Young squad aims to restore Iranian women’s taekwondo reputation at ISG
Head coach Mahrouz Saei and her young squad will look to make up for a poor run at the World Championships when the women’s taekwondo event of the Islamic Solidarity Games gets underway in Riyadh on Saturday.
All of seven Iranian girls – including Olympic medalists Nahid Kiani and Mobina Nematzadeh – left the world showpiece in Wuxi empty-handed earlier in the month, raising questions over Saei being the right person for the national team job.
While Kiani (-57kg), and Nematzadeh (-53kg), as well as Saeideh Nasiri (-46kg), and Melika Mirhosseini (-73kg) failed to go beyond last 16 in their respective classes, Kowsar Asaseh (-62kg) and former world silver medalist Mahla Momenzadeh (-49kg) had their campaigns ended after two bouts, with Nastaran Valizadeh suffering a first-round exit in the -67kg division.
Four of the six Iranians are set to make their international senior debut in Riyadh, though they face a daunting task, with the event featuring top-tier competitors from Türkiye, Tunisia, and Egypt, all of which have named full-strength rosters for the Games.
Saina Karimi, 19, will represent the country in the -46kg contests, while Asian junior bronze medalist Rozhan Goodarzi, 17, will be part of the -51kg draw.
Hasti Mohammadi, 19, will vie for glory in the -57kg event, having won the WT Presidents Cup gold in Tehran last year, with 17-year-old Fatemeh Eskandarnia – an Asian junior silver winner in July – competing in the -63kg class.
Two-time Asian youth champion Yalda Valinejad (-70kg) and Mirhosseini (+70kg) are the two experienced members of Iran’s squad in Riyadh, with the latter eager to find redemption after her last-16 setback in Wuxi.
When Saei was appointed head coach of the Iranian women’s team earlier this year, many believed the decision was driven by nepotism on the part of her older brother and the chairman of the federation, Hadi Saei, rather than her own coaching credentials.
The woeful run in Wuxi only fueled that debate, and Saei will now look to silence her doubters in Riyadh.