U23 Wrestling World Championships:
Firouzpour, Ma’soumi cruise to freestyle golds
Amirhossein Firouzpour and Amirreza Ma’soumi dominated their respective weight classes as Iran collected three freestyle medals at the U23 Wrestling World Championships in Tirana, Albania.
Ebrahim Khari added a bronze to Iran’s haul on Saturday, when he bounced back from a last-four defeat (12-2) against Russian defending champion Bashir Magomedov – participating as a neutral athlete – to rally past Armenia’s Levik Mikayelyan 4-3 and share the third podium with Indian Abhishek Dhaka in the 61kg contests.
“A bronze was nothing more than I deserved here. It could have been a more colorful prize, though I am still glad I won a first medal for the Iranian freestyle squad in Tirana,” Khari said.
“The Armenian opponent was a decent wrestler and I had fight hard to come from behind in the final minute,” added the Iranian, who won three bouts by technical superiority before the semifinal setback.
Magomedov went on to beat Ruslan Abdullayev of Azerbaijan 4-0 in the final.
Double domination
Ma’soumi and Firouzpour might be second in the pecking order of the seniors’ national team but the two proved to be the ones to beat when it comes to world age-group competitions.
Firouzpour, who fell short against Kamran Qassempour in the Iranian team trials for the upcoming Seniors World Championships, claimed his second world under-23 title in style, outmuscling American Jacob Cardenas in the final showpiece of the 92kg event.
The American held the criteria advantage, 4-4, at the break but it was all Firouzpour and his underhook offense in the second period as the Iranian walked away with a 11-4 triumph.
A former world cadet and junior champion, Firouzpour began his campaign with a 13-1 rout of Moldovan Ion Demian and then came out on top 3-1 against Greek wrestler Gkivi Bliatze for a place in the semifinals, where he defeated Turkey’s Fatih Altunbas 8-2.
“I suffered from a minor elbow injury before the tournament and was far from my best form yesterday. I rode my experience to make it to the final,” said Firouzpour, also a two-time Asian senior champion, adding: “Thank God I could raise my level for today’s final and delivered my best performance against the American wrestler.”
Ma’soumi, meanwhile, was again in a league of his own in the superheavyweight class.
Chasing a sixth world age-group title, the 20-year-old made a quick work of India’s Anirudh Kumar, Russian Abdulla Kurbanov, and American Lucas Stoddard to progress to the 125kg final, not conceding a single point in the superiority wins against all three.
It was also a one-way traffic in the final, as the Iranian pulled in yet another masterclass in underhooks and aggressive wrestling to demolish European champion Alen Khubulov of Bulgaria 11-0 and clinch a third world under-23 gold.
Ma’soumi’s emphatic triumph in Tirana was a testament to his merit for a shot at seniors’ glory, though he will still have to see off reigning world champion and Olympic silver medalist Amirhossein Zare’ for the national team berth.
Saturday’s results came after the Iranian Greco-Roman squad had lifted a third team trophy in five years last week in the Feti Borova Sports Hall.
Ali Ahmadi Vafa (55kg), Mohammad Naqousi (82kg), and Fardin Hedayati (130kg) notched up three golds, while Danial Sohrabi (72kg), Shayan Habib-Zare’ (97kg), Erfan Jarkani (63kg), and Ali Oskou (77kg) finished with a consolation bronze, as Iran stood atop the team table with 149 points – 28 clear of runner-up Georgia.