World Para Taekwondo Championships 2026:
Haqshenas ruled out injured as Iran returns to global showpiece
The Iranian squad left Tehran on Sunday to take part in the upcoming World Para Taekwondo Championships in Muju, South Korea.
The 11th edition of the global showpiece will kick off on Friday, with more than 400 athletes from around the world vying for glory at the iconic Muju Taekwondowon venue.
The Iranian men’s team will be without 2024 Paralympic bronze medalist Hamed Haqshenas, who has been ruled out with a knee injury.
The squad will still feature several medal hopefuls, including Alireza Bakht – also a Paralympic bronze medalist who will look to build on his gold-winning campaign in the -80kg class at last month’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games – as well as Amir-Mohammad Haqiqatshenas, Amirhossein Alizadeh and Mohammad-Taha Hassanpour.
In the women’s competition, Iran will be represented by Aylar Jami, Zahra Rahimi and Maryam Abdollahpour.
Haqiqatshenas and Jami will also enter the World Championships on the back of their Asian Para Games titles, while Rahimi settled for silver at the multi-sport event.
Iran men’s head coach Mahdi Ahmadi highlighted the importance of the Muju event, which offers 140 ranking points and could play a significant role in the athletes’ bids to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
“Winning gold medals in South Korea will be difficult, and predicting how many of our athletes can reach the top of the podium is not easy,” he said.
The Iranian coach also pointed to the country’s four-year absence from the World Championships, saying the lack of participation had left Iran trailing its international rivals.
“For four years, we have been unable to take part in the World Championships for various reasons, and this has caused us to fall behind our international opponents,” he added.
Iran will travel directly from South Korea to Kazakhstan to compete in the WT Grand Prix Final, which gets underway in Astana on November 28, with Ahmadi warning that the tight turnaround could take its toll on the athletes.
“The short gap between the two competitions and the fatigue from travelling will undoubtedly affect the athletes’ technical performance and could increase the risk of injuries,” he said.
Ahmadi concluded that Iran would be looking to collect a combined 240 ranking points from the two tournaments to strengthen its chances of securing places at the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics.