Perfect four: Iranian beach wrestling quartet sweeps gold in 2026 Sanya

Iran’s beach wrestling squad delivered a flawless campaign at the 2026 Asian Beach Games as the four-member team captured all four gold medals in the men’s categories.

Hosted by the coastal city of Sanya in China's Hainan province, the Sixth Asian Beach Games is a premier multi-sport event organized by the Olympic Council of Asia. Originally slated for late 2020 before facing global postponements, the event has finally brought together approximately 2,000 athletes from more than 40 nations.

The Iranian wrestlers dominated the sand, providing a massive boost to their nation's overall standing on Wednesday.

Their clean sweep in all four weight classes propelled Iran to third place in the medal table with seven total golds, sitting behind host nation China (22 golds) and Thailand (10 golds), while staying ahead of the Philippines.

In the 70kg division, Ali Akbar Zaroudi paved the way by shutting out competitors from Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kyrgyzstan before securing a definitive 3-0 victory over his Indian rival in the final.

Ali Gholami followed suit in the 80kg category with a standout performance marked by multiple falls. He dismantled opponents from Yemen, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Bahrain, ultimately pinning his Pakistani opponent in the final to claim the top spot on the podium.

The dominance continued in the 90kg weight class, where Amirhossein Kavousi steamrolled through a packed bracket featuring challengers from Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Vietnam, Singapore, and India. He capped off his run with a flawless 3-0 win against Pakistan's Muhammad Inam.

In the heavyweight +90kg division, Amirreza Sahraei defeated rivals from Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Saudi Arabia, before pinning Bahrain's freestyle wrestling world bronze medalist, Shamil Sharipov, in the semifinals. He then sealed his gold medal by shutting out host nation China's Da Liu in the final.

These competitors gathered to vie for medals across 14 diverse sporting disciplines—ranging from beach kabaddi and beach volleyball to surfing and open water swimming.

The competitions, which opened on April 22 and will wrap up tomorrow, have already seen Iran claim three other gold medals in kabaddi, shot put, and water polo.

The Iranian delegation also remains in contention for additional golds in beach volleyball, soccer and handball as the Games reach their conclusion.

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