Iranian karate practitioners have managed to collect two bronze medals at the Karate 1 - Premier League Halle/Leipzig 2017 in Germany.
Amir Mehdizadeh participated in the men’s minus 60-kilogram kumite competitions on Sunday, and trounced his Russian opponent Vladimir Kalashnikov 6-0 in his last contest to bag the bronze.
The 28-year-old Iranian karateka had defeated Italian contestant Mattia Pampaloni 3-0 in the preliminary round.
Mehdizadeh then overcame Egyptian karateka Salama Malek 2-1 and Uzbek competitor Sadriddin Saymatov 3-1. Mehdizadeh drew level with a representative from Italy and progressed to the semi-final round.
He, however, lost lost his semi-final showdown 0-4 to Douglas Brose of Brazil.
Later on Sunday, Saeed Ahmadi overwhelmed Jordan Thomas of Germany 6-0, and received the bronze medal in the men's minus 67-kilogram kumite division.
The Karate 1 - Premier League Halle/Leipzig 2017 started in Germany on September 8 and will finish on September 10.
The tournament has reportedly brought together a total of 1,384 male and female karate practitioners from 87 countries.