Iran freestyle wrestling team claims title in U17 World Championship

The Iran national under-17 freestyle wrestling team has ended its campaign at the 2023 U17 World Championships in Turkey, claiming the top position in the tournament.

Iran’s Ahora Farhad Khateri emerged triumphant over his Armenian opponent Gor Buniatyan 11-0 in the final encounter of the 45-kilogram weight category at Başakşehir Gençlik ve Spor İlçe Müdürlüğü Tesisleri sports complex in Istanbul and clinched the gold medal.

In the 65-kilogram class, Sina Mahdi Khalili downed individual neutral athlete (AIN) Magomed Alibakharchiev 10-0 to pick up the second gold medal for Iran.

The developments came as Sajad Gholamhassan Pirdayeh conceded a 1-4 defeat against Japanese wrestler Akito Maehara in the 60-kilogram weight class, and claimed the silver medal.

Iran’s Seyyed Abolfazl Seyyed Ayyoub Hosseini lost to Ladarion Artez Lockett, a competitor from the United States, 1-4 in the last competition of the 71-kilogram category to clinch another silver medal.

Additionally, Sam Reza Sayar and Toohid Amirali Noory earned two bronze medals for Iran in the 48-kilogram and 92-kilogram sections.

Iranian freestyle wrestlers won the contests with 154 points. The US team finished in second place with 126 points. Japan accumulated 106 points to finish in third place.

The 2023 U17 World Championships started in Turkey on July 31 and finished on August 6.

President Ebrahim Raeisi congratulated the national wrestling team on winning the title at the international tournament in a statement on Monday.

“I express my gratitude to all the members of the team and the coaching staff, may God help them to keep up the good work in their future tournaments,” Raeisi said.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also offered congratulations to the national wrestling team in a separate statement on the same day.

“I congratulate the wrestlers, the coaching staff, and all Iranians on the national team victory.”

SS