Iran’s Valizadeh named Best Wrestler at Asian Championships
Iranian freestyle wrestler Milad Valizadeh was named the Best Wrestler at the recently concluded Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Valizadeh built on last year’s Asian silver and U23 world bronze to dominate the 57kg division, finishing with a 14-3 victory over Mongolian Munkh Erdene Batkhuyag in the final – the first gold medal for Iran in this weight class since Reza Atri’s triumph in 2019.
The 21-year-old Iranian, who was also named the Best Attacker with an average of 11 points per bout, accumulated 35 points to complete a clean sweep of three superiority victories in the Kyrgyz capital. Valizadeh averaged just one minute and 51 seconds per match, finishing all his bouts before regulation time.
Meanwhile, Valizadeh’s compatriot Mohammad-Mobin Azimi, a gold medalist in the freestyle 92kg event, was picked as the Best Defender after not conceding a single point across three bouts.
U23 world champion Azimi capped off his campaign with an 11-0 victory over Russian-born Magomed Sharipov (representing Bahrain) with just under a minute to go – and 10 seconds after scoring his first takedown of the final.
Kim Kwang-myong of North Korea was named the Most Entertaining Wrestler after claiming two superiority wins and one pinfall victory in four outings en route to the freestyle 61kg title.
Iran bagged a clean sweep of 10 medals, including two golds, to clinch the Greco-Roman title in Bishkek, before the freestyle squad secured the team trophy double for the country, courtesy of four golds, one silver, and three bronze medals.