Nagoya 2026: Iran taekwondo suffers rocky start as three bow out, Moradi secures medal

Tehran - BORNA - Moradi secured Iran’s lone highlight in the sparring events, competing in the women's -67kg division. After receiving a bye in the first round, she dominated Kyrgyzstan's Tamiris in the quarterfinals, claiming a convincing 2-0 victory with scores of 9-1 and 13-1. With her semifinal berth secured, Moradi guaranteed a bronze medal and will face the winner of the matchup between China and Chinese Taipei.

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.

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