Iran wins five medals at Karate World Championships

Iranian male and female karate practitioners collected five medals in the 23rd edition of the prestigious Karate World Championships in Austria.

Iran’s Amir Mehdizadeh participated in the men’s minus 60-kigram kumite contests at the indoor TipsArena Linz in the northwestern Austrian city of Linz on Saturday, and employed a wide array of techniques to prevail over Dutch representative Geoffrey Berens 9-1 in the final competition, clinching the gold.

Azeri athlete Firdovsi Farzaliyev, and Sofiane Agoudjil from France settled for the bronze medals.

In the men’s over 84-kilogram kumite division, Sajjad Ganjzadeh overcame Moroccan opponent Achraf Ouchen and stood atop the podium.

The bronze medals went to Andelo Kvesic from Croatia and Kosovar Herolind Nishevci.

“I am happy to win gold since the competition has brought a number of best karatekas together. My only goal was to win the gold medal; and I am very happy that my silver medal in the previous edition has been upgraded to gold,” Ganjzadeh said after the final battle.

Also on Saturday, Ali Asghar Asiabari and Zabihollah Poursheib claimed two bronze medals for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the men’s kumite minus 75-kilogram and minus 84-kilogram categories respectively.

Hamideh Abbasali added another bronze to Iran’s medal tally in the women’s kumite over 68-kilogram section.

The 23rd edition of the Karate World Championships began in Linz, Austria, on October 25, and will finish on October 30, 2016.

The sports event has brought together about 2,000 athletes and coaches from 135 nations.

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