TEHRAN – Iran’s Matin Rezaei won a bronze medal in the first day of the Baku 2023 World Taekwondo Championships on Monday.

In the men’s -68kg, number 1 seed Bradley Sinden from Britain won the gold in commanding style. The silver medal went to Ho-Jun Jin of Korea and the bronzes were won by Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Rashitov and Matin Rezaei of Iran.

Sinden had met 17-year-old Matin Rezaei in the semi-final and his experience shone through as he recorded a commanding 2-0 victory.

In the second of the semi-finals, Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Ulugbek Rashitov was just three seconds away from booking his place in the final when Jin landed a kick to the body to take the match to a third round.

In the final round, Rashitov was again less than 10 seconds away from the win when again Jin landed a kick to the body to win the round and match 2-1.

The 2023 World Taekwondo Championships is the 26th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships and is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 29 May to 4 June.