TEHRAN – The United World Wrestling (UWW) has praised Iranian wrestler Amirali Azarpira’s victory in the crucial match against Arash Yoshida.
Azarpira faced Arash Yoshida—the defending Asian champion from Japan—in the freestyle wrestling semifinals in 97kg category at the Nagoya Asian Games. He defeated this formidable opponent to advance to the final.
This bout was one of the most crucial matches on the final day of freestyle wrestling at the Nagoya Asian Games, as Azarpira had previously lost to Yoshida in the Asian Championship final and was highly motivated to avenge that defeat.
Following Azarpira’s victory over Arash Yoshida, United World Wrestling wrote: “The Olympic bronze medalist delivered a calculated performance in this match, scoring two points in the first period by taking his opponent down to the mat. In the second period, Azarpira scored another point by executing a leg attack, ultimately overcoming Yoshida with a 4–3 scoreline.”
United World Wrestling described Azarpira’s victory as redemption for his loss in the Asian Championship final. With this defeat, Yoshida missed out on winning the Asian Games gold medal on home soil.