TEHRAN - Iranian freestyle wrestlers claimed two gold and three bronze medals in the first five weight categories at the U-23 World Championships.
At the end of the first five weight categories of the U23 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, USA, Iranian representatives secured two gold and three bronze medals.
In the 61 kg weight class, Ebrahim Khari took to the mat against Vizenhant of Romania in the bronze medal match and secured a bronze medal with a 12-0 technical fall victory. The gold medal in this weight went to Davino of the US, who defeated a Kyrgyz representative 4-1 in the final.
Khari previously had a bye in the preliminary round, but then lost 7-1 to Davino of the U.S. With the American wrestler advancing to the final, Khari entered the repechage bracket. In this stage, he defeated Mukaida of Japan 15-4 to reach the bronze medal match.
In the 74 kg category, Ali Karampour faced Ion Marcu of Moldova in the bronze medal bout and ultimately won the bronze medal with a 10-0 technical fall victory. Baitukaev of Russia won the gold medal in this weight by defeating Jaden James of the U.S.
Karampour previously defeated Bektemirov of Austria 13-2 in the first round. He then achieved a 10-0 victory against Batuchinggele of China and overcame Nurdaulet Seilbekov of Kazakhstan 10-0 in his third bout. However, he lost 10-2 by fall to Jaden James of the US in the semifinals, sending him to the bronze medal match.
In the 86 kg weight class, Reza Afshar faced Mihalcean of Moldova in the bronze medal match, ultimately winning 6-0 to secure Iran’s third freestyle wrestling bronze medal in these competitions.
Afshar previously lost 7-1 to Yagan of Turkey in the first round. With the Turkish wrestler reaching the final, he went to the repechage group. In the repechage, he defeated his rivals from Mexico and Armenia to reach the bronze medal bout.
In the 92 kg category, Abolfazl Rahmani took to the mat against Arslan Bagaev of Russia in the final match, securing a 5-2 victory to claim Iran’s first gold medal in the tournament.
Rahmani previously had a bye in the first round, then defeated Burrell Jr. of Jamaica 11-1, and went on to beat Kurashvili of Georgia 11-6. In the semifinals, Rahmani secured a 6-3 victory against Altunbas of Turkey and advanced to the final.
In the 125 kg weight class, Abolfazl Muhammadnejad, Iran’s last representative in the first five weight categories, faced Abramishvili of Georgia in the final bout. He ultimately achieved a 10-0 technical fall victory to win the gold medal.
Muhammadnejad previously had a bye in the first round, then defeated Kochanov of Ukraine 10-0, and beat Bestaev of Russia 11-0 in his second bout to reach the semifinals. In this stage, Muhammadnejad overcame Khetag Karsanov of Azerbaijan 5-0 to become a finalist.
In the first five weight categories of these competitions, Iran and Russia each won two gold medals, while the remaining gold medal went to the U.S.
In his post-match remarks, Muhammadnejad dedicated his achievement to the Iranian people, who he said had endured difficult days, and to the children martyred at the school in Minab.
He expressed hope that his gold medal would bring happiness to people across Iran, even if only for a moment, and put a smile on their faces.
The tragedy in Minab has also drawn international scrutiny. On February 28, a strike hit Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School while children were attending classes. The attack killed at least 168 people, including around 123 children.
On September 17, the United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the United States committed the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack resulting in civilian deaths, injuries or damage to civilian objects. The findings placed renewed international scrutiny on the U.S. military operation and the failure to protect children at the school.