World Poomsae Championship: Iranian Women's Shine in South America

The national women's and men's poomsae teams of Iran concluded their participation in the 10th World Championship with a total of 14 medals including gold, silver, and bronze. Poomsae is overseen by national taekwondo federations worldwide and is one of the most important educational aspects of martial arts. Iran secured two gold medals, three silver, and nine bronze, finishing in eighth place globally, with both golds won by female athletes. The competition took place in Lima, the capital of Peru, where the South Korean national team emerged as champions, followed by Turkey in second place, and the USA and China in third and fourth. The women's team included Reyhaneh Omrani, Marjan Salehshori, Mahsa Sadeghi, Fatemeh Ghasemi, Atousa Farahmand, Sona Razaghi, and Fariba Nazm-deh, led by head coach Fatemeh Asadpour and Negar Malamadkhani. The men's team comprised Sepehr Abdi, Hamidreza Hatami, Ali Salmani, Mohammad Taghi Hatami, Hossein Ali Nazari, Ghorban Delshad, Hedayat Aryanfar, Amirreza Mehrban, Ali Sohrabi, Mohammadjavad Khairi, Ali Nadali, Kourosh Bakhtiar, Mehdi Jamali, Mehdi Samadian Tabar, and Hossein Mousinia, under the guidance of Mohammad Taghi Hatami and Hamid Nazari. The presence of about 800 poomsae practitioners from 52 countries and the visual appeal of the poomsae competitions attracted a large audience. The events were held in South America, coinciding with the World Futsal Championship in Colombia, yet many venues were largely empty. In the 31 to 40 age category, Atousa Farahmand, Sona Razaghi, and Fariba Nazm-deh achieved the highest scores from the judges and stood on the top podium. In the same age category and individual competitions, Atousa Farahmand led to secure Iran's second gold medal. Earlier this year, the organizing committee of the Asian Poomsae Championship had named Atousa Farahmand as the most technical female player in Asia at the end of the fourth edition of the competition. Farahmand won a gold medal in the individual category for those over 30 years and a silver in the team event. These successes were repeated at the world championships, this time with both of her medals being gold. In the children’s category, Sepehr Abdi finished second. In the team doubles for those over 31 years, Iran achieved the runner-up position. In individual events, Ali Salmani added another silver medal to Iran's collection. In the mixed youth competition, Amirreza Mehrban and Reyhaneh Omrani represented Iran and finished in third place. Mehrban, who suffers from hemophilia, received significant applause from the large audience present in the hall for his performance alongside Reyhaneh Omrani. Due to the mixed-gender nature of the competition, it has never been broadcast, even recorded, by Iranian state media. In the women’s team competition, Iran, with the combination of Marjan Salehshori, Mahsa Sadeghi, and Fatemeh Ghasemi, won a bronze medal. The men's team also achieved the same title with Mohammadjavad Khairi, Ali Nadali, and Kourosh Bakhtiar. In the under-30 category, Mehdi Jamali finished third, and in the doubles event for under-30s, Iran also won a bronze medal. In the veterans' competitions, Mohammad Taghi Hatami, Ali Salmani, and Mehdi Samadian Tabar secured third place.