Geraei Wins Iran’s 2nd Gold in Tokyo Olympics
TEHRAN – Greco-Roman wrestler Muhammadreza Geraei won the gold medal of men’s 67kg category at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
In the final match of the category, Geraei overpowered Ukraine’s Parviz Nasibov 9-1 and snatched the gold medal.
Germany’s Frank Staebler and Egypt’s Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed won the bronze medals of this category.
This is the second gold medal of the Iranian delegation. The first one was gained by Javad Foroughi in men’s shooting.
Mohammadhadi Saravi had also won a bronze medal in Greco-Roman’s 97kg category on Tuesday.
Accordingly, the five-member team of Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestling headed by Muhammad Bana finished the event with one gold and one bronze medal.
Geraei’s gold medal enhanced the ranking of the Iranian delegation in the medal table. Iran now sits at the 28th rank in the table with two golds and one bronze.
Hassan Yazdani Defeats Russian Rival to Win Ticket to Final
Hassan Yazdani also beat his powerful opponent from Russia Naifonov 7-1 in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympic Games to advance to the final of the competition.
The Iranian freestyle wrestler in the 89 kg weight class won his first two matches by scores of 11-2 and 12-1.
Yazdani is an Olympic champion in Rio and a two-time world champion.
Naifonov, 2019 world bronze medalist, won his first two 6-0 and 12-1.
On the other side of the bracket, David Taylor of the United States downed India’s Deepak Punia in the semifinal and will face Yazdani in a much anticipated final thriller on Thursday.