WANA (Nov 30) – Atousa Golshadnezhad won the gold medal at the World Karate Championships — the first-ever world senior gold medal for Iranian women’s karate.

 

The World Karate Championships, which began on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt with participants from 87 countries, concludes today with the bronze-medal and final matches in various weight categories.

 

In the women’s 61 kg final, Atousa Golshadnezhad faced Li Gang, the world champion and gold medalist of the Hangzhou Asian Games from China. Despite trailing 2–0, Atousa made a strong comeback to claim victory and secure the gold.

 

With this gold, Atousa made history by earning Iran’s first-ever women’s world title in senior karate.

 

She first defeated Youmbi Nelly from Cameroon 8–0, then beat Otobayoa from Uzbekistan 2–1. In her third match, she drew 0–0 against Girevisia from Latvia, advancing to the round of 16 with two wins and one draw.

 

In the quarterfinals, Golshadnezhad met Barbara from Chile; after a 0–0 draw in regular time, she was declared the winner by judges’ decision. She then defeated Maria Arzua from Belarus 5–0 to reach the semifinals.

 

Iran’s karate star beat Wafa Mahjoub from Tunisia 4–1 in the semifinals and advanced to the final.

 

Saleh Abazari will also compete for gold in the men’s +84 kg final against Matteo Avanzini, the prominent Italian contender.

 

Earlier, in the women’s –50 kg category, Sara Bahmanyar, who had reached the bronze-medal match, defeated Lili Alvarado of Ecuador 3–0 and claimed the world bronze. She had also won world bronze in 2018.

Atousa Golshadnezhad. Social media / WANA News Agency

Atousa Golshadnezhad. Social media / WANA News Agency