Andorran Taekwondo Star Naiara Liñán Secures Historic Fourth at European Championships

Andorran taekwondo athlete Naiara Liñán earned a historic fourth place at the European Championships in Munich, delivering one of the nation's strongest performances in an absolute continental tournament.

Held at the BMW Arena, the event featured 19 competitors in her category after one team was disqualified before the start. Entering as the seventh seed based on consistent World Tour results, Liñán advanced directly to the last 16.

She defeated Greece's Konstantina Bourogianni, the tenth seed, in two rounds with scores of 19-9 and 8-8—the latter decided by referees. In the quarter-finals, Liñán faced Turkey's Elif Akgul, the world silver medallist and a top contender. The Andorran held her own for much of the bout but took greater offensive risks late to pursue a medal spot, enabling Akgul to secure 8-1 and 7-0 victories. Akgul later claimed the European title, beating Spain's Olympic medallist Adriana Cerezo in the semi-finals and a Serbian opponent in the final.

With no repechage and two direct bronzes for semi-finalists, Liñán's loss only to the champion confirmed her fourth-place finish—the best for Andorra in such an event since paddler Mònica Doria's continental achievements.

The outcome adds eight points to her world ranking, propelling her from 23rd to approximately 15th-20th in her division and establishing her among the global elite. Looking ahead, she targets the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Turin, following an international training camp with Brazil and Portugal's teams, as well as European U21 champion Violeta Díaz. Liñán enters that preparation as Andorra's highest-ranked Olympian.