News / Sports

Iranian taekwondo fighters snatch 2 medals in intl. tourney

Sunday, 06 December 2015 1:14 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 06 December 2015 1:13 PM ]

Iranian silver medalist Farzan Ashourzadeh Fallah (L), South Korean gold medalist contestant Kim Tae-hun (C) and Mexican bronze medalist Cesar Rodriguez pose for a photograph during the awarding ceremony for the male minus 58-kg category of the 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final at the Sala de Armas Gymnasium in Mexico City, Mexico, December 5, 2015.

Iranian taekwondo practitioners have collected two medals, including one silver, in the 2015 World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Grand Prix Final in Mexico.

On Saturday, 19-year-old Farzan Ashourzadeh Fallah received the silver medal in the seniors male minus 58-kilogram weight division after he conceded defeat to Kim Tae-hun, a contestant from South Korea, 2-3 in the final encounter of the category held at the Sala de Armas Gymnasium in Mexico City.

The young Iranian athlete had earlier overpowered his Argentine and Mexican opponents in his march to the final.

Mexico’s Cesar Rodriguez earned the hosts the bronze medal as he triumphed over Rui Braganca from Portugal in the third-place contest.

Moldovan silver medalist Aaron Cook (L), British gold medalist athlete Lutalo Muhammad (C) and Iranian bronze medalist Masoud Hajizavareh pose for a photograph during the awarding ceremony for the men’s minus 58-kg category of the 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final at the Sala de Armas Gymnasium in Mexico City, Mexico, December 5, 2015.

Earlier in the day, Masoud Hajizavareh managed to defeat Russian taekwondo athlete Albert Gaun 5-4 in his final challenge, and grabbed the bronze for Iran.

The 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final started in Mexico’s capital city of Mexico City on December 5, and will finish the next day. The tournament has brought together dozens of male and female taekwondo practitioners from a number of countries, including Britain, China, France, Iran, Moldova, Thailand and Turkey.

Gold medalists will add 80 points to their qualification rankings for the 32nd edition of Olympic Games scheduled to be staged between August 5 and August 21 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, with 789 athletes participating in the sporting event.

Silver and bronze medalists in the Mexico taekwondo tournament will also add 48 and 28.8 points respectively to their 2016 Summer Olympics qualification rankings.

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