Iran named Taekwondo World Championships winners as Kenya finish empty-handed

The 2025 Taekwondo World U-21 Championships hosts, Kenya, ended their dismal campaign on Saturday without a single medal following a lackluster performance in the four-day extravaganza being held at the Kasarani Indoor Arena.

The intense global showdown attracted 77 countries out of the expected 80, featuring 450 athletes battling for top honors across various weight categories.

Despite strong home support, the Kenyan team showed fighting spirit but was eliminated in the preliminary stages across all categories over the four days of competition.

Iran emerged as the overall winners, topping the medal table with 10 medals—4 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze—underlining their dominance.

Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) followed closely in second place with the highest total medal haul of 11 (3 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze).

Turkey finished third with 5 medals, including 3 gold, while South Korea also collected 5 medals, largely through silver finishes (4 silver and 1 gold).

Greece placed fifth with 6 medals, most of them bronze (5 bronze and 1 silver).

In the rest of the standings, Kazakhstan secured 2 gold and 1 bronze, while Morocco earned 1 gold and 2 bronze. Egypt and Tunisia tied with two medals each, picking up one gold and one bronze apiece.

Spain won three silver medals, and Brazil walked away with four bronze medals. Several other nations, including India, Bulgaria, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Jordan, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and the United States, also made podium appearances with one or two medals each, highlighting the global spread of talent at the championships.

During the closing ceremony, Kenya officially handed over the championship flag to Bulgaria, the hosts of the 2027 World Taekwondo U-21 Championships.

Fresh from her golden triumph, Tunisia’s Wafa Masghouni, who clinched the 62 kg gold medal, expressed her joy and pride after the final bout.

"I am strong and ambitious, and my family has always supported me to stay focused on training. Here I am with the gold,” she said jubilantly.

The global taekwondo community, led by World Taekwondo President Dr. Chungwon Choue, joined athletes and officials in a vibrant carnival-like celebration to mark the final medal tally, bringing down the curtain on an inaugural and unforgettable U-21 Championships in Nairobi.