Asian U15 & U17 Boxing Championships:
Under-17 Iranians finish with seven medals
Iranian young guns enjoyed an impressive run at the inaugural Asian U15 & U17 Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan, by collecting seven medals across different under-17 categories.
Amir-Ali Mehrabi was the sole Iranian gold medalist in the Jordanian capital, walking away with the ultimate prize of the boys’ 60kg contests – thanks to victories over opponents from Iraq, India, Japan, and Uzbekistan.
Representing the country in the 48kg class, Zobeir Issazehi beat boxers from the Chinese Taipei, and India to reach the final showpiece, before a setback against the Uzbek fighter saw the Iranian boy settle for a silver medal.
Navid Rezaei added a second silver to Iran’s medal haul following a final defeat – also against an Uzbek opponent – in the boys’ 63kg final.
Amir-Mahdi Ezzati (70kg) and Farhoud Qorbani (+80kg) also finished their campaigns with double silver medals, while Amir-Mahdi Akbari (46kg) and Ehsan Zolfi (57kg) took a couple of consolation bronzes in their respective categories.
Parsa Motevallian was the only member of the Iranian eight-man squad to miss out on a medal in Amman, following a first-round loss to Indian Udham Singh.
Iran had bagged a silver medal and three bronzes in the under-15 contests earlier in Amman.
Morteza Rahimi settled for a runner-up finish in the boys’ 49kg event after a final defeat against the Kazakh boxer, with Aref Zivdar (46kg), Mohammadreza Zare’ Atabaki (52kg), and Mohammad-Taha Najafi (55kg) standing on the third podium of their respective weight classes.