Iran Claims Three Medals at World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships

Iranian taekwondo athletes have delivered an impressive performance at the World Poomsae Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea, securing three valuable medals across multiple categories.

Silver for Young Champion

Behzad Naghiei emerged as the standout performer in the individual 15–17 years category, claiming a hard-fought silver medal. The young Iranian athlete demonstrated exceptional skill, defeating formidable opponents from Italy, Great Britain, Australia, South Korea and the Philippines before narrowly losing to his Chinese Taipei rival in the final.

Naghiei's journey to the final was marked by consistently strong performances. He first overcame Nicolas Achilli of Italy 8.83 to 8.62, then defeated Britain's Lewis Axton 8.96 to 8.45. In the round of sixteen, he edged past Australia's Hashwa Kim 9.180 to 9.050, before producing an outstanding display to defeat home favourite Jin Yong Lee 9.120 to 9.100 in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-final, the Iranian competitor eliminated Angel Caldi of the Philippines 9.170 to 9.110. The final proved to be a nail-biting affair, with Naghiei narrowly losing to Min Yu Hsieh of Chinese Taipei by the slimmest of margins, 9.220 to 9.190.

Bronze Medals in Team Events

In the standard team poomsae category (over 31 years), the Iranian duo of Mahdiyeh Oghbaei and Mahdi Jamali embarked on a successful campaign. They defeated Kuwait 9.17 to 8.52, Brazil 8.96 to 8.75, and Canada 9.20 to 8.83 in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals. In a closely contested semi-final against Vietnam, they secured a bronze medal for Iran.

Iranian representatives also made history in the creative poomsae section. Whilst Sana Shaigan reached the final in the individual under-17 category but fell short of a medal with a score of 7.520, the team of Hananeh Ahmadi and Yasin Akbari achieved a landmark result.

Historic Creative Poomsae Medal

In the creative team poomsae (over 17 years), Ahmadi and Akbari qualified from the preliminary round as the third-placed team. In a tightly contested final, they scored 8.920, securing joint third place alongside world powers China, South Korea and Canada—marking the first time Iran has won a medal in the creative poomsae section at a world championship.

The World Poomsae Championships are taking place from 15 to 19 September in Chuncheon, South Korea, with Iran fielding a 17-strong squad at this prestigious global event.