Los Angeles, March 16, IRNA – Iranian national freestyle wrestling team beat powerful Russian side 6-2 Sunday night to defend its championship title mightily.
The proud Iranian athletes who had beaten all their rivals in their A Group to reach the final of the FILA World Cup won six of the final matches against renowned Russian champions despite the expectations, losing only two games.

In the first match Hossein Rahimi who was the winner till the last seconds lost and the Russians gained their first sensitive point.

Mas?oud Esma?eilpour in the 61 Kg weigh made up for that bitter defeat, heating his Russian competitor with an excellent result.

Seyyed Ahmad Mohammadi, too, beat his rival in an interesting match, proving that Head Coach Rasoul Khadem had trusted him rightly.

In the fourth match Mostafa Hosseinkani beat his competitor 9-0 and Iran gained its 3rd precious point.

But in the 6th match Ezzatollah Akbari wrestled weakly and disappointingly, losing the game 11-nil to the Russian athlete.

In 85 Kg weigh Ehsan Lashgari wrestled wisely gaining the Iranian side?s 4th precious point.

The Iranian side?s 97 Kg athlete and the national team?s captain managed to gain the excellent 14-2 result, ensuring Iran?s championship in the FILA World Cup.

Iran?s heavy weigh Komeil Qassemi, too, won the last game in an attractive and interesting match against his powerful Russian competitor to gain Iran?s sixt and last point in these games.

Iran beat the United States following victories in the 2014 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup, which is currently underway in the US on the first day of the games.

On Saturday afternoon, wrestling enthusiasts jubilated at The Forum in city of Inglewood, southwest of downtown Los Angeles, as they witnessed the Iranian squad win over the host team 5-3 in their third Pool A encounter.

Iran had defeated Armenia 8-0 and Turkey 7-1 earlier in the day to reach the afternoon session.

In the 57-kilogram weight class, Hassan Rahimi defeated his American competitor Angel Escobedo.

Massoud Esma’eelpour registered Iran’s second victory against the United States after he beat Reece Humphrey in the 61-kilogram weight category.

Meysam Nasiri, however, conceded defeat in the 65-kilogram weight category, and lost to Harold Brent Metcalf.

Mostafa Hosseinkhani was the winner in his bout against Nick Marable in the 70-kilogram weight class.

American freestyle wrestler Jordan Burroughs recorded a victory in his match against Ezzatollah Akbari of Iran in the 74-kilogram weight category.

Also, Clayton Foster of the United States defeated Iranian athlete Ehsan Lashgari in the 86-kilogram weight class.

In the 97-kilogram weight category, Reza Yazdani overpowered James Daniel Bergman, and the Iranian man-mountain, Komeil Ghasemi, overwhelmed Tervel Dlagnev in the 125-kilogram weight class.

The top 10 men’s freestyle wrestling teams in the world are taking part at the 2014 Freestyle World Cup, being held in Inglewood, California on March 15-16.

Iran has been drawn in Pool A along with the United States, Turkey, Armenia, and India. Pool B consists of Russia, Ukraine, Mongolia, Japan, and Georgia.

The winning teams of each pool will compete for the first place; the seconds in each pool will compete for the third place; the thirds for fifth place; the fourths, for the seventh place; and the fifth, for the ninth place.

By IRNA

 

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