Impressive Barkhordari settles for taekwondo silver
Iranian Mehran Barkhordari grabbed a prestigious Olympic medal in Paris after a straight-round defeat against Tunisian Firas Katoussi in the men’s taekwondo -80kg final.
A 2022 world bronze medalist, Barkhordari started on the front foot in the French capital’s Grand Palais and drew the first blood with a two-pointer early on, but the towering Tunisian bounced back in the final seconds to equalize and then added another two points to win the first round.
Stepping into the showdown without conceding a single round, Katoussi took the lead after the restart, landing a lightning, close-range crescent kick to the head for three points, and never looked behind to take the round 5-1 and add the Olympic gold to the world bronze he won two years ago.
This was a third taekwondo medal for Iran, which left the Tokyo Games empty-handed three years ago, in Paris following a silver and a bronze in the women’s competitions.
Nahid Kiani made history by becoming the first Iranian girl to ever reach an Olympic final showpiece in any sport, before a setback against South Korean Kim Yu-jin in the -57kg final, while teenage prodigy Mobina Ne’matzadeh rounded off an impressive run in the -49kg class with a win against Saudi Dunya Abutaleb in the third-place bout.
Despite the final defeat, Barkhordari will have every reason to be proud of his Olympic campaign, as he came out on top against some formidable opponents.
The 24-year-old Iranian began the day with a comeback victory over reigning Asian gold medalist Jasurbek Jaysunov and then came from behind to beat high-profile Italy’s two-time world champion Simone Alessio.
Barkhordari again had to rally from behind to defeat South Korean Seo Geon-woo in a thrilling last-four clash to secure a first men’s Olympic final spot for the country in the taekwondo event since Mohammad Baqeri-Mo’tamed won a silver in London 2012.