Iranians bag three FS golds
Iranian wrestlers dominated the first day of the freestyle contests of the Asian Wrestling Championships in in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, collecting three of the five golds up for grabs. On Saturday, Rahman Amouzad opened the account for the country as he outpowered high-profile Indian Bajrang Punia – winner of three world medals and the bronze in last year’s Tokyo Olympics – 3-1 for the ultimate prize of the 65kg weight class – a first senior gold for the Iranian, who has three world cadet and junior golds under his belt.
A thrilling 79kg final, again featuring Iranian and Indian wrestlers, saw Ali Savadkouhi beat Gourav Baliyan after a 9-9 result, in which the Iranian scored more points in a single move.
The gold was Savadkouhi’s second successive Asian gold after he settled for a silver in Almaty, Kazakhstan, last
year.
Mohammadhossein Askari Mohammadian rounded off a perfect afternoon for the Iranian finalists by marching to an 11-0 victory over Mongolian Batzul Ulziisaikhan in the 97kg weight division – a second Asian gold for the former world bronze medalist.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Mohammad-mehdi Yeganeh Ja’fari was unfortunate to leave the competitions empty-handed after suffering a 4-0 defeat against Kazakhstan’s Syrbaz Talgat – last year’s champion – in the 70kg third-place bout.
A 10-6 defeat against the host’s Zanabazar Zandanbud saw also Iran’s Reza Mo’meni exit the 57kg contests in quarterfinals.
Dariush Hazratqolizadeh (61kg), Younes Emami (74kg), Mohsen Mostafavi (86kg), Amir-hossein Firouzpour (92kg), and Yadollah Mohebbi (125kg) will be in action today.