Three Iranian Women Win Gold at the World Wushu Championships
WANA (Sep 07) – The fourth day of the World Wushu Championships saw Iran’s women sanda fighters claim three gold medals, while three male athletes advanced to the finals.
On Saturday afternoon in Brasília, during the 17th edition of the championships, three Iranian women won their final bouts to secure gold, and three men booked their places in the title matches.
In women’s sanda, Sedigheh Daryaei won gold in the 65kg category by defeating Turkey’s Sudenaz Guli 2–0 in the final. Daryaei had earlier overcome opponents from Mexico and Italy to reach the last round.
Shahrbanoo Mansourian, captain of Iran’s women’s sanda team, who had previously beaten fighters from Bermuda and Tunisia, triumphed in the 70kg final against China’s Ruiping Chen with a 2–1 victory. This earned her a sixth world championship title, cementing her status as the most decorated female wushu athlete in the world. Mansourian also set another milestone by achieving Iran’s first-ever women’s sanda victory against a Chinese opponent at the world level.
Her sister, Soheila Mansourian, also struck gold, defeating India’s Shi Vani 2–0 in the 75kg final. She had earlier advanced by beating Egyptian and American fighters, ensuring a 100% gold medal record for Iran’s women’s sanda competitors.
In men’s sanda, Shoja Panahi reached the 65kg final after defeating the Philippines’ Xander Alipio 2–0 in the semifinals, following earlier wins over fighters from Uzbekistan, India, and Kazakhstan.
Erfan Mehremi advanced to the 70kg final with a 2–1 semifinal victory over Vietnam’s Truong Van Chung, having already beaten opponents from Ukraine and Armenia.
Team captain Mohsen Mohammadseifi secured his spot in the 75kg final for the seventh time in his career after defeating Brazil’s João Antônio de Oliveira 2–0 in front of a home crowd, following earlier wins over French and Russian fighters.
In the taolu discipline, in the Nanguan form, Mostafa Hassanzadeh and Shahin Beni-Talebi competed against 40 athletes. Hassanzadeh placed sixth with a score of 9.700, while Beni-Talebi finished eighth with 9.586. Athletes from Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and Brunei claimed the top three spots.
Earlier today, Zahra Kiani made history by winning Iran’s first-ever women’s taolu gold medal, while Soheil Mousavi earned bronze after a semifinal loss in the men’s 80kg sanda.
At the end of the fourth day, Iran’s athletes had collected a total of five gold medals (Mehdi Moradi, Zahra Kiani, Sedigheh Daryaei, Shahrbanoo Mansourian, and Soheila Mansourian) and two bronze medals (Shahin Beni-Talebi and Soheil Mousavi).
Three Iranian Women Win Gold. Social media / WANA News Agency
