Iran’s Nokhodi, Valizadeh Win Opening Bouts at World Wrestling Championships; Yazdani Survives Late Scare

Tehran - BORNA - The final four weight categories of the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships got underway on Saturday morning in Kazakhstan.

In the 57kg category, Iran’s Milad Valizadeh faced Hutsuliak of Ukraine in his opening bout and secured a commanding 11-0 technical superiority victory to advance to the round of 16.

Valizadeh will next face American wrestler Spencer Lee, an Olympic silver medalist, in what is expected to be a challenging encounter.

In the 74kg category, Amir Mohammad Yazdani, a two-time world silver medalist, received a first-round bye before taking on Kurmagomedov, a Russian-born wrestler representing Hungary.

Yazdani was trailing 3-2 with just eight seconds remaining when he forced his opponent out of bounds to level the score at 3-3 and secure victory on criteria.

Following an unsuccessful challenge by the Hungarian wrestler, Yazdani was awarded an additional point, bringing the final score to 4-3.

Yazdani will face Tamayo of Cuba in the round of 16.

In the 79kg category, Mohammad Nokhodi, a five-time world silver and bronze medalist and Asian Games champion, delivered an impressive performance against Akramov of Tajikistan in his opening bout.

Nokhodi secured a dominant 10-0 technical superiority victory to advance to the round of 16, where he will face an opponent from Latvia.

In the 92kg category, Amirhossein Firouzpour received a first-round bye and will face the winner of the bout between Altunbas of Turkey and Chaplin of Kyrgyzstan.

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