For the First Time, an Iranian Woman Wins World Taekwondo Gold

Nahid Kiani, a 24-year-old Iranian taekwondo athlete, became the world champion in the 53 kg weight category by defeating the representative from China. She is the first Iranian woman to win a gold medal in taekwondo. In the 26th World Taekwondo Championships held in the 25,000-seat Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ms. Kiani won the final match against the Chinese athlete with a score of 2-0. In the preliminary rounds, she defeated competitors from South Korea, Hungary, Croatia, and Russia. Iranian media reported that out of the 15-member delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, only Ms. Kiani won a medal. Previously, Kimia Alizadeh was the Iranian taekwondo athlete who won a bronze medal in the 57 kg category at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Women's sports in Iran face many restrictions under the pretext of dress code, and only sports like taekwondo, where women can obtain approval from the international federation for the dress code required by the Islamic Republic, are allowed to participate globally. Some Iranian female athletes have sought asylum in other countries in protest against this mandatory hijab. The silver medal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics belongs to Saeid Mollaei; a medal that slipped away from Iran. Kimia Alizadeh expressed her love for her homeland from afar, stating, 'I kiss the soil of Khuzestan; I am a child of Iran.' Despite her remarkable victories, Kimia Alizadeh missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics after losing to Nahid Kiani, who competed alongside her at the Tokyo Olympics.