It was reported in Tehran that Abolfazl Zandi and Aryan Salimi secured two titles for Iran on the opening day of the Kyorugi competition.
Iran won two out of three competitions held as part of the 2026 Paris Taekwondo Grand Prix. The event took place at the Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan in Levallois-Perret.
Iran Secures Double Gold in Paris-Levallois 2026
Zandi won his first Grand Prix gold by defeating the Korean Olympic champion Tae Joon Park in the men's -58 kg final. After a tense first round, Zandi gained an advantage in the second round, which Park could not compensate for.
The Iranian athlete advanced to the final after Hussein Fraile Rodriguez from Spain exited the semi-finals after the first round. Park reached the final by defeating Jafar Aldaud from Jordan with a score of 2–0 in the semi-final. Prior to that, he beat Yoon Soo Seo from Korea, the world champion in the -54 kg weight class, in the quarter-finals. Fraile Rodriguez and Aldaud took the bronze medals.
Furthermore, Salimi defeated Kayden Cunningham from Great Britain with a score of 2–1 in the men's +80 kg final. This result replicated the outcome of their gold match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Cunningham won the first round with a score of 14–9, but the reigning Olympic champion responded by winning the second round with a score of 13–9. Salimi then secured the decisive third round with a score of 11–7 to win Iran's second title of the day. Salimi previously defeated Seifa Issu from Egypt, the reigning world champion in the -87 kg weight class, in the semi-final, thus interrupting Issu's attempt to win consecutive Grand Prix titles after his victory in Muju.
Cunningham overcame Motaza Ifaoui from Tunisia, who had previously eliminated the two-time Italian world champion Simone Alessio during the tournament. Issu and Ifaoui won the bronze medals.