Iran U17 team marches to Asian FS wrestling crown
A clean sweep of medals across 10 weight classes saw Iran’s under-17 team cruise to the freestyle wrestling crown at the Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Iranian boys collected six golds, three silvers, and a bronze medal to dominate the team table with 225 points – 45 points clear of second-placed India, with Kazakhstan finishing third with 158 points.
On Tuesday, Tohid Noori defeated opponents from India, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia before coming out on top against Kazakhstan’s Samir Dursunov 4-1 for the 92kg gold.
Having marched to the final showdown without conceding a point, Ahoura Khateri won the first gold of the day for the country, thanks to a victory by technical superiority (11-0) over Indian Dhanraj Bharat Shirke in the 45kg contests.
A second final showpiece of the afternoon featuring the Iranian and Indian wrestlers saw Sam Sayyar edge Rupesh Rupesh for the ultimate prize of the 48kg class.
Meanwhile, Amir-Reza Teymourizad finished his campaign with the 55kg silver after suffering a 6-5 loss to India’s Ankush Ankush in the final.
Sajjad Pirdayeh was the second Iranian to fall to a defeat in the final as he was beaten 2-1 by the host’s Omurbek Uulu and took the 60kg silver, while Abolfazl Mohammadnejad was the second best against Yedige Kassimbek of Kazakhstan in the 110kg final – suffering an 8-1 setback.
In the 51kg event, Amirmohammad Navazi bounced back from a last-four defeat against Japan’s Leo Akagi to outmuscle Uzbekistan’s Shohiron Aliev 7-0 and leave Bishkek with a consolation bronze.
Tuesday’s medals came after the Iranians had scooped all three golds up for grabs on the preceding night.
Sina Khalili came out victorious by an 8-3 scoreline against home-favorite Rustamzhan Kakharov in a thrilling 65kg final, while Abolfazl Hosseini outpowered Nurdaulet Seilbekov of Uzbekistan 6-2 for the 71kg gold.
Abolfazl Rahmani made a quick work of winning the 80kg gold by a 10-0 win against Indian Saurabh Yadav in the final contest.
Iran’s emphatic triumph came a year after the country had to settle for a fourth-spot finish at the event, courtesy of five medals – including a single gold.
“Thank God we won a medal in all weight classes, but this is just the beginning for this team,” said Iran head coach Behnam Ehsanpour.
“Our ultimate goal will be to succeed at the upcoming World Championships in Istanbul [starting July 31]. I’m confident this team is also capable of winning the world title,” added the Iranian.
The freestyle crown meant Iran left the Kyrgyz capital with double boys’ crowns after the country won four golds as well as two silvers and bronzes apiece for the first Greco-Roman title in the competitions in four years.
Mohammad-Meraj Mohmadi (51kg), Mohammadreza Gholami (55kg), Ali-Akbar Asghari (92kg), and Amirhossein Abdevali (110kg) walked away with the top prize of their respective weight classes.
Erfan Moradi (45kg) and Habibollah Rahimi (71kg) added a couple of silvers to the country’s medal haul, while Ali Dezfoulinejad (60kg) and Ahmadreza Mohammadian (65kg) were the Iranian bronze medalists at the event.