Iran’s women’s taekwondo team departs for Fujairah Championships
Members of Iran’s women’s national taekwondo team have departed Tehran for the United Arab Emirates to participate in the 13th Fujairah Open International Taekwondo Championships.
The event, part of the World Taekwondo Federation’s G2 series, will be held over four days and will feature 1,668 athletes across four age categories. The women’s competitions are scheduled to begin on February 1, with 206 athletes competing.
The Iranian delegation left Tehran on Friday morning, January 31, with a squad including Saina Karimi, Saina Alipour, Masoumeh Ranjbar, Parnian Nouri, Maryam Malekouti-Khah, Mobina Nematzadeh, Hasti Mohammadi, Kowsar Asaseh, Poneh Jafar Salehi, Yalda Valinejad, Baran Nemati, Melika Mirhosseini, and Fatemeh Ahmadi.
The team is led by head coach Mehrouz Saei, with Azadeh Yasayi and Shima Khalil Arjamandi serving as assistant coaches, and Mehrdad Yousefi as team manager.
This mission follows a highly successful showing by Iran’s women’s taekwondo team at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, where they won five medals — 1 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze — surpassing the men’s team in total medals.
The gold medal was secured by Saina Karimi in the under-46kg category, while Yalda Valinejad (under-70kg) and Melika Mirhosseini (over-70kg) earned silver and bronze, respectively, after competing against strong international opponents. These achievements highlighted the team’s ability to compete closely with the world’s top athletes and marked a significant milestone in the development of Iranian women’s taekwondo.
Officials hope that participating in the Fujairah International Championships will provide valuable experience for upcoming global competitions and further reinforce Iran’s growing reputation in elite women’s taekwondo.