Iranian judokas bag three golds at Algiers African Open
All three Iranian judokas finished on a high at the latest African Open event in Algiers, claiming gold medals in their respective men’s divisions.
Amirabbas Choopan brought the curtain down on a perfect run for the Iranian trio by defeating home favorite Sid Ali Benaboura in the -90kg showdown on Sunday – improving on his bronze medal finish in Tunis in February.
Former Asian junior silver medalist Elyas Parhizgar, meanwhile, defeated Canada’s Olivier Ganons in the -81kg final to secure his third gold medal of this year’s African Open series.
Sobhan Hakimi opened Iran’s account by grabbing gold in the cadet -81kg competition, thanks to a final victory over Algeria’s Abdallah Djili. Hakimi had also tasted success earlier in this year’s series, winning silver at the Tunis Cadet African Cup.
The three-gold haul saw Iran finish second to Algeria in the medals table, with Russia in third place.
The tournament was part of Iran’s preparation for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in September, after the country missed out on April’s Asian Championships in Ordos City, China, as a result of the military conflict involving the United States and Israel.