UWW Ranking Series:
Triumphant trio completes gold sweep in Tirana
The second UWW Ranking Series event of the season saw all three Iranian freestyle wrestlers claim gold medals in their respective weight classes at the Muhamet Malo tournament in Tirana, Albania.
Amirhossein Firouzpour capped off the gold sweep for the Iranian trio on Thursday with an emphatic 11-1 victory over former world silver medalist Miriani Maisuradze of Georgia in the 92kg final.
A bronze medalist at last year’s World Championships, Firouzpour began the day with a 5-0 win over Kazakhstan’s Azamat Dauletbekov – a three-time Asian champion and two-time world bronze medalist – before defeating India’s Kumar Punit by technical superiority (12-1) to progress to the semifinals.
Another superiority victory (10-0), against Kamil Kurugliyev of Kazakhstan, sent Firouzpour into the final showpiece.
Earlier on Thursday, Mohammad Nokhodi, who had struggled with a knee injury last season, appeared to have regained full fitness as he cruised to a 10-0 victory over American Dean Hamiti in the 79kg final.
The two-time world silver medalist executed three different takedowns and turned Hamiti twice to rack up his points in the gold-medal bout.
Nokhodi also enjoyed a commanding run in Tirana, opening with a 12-2 win over Georgia’s Tariel Gaphrindashvili before defeating former world cadet and junior champion Dzhabrail Gadzhiev of Azerbaijan (7-2) and India’s Sagar Jaglan (10-0) to reach the final.
Younes Emami had opened Iran’s account on Wednesday by claiming gold in the 74kg class with a 5-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan’s Orozbek Toktomambetov in the final.
After securing the first point via the activity clock, the two-time world bronze medalist scored a takedown and a turn to build a 5-0 lead in the first period, then controlled the second to seal the win.
The day began with a 7-2 victory over American William Lewan. Emami followed that with a 7-5 win against Russian former world bronze medalist Inalbek Sheriev to advance to the semifinals.
He was awarded a semifinal victory over Magomedrasul Asluev after the Bahraini wrestler withdrew due to injury while leading 2-1.
With the tournament serving as another stage of Iran’s selection process for major wrestling events in 2026, the three wrestlers strengthened their claims for places in the national squad for October’s World Championships in Manama, Bahrain.
Elsewhere in Tirana, Russian great Abdulrashid Sadulaev marked his return to the international stage with a gold-medal campaign in the 97kg division.
A fifth showdown with his familiar rival Kyle Snyder was denied after the American lost to fellow Russian Mukhamed Khaniev in the quarterfinals. Instead, Sadulaev faced his young compatriot in the final.
Sadulaev was tested by Khaniev in the first period, but a powerful double-leg takedown gave him a 4-0 lead. Khaniev narrowed the gap to 4-2, yet a composed Sadulaev never allowed him to dictate the pace.
Keeping Khaniev at arm’s length, Sadulaev added three counter takedowns while conceding two stepouts to secure a 10-4 victory and book his place at the European Championships.