2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final:
Iran confirms squad for season finale in Astana
Iran will be represented by nine practitioners at the 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in Astana, Kazakhstan, after Radin Zeinali secured a late berth in the season-ending event.
The two-day showpiece, which forms part of the Olympic qualification pathway, will kick off on November 28, with competitors from around the world looking to strengthen their bids for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Eight Iranian athletes had previously secured their places based on the Olympic rankings, but the release of the final list of invited competitors by World Taekwondo confirmed Zeinali’s inclusion in the men’s -80kg category, taking Iran’s delegation to nine.
The star-studded Iranian squad will feature six representatives in the men’s divisions and three in the women’s events.
Reigning Olympic champion Arian Salimi (+80kg) will be joined by world champion Abolfazl Zandi (-58kg), Asian champion Mahdi Haji-Mousaei (-68kg), Amir Sina Bakhtiari and Zeinali (-80kg), as well as Mohammad Hossein Yazdani (+80kg) in the men’s competition.
In the women’s divisions, Olympic silver medalist Nahid Kiani (-57kg), Saghar Moradi (-67kg), who won gold at September’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, and two-time world junior champion Hana Zarrinkamar (+67kg) will represent the country.
South Korea will have the largest delegation with 11 athletes, followed by Spain with 10 and Iran with nine. Brazil and China will each field seven competitors, while Jordan and Uzbekistan will have six apiece. The United States, Croatia and Greece will each be represented by five athletes.