World Cadet, Junior & U21 Karate Championships:
Iran women’s coach Torkaman rues bad luck in modest campaign
Iran’s women’s U21 karate head coach, Faezeh Torkaman, said her team deserved more than the two bronze medals it won at the World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships, blaming bad luck for missed opportunities.
The recently concluded event in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, was hardly a prolific one for Iranian karate, as the country had to settle for just three bronze medals across the three age groups.
Fatemeh Jafarnejad took bronze in the women’s U21 kumite -55kg class, thanks to a 2-0 victory over Ukraine’s Veronika Hudym in the third-place bout, while Ghazal Fat’hi outclassed Polish karateka Adela Sawicka 9-0 to replicate her compatriot’s success in the -50kg division.
Hamidreza Rezayati was the only Iranian male medalist across the three age categories, winning bronze in the cadet -70kg class after a 2-0 victory over Spain’s Pablo Perez Iniesta.
Speaking to IRNA on Monday, Torkaman said the tournament had placed considerable pressure on her athletes, who lacked experience at the international level.
“We tried hard to reduce their stress, but ultimately, it had an impact, and naturally, it affected their performance,” she said.
“We knew our team had the ability to win more prestigious medals, and everyone saw that we lost some decisive bouts on hantei [a judges’ decision following a tie]. Rest assured that if our athletes had competed more frequently in major events and were better known to the judges, it would have had a direct impact on those decisions.”
Torkaman added that winning bronze could be more difficult than reaching a final, as athletes contesting the repechage or classification bouts also risk leaving the competition without a medal.
“After winning the Asian title, I was very hopeful about my athletes’ chances at the World Championships, and I believed in their abilities. Their efforts were outstanding, but we were very unlucky. Perhaps it has never happened before that so many hantei decisions went against an Iranian team,” she said.
The coach said the competition had provided valuable lessons and experience for the team, adding that every athlete had the potential to contribute to the future of Iranian women’s karate if given sufficient support and opportunities to compete.
Torkaman also praised her athletes’ technical performances, saying she was pleased with their displays and confident they had bright futures ahead of them.
“At a young age, they are highly motivated, hardworking and well-mannered. Every competition brings important lessons, and from now on, we are already looking ahead to our next events,” she said.