Karate 1 Premier League:
Golshadnejad wins gold as Iranians notch up five medals
The final day of the Karate 1 Premier League series in Hangzhou saw Iranians collect five medals, including a kumite gold in the women’s competitions.
Representing the country in the -61kg weight class, Atousa Golshadnejad defeated German grand winner Reem Khamis 4-3 to walk away with the ultimate prize.
This was a six victory in Hangzhou for the Iranian girl, who also won a gold medal at the Karate 1 Premier League in Paris last year.
Fatemeh Sa’adati was the other Iranian female finalist on Sunday, settling for a silver medal in the -55kg class after a 4-0 defeat against Japanese rising star Rina Kodo.
In the men’s draw, former Asian champion Saleh Abazari bagged a second silver medal for Iran.
Having beaten opponents from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Thailand, Italy, Turkey, as well as Egyptian grand winner Taha Tarek Mahmoud en route to the final, Abazari suffered a 5-3 loss to Georgian Merabi Gelashvili in the +84kg showdown.
Four-time world gold medalist Bahman Asgari bounced back from a last-four setback against Enzo Berthon of France to beat Croatian Ivan Martinac 1-0 and finish his campaign with a consolation bronze in the men’s kumite -75kg contests.
Berthon still had to settle for a silver medal after a defeat by Senshu against reigning world and African champion Abdalla Abdelaziz of Egypt.
A second bronze medal for Iran came in the men’s -84kg class, where Mahdi Khodabakhshi defeated Dutch opponent Brian Timmermans 3-0 to share the third podium with Rikito Shimada of Japan.
Egypt’s Youssef Badawy, who had beaten Khodabakhshi in the semifinals, went on to snatch the gold, thanks to a Hantei win against Jordanian Mohammad Aljafari after the final showpiece finished scoreless.