Rio de Janeiro – Kimia Alizadeh claimed the first ever Olympic medal by an Iranian woman in Rio on Friday.

Alizadeh, 18, defeated Sweden’s Nikita Glasnovic 5-1 in the under-57kg division to win the historic medal.

“I am so happy for Iranian girls because it is the first medal, and I hope at the next Olympics we will get a gold,” said Alizadeh, who wears a head covering under her headguard.

"I am very excited and I want to thank my parents and my coach. They really stand behind me and I am so happy," she added.

Alizadeh won the Youth Olympics two years ago and last year she took a bronze at the world championships.

Great Britain's Jade Jones defeated Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez 16-7 to reclaim the gold medal she won at the 2012 London Games.

Iranian men have long been successful in taekwondo, with Hadi Saei winning back-to-back Olympic titles in 2004 and 2008.

Iranian weightlifters Kianoush Rostami and Sohrab Moradi have already won two gold medals in the 85kg and 94kg weight categories respectively.

In Greco-Roman wrestling, Saeid Abdevali and Ghasem Rezaei have claimed two bronze medals in the 75kg and 98kg.