Iran finishes runner-up in 14th World Wushu Championships

Iranian male and female wushu practitioners have displayed extraordinary physical and mental skills at the 14^th edition of World Wushu Championships, and managed to finish in the second place overall at the prestigious tournament.

Having won eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals, the Islamic Republic of Iran stood behind China, with 15 gold medals at the conclusion of the competitions at the Gymnastics Palace of Universiade Village in the western Russian city of Kazan.

Hong Kong collected five gold, three silver and three bronze medals to secure the third place.

On Tuesday evening, Elaheh Mansourian won the gold medal after beating Luan Thi Hoang of Vietnam in the final contest of women’s minus 52-kilogram category.

The Iranian wushu champion had earlier triumphed over representatives from Indonesia and South Korea in her march to the gold medal bout.

Moreover, the Iranian men’s duelin Taolu team recorded convincing victories, and picked up the gold medal with a total score of 9.61 points. It was followed by the South Korean squad with 9.48 points. Ukraine garnered 9.47 points and claimed the third spot.

Additionally, Haniyeh Rajabi tallied 9.45 points to grab the bronze medal in the Shuang Jian (double straight sword) form of Taolu competitions.

A female contestant from Hong Kong notched up 9.62 points to collect the gold. A representative from Ukraine got the silver medal with 9.47 points.

Also on Tuesday, Shahrbanou Mansourian took the honors after beating her Egyptian opponent in the final contest of women’s minus 65-kilogram category of the Sanda (sparring) discipline.

Mansourian had earlier overcome a representative from India to march into the title showpiece.

In the women’s minus 70-kilogram category, Maryam Hashemi prevailed over her Philippine rival and got the gold medal.

Hashemi then announced that she had brought down the curtains on her professional wushu career.

Later in the tournament, Mohsen Mohammadseifi collected the gold medal in the men’s minus 70-kilogram section after he defeated his Egyptian opponent.

Yousef Sabri overpowered a contestant from Macau in the men's minus 75-kilogram class of the Sanda section, and was awarded the gold medal. 

Moein Taghavi beat his Belarusian opponent in the final match of men's minus 85-kilogram category and won the gold medal. 

Furthermore, Milad Arefi Magham overcame a representative from Egypt in the title contest of men’s minus 90-kilogram division, and struck the yellow medal.

Hamid Reza Qolipour, however, lost to a competitor from China in the final bout of men’s over 90-kilogram weight category, and received the silver medal.

Sanda, sometimes called Sanshou or Lei tai, has all the combat aspects of wushu, but includes many more grappling techniques.

The 14^th edition of World Wushu Championships kicked off on September 27, and concluded on October 3, 2017.

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