site.btaBulgaria's Kimia Alizadeh Qualifies for Women's Taekwondo Repechage at Paris Olympics

Kimia Alizadeh of Bulgaria qualified for the women’s -57 kg taekwondo repechage at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

The Iranian-born lost to the world champion in the -53kg and 2022 Asian Championships gold medallist Nahid Kiyanichandeh of Iran, 1-2 (10-7, 5-6, 7-7), in the round of 16. Later in the day, Kiyanichandeh made it to the final, and Alizadeh got pulled into the repechage.

The 26-year-old naturalized Bulgarian will face Tunisia’s Chaima Toumi on Thursday evening. If Alizadeh wins, she will advance to a bronze medal match against 2022 world champion Luo Zongshi of China.

Having received a Bulgarian passport this spring, Alizadeh has already brought this country a gold medal from the 2024 European Championships in Belgrade, where she competed in the -62kg weight class.

Alizadeh is taking part in the Olympic Games for the third time. Prior to playing for Bulgaria in Paris, she competed two times for Iran. The athlete was the first woman in the sports history of Iran to win a medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. She placed fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, representing the Refugee Olympic team. Alizadeh also won a gold medal at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.