The Iranian men's national taekwondo team has impressed the spectators at the 26th edition of the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Vietnam and has been crowned as the champion of the continental sporting event after eight years.
On Saturday, the Islamic Republic of Iran stood on top of the podium with a total of nine medals-- three gold, three silvers and three bronzes.
South Korea finished in second place with ten medals-- three gold, two silvers and five bronzes.
China landed in the third slot, having earned two gold and four bronze medals.
Iran’s Arian Salimi bagged a gold medal in the over 87-kilogram weight class after defeating South Korean rival Park Woo-hyeok in the final contest.
Mehdi Haji Mousaei beat Park Tae-joon from South Korea in the men’s minus 58-kilogram final.
Mohammad Hossein Yazdani won a gold medal by defeating his countryman Mehran Barkhordari in the men’s -87kg final.
Ali Khoshravesh lost to Uzbekistan’s Jasurbek Jaysunov in the final competition of the men’s minus 80-kilogram weight category.
Abolfazl Zandi and Matin Rezaei also earned two bronze medals in the men’s minus 58-kilogram and men’s minus 63-kilogram divisions respectively.
Moreover, Melika Mirhosseini claimed a silver medal in the women’s -73kg and Saeideh Nasiri snatched a bronze medal in the women’s -46kg.
The 2024 Asian Taekwondo Championships were held from May 16 to 18 at Tiên Sơn Sports Palace in the eastern Vietnamese city of Da Nang.
A total of 244 athletes from 33 Asian countries competed in the tournament.