Asian Taekwondo Championships:
Iran aims for continental glory as Saei retains helm
The Iranian men’s and women’s taekwondo squads left the country for Ulaanbaatar on Friday ahead of taking part in the upcoming Asian Taekwondo Championships – starting Tuesday in the Mongolian capital – in what will be the first major event of Hadi Saei’s second term as president of the Iranian Taekwondo Federation.
Saei, who was recently appointed as the vice chairman of the Technical Committee at the Asian Taekwondo Union (ATU), claimed 39 of the 53 votes during last week’s election to retain the helm of the national governing body for another four years.
The most decorated Iranian in Olympic history, with two golds and one bronze medal, the 49-year-old Saei drew on his illustrious career to restore the glory days of Iranian taekwondo in his first term. He was credited with numerous achievements – including a clean sweep of four medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics; a historic women’s gold at the World Championships by Nahid Kiani; a maiden women’s team title at the Asian Championships in his first year in charge; as well as the men’s crown at the inaugural U21 World Championships last December in Nairobi.
Given that impressive track record and with September’s Asian Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on the horizon, expectations are high for Saei’s new term to match or even surpass past successes – starting with the men’s kyorugi team title defense at the Asian showpiece.
Former world silver medalist Ali Tajik, meanwhile, will look to prove his credentials in Ulaanbaatar after replacing Majid Aflaki – under whom he worked as the number two – as the head coach of the men’s team last week.
Olympic champion Arian Salimi will headline the eight-man kyorugi roster, aiming to make up for a below-par World Championships campaign last year in Wuxi, China – where he suffered a last-16 exit in the +87kg weight class – by defending his continental title.
Abolfazl Zandi – Asian bronze medalist in 2024 – will be the favorite for the top prize in the -58kg division this year, stepping into the competition as the reigning senior and under-21 world champion, while Mahdi Haji-Mousaei (-63kg) will also be among the Iranians to watch after winning a silver medal at the world showpiece.
Joining the trio in the Iranian team are Yassin Valizadeh (-54kg), Amir-Abbas Rahnama (-68kg), world U21 champion Radin Zeinali (-74kg), Amirreza Sadeqian (-80kg), and Mohammad-Hossein Yazdani (-87kg) – a gold medalist in the previous edition – across different weight categories.
World bronze medalists Amir-Sina Bakhtiari (-74kg), Mohammad-Hassan Palangafkan (-68kg), Ali Ahmadi (-87kg), and Mahdi Razmian (-54kg) have been granted a shot at continental glory as well, thanks to an ATU invitation.
In the women’s competition, Kiani – also a winner of history-making Olympic silver in Paris who has recently recovered from surgery on her injured knee – will chase the fifth Asian medal of her career when competing in the -57kg weight class.
Mobina Ne’matzadeh – a bronze medalist in Paris – will represent the country in the -53kg draw, aiming to build on her gold-winning run at the under-21 world event.
The high-profile duo will be accompanied by former world senior silver medalist and two-time world cadet champion Mahla Mo’menzadeh, who will vie for glory in the -49kg event.
Yalda Valinejad, meanwhile, will step into the -62kg contest on the back of a silver medal at last November’s Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh.
Ma’soumeh Ranjbar (-46kg), Fereshteh Fat’hi (-67kg), Baran Ne’mati (-73kg), and Fatemeh Ahmadi (+73kg) complete the Iranian women’s team, which is coached by Mahrouz Saei, the younger sister of the Iranian federation’s chairman.
Iran will also be represented by four contestants in the poomsae contests, with Yasaman Limouchi and two-time world silver medalist Marjan Salahshouri competing in the women’s category, while Yassin Akbari and Yassin Zandi will be part of the men’ draw.