During the 1990s Iranian boxer Ayoub Pourtaghi enjoyed success in the light-heavyweight division and won multiple medals in Asia. In 1993 Pourtaghi joined the Iranian national boxing team, which saw him go on to win gold at the Asian Championships in Tehran the following year. The same year he also won gold at the Asian Games in Hiroshima with victory against Go Yeong-Sam of South Korea. At the 1995 Asian Championships in Tashkent he won bronze after losing to Vasily Zhirov in the semi-finals. Pourtaghi earned himself a place at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics after winning the silver medal in the Mayor’s Cup in the Philippines. At the Atlanta Games, however, he lost his opening fight to Jean-Louis Mandengue and was eliminated from the tournament. Pourtaghi took a break from the sport before attempting a comeback to compete at the 2004 Athens Olympics but did not gain qualification.
Islamic Republic of Iran