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23 Jul 2026

8-year Old Kiaan Kothari Wins Two Gold Medals at World Taekwondo Culture Expo in S. Korea

Kiaan Kothari, an 8-year old student in Grade 3, won two gold medals at the 19th World Taekwondo Culture Expo held in Muju-gun, Jeonbuk- state, South Korea, from July 16-21, 2026. Kiaan is the son of Riddhi & Sneh Kothari, and the grandson of Jyoti & Sandip Kothari and Mayuri & Dipendu Shah.

The young competitor emerged as the winner in the Poomsae (Fight Routine) as well as the Kyorugi (One-on-One Fight) during the Culture Expo this year. The Expo is an annual event and this year attracted almost 4,000 participants from across 30+ countries.

Having completed his Grade 2 from Oberoi International School (OGC), Mumbai, Kiaan will be joining in the Nord Anglia School (NAS), Dubai as his family relocates. He started taking Taekwondo classes from the very young age of between 3 and 4 at the Jayesh Training Classes and has progressively secured belts of higher grades, moving from the yellow in 2023 to the Poom Belt (Black Belt) in February 2026.

Simultaneously, he has also won a number of medals at local, national and international events in India between 2024 and 2026.

In addition to Taekwondo, Kiaan also makes time to participate in other sports such as tennis, cricket, football, and has figured in the Top 10 and Top 20 in Mental Math Competitions in 2024 and 2025. He also is a regular Cube enthusiast – having learnt 2x2, 3x3, Pyraminx, Axis, Barrel and Megaminx.