topped the medal table with seven medals, including five Olympic gold medals, and nothing would be better than to break their own record and top the medal tables once again at the Paris Olympics.

#1) Iran:

Can Iran overcome Team USA in wrestling at Paris Olympics? [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source: Getty]

Now that Russia and Belarus won't be there to represent their country in the majority of the wrestling events at the Paris Olympics, it is a golden opportunity for Team Iran to overcome the challenge from Team USA and top the medal table, at least in freestyle wrestling.

Like India and Japan, Iran has a wrestling culture that dates back to a millennium, if not centuries. They almost topped the medal table at the London Olympics in 2012, and have been in the top 10 of the medal tally ever since.

With stalwarts like Hassan Yazdani, one shouldn't be surprised if Iran dominates the male freestyle wrestling, overcoming Team USA at the Paris Olympics: