Iranians to continue taekwondo Olympic bid at Qatar Open Ch’ship
Five Iranians will continue their bid for a taekwondo berth at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics when they take part in the upcoming Qatar Open Championship in Doha.
The senior competition of the sixth edition of the tournament will kick off at the Ladies’ Sports Hall in the Qatari capital on Wednesday.
The event is a World Taekwondo (WT) G1 tournament, with gold medalists in each weight class earning 10 Olympic ranking points.
Saghar Moradi, who made history by winning Iran’s first women’s taekwondo gold medal at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, earlier this month, headlines the roster in Doha, competing in the -67kg class.
Also a winner of a historic gold medal for the country at the WT Women’s Open Championships in July, Moradi is currently ninth in the Olympic kyorugi rankings in her weight class.
Joining Moradi in the women’s competition is Nastaran Valizadeh, who will take part in the -62kg class.
Valizadeh, who won gold at the WT President’s Cup – Asia in August, is 18th in the Olympic -57kg rankings.
In the men’s competition, Iran will be represented by Danial Bozorgi, also a President’s Cup champion, in the -68kg class.
Bozorgi faces a daunting task in his bid to secure an Olympic berth, as he is currently ranked 31st in the kyorugi rankings.
Radin Zeinali, 24th in the Olympic -80kg rankings, will compete in the men’s -74kg class, which features 23 athletes from around the globe.
Amir-Sina Bakhtiari, meanwhile, will headline the -80kg competition. The reigning Asian champion in the -74kg class will look to improve his 22nd-place ranking after winning bronze at the Chuncheon Korea Open in July.
The Iranian men’s trio will be coached by Sajjad Mardani, with Shima Khalil-Arjmandi in charge of the women’s pair.
The Qatar Open Championship features 1,574 contestants across different age groups, with 363 athletes set to compete in the senior event.