Alliance aside, Iran dominates U.S. in wrestling

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- American wrestlers lost six of seven bouts to Iranian opponents Thursday on the first day of a freestyle World Cup meet.

Defeating the U.S. wrestlers in six weight classes were: Hassan Rahimi (55 kilograms), Masoud Esmaeilpoorjouy (60kg), Mehdi Taghavi (66kg), Ehsan Lashgari (84kg), Hamed Tatari (96kg) and Komeil Ghasemi (120kg). The lone American winner was Jordan Burroughs at 74kg over Sadegh Goudarzi.

Iran also lost only one bout against Bulgaria while sweeping Japan and Georgia to top Group B.

Russia won Group A, beating Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Belarus, winning 23 of a combined 28 bouts.

The playoffs are Friday.

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