Iranians collect 13 medals at WT President’s Cup
The 7th World Taekwondo President’s Cup in the Asian Region saw Iranians bag 13 medals – including four golds – in Tai’an, China.
Mohammad-Hossein Yazdani, and Amir-Sina Bakhtiari walked away with the ultimate prize of their respective classes in the men’s event.
In the women’s draw, Saeideh Nasiri grabbed the -46kg gold, while Olympic bronze medalist Mobina Ne’matzadeh came out on top against South Korean Seo Yeo-won in the final showpiece of the -53kg event.
Ne’matzadeh’s biggest victory perhaps came in the quarterfinals, where she defeated fellow-Iranian Nahid Kiani – a silver medalist at the Paris Olympics – in straight rounds.
This was a second victory for Ne’matzadeh over her compatriot – following last December’s showdown in the Iranian Premier League – in what will likely be a domestic rivalry for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Elsewhere in Tai’an, Yazdani came out victorious against Uzbekistan’s Shujrat Salaev 2-0 in the men’s -87kg event.
Mehran Barkhordari – also a Paris Olympic silver winner – was the other Iranian representative in the weight class, but his campaign came to an end after a first-round setback against Nurlan Myrzabayev of Kazakhstan.
Bakhtiari, meanwhile, overcame Amirreza Sadeqian in an all-Iranian final to win the -74kg gold.
Saghar Moradi (-67kg), and Mahla Mo’menzadeh (-49kg) were the Iranian bronze medalists in the women’s competitions, with Ali Ahmadi (-87kg), Said Fat’hi (+87kg), Abolfazl Zandi (-58kg), and Mohammad-Hassan Palangafkan (-68kg), plus Mahdi Razmian and Barbod Jabbari in the -54kg event, also settling for third-place finishes across different men’s categories.