Hangzhou Asian Games:
Alamians’ fairy tale continues with a place in doubles last four
Iranian brothers Nima and Noshad Alamian carried on their impressive form in the table tennis contests of the Hangzhou Asian Games in China with a last-eight victory over the Japanese duo in the men’s doubles event.
The Iranian pair came out on top in straight games (11-6, 11-8, 11-5) against Taisei Matsushita and Mizuki Oikawa to guarantee a second table tennis medal for the country in Hangzhou.
It has already been a memorable campaign for Nima and Noshad, who were part of the Iranian trio, alongside Mirhossein Hodaei, that beat Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Japan before falling to South Korea in the semifinals to win the men’s team bronze – Iran’s first table tennis medal in the Asian Games in 65 years.
“It was a really tough match. We were just thinking of securing a second medal before the contest, but now we’ll be looking to improve on the team bronze,” elder brother Noshad said after the victory.
Standing between them and a place in today’s final showdown at the GSP Gymnasium are the host’s Fan Zhendong – a team gold medalist and a singles silver winner in Tokyo Olympics – and Wang Chuqin.
Kurash silver
The first day of the kurash competitions in Hangzhou saw Iranian Majid Vahid Barimanlou win a silver medal in the men’s -66kg weight class.
Barimanlou overcame opponents from Vietnam and the Chinese Taipei before a semifinal victory over Tajikistan’s Murodzoda Khairandeshi, only to suffer a defeat against Uzbekistan’s Artyom Shturbabin in the final showdown.
A first medal for the country on Saturday came in the shooting contests, where Haniyeh Rostamian and Amir Joharikou teamed up for a bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
The Iranian duo defeated Pakistan’s Gulfam Joseph and Kishmala Talat 16-14 to share the third place with the South Korean pair.