Sensational Salimi grabs gold, caps off taekwondo heroics
Iran’s taekwondo campaign at the Paris Olympics will be one for the ages after all four members of the squad finished on the podium in their respective events.
Representing the country in the men’s +80kg contests, young prodigy Arian Salimi came out victorious against British fourth-seed Caden Cunningham 2-1 to walk away with the coveted gold on Saturday night – a fitting finale to a thrilling, action-packed four days for the Iranians in the French capital’s Grand Palais.
The Briton drew first blood with a 6-3 win in the opening round, but the 20-year-old Iranian bounced back in the second, starting with a round kick to the head and never looked behind to win 9-1.
Both fighters went all out in a nail-biting third round, with Salimi sealing the victory in the closing seconds with another spectacular three-pointer as it finished 6-2.
It was the final episode of a sensational 14 months for the Iranian young gun, who won the world bronze last year before claiming the gold at the Asian Championships in May.
Salimi began the day with a comfortable win against Uzbekistan’s two-time world silver medalist Nikita Rafalovich in straight rounds.
He then came from behind twice to beat Mexican second-seed Carlos Sansores and Croatian Ivan Šapina, who share five world medals between them, en route to the ultimate prize – Iran’s first taekwondo gold in the Games since legendary Hadi Saei’s triumph in Beijing 2008.
The most-decorated Iranian in the Olympic history with double golds and a bronze, Saei played a significant part in the latest success as the head of the sport’s national governing body.
Taekwondo girls Nahid Kiani and Mobina Ne’matzadeh made history earlier in Paris as the former became the first Iranian woman to reach the final showpiece in any Olympic event before taking the -57kg silver, while the latter’s -49kg bronze meant this year’s Games were the most prolific for the Iranian female athletes in 30 editions.
Mehran Barkhordari, meanwhile, ended Iran’s wait for a first men’s final spot in 12 years when he made it to the -80kg showdown, though he was unlucky to finish his impressive run with a silver.