Olympic medalist Kiani rockets to gold as Iran claims three more medals at Asian Taekwondo C’ships
Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist Nahid Kiani clinched the women's under-57kg continental title, capturing Iran's fifth gold and eighth overall medal at the 27th Asian Taekwondo Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Kiani faced Uzbekistan's Madina Mirabzalova in a hard-fought final at the M Bank Arena on Sunday. After securing the opening round with a decisive 11-7 victory, the elite Iranian fighter managed a tense 5-5 tie in the second frame to officially secure the gold medal on point superiority.
🥋🥇Nahid Kiani wins gold for Iran
— Press TV Sports (@presstvsports) May 24, 2026
Nahid Kiani became champion in the -57 kg final at the Asian Taekwondo Championships after defeating her Uzbek opponent 2-0 in the final.@presstvsports pic.twitter.com/DoxoydHjgy
The champion's journey through the 23-athlete bracket began with a comfortable 2-0 opening round victory over India's Aranya, posting scores of 3-0 and 8-0.
Her toughest challenge materialized in the round of 16 against Jordan’s Fadia Kherfan. Despite dropping the opening frame 2-0, Kiani orchestrated a resilient comeback to win the remaining periods 4-3 and 2-0.
Kiani subsequently outclassed Chinese Taipei's Wei Chun-lin in the semifinals with impressive 6-0 and 7-4 margins, punching her ticket to the final match.
The final day of standard sparring also yielded more hardware for the Iranian delegation on the lower steps of the podium. Amir Reza Sadeghian in the men's under-80kg division and Yalda Valinejad in the women's under-62kg category both fought through their respective brackets to claim bronze medals.
Following four days of elite continental competition, the Iranian national taekwondo team concludes its campaign in Mongolia with a total haul of eight medals.
🥋🥇 Hajimousaei stuns Olympic medalist to secure Iran’s fourth gold in Asian Taekwondo C’ship.@presstvsports https://t.co/hQNcLEIq3G
— Press TV Sports (@presstvsports) May 23, 2026
The country's outstanding gold medal haul features men's heavyweight champion Ariyan Salimi, men's flyweight winner Abolfazl Zandi, men's lightweight titleholder Amir Sina Bakhtiari, men's under-63kg gold medalist Mahdi Hajimousaei, and women's under-57kg champion Nahid Kiani.
Yasin Valizadeh earned the team's lone silver medal in the men's under-54kg division. Meanwhile, Amir Reza Sadeghian and Yalda Valinejad rounded out the impressive team performance by securing bronze medals in their respective weight classes.
The regional tournament kicked off this week, drawing more than 1,300 competitors from 43 countries. Beyond continental glory, athletes in the sparring categories are fighting for high Olympic ranking points and top-seven finishes to qualify for the upcoming Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
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