Asian Taekwondo Championships:
Kiani crashes out as Iran bags double bronzes
Reigning world champion Nahid Kiani suffered an early exit from the 26th Asian Taekwondo Championships, but Iran still managed to grab a couple of consolation bronzes on Day 1 of the kyorugi contests in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Representing the country in the women’s -53kg event, Kiani was stunned by Chutikan Jongkolrattanawattana of Thailand in straight rounds in her first bout – a reality check ahead of the Paris Olympics in July for the Iranian, who also fell short against Thursday’s opponent in last year’s Asian Games.
Elsewhere, Saeideh Nasri, stepping into the women’s -46kg contests fresh from a bronze-winning campaign in April’s Galeb Belgrade Trophy in Serbia, also walked away with a bronze in her debut at the Asian Championships.
Nasri came out on top against Mongolian Badam Lkhagva in back-to-back rounds and then beat Ruka Okamoto of Japan with the same scoreline for a place in the semifinals, before a 2-1 defeat against China’s Wang Shiyi saw the Iranian girl settle for a joint third-spot finish.
Matin Rezaei won his third bronze in a major event in 12 months – following last year’s world event and the Asian Games – in the men’s -63kg competitions.
Rezaei eased past Jin Tsuruoka of Japan and Saudi Zakariya Ghali without conceding a single round but Jang Jun – a bronze medalist in Tokyo Olympics and former world gold and silver winner – proved too tough to beat in the semifinals as the Iranian finished on the third podium after a 2-0 loss to the South Korean.
Contested by more than 570 athletes from 36 countries, the event will finish with the para taekwondo competitions on Sunday.