Gymnasiade: National taekwondo team wins six medals on opening day

The opening day of taekwondo competitions at the ISF U-15 World School Sport Games in Serbia has been a success for the Azerbaijani national team, which achieved a total of six medals.

Held in the city of Pozega, the events showcased impressive performances by both Azerbaijani girls and boys.

In the girls' category, Rugayya Aliyeva (33 kg) secured gold by defeating Brazil's Maria Heloisa de Almeida in the final. Madina Aslanl? (29 kg) earned silver after losing to Thailand's Anya Khansuki in the championship round. Meanwhile, Mehriban Ismayilli (44 kg) and Gulnaz Abdullayeva (59 kg) both took home bronze medals following their semifinal defeats to Taiwan's Vui-Ni Chang and China's Du Ruisi, respectively.

In the boys' competitions, Abil Mehreli (45 kg) claimed silver after being defeated in the finals by Iran's Martia Shamsizadeh, while Saleh Heydarov (53 kg) won bronze after suffering a semifinal loss to a Brazilian opponent.

Other Azerbaijani athletes, including Sabir Mammadli (33 kg), Nijat Nadirov (41 kg), Aysu Aslanl? (41 kg), and Hagigat Alasgarli (51 kg), reached the quarterfinals but did not progress further.

The Azerbaijani team will continue their efforts on April 9, with 10 more taekwondo athletes set to compete.

The ISF U-15 World School Sport Games is taking place in Serbia on April 4-14.

Azerbaijan has sent a delegation of 192 athletes participating in 18 different sports, including artistic gymnastics in Novi Sad, archery, 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, chess, tennis in Zlatibor, badminton, para-badminton, swimming, para-swimming, table tennis in Uzice, taekwondo, karate in Pozega, judo, wrestling in Lucani, fencing in Nova Varoš, and athletics in Priboj.

The World Gymnasiade is a prominent international multi-sport event organized by the International School Sport Federation (ISF) and is the largest of the various competitions conducted by the ISF. It is designed for individuals aged 13 to 18.

According to current regulations, the Gymnasiade program includes twelve mandatory individual sports and five optional sports, selected by the organizing committee.

The mandatory sports are archery, athletics, boxing, chess, fencing, gymnastics, judo, karate, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, and wrestling.

For the 2018 edition, the organizing committee included optional sports like petanque, road cycling, surfing, and golf.

The inaugural Gymnasiade took place in 1974 in Wiesbaden, Germany, featuring only gymnastics, athletics, and swimming.

Since its inception, the event has evolved significantly, with the 2018 edition in Morocco setting a record with over 3000 young athletes from 58 countries, making it the largest and first international multi-sport event for youth in Africa.

The most recent edition occurred in May 2022 in Normandy, France.