The Para Grand Prix in Paris confirmed one thing – Para Taekwondo is as competitive as ever.
The people on the podiums didn’t surprise many, but the places they stood raised a few eyebrows.
In perhaps the biggest upset of the day, Spain’s Dalia Moreno upended Uzbekistan’s reigning Paralympic, World, Asian, and Para Grand Prix champion Guljonoy Naimova to win her first Para GP title and end the great champion’s winning streak dating to before Tokyo 2020.
In another stunning result, Brazil’s Ana Carolina Silva de Moura won her first major competition – and beat the top three women on her way to gold. After failing to medal at the first Para GP, Silva de Moura topped Turkey’s reigning world champion, Great Britain’s reigning European champion Beth Munro, and Denmark’s reigning Paralympic champion Lisa Gjessing in impressive fashion to win gold in Paris.
Uzbekistan’s Asad Toshtemirov announced he’s ready to compete in the always surprising -80 kg group. After winning bronze in Sofia, Toshtemirov beat three Paralympians to claim gold.
Turkey dominated the day, winning seven medals from 10 events, including three gold from four finalists.
Mahmut Bozteke and Meryem Cavdar won their second straight Para GP titles, while Gamze Gurdal flipped the script on Brazil’s Silvana Cardoso to turn silver into gold. Paralympian Fatih Celik won silver in -70 kg, falling to Mexico’s nearly unstoppable Juan Diego Garcia Lopez, and improving on his QF loss in Sofia.
Other Paris Para Grand Prix winners include: Israel’s Asaf Yasur in -58 kg, Mongolia’s Enkhtuya Khurelbaatar in -47 kg, and the USA’s Evan Medell in +80 kg.
WT
