Ruth Gbagbi of the Ivory Coast stepped up a weight class to beat reigning world champion Nur Tatar of Turkey in the final of the women's under 67 kilograms event ©World Taekwondo

Ruth Gbagbi of the Ivory Coast stepped up a weight class to beat reigning world champion Nur Tatar of Turkey in the final of the women's under 67 kilograms event on the opening day of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Moscow.

Gbagbi, winner of the recent under 62kg title at the recent World Championships in Muju, outclassed Tatar to top the podium at the USK CSKA Basketball Arena.

The Ivorian taekwondo player set the tone by moving into a 4-0 lead early but was pegged back by her Turkish opponent.

She eventually sealed the gold medal with a late head kick to clinch a 7-4 triumph.

The bronzes in the category were secured by Rio 2016 gold medallist Oh Hye-ri of South Korea and American Paige McPherson.

Britain's Bianca Walkden continued her dominance of the women's over 67kg category as she took home the first Grand Prix title of the season.

The reigning world champion and Olympic bronze medallist was once again in impressive form as she confidently dispatched South Korea's Kim Bich-na 14-0 in the final.

Russia’s Olga Ivanova and Lee Da-bin of South Korea were the winners of the two bronze medals on offer in the category.

Britain's Bianca Walkden continued her dominance of the women's over 67kg category as she took home the first Grand Prix title of the season with victory over South Korea's Kim Bich-na ©World Taekwondo
Britain's Bianca Walkden continued her dominance of the women's over 67kg category as she took home the first Grand Prix title of the season with victory over South Korea's Kim Bich-na ©World Taekwondo

The crowd in the Russian capital had home success to cheer in the men's over 80kg competition as Roman Kuznetsov claimed a dramatic win over South Korean Kyo Don-in.

Following a tense contest where the lead swung one way and then the other, which finished 9-9 after regulation time, Kuznetsov found the target with a head-kick to secure a golden point victory.

Yury Kirichenko added to the Russian haul with the bronze medal, while the other in the division was claimed by Vedran Golec of Croatia.

All three winners will automatically qualify for the newly established World Taekwondo Grand Slam which due to place in Wuxi in China.

Before the first day of competition took place, World Taekwondo held a press conference at the headquarters of Russia's official news agency TASS.

"We are a family of 208 plus one member nations; plus one because World Taekwondo is taking care of the refugee athletes," said World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue. 

"That makes use one of the largest Olympic Federations in the world. 

"This international popularity of our sport means taekwondo can play an important role in contributing to peace and society."

The event in Moscow is due to continue tomorrow.