Brazil’s Maria Clara Pacheco win the women's -57kg
The Wuxi 2025 World Taekwondo Championships began with a day of thrilling competition from the world’s best athletes in the Women’s -57kg and Men’s +87kg weight categories, with Brazil’s Maria Clara Pacheco and Korea’s Sang Hyun Kang claiming the gold medals.
Since winning the bronze medal at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Pacheco has risen to number one in the world in her weight category. She has enjoyed an outstanding season with back-to-back World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge victories in Charlotte and Muju, and this was a crowning moment for the 22-year-old as she beat the Olympic champion Yu Jin Kim of Korea in two rounds in the Women’s -57kg final.
Kang was Men’s -87kg gold medallist at the Baku 2023 World Taekwondo Championships, and he starred having moved up a weight category in Wuxi with an impressive comeback against Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Rafail Aiukaev in the +87kg final. Although the powerful Aiukaev dominated the first round, Kang hit back brilliantly and celebrated a memorable victory from a pulsating encounter.
Women’s -57kg
The Women’s -57kg final brought together the two top-ranked athletes, and Pacheco began the first round in ideal fashion with a successful body kick to give her a two-point lead. She defended strongly for much of the round, and although Kim was able to respond with a body kick of her own, it was not enough to deny Pacheco the lead in the match.
That was followed by a captivating second round which ebbed and flowed. Pacheco concededfour gam-jeom and Kim had two head kicks awarded on video review, but the power and precision of the Brazilian helped her to triumph 12-10 and take gold on her World Taekwondo Championships debut.
Pacheco’s route to the final included a confident win in the semi-finals against home favourite Zongshi Luo of China, the gold medallist at the Guadalajara 2022 World Taekwondo Championships and now bronze medallist in Wuxi. Kim enjoyed a resounding semi-final victory against Jordan’s Fadia Khirfan, but her opponent was able to claim a commendable bronze on her debut at a senior World Taekwondo Championships, including a victory against the number three seed Kanelya Carabin of France in the quarter-finals.
Men’s +87kg
Aiukaev, a World Taekwondo Grand Slam Challenge winner on his last visit to Wuxi in December 2024, had the better of the first round of an exciting Men’s +87kg final, dominating proceedings with a series of punches and body kicks to give him a healthy lead, and eventually winning it 7-5.
However, Kang hit back strongly in the second round and stormed into an 8-0 lead. Aiukaevresponded with a flurry of body kicks and punches which pulled the scores back to 8-7 and piled the pressure on Kang, but he held on in the remaining seconds to take the match to a decider.
Kang then delivered an assured display in the third round, taking an early lead and managing the contest superbly to clinch it 6-2.
His victory in the final followed on from a superb performance to beat the top seed Jonathan Healy of the USA in the semi-finals, while Aiukaev was equally impressive in overcoming Great Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Caden Cunningham.
Day two of the Wuxi 2025 World Taekwondo Championships will feature competition in the Men’s -63kg and Women’s -49kg weight categories.
