Featherweight, Freestyle (≤58 kilograms), Men

The last two World Champions were Iranian Ali Reza Dabir (1998) and Turkey’s Harun Doğan (1999). They had met in the final of each tournament, with the 1998 event held in Iran and the 1999 event held in Turkey, and each won in their own home country. They were expected to meet in the rubber match at Sydney, a neutral site. Reza Dabir fulfilled expectations by winning his pool and moving through the knockout round to the final. Doğan, however, was not so fortunate. Turkey’s wrestling was mired in a political mess involving secularists and religious fundamentalists, and Doğan was against the secularists and refused to wear the national kit. He lost an early match and then withdrew from his final pool match and was eliminated.

In the semis, Reza Dabir defeated American Terry Brands, considered a formidable opponent. This advanced him to the final against Ukrainian Yevhen Buslovych, who was pretty much unknown. It was a comfortable victory for Reza Dabir, winning 3-0, as Brands won the bronze medal over Uzbeki Damir Zakhartdinov.