WUXI, China - China's young athletes Chen Ximin and Huang Kefen took bronze medals at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships on Wednesday, while Tunisia and Iran each took home a gold.
In the women's 62-kilogram semifinal, 19-year-old national champion Chen faced Viviana Marton of Hungary, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion in the women's 67kg category.
Marton took an early lead in the first round with a body kick, but Chen fought back to tie the score at 2-2. However, Marton won the round narrowly on technical advantage. In the second round, Marton landed several clean kicks to extend her lead. Despite Chen's relentless attacks in the closing moments, she lost 11-5 and missed a spot in the final.
"I definitely have a gap compared to my opponent. Her speed and power are above mine. But it's an honor to compete against an Olympic champion," Chen said. "In my future training, I'll focus on improving my strength, footwork and learning her rhythm."
In the women's 62kg final, Marton faced 17-year-old Wafa Masghouni of Tunisia. Both rounds were closely contested, ending 7-7 and 0-0. However, Masghouni won both rounds on technical and point advantages, edging Marton 2-0 to claim the gold medal. Gabriella Blewitt of Australia earned the other bronze medal.
"I've faced Viviana before, and she is incredibly strong, as we all know. I lost to her before, but I believed in myself and told myself I had to take my revenge," Masghouni said after her victory.
In the men's 58kg semifinal, 19-year-old Huang Kefen lost 2-0 to Abolfazl Zandi of Iran, who went on to win the gold medal. Individual Neutral Athlete Georgii Gurtsiev took silver, and Gashim Magomedov of Azerbaijan claimed the other bronze.
"I feel the biggest gain is getting to spar with so many top international taekwondo athletes. It really helped me improve my skills and understanding. Compared to last time, the gap between me and my semifinal opponent has gotten smaller," Huang said.
The championships will conclude on Thursday with the men's 74kg and women's 53kg competitions.
