Iran Crowned Champion of Asian Freestyle Wrestling

Iran's national freestyle wrestling team became the champion of Asia with three gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. According to ISNA, at the conclusion of the finals of the last four weight categories of the competition, Fereydoun Ghanbari and Fardin Masoumi won gold medals, while Hassan Tahmasbi secured a silver medal. In the 84 kg category, Fereydoun Ghanbari, who reached the finals after a 4-0 victory against an Iraqi opponent, faced 'Lee Jae-moon', a three-time world and Olympic silver medalist from South Korea, and won 5-2, bringing Iran its second gold medal. Ghanbari initially took Lee to the mat for two points but lost two points in the second round due to a fall, leading to extra time; in extra time, Ghanbari managed to pin his opponent again to win the gold medal. Magomed Ali Kurovigilov from Kazakhstan, the third-place finisher in the 2003 Asian Championships, secured third place in this weight. Additionally, in the 120 kg category, Fardin Masoumi brought home the third gold medal for Iran. Masoumi, who reached the finals after a 10-0 victory against Ganhooyak from Mongolia, faced Chima Singh, last year's Asian runner-up from India, and won 6-3. Masoumi's two throws in this match were remarkable, earning him three initial points. In this weight, Kang Chinkyu from South Korea finished third. In the 55 kg category, Mohammad Rezaei faced Akham Ashilov, the world runner-up in 1999 and Asian champion in 1996 from Uzbekistan, in the semifinals. While the match was tied 5-5, Rezaei lost due to a technical fall and proceeded to the bronze medal match, where he faced Kim Ho-sab, who had qualified for the Olympics for South Korea, but lost 4-3, finishing in fourth place. In the final of this weight, Akham Ashilov defeated Naran Batar from Mongolia 3-1 to win the gold medal. In the 66 kg category, Hassan Tahmasbi faced Batzorig from Mongolia in the semifinals, winning 4-0, but in the final, while trailing 2-0 against Kazuhiko Ikematsu, the third-place finisher in the World Championships in New York from Japan, he attempted a move that resulted in a technical fall, losing to his Japanese opponent. Tahmasbi had previously defeated this Japanese wrestler in last year's Asian Championship final. In this weight, Batzorig from Mongolia defeated Ramesh Kumar from India to win the bronze medal. At the end of the 17th Asian Wrestling Championships, Iran's team, with three golds, two silvers, and one bronze, and a total of 63 points, became the champion, while South Korea and Mongolia placed second and third with 45 and 44 points, respectively. Uzbekistan, Japan, and India secured the fourth to sixth places in the competition.