Iranians honor wrestling legend Gholam-Reza Takhti

TEHRAN,Jan.8(MNA)--Iran commemorated the 44th anniversary of the death of legendary free-style wrestler Gholam-Reza Takhti on Saturday. Iranian famous sports personalities namely, Mohammad Abbasi, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Bahram Afsharzadeh, secretary general of Iran’s Olympic Committee and Persepolis captain Ali Karimi attended the event. Takhti was born in Tehran on August 27, 1930 and was found dead in a hotel room on January 7, 1968. He was laid to rest at Ibn-e Babouyeh cemetery in southern Tehran where he is commemorated every year by the Iranians. Takhti is the most famous wrestler in Iran’s history. The legend was known for his chivalry and sportsmanship which continues to symbolize the essence of sports for the Iranian people. In 1961, a terrible earthquake shook Boein Zahra in western Iran killing 45,000. Takhti was deeply touched by the unpleasant incident. He, who was then already one of Iran’s biggest stars, began prancing down one of the main avenues of Tehran asking for aid for the victims. This inspired other champions to follow in his footsteps, and as a result thousands of people gave donations to alleviate the suffering of the quake-stricken people. Another example of his character comes from a match in Moscow. After defeating the then-world champion Anatoli Albul, Takhti saw the sorrow in the face of Albul’s mother. Takhti went to her and said, “I’m sorry about the result. Your son is a great wrestler.” She smiled and kissed him. There is another memory that sheds more light on his character. Once he had a match with Russian wrestler Alexander Medved, who had an injured right knee. When Takhti found out that he was injured, he never attacked that leg. Instead, he tried to attack the other leg. He lost the match but showed that honor was more important than winning for him.