Ahora KHATERI of Iran scored six points in 40 seconds to win 65kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships.
LAS VEGAS, United States (October 18) -- If the comeback against Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (RUS) was not epic enough in the semifinals, Ahora KHATERI (IRI) pulled off a remarkable turnaround in the 65kg final to win the gold medal at the U23 World Championships.
The gold medal, along with that of Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) at 79kg, sealed the team title for Iran which also won the Greco-Roman team title. Iran won a total of nine medals, including four gold medals, in Las Vegas.
Iran finished with 180 points and Russia was second with 171 points. The United States, which had a underwhelming tournament, finished third with 104 points. Turkiye finished a surprise fourth with 99 points and Japan was fifth with 74 points.
Khateri's final against Kaiji OGINO (JPN) was spectacular bout with the Japanese leading, 6-1 with 40 seconds left in the bout. But Khateri began the comeback as he used an arm drag to go-behind Ogino and then scored a takedown and turn. The second two points were only awarded after a challenge from Iran.
With 10 seconds left in the match and down 6-5, Khateri snapped Ogino down and tried to go-behind. Ogino managed to remove the grip but Khateri pulled him down on the mat and eventually scored the takedown with 7-6 left.
Khateri burst into instant celebrations as he captured his first world title since 2023, when he won the U17 world title at 45kg. The gold medal will come as a relief after he finished with a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships in August.
"I was able to enter these competitions with a positive mindset," Khateri said. "I’ve changed weight classes, moving up from 60kg to 65kg. Even though I found myself trailing in every match, I managed to turn things around during the second period."
Khateri's campaign began with an incredible 15-14 win over Shattyk ALAIDAR (KAZ) in the opening bout. He then controlled the second bout against Sanjarbek RUSTAMBEKOV (UZB) and won 8-1.
The semifinal against Akhmadudinov was another testimony of his strong mindset at this tournament, as he came back from 8-4 down with a minute remaining to win 9-8.
"Since I had just returned from the U20 World Championships, I was able to wrestle well," he said. "Solely because my spirits were high. Physically, though, I was only at a six or seven but mentally I was 10. I had the self-assurance that I would win. Through all the circumstances, whether difficult or favorable, and throughout every moment I was wrestling, I could truly see God. You might think I’m lying, but God really did help me. I’ll fight until the end and I’ll win."
In the final Khateri opened the scoring with a stepout before Ogino took criteria lead with a stepout. But Ogino shocked Khateri with some tremendous defense on the edge and countered his attacks to score takedowns. However, Khateri said he was not worried of the Japanese wrestler's lead. He even picked Akhamadudinov as a tougher opponent than Ogino.
"Russian wrestler was tougher for me," he said. "With the Japanese wrestler, if I got in close, the wrestling became tougher. It was easier to handle him from a distance. As for the Russian wrestler, he got tired, and I was able to take advantage of his fatigue."
Yousefi's gold medal at 79kg over Said SAIDULOV (RUS), 3-1, clinched the team title for Iran as any slip up there would have cost them the title. Yousefi managed a takedown in the second period to lead 3-1. Saidulov got on Yousefi's leg in the final 20 seconds but the Iranian defend the position till time expired.
Russia won two gold medals on Sunday with Takhir KHANIEV (RUS) upgraded his silver from last year to gold this year at 97kg while Magomed ELTERMIROV (RUS) won the 70kg gold medal with a 5-3 win over Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) in the final.
RESULTS
57kg
GOLD: Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) df. Bekir KESER (TUR), via fall (8-0)
BRONZE: ROHIT (IND) df. Arman HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 8-3
BRONZE: Daito KATSUME (JPN) df. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA), 7-2
65kg
GOLD: Ahora KHATERI (IRI) df. Kaiji OGINO (JPN), 7-6
BRONZE: Jaskaran SINGH (IND) df. Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR), 8-5
BRONZE: Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (RUS) df. Shattyk ALAIDAR (KAZ), 12-1
70kg
GOLD: Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS) df. Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI), 5-3
BRONZE: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) df. Emrakh HASHYMOV (UKR), 10-0
BRONZE: Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) df. Taiga OGINO (JPN), 10-0
79kg
GOLD: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) df. Said SAIDULOV (RUS), 3-1
BRONZE: CHANDERMOHAN (IND) df. Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR), 5-2
BRONZE: Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. Christopher MINTO (JAM), 10-0
97kg
GOLD: Takhir KHANIEV (RUS) vs. Justin RADEMACHER (USA), 9-7
BRONZE: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Uladzislau KAZLOU (BLR), 10-0
BRONZE: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Gurgen SIMONYAN (ARM), 10-0