Iran names women’s team for Asian taekwondo meet
Head coach Mahrouz Saei has confirmed Iran’s women’s team for the upcoming Asian Taekwondo Championships.
The 27th edition of the continental showpiece will get underway in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on May 21.
The Iranian team trials took place during the two-week national team training camp, with eight contestants coming out on top in their respective weight classes.
Olympic silver medalist Nahid Kiani, who has recently recovered from surgery on her injured knee, will headline the Iranian squad in the Mongolian capital, looking to add to her four Asian medals when competing in the -57kg weight class.
Mobina Ne’matzadeh – a bronze medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics – will represent the country in the -53kg contest, aiming to build on her gold-winning campaign in last December’s U21 World Championships.
The high-profile duo will be joined by former world senior silver medalist and two-time world cadet champion Mahla Mo’menzadeh, who will vie for glory in the -49kg event.
Yalda Valinejad, meanwhile, will step into the -62kg contest on the back of a silver medal at last November’s Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh.
Ma’soumeh Ranjbar (-46kg), Fereshteh Fat’hi (-67kg), Baran Ne’mati (-73kg), and Fatemeh Ahmadi (+73kg) complete the Iranian women’s team in Ulaanbaatar.
Winners of a maiden women’s team title in 2022, Iran had to settle for a sixth-place finish at the Asian Championships in 2024, collecting a bronze and a silver medal in Da Nang, Vietnam.