Iranian sportsmen claim more medals in Asian Beach Games

Iranian sportsmen have delivered fine performances at the fifth edition of the Asian Beach Games in Vietnam and pocketed three more medals, including two silver ones.

On Saturday, Sambo practitioner Yousef Karimiyan failed to overcome Kyrgyz contestant Urmat Mambetzhan Uulu in the title clash of men's minus 74-kilogram class, and fetched the silver medal for Iran.

Akbar Kiyaniyan claimed another silver for Iran in the 65-kilogram to 70-kilogram weight class of Pencak silat competitions.

Pencak silat is an umbrella term for a class of martial arts originating in Indonesia. It is a full-body fighting form incorporating strikes, grappling and throwing in addition to weaponry.

Earlier in the tournament, 28-year-old Iraj Amirkhani prevailed over Keven Nicolaos from Lebanon in his Friday repechage, and snatched a Sambo bronze medal.

Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. There are three main formats recognized by the Federation International Amateur Sambo (FIAS), namely Sport Sambo, Combat Sambo and Freestyle Sambo.

Sport Sambo is stylistically similar to Olympic Freestyle Wrestling or Judo, but with some differences in rules, protocol, and uniform.

Combat Sambo resembles modern mixed martial arts, including extensive forms of striking and grappling. It was developed for military purposes.

Freestyle Sambo, which was created and debuted by the American Sambo Association (ASA) in 2004, focuses on throwing skills and fast ground work, and does not allow any strikes.

The 5th edition of Asian Beach Games began in the south-central Vietnamese city of Da Nang on September 24 and will finish on October 3.

Iranian athletes have already clinched 16 medals, six gold, four silver and six bronze medals, placing the Islamic Republic in the fifth spot of the medal count table.

Vietnam stands atop the medal count table with 120 medals, 42 gold, 36 silver, and 42 bronze medals.

Thailand is second with 85 medals, 34 gold, 22 silver, and 29 bronze medals, and China is third with a total of 46 medals, 12 gold, 16 silver and 18 bronze medals.

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