Iranian Greco-Roman wrestlers grab 5 medals in Asian Championships

On Saturday, Ali Abdollah Ahmadi-Vafa overwhelmed Turkmen contestant Abduvali Rahimbayev 9-0 in the third-place bout of the men’s 55-kilogram weight division at the Princess Sumaya Hall in the Jordanian capital city of Amman, and collected the bronze.

Reza Firouz Gheitasi, who routed Japanese rival Shoya Iwata 9-0 in his opening round contest of the 63-kilogram weight category, fell to Uzbek counterpart Khusniddin Olimboev 3-5 in the second showdown.

Gheitasi overpowered Hassan Hatem Mohammad Saleem Naghouj, a wrestler from the host nation, by 10 points to zero in the last contest and received the bronze medal.

Moreover, Alireza Morad Abdevali prevailed over his Kazakh rival Dias Kaltay 3-3 in the repêchage round of the men’s 77-kilogram weight division, and snatched another bronze medal for Iran.

In the 87-kilogram weight class, Abolfazl Ali Choubani outmuscled Kazakh wrestler Nurassyl Amanaly 9-0 in the final match and snatched the gold medal.

Fardin Shaban Hedayati claimed Iran’s second gold medal after he overcame Chinese opponent Wenhao Jiang 11-1 in the final contest of the 130-kilogram division.

The U-15 and U-20 Asian Wrestling Championships kicked off in Amman on July 12 and will wrap up on July 20.

Dozens of male and female freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers from various Asian countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have taken part in the tournament.