Iran’s latest gold came in dramatic fashion on Saturday as the men’s volleyball team defeated Japan 3–1 in the final. The victory secured Iran’s fourth consecutive Asian Games volleyball title and gave the country its 19th gold medal of the competition. Amin Esmaeilnezhad led Iran with 22 points in the final.
Wrestling has been one of the main sources of Iran’s gold medals. Yones Emami won the men’s freestyle 74kg title after defeating Japan’s Yoshinosuke Aoyagi 9–5 in the final. Emami’s victory was Iran’s 17th gold medal at the time.
Shortly afterward, Amirali Azarpira added another wrestling gold in the men’s 97kg freestyle category. Azarpira dominated Uzbekistan’s Sherzod Poyonov 10–0 in the final to claim Iran’s 18th gold medal.
Freestylers Mohammad Nokhodi in 86kg and Amirhossein Zare in 125kg had previously won two golds. Also, Alireza Abdeval in 77kg and Amin Mirzazadeh in 130kg had also seized two gold medals in Greco-Roman for the Iranian delegation.
Iran’s success has not been limited to wrestling. Arian Salimi won the men’s +80kg taekwondo gold medal after defeating Uzbekistan’s Marat Mavlonov 2–0 in the final. His victory was Iran’s 16th gold of the Games. Saghar Moradi had previously won the women’s 67kg taekwondo title, giving Iran another gold in the sport.
Other important Iranian gold medalists in weightlifting include Ali Davoudi, who claimed gold in the men’s 110kg and Ali Alipour in the men’s 95kg category.
Kurash athlete Majid Vahid Barimanlou won a gold medal in the men’s -66kg.
Iran has also collected medals in climbing, padel, kabaddi, boxing, fencing, gymnastic,canoe spring, shooting, climbing, and 3×3 basketball.
Iran had finished seventh in the previous edition, gaining 13 gold, 21 silver and 20 bronze medals.
The Iranian delegation presence at the inaugural ceremony in Nagoya centered on the memory of the Iranian student martyred in Shajareh-ye Tayyebeh School during a US-Israeli strike in Minab on February 28. Part of the venue at the National Olympic Academy was dedicated to backpacks symbolizing the Minab martyrs.
Some family members of the Minab martyrs also attended the ceremony, where five saplings were planted in their presence.
Iran’s delegation at the 20th Asian Games has been named “Minab Angels of Shajareh-ye Tayyebeh.”
MNA
