Yazdani Enters Repechage as US Secures Three Finalists in Last Four Weight Classes
Tehran - BORNA - The preliminary rounds of the final four weight categories at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan concluded, determining the finalists in the 57kg, 74kg, 79kg and 92kg divisions.
Mohammad Nokhodi was Iran’s only wrestler to reach the finals in the last four weight categories, advancing to the 79kg gold medal bout.
In the 92kg category, Amirhossein Firouzpour suffered a 10-8 defeat against Trent Hidlay of the United States, the 2015 world gold medalist, in the semifinals. Firouzpour missed out on a place in the final and will instead compete in the bronze medal match.
Meanwhile, in the 57kg category, Milad Valizadeh entered the repechage round after losing to American wrestler Spencer Lee, an Olympic silver medalist.
Valizadeh will first face Segura Guerrero of Guatemala on Sunday morning. If victorious, he will take on Mutaliev of Russia. A further victory would see him face Azerbaijan’s Islam Bazarganov in the bronze medal match.
In the 74kg category, Amir Mohammad Yazdani also entered the repechage after suffering a defeat by fall against Russia’s Inalbek Sharipov, who subsequently advanced to the final.
In the repechage, the winner of the bout between the Armenian and Polish wrestlers will face James Green of the United States, with the winner of that encounter advancing to face Yazdani.
Should Yazdani overcome his repechage opponent, he will compete against Slovakia’s Tajmuraz Salkazanov, a world silver medalist, for the bronze medal.
Continuing their strong performance at the championships, American wrestlers secured three finalists in the last four weight categories, putting the United States on the verge of claiming the world team title.
Russia also secured two finalists across the four remaining weight categories.
In another notable development, a wrestler from Mexico advanced to the 57kg final after defeating his opponents.
The finalists in the last four weight categories are as follows:
57kg: Spencer Lee (United States) vs. Roman Bravo (Mexico)
74kg: Inalbek Sharipov (Russia) vs. Nurkozha Kaipanov (Kazakhstan)
79kg: Mohammad Nokhodi (Iran) vs. Levi Haines (United States)
92kg: Trent Hidlay (United States) vs. Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov (Russia)
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