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Kimia Alizadeh vs Nahid Kiani
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Kimia Alizadeh vs Nahid Kiani was a at the 2024 Summer Olympics on 8 August 2024 between Kimia Alizadeh and Nahid Kiani. In a rematch of their where Alizadeh was the victor, Kiani narrowly defeated Alizadeh in the 2024 bout. Alizadeh eventually won bronze and Kiani won the silver medal, the latter being the first for an Iranian woman at the Olympics, surpassing Alizadeh's 2016 bronze feat. While Kiani competed for the Iranian team, Alizadeh competed for the Bulgarian team after having represented the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Iran at the 2016 Summer Olympics where she became the first Iranian female medalist at the Olympics. Alizadeh became Bulgaria's first-ever taekwondo competitor at the Olympics, and won Bulgaria's first medal in Olympic taekwondo. Prior to Alizadeh's defection, the two were friends and training partners. During the broadcast, IRIB reporters refused to mention Alizadeh by name and attacked her with nicknames such as "homeless". Alizadeh had defected from Iran years prior to Germany.
Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran, wrote that Alizadeh and Kiani are both winners, and called the Iranian Islamic Republic regime the loser of the match. Masih Alinejad lambasted IRIB's censorship and stated the Iranian regime has pitted women against each other.
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