Navid Zanganeh

Navid Zanganeh is an Iranian wrestler and former member of the Iranian U-23 freestyle wrestling team.

Navid Zanganeh

Personal information
Native name	نوید زنگنه ‌
Full name	Navid Zanganeh
Nickname(s)	cheetah , khabib
Born	(1996-07-16) 16 July 1996 (age 29) Eslamshahr, Iran
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Country	Iran
Sport	Wrestling
Coached by	Alireza Rezaei, Sardar Molavi, Alireza Rezaeimanesh,
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Asian Games 1 – – World Championships – – 1 Asian Championships – 1 –

Wrestling career

Zanganeh wrestled for club Atrak Khorasan and represented Iran on the world stage.

During the 2018 Senior U23 World Championships in Bucharest Zanganeh earned a bronze medal after defeating Azerbaijani wrestler Ismail Abdullaev.^[1]

At the 2019 U-23 Senior Asian Championships Zanganeh won a silver medal after beating opponents from Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan before facing defeat in the finals.^[2]

The Takhti freestyle wrestling tournament took place on 7 and 8 February 2019 with representatives from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Armenia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia. Zanganeh placed third and was a part of Iran's overall victory in the tournament.^[3]

Arrest and asylum in Canada

Zanganeh was shot at anti-government rally in Tehran and was subsequently arrested after being taken to hospital. He was detained for 15 days and was eventually released from Fashafaviye prison.^[4] Zanganeh was immediately released from his club Atrak Khorasan and was unable to wrestle for Iran.^[5] After the arrest was made public, Zanganeh emigrated to Canada in the hopes to resume his wrestling career representing Canada.^[6]

Violation of anti-doping rule and sanction

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) gave an announcement which stated that Zanganeh was subjected to a four-year suspension due to a violation of anti-doping regulations. The violation stemmed from the detection of oxandrolone, a prohibited anabolic substance, in a urine sample of Zanganeh. The urine sample was collection during an in-competition sampling session on March 11, 2023. The sanction entails an ineligibility to participate in any sport signatory to the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP) at any capacity (including training with teammates), and concludes on April 24, 2027.^[7]

Criminal Charges

A Vancouver Police investigation into alleged drug trafficking at a Marpole nightclub has led to the arrest of Navid Zanganeh. VPD launched the investigation in December 2023 after receiving a tip that drug trafficking was taking place inside Gallery Nightclub located near SW Marine and Hudson Street. Over the course of a 15-month investigation, officers gathered evidence that led to the arrest of Navid, who was the employee of the nightclub.

The BC Prosecution Service has approved charges against: Navid Zanganeh, 28, with four counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, three counts of trafficking a controlled substance, one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and one count of possession of an unauthorized weapon.^[8]

Mixed martial arts career

Navid began his MMA career in Vancouver, Canada. His head coach is currently Achilles Estremadura out of InFight MMA in Coquitlam, British Columbia.