Paris Olympics: 20-year-old Arian Salimi clinches gold in taekwondo, third for Iran
Iran’s Arian Salimi comes from behind to defeat his British opponent Caden Cunningham 2-1 in the men's taekwondo +80-kg final to clinch a gold medal, third for Iran at the Paris Olympics.
The 20-year-old lost the first round to Cunningham before trouncing his opponent in two breathtaking subsequent rounds.
Arian Salimi comes from behind to defeat his British opponent Caden Cunningham 2-1 in the men's taekwondo +80kg final to clinch gold medal, third for Iran at the Paris Olympics.#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/l50xryVeWn
— Press TV at Paris Olympics (@presstvsports) August 10, 2024
The run-up match had seen Salimi defeating former taekwondo world champion Ivan Šapina from Croatia 2-1 to advance to the final.
President Masoud Pezeshkian felicitated Salimi on the occasion in a post on the X social media platform, praising his “powerfully-achieved” gold medal, and commending him for enlightening the hearts of the nation. Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf also congratulated the athlete in a similar post, calling him an “indefatigable” sportsman.
Salimi’s epic triumph came 16 years after Hadi Saei, former taekwondoka and the current head of the Iranian Taekwondo Federation, bagged a gold for the Islamic Republic in Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Salimi’s victory also helped the country break its taekwondo Olympic performance.
Earlier in the games, Iran’s Mehran Barkhordari and Nahid Kiani had snatched two silvers for the country, while Mobina Nematzadeh had earned a bronze.
This is the best the country’s taekwondokas have performed since bagging a gold and a silver in Athens Olympics in 2004.
Including Salimi’s gold, Iranian athletes have so far earned 10 medals for the country, namely three golds, five silvers, and two bronzes.
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