Asian Canoe Sprint Junior & U23 Championships:
Iranians collect five medals on Day 3
The morning session of Day 3 at the Asian Canoe Sprint Junior & U23 Championships in Turkistan, Kazakhstan saw Iranians bag one silver and four bronzes across different categories on Saturday, taking the country’s medal haul to 15.
Iran’s lone silver medal of the session came through Elias Bargi in the men’s KL2 paracanoe final. The Iranian clocked 2:08.553 to finish second behind an Uzbek paddler, while another representative from Uzbekistan claimed bronze.
In the men’s U23 K1 500m final, Abolfazl Jannati clocked 1:48.892 to finish third and claim the bronze medal behind competitors from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Nika Najafizadeh secured another bronze for Iran in the women’s U23 K1 500m final. She posted a time of 2:04.587 to finish third, while paddlers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan took gold and silver, respectively.
Iran’s mixed U23 K2 500m duo of Nika Najafizadeh and Darioush Mohammadi also reached the podium, taking bronze in 1:49.042. Uzbekistan won gold, while Kazakhstan finished second.
In the men’s U23 C1 500m final, Soheil Bayati crossed the line in 2:06.014 to place sixth. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and India occupied the podium places.
Maryam Aqaei added to Iran’s medal count in the junior women’s K1 500m final, earning bronze with a time of 2:06.827. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan claimed gold and silver, respectively.
Meanwhile, Nastaran Kheirollahi and Soheil Bayati narrowly missed out on a medal in the mixed U23 C2 500m final, placing fourth with a time of 2:19.038. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and India claimed the top three positions.
In the men’s KL3 500m paracanoe event, Masoud Qeysari finished sixth with a time of 2:10.743. Athletes from Uzbekistan and South Korea secured the medals.
Saturday’s results came after Iran had collected eight medals, including two golds, on the previous day of competition.
Saeid Hosseinpour won gold in the men’s KL1 paracanoe final after clocking 58.436 seconds, while Eslam Jahedi also struck gold in the men’s VL2 event, crossing the finish line in 1:03.389.