The Taiyuan 2026 World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships opened at the Shanxi Sports Centre with three champions from three different nations and nearly 60 countries represented.

Morocco, China and Great Britain shared the spotlight on the opening day of the Taiyuan 2026 World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships, held on Friday, August 28, at the Shanxi Sports Centre.

Farah Touzani, Zinuo Shen and Lauren Williams claimed the first gold medals of the third edition of the women-only competition, which World Taekwondo described as the largest in the event’s history.

Touzani delivers Morocco’s opening title

Morocco’s Farah Touzani became the first champion crowned in Taiyuan after defeating China’s Shiyi Wang in the women’s -46kg final.

China also secured a bronze medal through Xiaoting Ye, while Spain’s Violeta Díaz Arribas completed the podium in the other third-place position.

Host nation celebrates gold through Shen

China secured its first title of the Championships in the women’s -62kg division.

Zinuo Shen defeated Sofiia Motlokh in the final, while China’s Shanshan Wu and North Macedonia’s Miljana Reljiḱ earned the two bronze medals.

The result gave the host nation one gold, one silver and two bronze medals across the first two divisions contested.

Lauren Williams returns to the top of the podium

Great Britain’s Lauren Williams captured the final title of the opening day in the women’s +73kg category.

Williams, a bronze medallist at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, defeated Iran’s Hana Zarrinkamar Roudbari, a two-time junior world champion, in the gold-medal contest.

Reigning European champion Lorena Brandl of Germany and Uzbekistan’s Iroda Mirtadjieva shared the bronze medals.

A record-breaking edition in Taiyuan

The competition officially opened with a ceremony attended by World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue, Vice-President Jinbang Yang, Secretary General Jeongkang Seo and other international and Chinese sports authorities.

World Taekwondo highlighted the participation of nearly 60 countries and confirmed that Taiyuan 2026 features the largest athlete field recorded across the three editions of the Women’s Open Championships.

The event also reinforces the governing body’s commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women through sport, with some of the world’s leading female athletes competing exclusively across the women’s weight categories.

The second day of competition will award titles in the -49kg, -53kg and -73kg divisions.

Opening-day medallists

Women’s -46kg

🥇 Farah Touzani — Morocco
🥈 Shiyi Wang — China
🥉 Xiaoting Ye — China
🥉 Violeta Díaz Arribas — Spain

Women’s -62kg

🥇 Zinuo Shen — China
🥈 Sofiia Motlokh — Russia
🥉 Shanshan Wu — China
🥉 Miljana Reljiḱ — North Macedonia

Women’s +73kg

🥇 Lauren Williams — Great Britain
🥈 Hana Zarrinkamar Roudbari — Iran
🥉 Lorena Brandl — Germany
🥉 Iroda Mirtadjieva — Uzbekistan

Source: World Taekwondo

About The Author