TEHARN - Saghar Moradi made history by winning Iran’s first women’s taekwondo gold medal in Asian Games history, claiming the under-67kg title at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Moradi, 19, defeated Uzbekistan’s Ozoda Sobirjonova in the final to secure the landmark victory.
Moradi received a bye in the opening round before facing Kyrgyzstan’s Tamiris Sulaimanova. The Iranian won in two straight rounds to advance to the semifinals and guarantee herself at least a bronze medal.
She then faced Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-Chia in the semifinals. Moradi dominated the opening round 14-3.
The second round was closer. Moradi came from behind to win 7-5 and book her place in the final.
Her last opponent was Sobirjonova, a familiar name in the -67kg division. The Uzbek is the 2025 WT Presidents Cup Asian regional champion and has also won the Asian Championships title in the weight class.
The final began with a closely fought first round. The score was tied 8-8, but Moradi took the round on the countback for scoring more successful attacks.
She then pulled away in the second round, winning 16-11 to claim the gold medal.
The victory marked a historic breakthrough for Iranian women’s taekwondo at the Asian Games. Moradi’s gold was also Iran’s 15th gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Moradi entered the Asian Games in strong form. In August, she won the women’s under-67kg title at the World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships in Taiyuan, China, winning six consecutive bouts without dropping a round.
In the men’s -58kg division, Abolfazl Zandi was eliminated in the round of 16 against Kazakhstan’s Temirlan. Zandi, who had defeated his Tajik opponent in the opening stage, lost in straight rounds (11-2, 16-11). The Iranian fighter appeared to struggle with a hand injury midway through the second round while trailing 13-8.
In the men’s -80kg category, Amir Sina Bakhtiari bowed out in his opening contest, losing 2-0 (5-4, 2-0) to China’s Xiang.
In the women’s -49kg division, Sayna Karimi exited the competition following an injury against host-nation fighter Okamoto of Japan in the round of 16. After defeating Hong Kong’s Lam Siu in her preliminary match, Karimi took the first round against Okamoto 17-6 before dropping the second 10-3. While leading 3-1 in the decisive third round, Karimi suffered a severe leg injury during an exchange of strikes. Despite attempting to fight through the pain, she was forced to concede the bout while trailing 15-6.
Friday’s events also featured the debut of Virtual Taekwondo at the Asian Games, an esport discipline where athletes wear VR headsets and motion-tracking sensors on their head, hands, and feet to compete in non-contact bouts. Bakhtiari represented Iran in the event, defeating Uzbekistan’s Jasurbek 2-0 in the opening round before being eliminated following a straight-round loss to a Singaporean competitor.
Iran now ranks sixth in the medals table of the Games as the delegation has earned 15 gold, 17 silver, and 13 bronze medals so far.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games are taking place from September 19 to October 4 at venues across Japan, bringing together around 17,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions to compete in 43 sports.
Iran’s delegation, named the “Minab Angels” in tribute to those massacred in the US-Israeli attack on Shajareh Tayyebe Elementary School in Minab on February 28, is represented by 305 athletes competing in 38 sports.