Iran crowned Asian U20 Greco-Roman champion
A clean sweep of 10 medals saw Iran march to the Greco-Roman crown at the Asian U20 Wrestling Championships in Amman, Jordan.
Iran bagged five gold medals as well as a silver and four bronzes to dominate the final standing with 205 points, followed by Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which tallied 180 and 170 points respectively.
On Sunday, Amir-Reza Akbari brought the curtain down on glittering campaign for Iran by outmuscling Uzbekistan’s Damirkhon Rakhmatov 11-1 for the ultimate prize in the 97kg weight class.
Mohammad Morad Ashiri had won a first gold of the day for the country, thanks to a 7-0 hammering of Kyrgyzstan’s Akyl Sulaimanov in the 60kg final.
In a first final showdown of the afternoon featuring the Iranian and Uzbekistani wrestlers, Ahoura Bouveiri came out on top against Ilyosjon Abdinazarov by a 6-1 victory to grab the 67kg gold.
Meanwhile, Mohammad-Mehdi Miri had to settle for a silver in the 72kg contests after suffering a 4-2 defeat against Abdullo Aliev – also from Uzbekistan.
Yasin Yazdi bounced back from a last-four defeat against Kazakhstan’s Islam Yevloyev to beat Zhen Nian Tian of the Chinese Taipei 9-0 and finish his campaign with a consolation bronze in the 82kg event.
Sunday’s results came after the Iranians had collected double golds and three bronzes on the preceding night.
Abolfazl Choubani outclassed Nurassyl Amanaly of Kazakhstan in the 87kg final, while Fardin Hedayati made a quick work of China’s Wenhao Jiang, winning 11-1 for the 130kg gold.
A 9-0 victory over Turkmenistan’s Abduvali Rahimbayev sealed the joint 55kg bronze for Ali Ahmadi Vafa, while Reza Qeytasi defeated the host’s Hassan Saleem Naghouj 10-0 to leave the Jordanian capital with a 63kg bronze.
Alireza Abdevali claimed a third bronze for Iran in Amman, courtesy of a win against Kazakhstan’s Dias Kaltay in the 77kg class.