Maria Clara Pacheco secured her third consecutive Grand Prix title, Jinho Mun claimed back-to-back victories and Olympic champion Viviana Márton won gold after a comeback against Ruth Gbagbi. Three more divisions were decided on the second day of Kyorugi competition.

The second day followed an opening Kyorugi session in which Iran claimed double gold through Abolfazl Zandi and Arian Salimi, while Lauren Williams returned to the top of the Grand Prix podium.

The event began on October 8 with the World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix, where seven nations shared the ten titles and Bahrain celebrated its first-ever medal at a World Para Taekwondo event.

Brazil’s Maria Clara Pacheco won women’s −57 kg, Korea’s Jinho Mun topped men’s −68 kg and Hungary’s Viviana Márton claimed women’s −67 kg. The session also brought first Grand Prix medals for Jordan’s Fadia Khirfan and Kazakhstan’s Mariya Sevostyanova, while Uzbekistan’s Ozoda Sobirjonova earned her first Grand Prix Series podium finish.

Pacheco completes a Grand Prix hat-trick

Brazil’s reigning world champion Maria Clara Pacheco defeated Jordan’s Fadia Khirfan 2–0 in the women’s −57 kg final, adding Paris gold to her victories in Rome and Muju.

Pacheco took the opening round 5–2 after an early advantage from two penalties against Khirfan and a head kick. In the second, the Brazilian established a 6–0 lead before holding off a late challenge to win 6–4.

Her route to the title included a quarterfinal victory over Iran’s Olympic silver medallist Nahid Kiyanichandeh and a semifinal win against Kazakhstan’s Mariya Sevostyanova, with round scores of 14–3 and 16–5.

Khirfan reached the final by defeating the United States’ Faith Dillon in two rounds. The Jordanian’s silver was her first Grand Prix medal, following a fifth-place finish in Muju and gold at the Taiyuan 2026 World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships.

Sevostyanova also celebrated her first Grand Prix medal, sharing bronze with Dillon.

Mun follows Muju breakthrough with another title

Korea’s Jinho Mun won his second consecutive men’s −68 kg Grand Prix title, defeating Uzbekistan’s reigning −74 kg world champion Najmiddin Kosimkhojiev in the final.

Mun edged a closely contested opening round 14–12 before taking control in the second, which he won 10–0 to secure gold in two rounds.

The Korean had survived a three-round semifinal against compatriot Jun Jang, the 2019 world champion. Jang earned his 13th Grand Prix medal with bronze after eliminating Rome champion Berkay Erer 2–1 in the quarterfinals.

Kosimkhojiev advanced to the final with a two-round victory over Jordan’s Olympic silver medallist Zaid Kareem, who collected his fifth Grand Prix medal with bronze.

Márton overturns early deficit against Gbagbi

Hungary’s Olympic champion Viviana Márton came from a round down to defeat Côte d’Ivoire’s Ruth Gbagbi 2–1 in the women’s −67 kg final.

Gbagbi won the opening round 10–5, but Márton responded with a 10–8 victory in the second to force a decider. The Hungarian then established an 11–0 lead and powered to a 26–5 win in the third, adding Paris gold to her title in Rome.

Márton reached the final by beating Uzbekistan’s Ozoda Sobirjonova 10–6 and 9–2 in the semifinals. Sobirjonova secured her first Grand Prix Series medal after eliminating China’s Muju champion Jiani Xing in the quarterfinals.

Gbagbi defeated Greece’s reigning European champion Styliani Marentaki in two rounds in the other semifinal. Marentaki and Sobirjonova completed the podium with bronze.

All medallists — Paris-Levallois 2026, Kyorugi Day 2

Women’s −57 kg

• 🥇 Maria Clara Pacheco — Brazil.
• 🥈 Fadia Khirfan — Jordan.
• 🥉 Mariya Sevostyanova — Kazakhstan.
• 🥉 Faith Dillon — United States.

Women’s −67 kg

• 🥇 Viviana Márton — Hungary.
• 🥈 Ruth Gbagbi — Côte d’Ivoire.
• 🥉 Ozoda Sobirjonova — Uzbekistan.
• 🥉 Styliani Marentaki — Greece.

Men’s −68 kg

• 🥇 Jinho Mun — Korea.
• 🥈 Najmiddin Kosimkhojiev — Uzbekistan.
• 🥉 Jun Jang — Korea.
• 🥉 Zaid Kareem — Jordan.

Women’s −49 kg and men’s −80 kg complete the programme

The Paris-Levallois 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix concludes on October 11 with women’s −49 kg and men’s −80 kg.

MASTKD continues its coverage from Paris-Levallois with results, images and exclusive interviews.

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