Iranians collect four medals in Karate 1 Series A
Iranians bagged four kumite medals, including one gold, at the final Karate 1 Series A event of the season in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
On Sunday, Asian silver medalist Morteza Ne’mati overcame opponents from Kuwait, the Philippines, Chile, Turkmenistan, and France before defeating Russian European champion Ernest Sharafutdinov, competing as a neutral athlete, 6-1 in the men’s -75kg final – the Iranian’s second Series A gold of the season following his final victory over the Russian karateka in February’s edition in Larnaca, Cyprus.
Ne’mati’s fellow-Iranian Ali Rahimi, meanwhile, bounced back from a last-four setback (10-4) against Sharafutdinov to beat Indonesia’s Joshua Ignatius 7-5 and finish with a consolation bronze alongside Chilean Matias Rodriguez Fuentes.
Elsewhere, a second final showpiece featuring Iranian and Russian contestants saw former world champion Aliasghar Asiabari settle for the silver medal in the -84kg category after suffering an 8-7 loss to Eduard Gasparian.
Earlier in the competition, former Asian champion Saleh Abazari had won a consolation bronze, thanks to a 9-0 victory over Frenchman Faadel Boussag in the men’s +84kg weight class.
Abazari began his campaign with victories over Egypt and Italy but fell to a third-round loss to Japan’s Kentarou Yamauchi, who went on to beat Türkiye’s Kadir Furkan Genc for the gold medal.
The Iranian still managed to beat Indonesia’s Daniel Daniel and Italian Michele Ciani in repechage before sharing the third spot with Daniel Tielen of Australia.