Iran clinches dozen medals in Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games

The Iranian sports delegation has exhibited awe-inspiring displays of athletic talents at the 5th edition of Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games, and been awarded twelve medals in the multinational and multi-sport event.

On Monday, the Iranian cycling outfit, comprised of Mohammad Daneshvar Khorram, Ali Aliaskari and Ehsan Khademi, participated in the team sprint event, and clocked 45.535 seconds to snatch the gold medal.

The Kazakh team stood on the second podium with the time of 45.588 seconds. The Thai squad recorded the time of 46.920 seconds to land in the third spot.

Furthermore, Iranian traditional wrestler Hamed Mirzapour conceded a 1-2 defeat to Turkmen opponent Murgapgeldi Atdaýew in the final bout of men's classic style minus 90-kilogram, and collected a silver medal.

Leila Siyahvashi and Reyhaneh Sheikhian also pocketed two bronze medals in the women’s minus 52-kilogram and minus 58-kilogram weight classes respectively.

Earlier, Esmaeil Amiri, Ghasem Dazi and Habibollah Torabi had bagged three bronze medals in the men’s minus 68-kilogram, minus 75-kilogram and minus 82-kilogram categories.

Traditional wrestling is a combat sport, which involves grappling techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns. 

Each bout takes place on an octagonal or square mat, 12 meters by 12 meters. A marked circle measuring 9 meters in diameter is split into two zones: the dark blue central zone and the orange passivity zone.

Iranian male and female taekwondo practitioners also staged remarkable performances, and brought home three medals, including two gold ones.

Fatemeh Madahi vied in the women's minus 46-kilogram competitions, and picked a bronze medal.

Mahdi Eshaghi snatched the gold medal in the men’s minus 54-kilogram weight division after he managed to down his Tajik rival Manuchehr Nematov 23-5 in the final encounter of the category.

Iranian taekwondo fighter Mahdi Jalali also collected the gold medal in the men’s minus 74-kilogram weight category, after he managed to overcome Kairat Sarymsakov from Kazakhstan 5-2 in the title contest.

Additionally, Iranian jujitsu practitioner Masoud Jalilvand overcame his compatriot Masoud Hassanzadeh Vasoukolaei in the men's ne-waza over 94-kilogram, and struck the gold.

The 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, which is the 5th edition of the continental tournament, opened in the Turkmen capital city of Ashgabat on September 17, and will finish on September 27.

Turkmenistan is on the top of the medal count table with 62 medals (29 gold, 21 silvers and 12 bronzes).

The Islamic Republic of Iran has claimed the second spot with 12 medals (four gold, two silvers, six bronzes), while Uzbekistan is on the third with a total of 28 medals (three gold, five silvers and 20 bronzes).

Thailand, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and China have earned the 4th to 7th places respectively.

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