The men's Greco-Roman competitons drew to a close on the second day of the Championship ©UWW

Afshin Byabangard secured Iran’s fourth gold medal of the Asian Wrestling Championships to help his country secure the Greco-Roman team title in Bangkok as the build-up to Rio 2016 continued.

The 71 kilogram wrestler impressed on his way to the gold medal bout, where he faced the strong challenge of Uzbekistan’s Nurbek Kholmukhammatov.

Byabangard, a World Championship bronze medallist, dominated throughout the duration of the contest by taking his opponent down to the mat on three occasions before sealing the win with a technical fall.

Kazakhstan’s Darkhan Bayakhmetov and China’s Zhang Ridong were also victorious by technical falls in their bronze medal bouts against Turkmenistan’s Didar Amannazarov and Chinese Taipei’s Xu Kai-Xiang respectively.

The Iranian team were hopeful of further success in the 59kg final, with Saman Abdvali vying for gold against Kyrgyzstan’s Kanybek Zholchubekov.

Zholchubekov, a bronze medallist in 2013 and 2014, battled back from an early deficit to earn a 9-4 victory.

Kazakhstan’s Mirambek Ainagulov sealed the first bronze medal with a technical fall win over Thailand’s Ritisak Pravan, while India’s Gaurav Sharma edged South Korea’s Kim Eun-Bin 2-1 to claim the final podium position.

Zholchubekov’s team-mate Zhanarbek Kenzheev delivered Kyrgyzstan’s second title of the day, fending off the challenge of Uzbekistan’s Muhammadali Shamsiddinov in the 85kg competition.

Kyrgyzstan celebrated double gold in the men's competitions at the Asian Wrestling Championships ©UWW
Kyrgyzstan celebrated double gold in the men's competitions at the Asian Wrestling Championships ©UWW

Seeking his second Asian Championship title, Kenzheev was able to take a 3-0 point lead with a takedown and despite Shamsiddinov closing the gap, he was able to triumph 3-2.

China’s Kong Liang won his bronze medal match with India’s Shobhit Kumar due to winning the last point of a tight encounter which ended 6-6, while South Korea’s Park Jinsung defeated Iran’s Yousef Ghaderian 8-2 for the second medal.

The Kyrgyz Wrestling Federation’s Damirbek Asylbek Uulu expressed his delight at the performances of his athletes as they build towards the Asian Olympic qualification tournament in Kazakhstan, which will take place from March 18 to 20.

“I’m so happy inside for our team and our two new champions,” he said.

“This is a great feeling to have as we get ready now for Astana.”

The gold medals helped Kyrgyzstan to finish third on the team rankings on 49 points, with Kazakhstan finishing second on 58.

With four gold, one silver and two bronze medals the Iranian team topped the standings on 71 points.

The women's freestyle competitions at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Bangkok got underway today with two weight divisions decided ©UWW
The women's freestyle competitions at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Bangkok got underway today with two weight divisions decided ©UWW

The first women’s freestyle competition of the Championships saw Japan’s Risako Kawai overcome North Korea’s Rim Jong-Sim by a fall to win the 63kg gold.

China’s Xu Rui and India’s Anita Anita won their bronze medal bouts with South Korea’s Seo Heejeong and Uzbekistan’s Nilufar Gadaeva by the same manner.

Mongolia's Ochirbat Burmaa earned a narrow 2-0 win over Japan’s Rino Abe in the 75kg weight category.

The first bronze medal claimed by China’s Qiandegen Chagan with a fall win over India’s Kiran Kiran.

Kazakhstan’s Gulmaral Yerkebayeva clinched the final podium spot after winning via a technical fall against Uzbekistan’s Lalakhan Orinbaeva.

The Championships are due continue tomorrow and conclude on Sunday (February 21).