Iranian girls got off to a flying start at the Sofia 2022 World Taekwondo Junior Championships, leaving the country on course for a second team championship in the Bulgarian capital.
Sogand Shiri and Parnia Salmani collected a gold and a silver in two girls’ weight classes on Tuesday – two days after Iran claimed the girls’ title in the cadet competitions.
A tight -42kg final saw Shiri edge Turkey’s Hayrunnia Gurbuz in straight rounds and clinch the ultimate prize.
The first round finished 7-7 but the Iranian was handed the victory thanks to the manner in which she landed her points.
There was also little to separate the two in the second round, and with the score tied at 11-11 with 45 seconds left on the clock, it was Shiri who eventually came out on top.
South Korean Jung So-yeon – beaten by Shiri in the semifinals – and Gulshanoy Ismoilova of Uzbekistan shared the third podium.
Salmani started the -44kg final against Thailand’s Natkamon Wassana on the front foot and won the first round 4-3.
The second round was a totally different story, as the Thai contestant eased to a 12-0 win, and then went on to round off the victory with a 15-8 scoreline in the third round.
Italy’s Giulia Galiero and Ching-yun Huang of the Chinese Taipei jointly won the bronze medals on the weight class.
Over 1,250 athletes, representing 90 countries and a refugee team, have been taking part in the cadet and junior event.

 

There is a petition circulating to allow Novak Djokovic to play at the US Open but the Serbian appears likely to miss the entire North American hardcourt swing barring a sudden change in COVID-19 protocols in the United States and Canada.
Djokovic has refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine yet the 21-times Grand Slam winner remains on the entry lists for the ATP 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati that serve as tune-ups for the Aug. 29-Sept. 11 US Open in New York, Reuters reported.
US Open organisers said that while they do not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, they will respect the US government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-US citizens.
Former world number one Djokovic, whose website shows no upcoming events, said last week he was preparing for the US Open as if he will be allowed to compete in the year’s final Grand Slam despite not being vaccinated.
The hashtag #LetNovakPlay was circulating on social media as a slew of Djokovic supporters voiced their support for a player who moved to within one of Spaniard Rafa Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles after his Wimbledon triumph last month.
“Tennis is not interesting or authentic when the best are not allowed to compete,” one Twitter user wrote while another felt winning a tournament where Djokovic is not able to play is less impressive.
Another post with the same hashtag brought up US President Joe Biden, who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted but tested positive on Saturday just three days after having emerged from isolation after testing positive for the first time on July 21.
“Quadruple-vaxxed Biden tested positive for Covid again. But unvaccinated Covid-recovered Djokovic can’t play in U.S. Open. He is apparently too big a risk to the U.S. healthcare system,” the tweet read.
Djokovic has previously said he was prepared to miss Grand Slam tournaments rather than take the COVID-19 vaccine.
 

Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay have submitted a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
Uruguay hosted the competition’s first ever tournament in 1930 and say they want to bring the World Cup “home” when it celebrates its centenary.
“This is the dream of a continent,” said Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
Spain and Portugal have also announced a bid to be joint hosts.
Uruguay beat Argentina in the final to win the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and Dominguez was speaking at the scene of that win – Montevideo’s Centenario Stadium.
“There will be more World Cups, but the cup only turns 100 one time, and it needs to come home,” added Dominguez.
Chile hosted the World Cup in 1962, while the tournament was held in Argentina in 1978.
FIFA plans to select the 2030 host in 2024.
The UK and Republic of Ireland football associations agreed in February not to bid for the 2030 World Cup and instead focus on a joint attempt to host Euro 2028.
 

Persian Gulf Pro League champion Esteghlal is on the verge of securing a loan deal for Santa Clara winger Mohammad Mohebbi, Varzesh3 reported.
Mohebbi, 23, who is tied to a contract at the Liga Portugal outfit until the summer of 2024, has been the prime target for new Esteghlal manager Ricardo Sa Pinto and is expected to be unveiled as a new signing for the Tehran-based Blues within coming days.
Former Sepahan player joined Santa Clara last summer but has failed to establish himself as a first choice for head coach Mario Silva, as he made 18 appearances – including five in the starting XI – across all competitions, scoring three.
Also capable of playing as a central forward, the versatile frontman made his international debut in 2019 – under ex-Iran manager Marc Wilmots –scoring two in three World Cup qualifiers, but is yet to receive a call-up to the national team by Dragan Skocic.
With the World Cup finals – starting Nov. 21 – right around the corner, the prospect of regular game time in the Iranian league could eventually convince Skocic to pick Mohebbi for the squad in Qatar.
Should the deal go through, it will be the ninth signing under Sa Pinto, who took over from Farhad Majidi in June, following Kaveh Rezaei, Payman Babaei, Omid Hamedifar, Reza Mirzaei, Sajjad Shahbaz-Zadeh, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, Mohammad-Hossein Moradmand, and Mohammad-Hossein Zavvari.