Greco-Roman National Championships:
Yousefi wins 130kg title to make case for national team spot
Former world champion Ali-Akbar Yousefi showcased his credentials for a place in the Iranian squad by winning the 130kg gold at the Greco-Roman National Championships – the opening phase of the national team trials for next year’s World Championships – on Friday.
Outscoring his three opponents 23-1 en route to the final, Yousefi dominated Morteza Alghousi by a 10-1 superiority to secure the ultimate prize of his weight class, throwing down the gauntlet to fellow-superheavyweight Iranians Amin Mirzazadeh and Fardin Hedayati, who are the reigning world senior and under-23 gold medalists respectively.
Elsewhere in the three-day event, Iman Mohammadi – a world junior and U23 champion in 2022 – edged out Mohammad-Javad Rezaei 4-3 in a thrilling 72kg final, with Mohammadreza Gholami overcoming Armin Moheb-Sabet 5-2 in the 67kg showdown.
Gholamreza Farrokhi cruised to a superiority win (8-0) against Mohammadhossein Azarmdokht for the 82kg title, while a cagey 97kg final saw Hamidreza Badkan beat Mohammad-Hadi Seydi 2-1.
Friday’s results came after Mahdi Ahadi had walked away with the 55kg gold on the preceding night in Shiraz, thanks to a 3-1 victory over Kianoush Shamshiri.
Pouya Nasserpour defeated Mohammad-Javad Aboutalebi 4-0 in the 60kg final, and Mohammad-Mahdi Keshtkar won the 63kg gold, courtesy of a 6-1 win against Ali Hajivand.
Amin Kavianinejad – an Asian Games silver winner last year – rounded off his campaign with a 5-4 win against Ali Abdi in the 77kg final, with reigning four-time Asian champion Nasser Alizadeh beating Behrouz Hedayat 6-3 for the top podium in the 87kg event.