Wrestling U17 Asian Championships:
Iranians Shamsipour, Afshar cruise to freestyle golds
The first day of the freestyle contests at the Wrestling U17 Asian Championships saw Iranians walk away with two gold medals across three weight classes in Amman, Jordan.
Representing the country in the 71kg contests, Abolfazl Shamsipour overcame opponents from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan before defeating Indian Nishant Ruhil 4-1 in the final.
Reza Afshar, meanwhile, dominated the 80kg class as he marched to the final showpiece without conceding a single point and then outmuscled Bunyod Rufatov 4-0 for the gold.
Amir-Ali Valipour was the only Iranian to end his campaign empty-handed after a last-eight defeat against Kazakhstan’s Bakdaulet Akimzhan in the 65kg event.
Monday’s results came after the Iranian Greco-Roman squad had made a clean sweep of 10 medals but settled for a runner-up finish behind Uzbekistan in the team table.
Abolfazl Karami (51kg), Emadreza Mohsennejad (80kg), and Danial Izadi (92kg) grabbed three gold medals, with Ahmad Badraddini (45kg), Alireza Amiri (48kg), Amir-Mahdi Saeidi Nava (67kg), and Mohammad Kazemi (71kg) adding four silvers to Iran’s medal haul.
Amir-Ali Heidari (55kg), Abolfazl Shiri (60kg), and Ayoub Hosseinvand (110kg) left the Jordanian capital with three consolation bronzes as Iran tallied 200 points.
Uzbekistan notched up 215 points, thanks to a remarkable five golds, as well as three silvers and double bronzes, while third-place Kazakhstan finished on 148 points with a single gold, two silvers, and three bronze medals.