Top seeds dominate and Milán Cánovas stuns as Roma 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix roars to life
ROME, Italy (June 5, 2026) – A dramatic opening day of the Roma 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix at the Foro Italico saw two top seeds settle blockbuster rematches of previous finals with gold, while Spain’s Juan Antonio Milán Cánovas sprang a huge surprise.
Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil in the W -57kg and Viviana Márton of Hungary in the W -67kg celebrated the latest victory of their glittering careers, while Milán Cánovas took M -80kg gold as the 27th seed.
Prior to the semi-finals, the World Taekwondo Performance Team joined with the Italian Taekwondo Federation’s (FITA) Ciao Team for a thrilling showcase of their talents.
W -57kg
The first final of the Roma 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix brought a rematch of the gold-medal clash at the Wuxi 2025 World Taekwondo Championships, as the top two seeds Pacheco and Yu Jin Kim of Korea battled their way through from the round of 16 without losing a round.
It was Pacheco who remained in imperious form in the gold medal match – the reigning world champion won the first round 6-2, and delivered a dominant display in the second to triumph 14-2.
The under-21 world champion Amina Dehhaoui of Morocco enjoyed a fine run to the semi-finals before losing out to Pacheco, while in the other half of the draw third seed Ella Brewster of Canada was edged out Kim.
M -80kg
The M -80kg weight category produced the day’s biggest upset as Milán Cánovas powered his way to gold.
His crowning moment came with a stunning victory in the final against the reigning world champion and 2025 World Taekwondo Male Athlete of the Year Henrique Marques Rodrigues Fernandes of Brazil.
Milán Cánovas clinched both rounds in emphatic fashion, winning the first 15-4 and the second 22-5.
In the semi-finals, Milán Cánovas had lost his first round of the day to USA’s CJ Nickolas, a two-time World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge winner in 2025, who claimed an emphatic 18-1 win. Nickolas appeared to be on his way to the final in the second round, but Milán Cánovas produced a wonderful late flourish to take it 9-7, and completed a superb turnaround by winning the third 11-9.
In the other half of the draw, Rodrigues Fernandes also had to recover from losing the first round to beat recently-crowned European champion Stefan Takov of Serbia.
W -67kg
Another notable rematch came in the third final of the day, as Márton faced Serbia’s Aleksandra Perišić in a repeat of the final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
It was Márton who once again emerged victorious in Rome with a typically strong performance, clinching the first round of the final 12-4 and the second 10-2.
That completed a run to gold in which top seed Márton did not lose a round, including her semi-final victory against Korea’s Hyo Rim Hong.
Perišić also enjoyed an excellent day to progress to the final, including winning a three-round match in the semi-final against Greece’s -67kg European champion Styliani Marentaki.
Day two of the Roma 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix tomorrow will feature competition in the W +67kg and the M -68kg and +80kg.
About The Author
Descubre más desde MASTKD
Suscríbete y recibe las últimas entradas en tu correo electrónico.
