The Asian Championships took place in December in Macau. Iran sent a team of two athletes, claiming one gold medal. This success was recently honoured.

Gold medal winner Kavan Azadi participated in the competitive 86kg division, winning three bouts on his way to gold.

The head of the Iranian Martial Arts Federation Mahmoud Rashidi recently welcomed Kavan to their headquarters.

He said: “I wish Kavan Azadi ever-increasing success in life and on the sports field. It’s important to honour athletes when they bring honour to Iran.”

Kavan faced some tough competition, defeating India’s Ashish Sethi, then Mustafa Mabrouki Palestine and winning gold against Ilyass Hbibali UAE. Illyas won gold in Mexico at this weight category in the Competitive Level during the World Championships.

His team-mate Masoud Minaei was unfortunate in the opening round to meet the eventual gold medal winner from China Dongwang Guo This was a very exciting bout for the spectators, with Dongwang taking points to win.

Read more about the Asian Championships 2018 here.