NANJING, China (Aug. 20, 2014) – Iran and Azerbaijan won one gold medal each on the fourth day of the taekwondo competition at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China on Aug. 20, 2014.
In the women’s -63kg weight division, Iran’s Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin brushed aside a stiff challenge from Russia’s Yulia Turutina to win the final match 10-7 for the gold medal.
Alizadeh Zenoorin, the silver medal winner at the WTF Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games in March this year, advanced to the final match by crushing her semifinal opponent, Colombia’s Debbie Natalia Yopasa Gomez, 12-2.
The bronze medal went to Colombia’s Yopasa Gomez and host China’s Chen Zhang in the same female weight division.
Dr. Ugur Erdener, an IOC Executive Board member from Turkey, presented medals to the winners of the female weight category, together with Franjo Prot, president of the Croatian Taekwondo Federation.
In the men’s -73kg weight division, Azerbaijan’s Said Guliyev came from behind to defeat his final-match opponent, Germany’s Hamza Adnan Karim, 10-4 for the gold medal.
Guliyev, the silver medalist both at the WTF Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games and the 2014 World Junior Championships last March, reached the final match by beating Egypt’s Seif Eissa 8-1 in a semifinal match.
Iran’s Danial Salehimehr and Egypt’s Eissa each took home the bronze medal in the same male weight category.
Ung Chang, the IOC member of the Democratic Republic of Korea, presented the medals to the winners of the male weight category, together with Anatoly Terekhov, president of the Russian Taekwondo Union and a WTF Council member.
The five-day taekwondo competitions take place at the Hall D of the Nanjing International Expo Center, drawing a total of 100 young athletes from 59 countries. Twenty international referees, 10 males and 10 females, officiate at the taekwondo competitions. The taekwondo competitions feature five male and five female weight divisions, and matches of two weight categories are conducted every day.
