Ottawa, ON – The FISU Summer World University Games have concluded in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany and Taekwondo Canada has recorded its best results at the event in its history. The Taekwondo Canada team recorded a gold and two bronze medals during the event. The gold medal captured by Nithan Brindamohan, was Canada’s first ever at the FISU Games and its first kyorugi medal at a FISU Games since Ivett Gonda in 2011.
Canada earned its first medal of the Summer World University Games in the men’s taekwondo poomsae team event, with Ethan So (Richmond Hill, Ont. / McMaster), Gordon Cheuk (Richmond, B.C. / Simon Fraser) and Kai-Hsin Chang (Toronto / Western) taking bronze after tying the United States with a score of 8.833 and winning the tiebreaker on freestyle score. The Canadian women’s team of Emma Chau (Markham, Ont. / Toronto), Valerie Ho (Red Deer, Alta. / Calgary) and Evelyn Wu (North York, Ont. / Toronto) narrowly missed the podium, finishing fifth in the final with a score of 8.316—just behind Germany’s 8.366.
Taekwondo Canada kicked off the Kyorugi competition with a historic performance from Nithan Brindamohan (Vaughan, Ont. / Toronto Metropolitan University), who captured the country’s first gold medal of the Games in the men’s 54kg division. Brindamohan won four consecutive matches—each by a 2-1 score—including a gold-medal victory over Youngsuk Ethan Gun of the United States. His win marked Canada’s second medal of the Games.
Leonarda Andric (Ottawa, Ont. / Ottawa) delivered Canada’s third medal of the Games—and second straight in Kyorugi—earning bronze in the women’s 67kg division. The 2024 and 2025 Canadian senior national champion defeated Giulia Maggiore of Italy and Nuray Khussainova of Kazakhstan, both by 2-0 scores, before falling in the semifinal to Jiana Xing of China. A recent University of Ottawa graduate, Andric has moved up a weight class in preparation for the 2028 Olympic cycle.
High Performance Director Allan Wrigley said of the team’s results at the Summer World University Games, “Team Canada made history at the 2025 FISU Games with its strongest ever performance, earning a historic gold and securing several top five finishes against a world-class field which featured numerous Olympians”. “This tournament was a milestone for our program. Our athletes proved they can compete with, and defeat, some of the best in the world. The experience gained here, especially for our younger athletes was invaluable”.
About Taekwondo Canada: Taekwondo Canada is the official governing body of Taekwondo in Canada, overseeing the sport in all Provinces and Territories. Taekwondo Canada is recognized by World Taekwondo, the International Olympic Committee, PATU and Sport Canada. Taekwondo Canada will continue to be a leading nation in the sport by providing leadership and opportunities to enable its participants to achieve their goals.
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