(Photo World Taekwondo)
Para Taekwondo returned to the French capital in style as 113 athletes from 30 countries battled for gold across 10 weight categories at the World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix. Gold medals were shared among seven different countries with Brazil, Mexico and Russia winning more than once.
The home crowd at the Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan in Levallois-Perret had hoped for a gold medal as the finals got underway with the W K44 -47kg. Mexico’s Claudia Romero proved too strong, however, sweeping Paris 2024 bronze medallist Zakia Khudadadi of France in two rounds to add to her Roma Grand Prix gold.
The K44 M -58kg final saw Paralympic champion Asaf Yasur of Israel put an end to Azerbaijan’s Sabir Zeynalov run of titles in Rome and Muju. Yasur clinched gold in two rounds to put himself back on the top of the podium for his first Grand Prix gold of the season.
In a repeat of the W K44 -52kg Roma Grand Prix and European Championships finals, Ana Japaridze of Georgia and Türkiye’s two-time Paralympic medallist Meryem Betül Çavdar went head to head for gold. The fiercely contested matchup saw Ana Japaridze come out on top 2-1 in a battle for gold that remained undecided until the final second of the last round.
In the M K44 -63kg final, Paralympic champion Mahmut Bozteke of Türkiye continued his winning streak in Paris. He overcame Israel’s Adnan Milad 2-0 to take his third Grand Prix gold having also topped the podium in both Rome and Muju.
The M K44 -63kg category also saw history made as Ebrahim Samqa won Bahrain’s first ever medal in a World Para Taekwondo event, having lost to the eventual champion Mahmut Bozteke in the semifinals.
The W K44 -57kg category saw an all-Brazilian final in which Silvana Mayara Cardoso Fernandes clinched her third consecutive Grand Prix gold with a commanding 12-6, 22-0 performance over Roma silver medallist Maria Eduarda Machado Stumpf.
In the M K44 -70kg final, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Juan Diego García López overcame Brazil’s Valter Sedano Delfino de Oliveira 2-0 to add to his title in Muju and claim Mexico’s second gold of the evening.
Reigning Paralympic champion Ana Carolina Silva de Moura of Brazil clinched victory over home favourite and Paris 2024 Paralympic silver medallist Djelika Diallo in the W K44 -65kg final, taking home Brazil’s second gold of the Paris 2026 World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix.
Nurlan Dombayev of Kazakhstan prevented Brazil from taking a third gold of the evening, overcoming Brazil’s Joel Gomes Da Silva in the M K44 -80kg final to claim a gold to go alongside his silver in Muju and bronze in Rome.
In the W K44 +65kg final, Russia’s Elena Savinskaia added to her Roma 2026 World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix silver medal by beating European silver medallist Greece’s Eleni Papastamatopoulou.
The night ended with a repeat of the Muju and Paris 2024 Paralympic finals in the M K44 +80kg, as Russia’s Aliaskhab Ramazanov and Great Britain’s Matt Bush went head to head. The battle for gold did not disappoint, with both trading blows until the final seconds of the third round. It was Aliaskhab Ramazanov who eventually came out on top 4-6, 10-8, 8-5 to claim a consecutive Grand Prix gold following his triumph in Muju and Russia’s second of the competition.
Paris will now host the first of three days of competition at the third World Taekwondo Grand Prix event of the year, featuring the W+67kg, M-58kg, M+80kg categories.
