Riyadh 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games:
Wrestling, para powerlifting heroics round out Iran’s 29-gold haul
The final day of the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh saw Iranian athletes claim four gold medals in wrestling and para powerlifting, as the country capped the multi-sport event with 89 medals, including 29 golds.
Amirhossein Zare’, Amirali Azarpira, and Younes Emami captured the ultimate prize in their respective freestyle classes, while Kamran Qassempour settled for the 86kg bronze on Friday, steering Iran to a clean sweep of 12 wrestling medals in Riyadh.
Zare’, who won the third senior world gold of his career in September, dominated the 125kg division, outscoring his opponents 28-0 across three bouts.
Standing between Zare’ and the gold in the final was Bahrain’s Russian-born Shamil Sharipov, who was desperate to avenge his 7-3 semifinal loss to the Iranian at the World Championships, having earlier defeated world silver medalist Giorgi Meshvildishvili of Azerbaijan 7-6 in the semifinals.
The Iranian superheavyweight, however, had other ideas, as he built on his trademark stepouts to win by technical superiority (10-0) and deliver the country’s final gold medal in Riyadh.
In the 97kg event, a rematch of the world semifinal between Azarpira and Olympic champion Akhmed Tazhudinov was denied by Kazakhstani former world champion Rizabek Aitmukhan, who pulled off a sensational 14-3 victory over the Bahraini to set up a final showdown with the Iranian.
Azarpira was clearly the better wrestler in the final, blanking Aitmukhan 5-0 with a masterclass in defense to claim the gold, having secured three technical superiority wins without conceding a single point en route to the final.
Emami enjoyed his best tournament in some time, as the two-time world bronze medalist came from behind to edge 2024 world champion Nurkozha Kaipanov of Kazakhstan 6-5 in a thrilling last-four clash, before coming out on top against Azerbaijan’s Aghanazar Novruzov in the 74kg final.
Emami scored a takedown to take a 2-0 lead against Novruzov and then pushed the Azerbaijani wrestler out of bounds twice before the break.
Emami began the second period aggressively, and Novruzov was called passive. He failed to score in the 30-second period, and Emami added another point to lead 5-0, a scoreline that held until the final whistle.
Two-time world champion Qassempour was the clear favorite for the 86kg gold, but the Iranian suffered a first-round heartbreak against Azerbaijan’s Arsenii Dzhioev, who went on to defeat Bahrain’s Khidir Saipudinov 5-1 in the final. Qassempour relinquished a 3-0 lead as Dzhioev responded with two takedowns and an additional point for the Iranian’s passivity to win the bout 5-3.
Qassempour still managed to bounce back from the setback, marching past Algeria’s Fateh Benferdjallah (11-0) and Tajikistan’s Magomet Evloev (8-0) to claim the consolation prize, adding it to the world bronze he won in September.
Rostami on top
Rostami said he had to step up his training efforts to secure the gold in a tight men’s para powerlifting event, which featured 10 contestants across six different weight categories.
Having registered 225kg and 230kg in his first two attempts, the Iranian lifted 235kg on his final try to total 151.297 points, edging out Iraq’s Rasool Mohsin (150.303) for the top spot.
“It was a really tough competition because it came less than a month after the World Championships, and I didn’t have enough time to recover and reach the fitness level I had in mind,” Rostami said, adding, “I had to train through a lot of pain and could not exceed 230kg over the past month, but I’m grateful that I managed it today to win this precious medal.”
“This competition followed a new format that wasn’t based on weight classes. It was a points-based system where your body weight and the record you lifted were calculated into a score, which decided the final outcome. It was an interesting experience,” added the former world champion.
Elsewhere in the Games, Yassamin Nazari won the final Iranian women’s medal, claiming an impressive bronze in ju-jitsu. After finishing second in the -52kg Pool B, Nazari fell in the last-four clash against Jordan’s Asma Alhosani but bounced back to defeat Algeria’s Hammoumi Maissaa and secure a podium finish in her international debut.