World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships:
Iran collects eight medals, claims men’s title
Iran captured six medals, including three golds, to secure the men’s title at the World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Iranian women’s squad earned a gold and a bronze to finish behind Türkiye, South Korea, and Morocco in the team standings.
The final day of the inaugural event saw Mohammad Alizadeh take silver in the men’s -87kg class, while Matin Rezaei claimed a bronze in the men’s -68kg category.
Alizadeh began his campaign with a straight-round victory over Serbia’s Ognjen Radaković, then rallied from behind to defeat Spanish top seed Sergio Troitino 2-1 (0-1, 6-5, 6-5).
The highlight of his run came in the semifinal against Brazilian Henrique Marques, where he once again fought back to beat the reigning world senior champion and earn a spot in the final against Kazakhstan’s Batyrkhan Toleugali.
Alizadeh’s title bid ultimately fell short, as he suffered a 2-0 defeat in the final, with Toleugali adding the gold to his 2022 World Junior Championships triumph.
Earlier in the day, Rezaei – also a 2022 world junior champion – defeated Morocco’s Reda Khomani before overcoming neutral athletes Ivan Findziukevich and Pavel Lukichev, all without dropping a round.
A semifinal loss to eventual gold medalist Berkay Erer of Türkiye left the Iranian joint third alongside Egypt’s Omar Muhamed Fathy. It was Rezaei’s fourth international bronze, following podium finishes at the 2023 World Senior Championships, the 2023 Asian Games, and last year’s Asian Championships.
Saina Karimi, who won a stunning gold at the Islamic Solidarity Games last month, was the only other Iranian in action on the final day. She fell short of the podium in the women’s -46kg division after a quarterfinal defeat to neutral Russian athlete Alisa Angelova.
Iran enjoyed further recognition during Saturday’s closing ceremony, as Majid Aflaki was named Best Men’s Coach, while Abolfazl Zandi received the award for Most Valuable Player in the men’s category.
Zandi – a world senior champion in late October – capped a brilliant five-week stretch by winning gold in the -58kg division with a straight-round victory over Russian neutral athlete Magomedg Magomedov on the opening day.
The final victory rounded out an emphatic run for the Iranian sensation, who completed a clean sweep of five 2-0 victories, scoring a total 131 points, while conceding only 23.
Radin Zeinali and Ammirreza Gholami were Iran’s other men’s gold medalists.
Zeinali defeated Türkiye’s Omer Furkan Korpe 2-1 to win the -74kg crown on Friday, one day after Gholami edged Spanish top seed Mikel Fernandez Garcia (3-2, 8-8, 7-6) to claim the -80kg title.
World junior champion Amirmohammad Ashrafi (+87kg) added a bronze to Iran’s tally, helping Aflaki’s men finish ahead of Türkiye (two golds and one silver) and Kazakhstan (two golds and one bronze) in the standings.
Iran’s two women’s medals came courtesy of Mobina Nematzadeh and Hasti Mohammadi.
Nematzadeh, a bronze medalist at last year’s Paris Olympics, bounced back from a disappointing performance at November’s Senior World Championships to defeat Türkiye’s Sila Irmak Uzuncavdar 2-1 (9-3, 7-12, 5-1) in the final and secure gold in the -53kg division.
Mohammadi, who also won bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games, suffered a semifinal setback against reigning world under-18 champion Amina Dehhaoui of Morocco, finishing with another international bronze in the -57kg category.
More than 450 participants from 75 countries competed over four days at Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre.
The second edition of the tournament will take place in Samokov, Bulgaria, in 2027.