Masghouni Wafa of Tunisia defeats Spain’s Elsa Secanell Charles in the women’s -62kg final (Photo WT)
Masghouni Wafa of Tunisia completed a sweep of junior, senior and under-21 world titles by winning the Women’s -62kg final World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships in Kasarani.
The reigning African and Arab champion defeated Spain’s Elsa Secanell Charles in the final to complete her collection.
AIN Anastasiia Bannova placed joint-third, with Canada’s Ella Brewster matching the bronze she won at the Chuncheon 2024 World Taekwondo Junior Championships.
Berkay Erer of Türkiye took the first gold of the day in the Men’s -68kg category, overcoming Korea’s Jin Ho Mun in the final. Bronze medals went to Iran’s Matin Rezaei, the former world junior champion, and Egypt’s Omar Muhammad Fathy.
AIN Alisa Angelova clinched Women’s -46kg gold with victory against the reigning world junior champion Yu Min Lee of Korea. Vasiliki Papadopoulou of Greece and Julia Silva Nazario of Brazil took the bronze medals.
The Men’s -87kg event was won by Kazakhstan’s Batyrkhan Toleugali, who added to the World Taekwondo Junior Championships gold he won at Sofia 2022.
He defeated Iran’s Mohammad Alizadeh in the final to triumph in Kenya’s capital. Recently-crowned world champion Henrique Marques Rodrigues Fernandes of Brazil had to settle for bronze, and was joined on the podium by AIN Vladislav Budin.
Türkiye topped the women’s team standings, with Korea finishing second and Morocco third. In the men’s competition, Iran claimed first place in the team standings, ahead of Türkiye in second and Kazakhstan in third.
The inaugural edition of the World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships successfully provided a platform for the world’s best young athletes to showcase their talents. The next edition will take place in Samokov, Bulgaria in 2027.
The Closing Ceremony also featured individual and team awards, which were presented as follows:
• Most Valuable Player Men – Mr Abolfazl Zandi (Iran, M -58kg Champion)
• Most Valuable Player Women – Ms Milana Bekulova (AIN, W -49kg Champion)
• Active Participation Award – Kenya
• Good Fighting Spirit Award – India
• Best Team Coach Men – Mr Majid Aflaki (Iran)
• Best Team Coach Women – Mr Suat Hasturk (Türkiye)
• Best Referee Men – Mr Yohannes Bogale Sima (Ethiopia)
• Best Referee Women – Ms Dania Gonzalez Cancino (Chile)
