Iran U21 dominates Asian Karate Championships
Iranian under-21 karatekas dominated the Asian Championships in Manila, Philippines, notching up a remarkable 11 medals, including six golds.
The medal haul saw Iran top the age-group table, with Kazakhstan in second, thanks to double golds and a silver, while Japan bagged a gold and two bronzes for the third place.
Having claimed the runner-up spot in the cadet and junior categories, Iran finished second to Japan in the overall standings with a total 10 golds, four silvers, and nine bronze medals.
On Sunday, Iranian boys stole the show in the under-21 kumite contests as Mohammad-Hossein Shirsefat (-55kg), Hossein Alinejad (-60kg), Amir-Reza Borzooei (-67kg), and Mohammad-Erfan Askaripour (-75kg) walked away with the ultimate prize in their respective weight classes.
Ali Tavakkoli’s bronze in the men’s +84kg contests rounded off Iran’s medal-laden campaign across the three age groups in the Filipino capital.
There was further under-21 glory for the country in the women’s draw.
Fatemeh Zahra Saied-Abadi outpowered Tien Hsin-erh of the Chinese Taipei 9-0 in the -55kg final, while Hannaneh Salehi defeated Kazakhstan’s Assylay Savidova 6-2 for the +68kg gold.
Yalda Naghi-Beiranvand, meanwhile, had to settle for the -50kg silver after a loss to Japanese Mizuki Ishihara.
Elsewhere on the final day, Iranian girls Melika Ezzati (kata), Mehrnegar Ahmadi (-61kg), Fatemeh Bodagh (-68kg) finished their campaigns with three bronze medals.
Despite a below-par run in the under-21 contests, Japan still managed to finish atop the table with 16 golds, one bronze, and eight bronzes, with Kazakhstan following Iran courtesy of four golds and bronzes apiece, as well as six silver medals.