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WT World Cup Team Championships:
Iran to face Thailand in men’s opener
Iran’s men’s team will kick off the defense of its World Taekwondo World Cup Team Championships title against Thailand in Chuncheon, South Korea, today.
The draw for the men’s event was held on Monday, with the eight participating teams learning their path to the title in the 14th edition of the competition, which features 84 male and female athletes from nine countries.
A victory over Thailand would see six-time champion Iran face either China or India in the semifinals.
On the other side of the bracket, Morocco and Kazakhstan will square off for a place in the last four, while top seed South Korea will meet the winner of the clash between Russia and Indonesia in the other quarterfinal.
Iran has named a strong squad for the three-day showpiece, which will be followed by the Korea Open G1 tournament in the South Korean city.
Reigning world and Asian champion Abolfazl Zandi headlines the star-studded roster, which also includes Olympic silver medalist Mehran Barkhordari, Asian champions Mahdi Hajimousaei and Amirsina Bakhtiari, Asian bronze medalist Amirreza Sadeqian, and Mohammad Hossein Yazdani.
Payam Khanlarkhani will make his debut as Iran’s head coach after replacing interim boss Amir Tajik, who guided the team to a runner-up finish behind South Korea at the Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar in May.