Asian Cadet & Junior Judo Championships:
Iran ends seven-year drought with three medals
Iran’s wait for a medal at the Asian Cadet & Junior Judo Championships came to an end after seven years as the country collected a silver and double bronzes at the competition in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Iranian girl Samira Khakkhah defeated Jordanian Taleen Khader and the host’s Sashenka Fatimah to reach the final showpiece in the cadet -63kg event, but had to settle for silver medal after a setback against South Korean Hong Dain.
Amirhossein Nazari finished his campaign with consolation bronze in the men’s cadet -90kg category, recovering from a first-round loss to Jeon Minseok of South Korea to beat opponents from Kyrgyzstan and Kuwait before coming out victorious against Chinese Taipei’s Guo Chang-Yu to share the third podium with Inomjon Bakhodirov of Uzbekistan.
A second cadet bronze for the country came in the men’s +90kg class, where Mohammadpouria Banaeian defeated Aliasghar Malekzadeh in an all-Iranian third-place bout.
Banaeian began his campaign with an impressive win against South Korea’s Kim Jaemin but suffered a loss to Uzbekistan’s Alibek Durdiev, who went on to beat Mongolia’s Munkhbagana Galsandamba in the final showdown.
Elsewhere, Iran’s Abolfazl Nazari (-55kg) and Yassin Parhizgar (-60kg) missed out on the podium, falling to defeats in the third-place showdowns in their respective boys’ categories, while Sobhan Hakimi finished seventh in the -73kg class.
The competition will continue with the junior contests today, with Hanieh Abbaszadeh (-57kg) and Mahshid Safari (-63kg) representing Iran in the women’s draw, while Hossein Bakhshi (-73kg), Amirhossein Valizadeh (-73kg), Matin Yaqoubkish (-81kg), Amirabbas Choupan (-90kg), Alireza Nikseresht (-100kg), and Mohammad-Mahdi Elmi will vie for glory across different men’s divisions.