TEHRAN – Iranian freestyle wrestlers claimed two gold and three bronze medals in the first five weight classes at the 2026 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, United States.

Ebrahim Khari won bronze in the 61kg category after recording a commanding 12-0 victory over Romania’s Gabriel Wyatt Whisenhunt in the bronze medal bout.

Khari had earlier suffered a 7-1 defeat to American wrestler Benjamin Adam Davino before bouncing back in the repechage, where he beat Japan’s Akito Mukaida 15-4 to secure his place in the medal match.

Ali Karampour also claimed bronze for Iran in the 74kg category, defeating Moldova’s Ion Marcu 10-0 in the third-place bout.

Reza Afshar added another bronze medal in the 86kg division after defeating Moldova’s Eugeniu Mihalcean 6-0 in the bronze medal match. Following an opening-round loss to Turkey’s Ahmet Yagan, Afshar fought his way back into contention with victories over opponents from Mexico and Armenia.

Abolfazl Rahmani secured Iran’s first gold medal in the 92kg category. He edged Turkey’s Fatih Altunbas 6-3 in the semifinals before defeating Russia’s Arslan Bagaev 5-2 in the final to claim the title.

Abolfazl Mohammadnejad completed Iran’s gold medal double with a dominant performance in the 125kg final, where he pinned down a 10-0 victory over Georgia’s Aleksandre Abramishvili.

Mohammadnejad reached the final after defeating opponents from Ukraine, Russia and Azerbaijan, capping an impressive run through the heavyweight division.

Iran’s five-medal haul in the first five weight classes underlined the team’s strong start to the U23 World Championships, with two titles and three bronze medals providing an encouraging platform for the remainder of the competition.