Emotional moment in the Iranian National Championships: Former President Mr. Akbar Ali Nategh Noori said goodbye after decades of serving boxing

The Iranian National Boxing Championships for the elite men boxers was held in the city of Sanandaj in the recent days which was a great success and the level of the competition was high. Sanandaj is located in Kurdistan region of Iran which city saw several surprises and young winners in the competition.
Their former President Mr. Akbar Ali Nategh Noori served the Iranian Boxing Federation in the recent decades and the country’s boxing life was successful in all levels of our sport. He was the first and only President of the Iranian Boxing Federation after the revolution in the country in February 1979.
Mr. Akbar Ali Nategh Noori is known as the father of Iranian boxing who led the country into the way of the successes. Mr. Noori was invited up to the ring during the Iranian National Boxing Championships, he knelt and kissed the ring which was an emotional moment not only himself but also for the audience.
Mr. Akbar Ali Nategh Noori resigned from the Presidency of the Iranian Boxing Federation in the recent months therefore their association has been leading a manager since then. The Presidential election in the Iranian Boxing Federation will be held soon and there are ten candidates currently to the position.
The first gold medal of the whole Iranian National Championships was achieved by Jafar Naseri at the light flyweight (49kg) who defeated Majid Ghanbari in the final while Youth National Champion Sina Khemer achieved only bronze this time in Sanandaj. Naseri achieved already silver medal in the 2012 edition but this time he was able to get the title.
Reza Soleimani Far achieved bronze medal in the 2016 Iranian Youth National Championships but the 19-year-old talent was amazing in the final of the flyweight (52kg) against Sajad Luzi and bagged his first national elite title. AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event competitor Pouya Navi Hossein Abadi and former ASBC Asian Youth Champion Masoud Rigi both achieved only bronze medals in Sanandaj.
Strandja Memorial Tournament silver medallist 23-year-old Sajad Mohammadpour moved up one category and competed at the bantamweight (56kg) in Sanandaj where he eliminated national team member Ehsan Sepahvandi in the semi-final and continued his winning path against Danial Shahbaksh in the final. Mohammadpour is one of the best Iranian medal hopeful in the upcoming international competitions.
Armin Amjadian has been competing in the international level since the 2009 AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships therefore his experiences were enough to beat Amin Asgari in the final of the lightweight (60kg). ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships competitor Dana Esmaeilzadeh had to meet in the final of the light welterweight (64kg) with veteran Golara Forootan but he was able to solve their tactical fight.
Sajjad Kazemzadeh was not enough shape this time and his preparation was not successful to the Iranian National Championships due a family problem. Iran’s top elite boxer was defeated by Naser Azadi in the preliminaries while the gold medal of the welterweight (69kg) went to Bijan Kasaiipour who triumphed over Sina Abdolmaleki in the final.
ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships bronze medallist Sajad Mehrabi returned to the world of boxing and he was too smart for Shahin Mousavi while Saman Moradi achieved only bronze at the middleweight (75kg). ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships silver medallist Siavash Omidi moved back to his original light heavyweight (81kg) and demonstrated his power in the final against Hossein Daneshvar who competed in an international event in Kazakhstan.
Iran has got great tradition at the heavyweight (91kg) where their new national team member Mohammad Azizi defeated in the final Siamak Ghorbani and defended his throne in the National Championships. Imad Ramezanpour is a new sensation at the super heavyweight (+91kg) who defeated Farhad Azizi in the final while Milad Roshanzadeh and Ali Shahidi achieved the bronze medals in this strong category.

List of the winners in the Iranian National Championships
49kg: Jafar Naseri
52kg: Reza Soleimani Far
56kg: Sajad Mohammadpour
60kg: Armin Amjadian
64kg: Dana Esmaeilzadeh
69kg: Bijan Kasaiipour
75kg: Sajad Mehrabi
81kg: Siavash Omidi
91kg: Mohammad Azizi
+91kg: Iman Ramezanpour