World Wushu Championships:
Moradi wins sanda gold, four Iranians progress to women’s finals
Iranian Mahdi Moradi grabbed a sanda gold to secure a second medal for the country at the World Wushu Championships in Brasilia, Brazil, on Friday.
Moradi made quick work of Cruz Pérez, knocking out the Mexican in the first round, to walk away with the ultimate prize in the men’s 90kg division, which was held in a round-robin format.
Shahin Banitalebi had won a first medal for Iran in the Brazilian capital, settling for a bronze in the men’s taolu competitions on Thursday.
A gold medalist at The World Games in August, Banitalebi scored 9.733 points to finish third in the nandao event, with Hong Kong’s Lau Chi Lung (9.763) and his compatriot Deng Longteng (9.740) collecting the gold and silver, respectively.
There were further victories for the country on the third day of the competitions as three Iranian girls progressed to the final showpiece of their respective categories.
Sediqeh Daryaei defeated a Mexican opponent in the first round to book a place in the 65kg showdown, while Soheila Mansourian knocked out Tunisian Chaima Naoui to reach the 70kg final.
Mansourian’s elder sister, Shahrbanou, outclassed American Sydney Carr in the first round of the 75kg semifinal to remain on course for her sixth gold medal at the flagship international event of the sport.
In women’s taolu, Zahra Kiani delivered a 9.736 performance to finish second among 23 contestants in qualification to advance to final showpiece of the changquan contest.
Meanwhile, Helia Asadian was unfortunate to miss out on the podium by .004 points in the women’s nanquan form, while Abolfazl Qarehbaghi stood seventh in the men’s jianshu event.
The 17th edition of the World Championships concludes today.