SAEDNEWS: Iranian athlete Nahid Kiani goes down fighting against her South Korean opponent Kim Yujin in taekwondo women's 57-kg final at the Paris Olympics to settle for silver, the first-ever Olympic silver medal for Iran in taekwondo.
According to SAEDNEWS, On Thursday, Kiani faced Kim from South Korea and won the silver medal after Kim defeated her in two rounds, scoring 5-1 9-0.
It's the sixth medal for Iran at 2024 Paris Olympics, the second in taekwondo. The Islamic Republic of Iran bagged four other medals in Greco-Roman wrestling -- 2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze.
The first round was accompanied by a 5-1 opponent advantage to make Nahid's work difficult. The second round ended with a 9-0 victory for the Korean player.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian congratulated Kiani's victory in the Paris Olympics.
This is the best medal in the history of Iranian sportswomen in the Olympics.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also congratulated Kiani and her coach.
He said that Kiani “made history in Iranian sports.”
“I congratulate her and her respected coach Mrs. Mino Madah and the officials of the federation,” he tweeted.
“The day is not far away when Iranian female athletes will win more medals than the men of our country in these competitions,” he said, adding, "Iranian girls can (do anything)."
First, Kiani won a crucial match against Kimia Alizadeh from Bulgaria, and then she faced the 10th-ranked Shema Toumi from Tunisia in the quarterfinals. In a breathtaking fight, she won 2-1 and entered the semi-finals.