Brazil, Korea and Hungary triumph

Brazil, Korea and Hungary claimed gold on an exciting second day of the Paris World Taekwondo Grand Prix, with titles decided in the W -57kg, M -68kg and W -67kg at the Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan. 

Brazil’s Maria Clara Pacheco continued her dominant run with a third consecutive Grand Prix gold in the W -57kg, while Korea’s Jinho Mun made it back-to-back titles in the M -68kg. Hungary’s reigning Olympic champion Viviana Márton completed the day’s action with a stirring comeback against Côte d’Ivoire’s Ruth Gbagbi to add W -67kg gold to her triumph in Rome.

W -57kg

Having taken gold at both the Roma and Muju Grand Prix competitions, the reigning world champion Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil overcame Jordan’s Fadia Khirfan in Paris to continue her dominant run. 

Two Gam-jeoms against Khirfan gave Pacheco an early advantage in the opening round, before a head kick extended her lead. The Jordanian fought back, but Pacheco held firm to take it 5-2. 

The Brazilian took control again in the second, building a 6-0 lead with 30 seconds remaining. Khirfan mounted a late challenge, but Pacheco saw out a 6-4 win to complete another impressive day. 

Pacheco had been equally commanding in the semi-finals, beating Kazakhstan’s Mariya Sevostyanova 14-3, 16-5 after overcoming Olympic silver medallist Nahid Kiyanichandeh of Iran in the quarter-finals. Sevostyanova nevertheless celebrated her first Grand Prix medal with bronze. 

Khirfan secured her place in the final with a two-round victory over USA’s Faith Dillon, who took the other bronze. 

Silver marked Khirfan’s first Grand Prix medal, building on her fifth-place finish in Muju and gold at the Taiyuan 2026 World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships.

M -68kg

Korea’s Mun Jinho made it back-to-back Grand Prix titles in the M -68kg, following up his maiden triumph on home soil in Muju.  

Jinho overcame Uzbekistan’s Najmiddin Kosimkhojiev, the reigning -74kg world champion, in the final to continue his impressive rise. 

The pair traded scores in a fiercely contested opening round before Jinho broke clear from 4-4 with a flurry of kicks to lead 8-4. Kosimkhojiev responded strongly, but the Korean stayed ahead through a frantic finish to edge the round 14-12. 

Jinho stepped up the pace in the second, launching a series of attacks to ensure there was no way back for Kosimkhojiev and close out a dominant 10-0 win to seal gold. 

An all-Korean semi-final had pitted Jinho against established star Jun Jang, the 2019 world champion, in a fierce three-round contest. 

Jang added a 13th Grand Prix medal to his collection with bronze in Paris, having earlier overcome Roma Grand Prix champion Berkay Erer in a closely contested quarter-final 2-1. 

In the other semi-final, Kosimkhojiev showed his pedigree with a two-round victory over Jordan’s Olympic silver medallist Zaid Kareem, who claimed his fifth Grand Prix medal with bronze.

W -67kg

Hungary’s Viviana Márton continued her impressive form in the W -67kg, adding to her gold in Rome with another commanding day in Paris. 

The reigning Olympic champion overcame Côte d’Ivoire’s Ruth Gbagbi in the final. 

Márton made a quick start to the final, taking a 3-0 lead before Gbagbi hit back to level the scores. The Ivorian then took control to close out the opening round 10-5. 

Márton responded strongly in the second, landing a series of body kicks to build an 8-2 advantage. Gbagbi soon got back within two points, setting up a tense finish, but Márton held firm to take the round 10-8 and force a decider. 

The Olympic champion came out firing in the third, racing into an 11-0 lead with a minute and a half still remaining. From there, Márton was relentless, powering to a 26-5 victory. 

Márton had delivered an assured semi-final performance against Uzbekistan’s OzodaSobirjonova, winning the opening round 10-6 before pulling clear in the second to take it 9-2. 

Sobirjonova nevertheless celebrated her first Grand Prix Series medal with bronze, having knocked out Muju champion Jiani Xing of China in the quarter-finals. 

In the other semi-final, Gbagbi defeated Greece’s reigning European champion Styliani Marentaki in two rounds.  

The Paris 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix concludes tonight with competition in the W -49kg and M -80kg weight categories.