Refugee taekwondo athlete Kasra Mehdipournejad bows out in Olympic debut with a victory under the belt
Refugee taekwondo athlete Kasra Mehdipournejad bowed out of his first Olympic Games in Paris 2024 going down with a fight in the +80kg division on Saturday (10 August).
The Iran-born fighter got his Olympic campaign, representing the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, off to a winning start with a hard-fought victory over Papua New Guinea’s Gibson Kaogo Mara in their opening bout.
Mara won the first round by a narrow one point before Mehdipournejad earned resounding victories in the second and third to reach the round of 16.
He next faced a formidable opponent in Rio 2016 champion and reigning +80kg world champion Cheick Sallah Cisse of Cote d’Ivoire. Cisse won the gold medal in the 80kg division in Rio 2016 becoming Cote d'Ivoire's first Olympic champion in any sport.
Wearing red, Mehdipournejad went on the offensive to get the first points on the board. But Cisse showed his class as he took control of the match to win the first round 6-12.
Cisse had found his stride in the second round with a 13-1 win to end Mehdipournejad’s hopes of making it into medals territory.
Once a national champion for his country, Mehdipournejad has tasted success in recent years including gold medals at the Dutch and Belgian Opens in 2018. He also won gold and silver at the Polish and Austrian Opens respectively in 2019.