Asian Wrestling Championships:
Valizadeh ends 57kg curse as Iran bags three freestyle medals
Milad Valizadeh headlined Iran’s medal hunt on the penultimate day of the Asian Wrestling Championships by claiming the freestyle 57kg gold in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Saturday.
A silver medalist at the competition last year, Valizadeh defeated Mongolia’s Munkh Erdene Batkhuyag 14-3 to grab the first gold medal for the country in this weight class since Reza Atri’s triumph in 2019.
Batkhuyag suffered an apparent rib injury while scoring a stepout midway through the first period, which cut Valizadeh’s lead to 4-3. After the restart, Valizadeh shot in for a takedown, at which point Batkhuyag seemed to have stopped fighting.
But Valizadeh didn’t, and flip-flopped the lifeless Batkhuyag back and forth until he piled up enough points for a superiority victory that ended the match at 1:47.
To be fair, the referee never blew the whistle, and Valizadeh was under no obligation to stop. And after the initial boos, the crowd actually applauded when he celebrated his victory with a gymnastics backflip.
There were further medals for the Iranians on Saturday, as Amir-Ali Azarpira settled for silver in the 97kg class after being stunned by Japan’s Arash Yoshida in the final.
In a battle of world medalists, Yoshida outlasted Olympic bronze winner Azarpira, notching a second-period takedown for the key score in a 4-0 victory.
Yoshida’s victory secured a second gold for Japan on Saturday, following Keyvan Gharehdaghi’s 79kg crown – both won by wrestlers born and raised in Japan with Iranian fathers.
Neither wrestler could make inroads early on, as Yoshida received an activity point for the lone score of the first period.
In the second period, Azarpira launched an attack, but Yoshida sprawled and started to work his way behind. When Azarpira tried to get to his feet, Yoshida deftly lunged for an ankle and sent the Iranian to the mat for a takedown and a 3-0 lead. A penalty for hands to the face accounted for Yoshida’s final point.
At last year’s World Championships in Zagreb, Yoshida took a bronze medal after losing in the semifinals to American great Kyle Snyder, who then beat Azarpira for the gold.
Sina Khalili, meanwhile, took home his second straight 70kg bronze with a one-sided 11-0 win over Shakhzodbek Yarashev of Uzbekistan, which included a 4-point takedown in the second period, as Iran collected three medals across five weight classes.
Elsewhere, Peyman Ne’mati suffered a first-round exit in the 65kg division following a 6-4 setback against the host’s Rustamzhan Kakharov.
Mahdi Yousefi, who stepped into the 79kg competition as the defending champion, finished empty-handed in Bishkek, falling to a 5-2 defeat against Olympic champion Razambek Jamalov of Uzebkistan in the quarterfinals.