Ulaanbaatar Open Ranking Series:
Amouzad pulls off sensational fightback as Iran bags five FS medals
Reigning world champion Rahman Amouzad staged a stunning comeback to win the 65kg gold medal as Iran’s five-man freestyle squad completed a clean sweep of medals at the Ulaanbaatar Open on Sunday.
Trailing 8-1 at the break and 10-3 with 1:22 remaining against Bulgaria’s Shamil Mamedov, the 23-year-old Iranian returned to his “Ruthless” best in the closing stages to secure a 17-10 victory, avenging his defeat to the Russian-born wrestler in their bronze-medal bout at the 2023 World Championships.
Mamedov hoisted Amouzad onto his shoulders just 1:20 into the contest and brought him down for four points. He never allowed the Iranian to settle defensively on the mat, rolling him twice with a gut wrench to build an 8-0 lead – the first time Amouzad had trailed in 17 bouts since losing the Paris 2024 Olympic final to Japan’s Kotaro Kiyooka.
Amouzad successfully defended a third consecutive turn – which would have ended the final – before scoring on a stepout ahead of the break.
The defining moment came with 50 seconds remaining. Amouzad quickly attacked Mamedov’s left leg, and the Bulgarian was slow to react as the Iranian trapped the other leg and leapt, bringing Mamedov down in a danger position for four points. Amouzad then added a two-point exposure and a complete turn to move ahead 15-10.
Mamedov appeared to run out of gas, while Amouzad found renewed energy, adding another takedown before the final whistle to complete a remarkable comeback after scoring 14 unanswered points in just 82 seconds.
The result means the Iranian, who also won a world title in 2022, has lost only two of his last 30 international matches.
Elsewhere on the final day of the Ranking Series event, Mahdi Yousefi had to settle for silver in the 79kg class after suffering a 10-0 superiority defeat to Russia’s Ismail Khaniev.
Young prodigy Ahoura Khateri – last year’s world U20 silver medalist – finished his 61kg campaign with a bronze medal. After a 4-2 quarterfinal defeat to Kazakhstan’s Assyl Aitakyn, he recovered to beat Mongolia’s Batnasan Gankhuleg 7-0 in the third-place bout.
Sunday’s results came after Mohammad Nokhodi and Abolfazl Rahmani had won gold and bronze, respectively, the previous day in the Mongolian capital.
A five-time world medalist at 79kg, including three silver medals, Nokhodi looked comfortable in his new 86kg division, outscoring his opponents 30-5 across three bouts on his way to the final. He was then awarded the gold medal after Bulgaria’s reigning Olympic champion Magomed Ramazanov – best known to Iranian fans for defeating Hassan Yazdani in the Paris 2024 final – withdrew from the championship bout because of injury.
Rahmani claimed bronze in the 92kg division in only his second international appearance at the weight.
The former Asian champion at 86kg lost his opening bout to two-time world bronze medalist Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan on criteria following a 4-4 tie. He bounced back by defeating Dauletbekov’s compatriot Bekzat Amangali 8-6 in the repechage before beating India’s Kumar Punit 4-0 in the bronze-medal match.