According to the Tehran Times, world champion Farooqi and defending champion Hedayati, who also celebrated their birthdays on Tuesday, won gold medals in the 87kg and 130kg weight classes, respectively, with overwhelming results.
“At the World Championships, we won two tough matches in a row and were able to bring home two gold medals,” Farooqi said. “It was a high-level competition.”
Farouki, who won the gold medal in the 82kg category at the Zagreb Games, moved up to 87kg at the Novi Sad Games and had no problems making the weight change. As in Zagreb, Farooqi had his best game in Parterre, winning 9-0 in the final against Ivan Tymil (Ukraine), technically his fifth victory and his second gold medal in a month.
After taking the lead with Parterre, Farooqi fired a Trap Arm Gut, forcing Timil to turn four times for the win. Ukraine threw one of their ever-increasing challenges for no reason, but lost it to add one more point to Farooqi’s score.
“As you move up in weight class, your opponents definitely get stronger and tougher,” Farooqi said. “It was a good experience and gave me a better understanding of how I can perform in the Olympic weight class of 87kg.”
Hedayati, who has not lost an international match since losing in the 2022 U20 World Championship final, showed why he will dominate the 130kg weight class for years to come.
Hedayati faced Razmik Kurdian (ARM) in the final, earning two points from a takedown on Edge.
With Kurdian on par, Hedayati made two turns to extend his lead to 7-0. With 23 seconds left before intermission, Hedayati stepped out to make it 8-0 in the final game and claim their second consecutive U23 world title.
MNA