U20 Wrestling World Championships:
Solace in Samokov as Iran crowned Greco-Roman champion
Iranian wrestling ultimately found relief by winning a fourth consecutive Greco-Roman title at the U20 World Championships, having endured an under-par freestyle campaign by its own standards in Samokov, Bulgaria.
Iran claimed a single gold medal across 10 weight classes but still managed to finish atop the team table with 117 points, with Armenia (98pts) and Azerbaijan (90pts) in the following spots.
Ahoura Bouveiri was the only Iranian finalist on the final day of the competitions, but had to settle for silver after a decisive 10-1 loss to Georgian Anri Putkaradze in the 77kg showdown.
Abolfazl Fat’hi won the fourth Greco-Roman medal for Iran later on Sunday by bagging a consolation bronze in the 130kg event.
The Iranian superheavyweight bounced back from a last-four setback (5-4) against Russian Ali Iliasov, who competed as a neutral athlete, to hammer Belarusian Viachaslau Fedaryna 9-1 and share the third podium with Ivan Yankovskyi of Ukraine, while Iliasov went on to make a quick work of Turkey’s Cemal Yusuf Bakır (9-0) in the final.
Sunday’s results came after Iran had won a gold and a silver on the preceding night in Samokov.
Iranian Payam Ahmadi defeated Azerbaijan’s Turan Dashdamirov 5-3 to walk away with the ultimate prize in the 55kg class.
In a thrilling showdown – featuring two 2023 world under-17 champions – Ahmadi needed an acrobatic summersault to avoid conceding points in the final minute and hold on for the victory.
Ahmadi escaped a par terre position with ease in the first period and then scored a takedown and turned the Azerbaijani wrestler using a high gut-wrench for a 4-1 lead.
The second period saw Ahmadi on the aggressive and he tried a bodylock but Dashdamirov blocked it with an overarm and flipped Ahmadi for two points. Ahmadi now led 4-3 and Dashdamirov needed two points for a win with 2:40 remaining.
Dashdamirov failed to find an opening until the last 15 seconds when he did a fireman carry but Ahmadi landed on his feet. Dashdamirov was awarded two points but Iran challenged and the points were removed as there was no danger position.
Two-time Asian U20 champion Mohammad-Hadi Seydi, meanwhile, suffered a 5-3 defeat against Ukrainian Yehor Yakushenko to finish with a silver in the 97kg contests.
Yakushenko had the first par terre position and lifted Seydi and then completed a correct throw for two points to lead 3-0. Seydi managed to close out the first period with a stepout and cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Iranian had his chance to score in the second period from par terre but Yakushenko was solid in his defense and did not give up any points. Seydi tried a few attacks in the final seconds but Yakushenko got two more points for a go-behind in the final second to win a second world junior title in a row.
Earlier in Samokov, Iran had to settle for a third-place finish in the freestyle competitions – a lowest spot for the country, which had lifted three team trophies over the previous four editions, since 2019.
Mahdi Yousefi was the sole Iranian freestyle gold medalist, thanks to a thrilling 8-6 win against American William Henckel in the 79kg final, while Ahoura Khateri (61kg) and Abolfazl Mohammadnejad (125kg) added a couple of silvers to the country’s medal haul.
Ebrahim Elahi (70kg) and Abolfazl Rahmani (86kg) bagged a consolation bronze in their respective events, as Iran collected 111 points.
The United States tallied 185 points to secure back-to-back freestyle titles, dominating with seven medals, including a remarkable five golds, with Kazakhstan scooping one gold, one silver, and double bronzes to beat Iran to the runner-up spot by a single point.