Iranian Greco-Roman wrestlers Naser Alizadeh and Amin Mirzazadeh each secured gold medals at the 2024 Asian Wrestling Championships held on Monday in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

In the 130kg final, Mirzazadeh demonstrated his dominance with a 5-0 win over South Korea’s Minseok Kim. Mirzazadeh capitalized on his strength from par terre positions, executing two scoring moves to clinch the victory without relying on his usual sequence of gut wrenches. This marked the first time in three matches that he did not finish with that signature technique but still achieved a decisive outcome.

Mirzazadeh has a history of success against Kim, having defeated him in the opening round of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While he placed fifth in Tokyo after losing the bronze-medal match to Turkish legend Riza Kayaalp, Mirzazadeh rebounded at the 2022 World Championships, where he initially lost again to Kayaalp in the final but avenged the defeat by winning the world title in the rematch last September in Belgrade. With his recent accomplishments, Mirzazadeh is viewed as a strong contender to challenge Cuba’s Mijain Lopez, who is pursuing a record fifth Olympic gold at the upcoming Paris Games.

Reflecting on his victory, Mirzazadeh noted that the Asian Championships served as an important step in his Olympic preparations, emphasizing the need to continue rigorous training ahead of the Games.

At 87kg, Naser Alizadeh maintained his winning streak against Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Tursynov, defeating him 5-0 in the final. This victory marked Alizadeh’s fourth consecutive win over Tursynov at the Asian Championships, including back-to-back finals. Alizadeh secured key points with a two-point throw from par terre in the second period and was otherwise untroubled throughout the match.

Tursynov, 33, who captured an Asian gold medal in 2014, has yet to overcome Alizadeh in recent championship bouts. Alizadeh previously beat him twice in early rounds of the 2021 and 2022 tournaments and achieved an 8-0 shutout in last year’s final in Astana.

The performances of both Iranian wrestlers underscore their continued dominance in the regional Greco-Roman wrestling scene as they look ahead to the challenges of the Olympic year.