Asian Cadet Taekwondo Championships:
Gold rush on final day as Iran lifts girls trophy, finishes boys runner-up
A medal-laden campaign at the Asian Cadet Taekwondo Championships saw Iran claim the girls’ title while settling for the runner-up spot in the boys’ event in Beirut, Lebanon.
On Friday, five Iranians brought the curtain down on a glorious run for the country in the Lebanese capital by capturing the ultimate prize of their respective classes. It was a head-to-head battle between Iran and South Korea in the girls’ competitions on the final day as all three showdowns were contested by the athletes from the two continental powerhouses.
Rojan Heydari outclassed Park Soyoung for the -172cm gold, with Niayesh Ali-Asgari coming out on top against Lee Cheaeun in the -176cm final.
Hasti Khalaji completed a clean sweep of final triumphs for Iran with a straight-round victory in the +176cm contest.
Friday’s medals took Iran’s tally to a remarkable five golds, two silvers, and a single bronze as Mahboubeh Mohammadnejad’s team beat Kazakhstan to the girls’ crown, with South Korea in the third place.
Narina Khayat (-164cm) and Fatemeh Zahra Baqeri (-148cm) had bagged a couple of golds, with the former enjoying further glory in the awarding ceremony as she was named the female MVP of the competitions after cruising to the top podium of her category without conceding a single round.
Mohammadnejad, meanwhile, took the best female coach award. The team trophy rounded off a glittering run for the Iranian girls at the international age-group competitions over the past 10 days as the world cadet title in Sarajevo had been followed by the Asian juniors’ crown earlier in Beirut.
Elsewhere on Friday, Iliya Allahverani defeated Mongolian Belgutei Bat-Erdene 2-0 for the +180cm gold, with his fellow Iranian Abolfazl Najafi beating South Korean Kim Geunwoo in the final showpiece of the -180cm category – taking the country’s gold count to three in the boys’ event, after Seyyed Mohammad Abdollahi had triumphed in the -152cm class on Day 1. The Iranian boys also grabbed double silvers and bronzes apiece to finish second to South Korea, while Jordan stood third.
Fatemeh Hassanzadeh, Pinar Lotfizadeh, Pouya Kiaheyrati, and Amir-Abbas Nasiri were the Iranian silver medalists in the tournament, with Asma Khorrami, Mohammad-Hossein Montazeri, and Armin Masoumi leaving Lebanon with three bronze medals.