Alwaght- Iranian female taekwondo practitioner Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorian won the bronze medal in the -57kg class of taekwondo competitions at the Rio 2016 Olympics, becoming the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Kimia Alizadeh defeated Sweden’s Nikita Glasnovic 5-1 on Thursday in the semi-finals bout of women’s featherweight category in the Olympics Competitions.
The 18-year-old Iranian athlete won Nikita Glasnovic of Sweden after winning her repechage match with Thailand’s Phannapa Harnsujin 14-10.
“I wish I had made history with a gold medal… I thank God that I made history with my bronze to pave the way for other Iranian women,” Alizadeh said.
"I am very excited and I want to thank my parents and my coach. They really stand behind me and I am so happy," she added.
Alizadeh had lost 8-7 in the quarter-finals to Eva Calvo Gomez of Spain, but was handed a repechage place once the Spaniard made the final.
The Iranian medalist won the 2014 Youth Olympics, and last year took the bronze medal at the world championships, beating Jones in her matches.
The Iranian Olympians have so far grabbed five medals in the Rio games, two Gold in men’s weightlifting and two bronzes in men’s wrestling in addition to Kimia’s yesterday bronze medal.
