Abolfazl Zandi claimed the gold medal with victory over Magomedgadzhi Magomedov (Photo World Taekwondo)
Four new world champions were crowned as the world’s best young taekwondo athletes gathered at the inaugural World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani.
In the men’s -58kg category, Iran’s recently-crowned world champion Abolfazl Zandi claimed the gold medal with victory over Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Magomedgadzhi Magomedov in the final. The bronze medals were secured by Brazil’s Gabriel Fonseca and Greece’s Konstantinos Dimitropoulos.
The women’s -49kg division produced a standout performance from AIN Milana Bekulova, the Wuxi 2025 World Taekwondo Championships silver medallist who also won bronze at the Malabo 2025 World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships last month.
Bekulova returned to winning form with a gold medal victory over Korea’s Hyang Gi Kim. Morocco’s Nezha Elaasal and Serbia’s Andrea Bokan claimed the bronze medals.
Kazakhstan’s Beibarys Kablan dominated the men’s +87kg category to take the gold medal, defeating Korea’s Jun Young Yang who earned silver. Tunisia’s Motaz Ifaoui and Iran’s Amirmohammad Ashrafi, crowned world junior champion in Chuncheon last year, both stepped onto the podium with bronze medals.
The day’s final category, the women’s +73kg division, saw Türkiye’s Zehra Begum Kavukcuoglu triumph over Greece’s Agoritsa Artemia Kitsiou in the final. Ukraine’s Mariia Kuts and Morocco’s Imane Khayari secured the bronze medals.
The World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships continue later today with competition in the women’s -57kg and -73kg categories, and the men’s -63kg and -80kg divisions, promising more world-class action from Taekwondo’s rising stars.
