FUJAIRAH, UAE (May 11, 2025) - El Salvador has its first-ever Kyorugi world champion in any age category after Christopher Andre Astorga Melgar clinched a stunning victory on day two of the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships in Fujairah.
Astorga Melgar played out a captivating M -49kg final against Türkiye’s Yunus Ali Körpe at the Zayed Sports Complex, with two of the three rounds decided in the closing seconds.
The first round finished 12-12 but went the way of Astorga Melgar thanks to some vital late scoring, while Körpe dominated the second round and won it 20-7 to force a decider. Körpe led for much of the all-important third round, but Astorga Melgar again finished with a flourish to earn the most dramatic of victories and achieve an emotional gold medal.
Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Ivan Pakhomov was beaten by Astorga Melgar in the semi-finals, while Körpe overcame Joshua Sosimo Rojas, who was competing under the World Taekwondo flag.
Thailand’s Paramee Chomphuwong claimed the gold medal of the day, delivering a commanding display in the M -33kg final against AIN Amirali Kadyrov. Chomphuwong outscored his opponent 12-6 in the first round and 16-3 in the second to clinch a gold which underlined his dominance in the category, as he did not drop a single round throughout the day.
Anakin Quang of France was beaten by Chomphuwong in the semi-finals, but shared third place on the podium with Diego Refugio Gallo Orozco of Mexico.
In the W -33kg final, AIN Dinara Sheripova triumphed over Nadja Babic of Serbia, winning the first round 5-2 and the second 10-6.
Sheripova had earlier beaten Thailand’s Thipanan Iemsa-Ard in the semi-finals, while Babic recovered from losing the first round to defeat Egypt’s Jana Yousry Omar Mohamed.
Shao Yen Wu of Chinese Taipei was the final gold medallist of the day, edging a close W -55kg final against Iran’s Dorsa Veisi. Both rounds finished 3-2 to Wu.
Renata Hernandez of Mexico and Berfin Avci of Türkiye earned bronzes with their runs to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Wu and Veisi respectively.
Day three of the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships will feature competition in the M -45kg, M +65kg, W -47kg and W -51kg.
