#AIBANews – Fajr Tournament recap and results
04 April 2017
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The Fajr Tournament recently took place in Abadan, Iran and the prestigious competition featured many boxing talents who fans should look out for in 2015. Athlete of the tournament Iran’s Sajjad Mehrabi won a bronze medal at the 2013 ASBC Asian Continental Championships in Amman, Jordan, and the 29yearold Middleweight (75 kg) boxer is Iran’s number two at the weight class behind APB Champion Ehsan Rouzbahani. Mehrabi was too strong for all of his opponents in Abadan and won his weight class with some excellent performances. The gold medal sets Mehrabi up nicely for the rest of the year as he attempts to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Team of the tournament
Iran secured six gold medals in the Fajr Tournament topping the team rankings, and to the delight of the home audience, two Abadanbased athletes won their weight classes. National Championships silver medallist Jafar Naseri started their winning series at the Light Flyweight class (49 kg) while newcomers Davod Khedri (52 kg), Hossin Khezer Bahri (56 kg) and young Esmaeil Armashi (60 kg) continued Iran’s golden path. After Sajjad Mehrabi won their fifth gold medal in Abadan, ASBC Asian Continental Championships silver medallist Abdulmajid Sepahvandi defeated Russia’s Shigabudin Aliyev in the semifinal of the Super Heavyweight class (+91 kg), while he was also able to beat Bocskai Memorial Tournament silver medallist Ali Eren Demirezen in the final. Surprise of the tournament Iran’s new Flyweight class (52 kg) boxer Davod Khedri is inexperienced regarding international events, but he showed his great skills in Abadan. Despite his tender years, the host nation’s hope defeated Turkey’s EUBC European Continental Championships bronze medallist Ferhat Pehlivan in the final of their contest. Stat/fact of the tournament The Iranian team prepared for this event at a training camp in Kazakhstan which resulted in six gold medals on home soil. Turkey’s boxing squad used this event as the first step of preparation for the European Games, and three of their tough athletes won their weight classes. Pakistan sent the maximum number of ten boxers to the Fajr Tournament and their team claimed two silver and two bronze medals, while Afghanistan claimed two bronze medals in the Fajr Tournament.
List of the winners in Abadan 49 kg: Jafar Naseri, Iran 52 kg: Davod Khedri, Iran 56 kg: Hossin Khezer Bahri, Iran 60 kg: Esmaeil Armashi, Iran 64 kg: Shamil Magomedov, Russia 69 kg: Onder Sipal, Turkey 75 kg: Sajjad Mehrabi, Iran 81 kg: Samir Magomedov, Turkey 91 kg: Bahram Muzaffer, Turkey +91 kg: Abdulmajid Sepahvandi, Iran Don’t forget you can keep up with all of the action by following AIBA on Facebook and Twitter. Copyright © 2015 AIBA http://www.aiba.org
