Riyadh 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games:
Triumphant teens inspire Iran to triple taekwondo medals
Teenage girls Sayna Karimi and Hasti Mohammadi made their senior international breakthrough in style as Iran collected three medals on the opening day of the taekwondo event at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh on Saturday.
While Mohammadi recovered from a last-eight setback to secure an impressive bronze in the -57kg class, Karimi stunned taekwondo fans at the Malaz Combat Hall by going all the way to capture the ultimate prize in the -46kg category.
Ali Khoshravesh gave Iran something to cheer about in the men’s competition, earning a consolation bronze in the -74kg event.
Karimi defeated Azerbaijan’s Minaya Akbarova in back-to-back rounds (2-1, 7-6) in the final to cap off her emphatic run in Riyadh, during which the 19-year-old Iranian did not concede a single round across four bouts.
The pinnacle of Karimi’s campaign came in the quarterfinals, where the Iranian prodigy emerged victorious (4-1, 9-5) against Türkiye’s Emine Göğebakan, who stepped onto the mat fresh off a gold medal at October’s World Championships in Wuxi, China.
“I faced tough, well-prepared opponents today, but my goal was always to win the gold here. My preparation for the event was key, and by sticking to the coach’s gameplan, I secured this precious medal,” said Karimi, who dedicated her gold to Iranian head coach Mahrouz Saei.
“This was my first appearance at an event of this magnitude, which fortunately ended with a gold medal. I will certainly continue on my path with even more determination, hard work, and focus, aiming to achieve even greater successes,” added the Iranian.
Earlier in the day, Mohammadi – also 19 – put in a brave performance against her high-profile Turkish opponent Hati̇ce K. İlgün in the quarterfinals but was unfortunate to lose 2-1 (15-2, 5-7, 6-3) to the former Olympic bronze medalist.
Mohammadi then came from behind to beat Uzbekistan’s Madina Mirabzalova (1-9, 11-5, 17-2) in the third-place bout.
“My Turkish opponent has won several world and Olympic medals. She is also about 12 years older than me and was already in the sport when I was born. I gave away the bout in the closing seconds of the third round, and she capitalized on her experience to beat me,” Mohammadi said, before throwing down the gauntlet to İlgün, adding: “There will be time to make amends for today’s setback, as we will meet again in future tournaments.”
Khosravesh, meanwhile, bounced back from a 2-1 (11-1, 4-5, 8-6) defeat against reigning world champion Najmiddin Kosimkhojiev of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals to beat Azerbaijan’s former world and European bronze medallist Javad Aghayev in straight rounds (4-1, 10-0) to claim the joint-bronze medal.
Amirmohammad Nasirahmadi was the Iranian in the men’s action on Saturday, but finished his -54kg campaign empty-handed after successive defeats against the host’s Abdullah Almushraf and Turkish Deniz Dağdelen.
Saturday’s success saw Iran rise to third in the medals table by the end of the eighth day of the Games, level on 11 golds and 12 silvers with fourth-placed Kazakhstan.