Iranian freestyle wrestlers claim 2 golds, 3 bronzes at U23 World Championships

Tehran, IRNA — Iranian freestyle wrestlers won two gold and three bronze medals in the first five weight categories at the 2026 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, the United States.

The finals and bronze-medal bouts in the 61, 74, 86, 92, and 125-kilogram categories took place early Sunday morning, Tehran time.

In the 61kg category, Ebrahim Khari secured bronze after defeating Romania’s Vizenhunt 12-0. He had earlier lost to American Davino 7-1 before advancing through the repechage with a 15-4 victory over Japan’s Mokaida.

Ali Karampour also claimed bronze at 74kg. After reaching the semifinals with victories over opponents from Austria, China and Kazakhstan, he lost 10-2 by technical fall to American Jaden James. He then defeated Moldova’s rival 10-0 in the bronze-medal bout.

Reza Afshar earned another bronze at 86kg, beating a Moldovan competitor 6-0 in the third-place contest. He had also defeated opponents from Mexico and Armenia after losing to a Turkish rival in his opening match.

Abolfazl Rahmani won Iran’s first gold at 92kg. He defeated Turkey’s Altunbas 6-3 in the semifinals before overcoming Russia’s Arslan Bagaev 5-2 in the final.

At 125kg, Abolfazl Mohammadnejad secured Iran’s second gold medal. He defeated opponents from Ukraine, Russia, and Azerbaijan en route to the final, then beat Georgia’s Abramishvili 10-0 to take the title.

The five medals gave Iran two champions and three bronze medalists across the opening five weight categories of the competition.