Iranian Navy Army RD1: Gharooni and Riaz Cause Upsets

There were a couple of upsets on the opening day of the Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Iranian Navy Army in Tehran, with unseeded Danial Gharooni and wildcard Alireza Riaz making it into the quarter finals of the competition.

The Challenger 3 level event saw seven first round matches, with top seed Alireza Shameli receiving a bye through to the last eight, where he will now face No.5 Soheil Shameli for a place in the semi-finals of the competition.

Wildcard Alireza Riaz caused the biggest upset of the opening day in Tehran, as he got the better of No.7 seed Sahand Kabiri to book his place in the quarter finals. Riaz was in control for the first couple of games, but had to withstand a possible fightback from Kabiri to win in three, taking the third game 12-10 on a tie-break.

Danial Gharooni took the other surprise win on the opening day, as he got the better of No.8 seed Aryna Etemadi in straight games, winning comfortably in just 25 minutes. He will now face No.4 seed Sami Ghasedabadi in the last eight.

The quarter finals of the Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Iranian Navy Army will take place on Wednesday, March 2, with the winners moving through to the last four of the competition.

First Round Results: Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Iranian Navy Army
[5] Soheil Shameli (IRI) bt Pouya Shafieifard (IRI) 3-2: 11-5, 11-3, 8-11, 9-11, 18-16 (51m)
Danial Gharooni (IRI) bt [8] Aryan Etemadi (IRI) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-9 (25m)
[4] Sami Ghasedabadi (IRI) bt Hasanain Dakheel (IRQ) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-3 (28m)
[3] Sepehr Etemadpoor (IRI) bt Abdullah Hashim (IRQ) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 5-11, 11-3 (25m)
[WC] Alireza Riaz (IRI) bt [7] Sahand Kabiri (IRI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 12-10 (36m)
[6] Navaneeth Prabhu (IND) bt Ali Taj (IRI) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-3 (11m)
[2] Mohammad Kashani (IRI) bt Faryad Sharifian (IRI) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (25m)

Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Wednesday, March 2
[1] Alireza Shameli (IRI) v [5] Soheil Shameli (IRI)
Danial Gharooni (IRI) v [4] Sami Ghasedabadi (IRI)
[3] Sepehr Etemadpoor (IRI) v [WC] Alireza Riaz (IRI)
[6] Navaneeth Prabhu (IND) v [2] Mohammad Kashani (IRI)