Iran’s Aqamirzaei bags Asian canoe sprint bronze
Iran’s Ali Aqamirzaei grabbed a bronze medal at the Asian Canoe Sprint Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
Representing the country in the men’s K-1 200m final, Aqamirzaei clocked 39.53 seconds to finish third to gold-winning South Korean Cho Gwang-hee and Denis Onufriev of Uzbekistan.
Elsewhere, Iranian girl Elnaz Shafieian booked her place in today’s K-1 500m final showpiece, thanks to a top-spot finish in the semifinals with 2:13.259 minutes.
With this year’s championships serving as the qualifiers for the Paris Olympics in the summer, a top-two finish in the final will see Shafieian punch the ticket for the French capital.
Aqamirzaei will also began his quest for an Olympic berth in the K-1 1000m contest today, with Mohammad-Nabi Rezaei chasing a place in Paris in the men’s C-1 1000m event.
The Iranian duo of Adel Mojallali and Kia Eskandari failed to qualify for the Olympics after standing fifth in the men’s C-2 500m final.