Iran wins Freestyle Wrestling World Cup

TEHRAN,Feb.23(MNA) – The Iranian team won the 2013 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup in Tehran on Friday. Iran defeated Russia 6-1 at Tehran’s Azadi Hall in the final of the event to take the gold. On Wednesday, the Persians had to settle for silver after losing to Russia 5-2 in the final of the Greco-Roman World Cup. In the six matches Iran won, Hassan Rahimi defeated Nariman Israpilov in the 55kg weight class, Masoud Esmaeilpour defeated Alexander Bogomoev in the 60kg weight class, Sadegh Goudarzi defeated Kakhaber Khubezhty in the 74kg weight class, Ehsan Lashgari beat Magomed Ibragimov in the 84kg weight class, Hamed Tatari defeated Yury Belonovskiy in the 96kg weight class, and Komeil Ghasemi beat Feliks Tsarikaev in the 120kg weight class. In the one match Iran lost, Alan Gogaev defeated Mehdi Taghavi in the 66kg weight class. In the bronze medal match, which was held before the final on the same day, the United States overpowered Belarus 6-1. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the competition and the medal ceremony and took pictures with the Iranian, Russian, and U.S. teams.