One competitor wore a veil, while the other fought with her head uncovered. Nahid Kiyani Chandeh and Kimia Alizadeh, who used to be friends and roommates on the junior Iran taekwondo team, now find themselves worlds apart.
On Thursday at the Paris Olympics, they faced each other in the 57-kilogram taekwondo division. Alizadeh, who defected from Iran, was defeated in her attempt to win a gold medal for her new country, Bulgaria.
Kiyani Chandeh, the reigning world champion, won after a tense match that ended in a tie with both fighters having seven points each in the third round. The referee decided the winner after Kiyani Chandeh scored a decisive kick to the head with just six seconds remaining.
Alizadeh was the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal, securing bronze in Rio de Janeiro at age 18. Her success made her famous, but she became disillusioned with life in Iran.
She criticized the mandatory hijab and accused Iranian officials of sexism when she announced she was leaving the country four years ago, describing herself as “one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran.”
After moving to Germany, she joined the Refugee Olympic Team and nearly won a bronze medal in Tokyo. In April, she left the IOC team when she received Bulgarian citizenship.
Thursday’s round-of-16 match was a chance for Kiyani Chandeh to seek revenge for her loss to Alizadeh in Tokyo. The two had been roommates at Iran’s national training center during their younger years.
