Emami, Azarpira add two more wrestling golds for Iran at Asian Games
Iran claimed two more gold medals in men’s freestyle wrestling at the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday as Younes Emami and Amirali Azarpira won the 74kg and 97kg titles in Nagoya.
Emami overcame Japan’s Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, a world champion, 9-5 in the 74kg final, while Azarpira dominated Uzbekistan’s Shokhruz Poyonov 10-0 to take gold at 97kg.
Emami had a demanding route to the final, opening with a 7-6 victory over Uzbekistan’s Razambek Jamalov, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion. He then defeated India’s Sagar Jaglan 10-0 in the quarterfinals before edging Kazakhstan’s Nurkozha Kaipanov, a world champion, 4-2 in the semifinals.
The Iranian then produced another composed performance against Aoyagi to complete his run to the Asian Games title. The Japanese wrestler is a prominent figure on the international scene and had entered the tournament as a world champion.
Azarpira was equally dominant on his way to the 97kg crown. He began with a 10-0 technical superiority victory over Pakistan’s Muhammad Gulzar and repeated the score against Turkmenistan’s Höjämyrat Gurbanov to reach the semifinals.
There, Azarpira edged Japan’s Arash Yoshida, a world bronze medalist, 4-3 to book his place in the final. He then closed out his campaign with a 10-0 technical superiority win over Poyonov.
The two victories added to Iran’s strong start in freestyle wrestling at the Games. On Friday, Mohammad Nokhodi won gold in the 86kg category, defeating Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro, the 2025 world silver medalist, 9-6 in the final.
Amirhossein Zare, the reigning world champion and defending Asian Games champion, also retained his 125kg title with a 12-2 victory over China’s Buheeerdun.
With Emami and Azarpira joining Nokhodi and Zare on top of the podium, Iran continued its medal-winning run in freestyle wrestling in Nagoya.
🤼 Iranian freestyle wrestler Amirali Azarpira avenged his defeat to Japan’s Yoshida, beating the Japanese opponent to reach the 97kg final at the Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
— Press TV Sports (@presstvsports) October 3, 2026
The world silver medalist is now one win away from Asian Games gold.@presstvsports pic.twitter.com/fLziUAjvzG
Iran now ranks 7th in the medals table with a haul of 18 gold, 18 silver, and 15 bronze medals.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games are being held from September 19 to October 4 across venues in Japan, with around 17,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions competing in 43 sports.
Iran's delegation, named “Minab Angels”—a tribute to the victims of the US-Israeli attack on Shajareh Tayyebe Elementary School in Minab on February 28—is competing at the Games with 305 athletes across 38 sports.
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