Gulshan Alimardonova.
At the end of November 2025, at the World Karate Championships in Cairo, Egypt, Uzbek athlete Gulshan Alimardonova became the first woman in the country’s history to win a world championship gold medal in karate. The 19-year-old defeated her opponents in the women’s kumite division up to 50 kg, establishing Uzbekistan as a new force in women’s karate on the global stage.
Alimardonova’s victory at the 2025 WKF World Karate Championships in Cairo (November 27–30) marks a turning point in the development of martial arts in Uzbekistan. Until now, the country had only one world champion in karate — Dastonbek Otabolaev, who won the title in 2021. Gulshan Alimardonova has now joined him, becoming a leading representative of Uzbek women’s sport internationally.
In the final bout of the women’s −50 kg kumite division, Alimardonova faced Malaysian karateka Shahmalarani Chandran. The Uzbek athlete dominated the match and secured a convincing 6–1 victory, demonstrating a high level of technical skill and competitive maturity.
Born on January 19, 2006, Gulshan Alimardonova specializes in kumite, the full-contact competitive discipline of karate.
Her path to the world title was gradual and consistent. In June 2024, she won a silver medal at the BRICS Games, losing in the final to China’s Yu Xie. In September 2024, she claimed gold at the Asian Karate Championships, defeating Taiwan’s Hsiao Yun-Chen. In May 2025, Alimardonova reaffirmed her dominance in the region by winning the Asian Championship once again, this time overcoming Shahmalarani Chandran.
Gulshan Alimardonova (right).
Just two weeks before her triumph in Cairo, Alimardonova competed at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh (November 16–21, 2025), where she earned a silver medal after a narrow 4–6 loss in the final to Iran’s Sara Bahmanyar. That defeat likely served as motivation for her decisive performance at the season’s most important tournament.
Despite her young age, Alimardonova has already demonstrated remarkable consistency at major international competitions. Over the past two years, she has won three medals at top-level continental championships and proven her ability to compete at the highest global level.
Her victory reflects Uzbekistan’s growing investment in the development of women’s sport and the training of young talents in combat disciplines.
Following successes in judo, boxing, and freestyle wrestling, karate is emerging as another field in which Uzbekistan is positioning itself for international leadership.
Gulshan Alimardonova’s achievement opens new prospects for women’s karate in Uzbekistan. The next major milestones include qualification tournaments for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where karate remains on the Olympic program. Given the champion’s young age, there is strong reason to expect further victories and the defense of her world title at future championships and international competitions.
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