Olympic champion Roman Vlasov helped guide Russia to two wins ©Getty Images

Azerbaijan and Russia became the first teams to reach the final round of the United World Wresting (UWW) Greco-Roman World Cup after winning both of their opening group matches in Abadan today.

Russia’s Group A clash with the host nation Iran proved to be the highlight of the opening day of competition in the Kowsar Sports Complex.

The Russian team stormed into a 2-0 lead in the early stages of the tie as Mingiyan Semenov and Artem Surkov won their respective 59 and 66 kilogram bouts.

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Roman Vlasov triumphed over Rio 2016 bronze medalist Saeid Abdvali of Iran in the high profile 75kg contest, which at that stage gave Russia a 3-1 advantage in the tie.

Despite Abdvali being Iran’s sole Olympian in the squad, the host nation achieved two further victories in the tie to give themselves hope of a comeback.

Wins for Russia’s Olympic gold medallist Davit Chakvetadze and Sergey Semenov sealed the team victory after they won their respective 85kg and 130kg bouts.

“We came to Iran to make up for last year’s defeat in the World Cup final,” said Russia’s head coach Gogi Koguashvili.

“The Iranian team was young but motivated and all the matches were tough for us.

“If you want to win the title, you have to defeat all rivals.

“I think we will probably face Azerbaijan in the final, but we are favourite to win the title.”

Sergey Semenov secured a vital victory for Russia in their match against Iran ©Getty Images
Sergey Semenov secured a vital victory for Russia in their match against Iran ©Getty Images

The Russian team had begun the day with an 8-0 victory over Kazakhstan, with their two triumphs ensuring they will progress to the next stage of the event.

Iran beat Germany 7-3, but ended the day level with their Group A rivals as the European nation beat Kazakhstan 6-2 in their second tie.

Azerbaijan are the only team assured of a place in the next round of the competition, after their two triumphs in Group B.

The Azeri squad opened the day by securing a 5-3 victory over Turkey, before repeating the feat against Belarus in the afternoon session.

Both Turkey and Ukraine will hold out hope of earning the second qualifying spot available for the next round, with both teams having ended the day with one win and a defeat to their names.

Turkey defeated the Ukrainian team 5-3, after the latter had earned a 6-2 success over Belarus in the morning.

The group matches will conclude tomorrow, with the World Cup winners decided in the afternoon session.