WANA (May 31) – The Iranian national U17 freestyle wrestling team put on a dominant display at the Asian U17 Wrestling Championships in Vietnam, capturing the team championship title with a haul of 4 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals, accumulating a total of 178 points.

 

Mehdi Damircheli (45 kg), Benyamin Ashofteh (51 kg), Arman Elahi (55 kg), and Amirali Farasati (80 kg) clinched gold medals for Iran. Amirali Ragheb (48 kg) and Amirhossein Esmaeli (110 kg) earned silvers, while Mohammad Taha Ganjeh (60 kg) and Amirabbas Lotfinejad (65 kg) rounded out the podium finishes with bronze medals.

 

Final Team Standings:

  • Iran – 178 points
  • Japan – 165 points
  • India – 153 points
  • Uzbekistan – 148 points
  • Kazakhstan – 133 points
  • Kyrgyzstan – 69 points
  • Tajikistan – 62 points
  • Turkmenistan – 57 points
  • Mongolia – 57 points
  • South Korea – 38 points

 

Individual Weight Class Breakdowns:

 

45 kg: Mehdi Damircheli (Gold Medal)

After a first-round bye, Damircheli routed Turkmenistan’s Halmyradow 11-1 in the second round. He cruised past Tajikistan’s Khojaev with a 10-0 shutout in the semifinals, before steamrolling Uzbekistan’s Mukhammad Rakhimjanov 10-0 in the finale to claim the gold.

 

48 kg: Amirali Ragheb (Silver Medal)

Following an opening-round bye, Ragheb defeated Meret Durdyýew of Turkmenistan 7-0. He secured his final spot by defeating India’s Aryan 9-3, but fell short in the gold-medal match, losing 10-0 to Uzbekistan’s Farrukh Mahmudov to take home the silver.

 

51 kg: Benyamin Ashofteh (Gold Medal)

Ashofteh opened with a flawless 10-0 technical superiority victory over China’s Yongxiang Huang, followed by another 10-0 win against Enkhtulga Bekhba. He won a high-scoring 16-5 semifinal bout against Iskender Hudaýberdiýew of Turkmenistan and went on to claim gold by defeating Japan’s Masamune Ushimado 5-1 in the final.

 

55 kg: Arman Elahi (Gold Medal)

After a first-round bye, Elahi edged out Kazakhstan’s Temirlan Murat 9-4, and then defeated Uzbekistan’s Jakhongir Tulkunov 9-6. A dominant 10-0 semifinal victory over South Korea’s Jimin Park booked his final ticket, where he beat Japan’s Kyosuke Ikeda 8-3 to secure the gold.

 

60 kg: Mohammad Taha Ganjeh (Bronze Medal)

Ganjeh began his campaign by defeating Tajikistan’s Aziz Fitrati 11-7, followed by a 12-1 blowout over China’s Ziyu Yang. He dropped his semifinal bout 10-4 to Kazakhstan’s Mardan Orynbassar, but rebounded strongly in the bronze medal match to defeat Mongolia’s Shagaihuu Munkhzul 12-2.

 

65 kg: Amirabbas Lotfinejad (Bronze Medal)

Following a first-round bye, Lotfinejad picked up back-to-back 10-0 technical falls over Sri Lanka’s Pavara Kasturiarachchi and Turkmenistan’s Maksat Nurberdiyev. After a narrow 4-3 semifinal loss to Japan’s Rihito Hiura, he bounced back to defeat Kyrgyzstan’s Kantemir Ismailov 5-2 for the bronze.

 

71 kg: Kiarash Torabi (Eliminated)

After a first-round bye, Torabi suffered a close 2-1 defeat against Tajikistan’s Idris Bahramov in the second round. He was officially eliminated from the competition following Bahramov’s subsequent defeat in the semifinals.

 

80 kg: Amirali Farasati (Gold Medal)

Farasati marched to the final with successive 10-0 shutouts against South Korea’s Heenuso Kim and Tajikistan’s Nasim Khojaev. After scraping past Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Yerbolatov 2-1 in the semifinals, he dominated India’s Mandeep 10-0 in the final match to secure his gold medal.

 

92 kg: Mohammadreza Isazadeh (Eliminated)

In his opening bout, Isazadeh was leading Japan’s Shio Yoshida 8-4 before getting caught and losing via a fall (pin). He was eliminated after Yoshida failed to reach the final following a semifinal defeat.

 

110 kg: Amirhossein Esmaeli (Silver Medal)

Following a first-round bye, Esmaeli edged past Uzbekistan’s Bekhruz Ashirov 4-2 before dealing a 13-0 shutout to Japan’s Hanto Hayashi in the semifinals. He secured the silver medal after a tough 4-1 loss to India’s Aarush Rana in the final bout.