Iranians win four golds at SCO sanda tournament
Iran’s national sanda squad enjoyed a successful campaign at the SCO Member States Wushu Sanda Championships in Anlu, China, winning four gold and four silver medals across the men’s and women’s events.
Diana Rahimi claimed Iran’s only women’s gold, defeating her Indian opponent 2-0 in the 60kg final. She had reached the title bout by overcoming a Kazakh rival who had previously finished third at the World Junior Championships.
The Iranian men’s team added three more titles. Mahdi Kermani captured the 60kg gold with a straight-round victory over his Uzbek opponent after earlier defeating rivals from Cambodia and Kyrgyzstan. Sohail Mousavi secured the 75kg title after his Indian opponent, the Asian silver medalist, was disqualified in the opening round of the final. Reza Karami completed Iran’s gold-medal haul by beating his Macau rival in two rounds to win the 80kg division.
Sogand Sinkaei, meanwhile, finished runner-up in the women’s 52kg division after losing to a Chinese opponent in the final, having previously defeated rivals from Macau and India. Sogand Salimi also settled for silver in the women’s 56kg category despite winning the opening round of her final against a Chinese opponent. She had advanced after her Kazakh rival was disqualified in the semifinals.
In the men’s events, Shoja Panahi claimed silver in the 65kg division after falling to a Chinese opponent in the final, while Erfan Moharrami also took silver in the 70kg class following a loss to another Chinese rival.
The two-day tournament featured athletes from China, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia and India.