WANA (May 21) – The Asian Taekwondo Championships began in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with a brilliant performance by the Iranian team. Aryan Salimi, Iran’s celebrated heavyweight fighter and Paris Olympic gold medalist, claimed the gold medal in the +87 kg category.

 

The 27th edition of the Asian Taekwondo Championships kicked off on Thursday in the Mongolian capital, featuring 338 athletes from 31 countries. On the opening day, Iran earned one gold and one silver medal.

 

On his road to the final, Salimi defeated opponents from Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, and South Korea to advance confidently to the championship match. In the final, he faced Uzbekistan’s Merat Maulonov in a thrilling contest that lasted until the very final seconds.

 

Salimi lost the first round but bounced back in the second. In the decisive third round, while trailing 10–9, the Iranian fighter delivered a spectacular last-second kick to score three crucial points, securing both victory and the Asian gold medal.

 

In another major event on the opening day, Yasin Vali-Zadeh delivered an impressive performance in the -54 kg division. After defeating competitors from Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and fellow Iranian Mehdi Rezmian, he advanced to the final. However, he was defeated by Jordan’s Jaafar Al-Dawood and settled for the silver medal.

 

Masoumeh Ranjbar, Fatemeh Ahmadi, and Mehdi Rezmian were Iran’s other representatives on the first day, but they were unable to win medals.

 

Iran’s national taekwondo team will continue its campaign at the Asian Championships tomorrow with five more athletes in action.