Taekwondo Olympian Hadipour suffers torn ligament injury

A torn ligament injury could see Iran’s Armin Hadipour miss the taekwondo competitions at next summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

Iran’s head coach Fariborz Asgari said on Saturday that a recent scan on Hadipour’s knee confirmed a tear in his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Hadipour, a world silver and bronze medalist, suffered the injury at Iran Taekwondo Premier League.

Should the 26-year-old undergo surgery, Asgari said, he could be sidelined for six to seven month, meaning he will most likely miss the Olympics – set to start on July 23.

However, Asgari said Hadipour will receive treatment on his injury to avoid an operation and take part at the Games.

“We had to choose between a surgery and missing Olympics, and we decided to go with remedial measures to make sure Armin will be present in Tokyo,” Asgari said.