Iran Wins Runner-Up Title at Russia International Karate Championships

WANA (Nov 03) – Iran’s national karate team secured second place at the Russia International Karate Championships, earning 2 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze medals. The host nation, Russia, claimed the championship title, while Kazakhstan finished third.

In an all-Iranian final in the women’s -55 kg category, Fatemeh Zahra Saeidabadi defeated Fatemeh Sa’adati 4–0 to win the gold medal. Another all-Iranian clash took place in the -68kg division, where Mobina Heydari triumphed over Hana Hosseinpour with a 9–2 victory to secure Iran’s second gold.

In the men’s +84kg final, Mehdi Ashouri narrowly lost 5–4 to Russia’s Konstantin Kukurov, earning a silver medal.

In women’s individual kata, Melika Ezzati scored 39.6 points, finishing behind Spain’s Paulo Garcia (40.6) to take silver.

Masoumeh Mohsenian also won silver in the -50kg final after losing 10–8 to Russia’s Elizaveta Grigorieva.

In the men’s -84kg bronze match, Mehdi Khodabakhshi drew 5–5 with Egypt’s Youssef Badawi, winning on decision to claim bronze.

Hananeh Salehi earned another bronze for Iran in the +68kg category after defeating Russia’s Khalimova 4–2, while Mehrnegar Ahmadi won bronze in the -61kg class with a commanding 9–0 victory over Russia’s Basangova.

However, Amirreza Barzoui (-67kg) and Abolfazl Hamdamjou (-60kg) fell short of the podium after defeats to Ali El-Sawy of Egypt and Alpisbay of Kazakhstan, respectively.

The tournament brought together 361 karatekas from 44 countries, with prize money of $5,000, $2,000, and $1,000 awarded to gold, silver, and bronze medalists, respectively.

Iran Wins Runner-Up Title at Russia International Karate Championships. Social media/ WANA News Agency