Asian U20 Wrestling Championships:
Freestyle glory completes team double for Iran
Iran claimed the freestyle title at the Asian U20 Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, by grabbing a remarkable four golds, double silvers, and one bronze medal across 10 weight classes.
The Iranian squad collected 179 points to finish atop the team table, with India (157 points) and Kazakhstan (133 points) in the following spots.
The freestyle crown came after the Iranian Greco-Roman squad had walked away with the team trophy in the Kyrgyz capital on Thursday, thanks to four golds and five bronze medals.
Reigning Asian senior champion Abolfazl Rahmani brought the curtain down on a dominant campaign for the country on Sunday by beating Turkmenistan’s Dovletgeldi Myradov 6-2 to the ultimate prize in the 86kg contests.
Mohammad-Mahdi Mamivand won a first gold medal for Iran on the final day of the competitions, courtesy of a superiority win (11-0) against Umarkhon Muydinov of Uzbekistan in the 74kg showdown.
Tohid Nouri, meanwhile, had to settle for a silver medal in the 92kg class following a 6-1 loss to Uzbek wrestler Sherzod Poyonov.
Iranian boys had bagged four medals, including double golds, on the preceding night.
Ebrahim Elahi defeated Ariya Yoshida of Japan 8-3 for the gold medal of the 70kg division, while Erfan Alizadeh rounded off an emphatic run in the 97kg contests by securing a 5-0 victory over Kamil Kurugliyev of Kazakhstan in the final.
Abolfazl Shamsipour finished his campaign with a silver medal after a 5-4 loss to Amit of India in the 79kg final, with Arshia Haddadi bouncing back from a last-four defeat against Kazakhstan’s Nurdanat Aitanov to beat Kabe Matjanov of Turkmenistan 11-0 for a consolation bronze in the 57kg class.
Earlier in Bishkek, Payam Ahmadi (55kg), Ahoura Bouveiri (77kg), Mohammad-Hadi Seydi (97kg), and Abolfazl Fat’hi (130kg) headlined Iran’s medal haul in the Greco-Roman event by notching up the golds in their respective weight classes.
Meanwhile, Seyyed Iman Hosseini (60kg), Mohammad-Javad Talebi (63kg), Gholamreza Abdevali (67kg), Amir-Mahdi Saeidinava (72kg) and Hamdireza Keshtkar (87kg) won five bronzes as Iran lifted the team trophy with 185 points – followed by Kyrgyzstan (166pts) and Uzbekistan (151pts).