TEHRAN – Iran freestyle team won the team title of the U23 World Wrestling Championships held in the Las Vegas.
Ahora Khateri in 65kg and Mahdi Yousefi in 79kg won two gold medals for Iran to seal the title for the Persians.
Khateri’s final against Kaiji OGINO (JPN) was spectacular bout with the Japanese leading, 6-1 with 40 seconds left in the bout. But Khateri began the comeback as he used an arm drag to go-behind Ogino and then scored a takedown and turn. The second two points were only awarded after a challenge from Iran.
With 10 seconds left in the match and down 6-5, Khateri snapped Ogino down and tried to go-behind. Ogino managed to remove the grip but Khateri pulled him down on the mat and eventually scored the takedown with 7-6 left.
Khateri burst into instant celebrations as he captured his first world title since 2023, when he won the U17 world title at 45kg. The gold medal will come as a relief after he finished with a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships in August.
“I was able to enter these competitions with a positive mindset,” Khateri said. “I’ve changed weight classes, moving up from 60kg to 65kg. Even though I found myself trailing in every match, I managed to turn things around during the second period.”
The two gold medals sealed the team title for Iran which also won the Greco-Roman team title. Iran won a total of nine medals, including four gold medals, in Las Vegas.
Yousefi’s gold medal over Said Saidulov (RUS), 3-1, clinched the team title for Iran as any slip up there would have cost them the title.
Yousefi managed a takedown in the second period to lead 3-1. Saidulov got on Yousefi’s leg in the final 20 seconds but the Iranian defend the position till time expired.
Iran finished with 180 points and Russia was second with 171 points. The United States, which had a underwhelming tournament, finished third with 104 points. Turkey finished a surprise fourth with 99 points and Japan was fifth with 74 points.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
