Featherweight (≤68 kilograms), Men

Apart from Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Rashitov, the reigning Olympic champion, there were three 2023 World champions in the competition: Türkiye’s Hakan Reçber (bantamweight), also a bronze medalist from Tokyo, Britain’s Bradly Sinden (featherweight). also a silver medalist from Tokyo, and Croatia’s Marko Golubić (lightweight).

Rashitov dominated the contest in the Grand Palais, beating all opponents in the round-of-16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals by scoring wins in the first two rounds of each match.

In the final, Rashitov defeated Jordan’s Zaid Mustafa in two rounds, scoring 5-4, 3-1, securing the first-round win with a stunning turning kick to the head that earned five points. Mustafa strengthened Jordan’s Olympic position in taekwondo, which had already brought the country two Olympic medals, gold at Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo. The Uzbek fighter gained his second gold medal after claiming his first in Tokyo three years before, when he made history by becoming his country’s first Olympic taekwondo champion.

Brazil’s Edival Pontes and China’s Liang Yushuai won the bronze medals in Paris.