Heavyweight taekwondo practitioner Sajjad Mardani found his way to the semifinals of World Taekwondo President’s Cup after gaining two victories where he withdrew from the tournament at the decision of the technical staff and to avoid aggravation of his injury.
Competing at +87kg weight group, Mardani struck an off draw in the first round before he overcame the Polish rival.
The Iranian taekwondoka defeated the Russian representative 5-4 en route to the semifinals where he suffered a muscle strain in both combats and refused to continue the tournament conceding to bronze medal.
Previously, Mahdi Khodabakhsh had stood on the third podium in -87kg weight category on Friday.
Iran’s outfit present at the event comprises of three taekwondo practitioners with Khodabakhsh and Mardani bagging bronze medals and Ashurzadeh dropping out of the event.
World Taekwondo President’s Cup is underway in the Bonn’s Telekom Dome in Germany from April 7-10 and has attracted more than 1,500 athletes.
The Iranian squad is scheduled to leave for Spanish Open 2016, to be held on 15-17 April.
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