WANA (Aug 08) – Iranian athletes enjoyed a golden start at the Chengdu 2025 World Games, China, claiming two gold medals on the opening day of competition.

 

Sara Bahmanyar, Iran’s flag bearer and women’s 50kg karateka, delivered an outstanding performance to secure the nation’s first gold medal of the Games.

 

She defeated all her opponents on the way to the top podium. In the group stage, Bahmanyar opened with a 4–0 victory — decided by referee’s decision (hantei) — over Emma Gardelli of Croatia, followed by a narrow 5–4 win against Lamia Yahyansa of Canada.

WANA - Sara Bahmanyar

Sara Bahmanyar. Social media/ WANA News Agency

She then overpowered Erminia Perfetto of Italy 11–3 to advance to the semifinals, where she edged past Algeria’s Célia Ouikene 4–3. In the final, Bahmanyar faced Mouldir Zhangirbayeva of Kazakhstan, with the bout ending scoreless, but the Iranian was declared the winner by hantei, earning the gold medal.

 

In women’s individual kata, teammate Fatemeh Sadeghi narrowly missed the podium. After advancing from the group stage, she lost in the semifinals and then fell short in the bronze medal match, finishing fourth.

 

Iran’s second gold medal of the day at Chengdu 2025 World Games came in wushu, where Shahin Bani Talebi topped the men’s taolu event in the “Nan Gun” form, outperforming all his rivals to claim the title.

Shahin Bani Talebi. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Shahin Bani Talebi. Social media/ WANA News Agency