site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria's Taekwondo Athlete Kimia Alizadeh Takes Bronze

Kimia Alizadeh of Bulgaria took bronze defeating 2022 world champion Luo Zongshi of China 2-1 (0-0, 0-4, 6-5) in a women’s -57kg taekwondo match on Thursday evening. This is the fourth medal for Bulgaria at the Paris Olympics.

South Korea's Kim Yu-jin won the under-57kg gold medal.

In the round of 16, Iranian-born Alizadeh 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). Later in the day, Kiyanichandeh made it to the final, and Alizadeh got pulled into the repechage.

Then the 26-year-old naturalized Bulgarian defeated Tunisia's Chaima Toumi 2-0 (3-2, 2-2) and Luo Zongshi.

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.