Iran ends 10-year gold drought in taekwondo as Zandi crowned world champion
Tehran - BORNA - Zandi defeated Georgii Gurtsiev of Russia — the reigning world silver medalist — with a decisive 2–0 victory in the final bout, securing Iran’s first world title of the 2025 championships.
Zandi won the first round 6–4 and continued his dominance in the second round with a 12–8 win, earning the coveted world gold medal.
This marks Iran’s first men’s world taekwondo gold since 2015.
On his way to the final, Zandi beat Ademi Belron of Kosovo 2–0 in his opening match, followed by a 2–0 victory over Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Vito Dell’Aquila of Italy. He went on to defeat Jesus Rodriguez of Spain 2–0 in the round of 16, Manenkov of Ukraine 2–0 in the quarterfinals, and Kifen Hang of China 2–0 in the semifinals.
Kosar Esaseh, the other Iranian competitor on the fifth day of the tournament, was eliminated earlier in the competition.
Earlier in the championships, Mehdi Hayej Mousaei earned a silver medal for Iran, while ten other Iranian athletes in both men’s and women’s divisions were knocked out of contention. So far, six female taekwondo practitioners from Iran have been eliminated, leaving Mobina Ne’matzadeh — the Paris Olympic bronze medalist — as the last Iranian woman still competing.
On Thursday, the final day of the event, Amir Sina Bakhtiari (men’s -74kg) and Mobina Ne’matzadeh (women’s -53kg) will represent Iran in their respective divisions.
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