[By NBC-1TV K, Y YI]WUXI, China (Jan.27,2018) – An enthralling day of taekwondo team competition in Wuxi today saw Iran crowned as the World Cup Team Champions in the men’s event and China win gold in both the women’s and mixed team events. After four weekends of individual competitions in Wuxi, it was the turn of the world’s best taekwondo teams this weekend. Huge crowds gathered, with China having a team in all three the men’s, women’s and mixed team events. A number of special guests were also in attendance including IOC Vice President ZaiqingYu who presented the medal to the mixed team wi
[By NBC-1TV K, Y YI]WUXI, China (Jan. 20, 2018) - The final weekend of the super-elite World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series brought yet more excitement, thrilling action and shock defeats as Turkey’s Irem Yaman won the women’s -57kg and Korea’s Tae-Hun Kim took home gold in the men’s -58kg. Irem Yaman, who qualified for the event through the qualification tournament, came into the Grand Slam as a relative underdog. Many predicted that it would be Jade Jones, Ah-Reum Lee or HaticeIlgun who would take home the gold. However, in the quarterfinal, Yaman managed the shock defeat of the day,
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi]WUXI, China (Jan 6, 2018) – A highly entertaining second Saturday of the super-elite World Taekwondo (WT) Grand Slam 2017/18 series, which pits the best twelve athletes in each Olympic weight category against each other, took place today, with athletes competing in the Female -67kg and male -68kg categories. In the unpredictable female competition, third seed Ruth Gbagbi of Cote d’Ivoire came out on top after impressively defeating dark horse YunfeiGuo of Team China in the final by 10:6. The Rio 2016 bronze medallist has been in excellent form recently and her fearsome, al
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi]WUXI, China (28 Dec. 2017) – Two days before the inaugural edition of the Wuxi 2017 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series kicks off on Saturday, the WT’s finest athletes and senior officials got their first look at the bespoke venue at a press conference held in the Wuxi Taihu International Expo Center in Wuxi, China. The Grand Slam Series – to be held over five consecutive Saturdays in this city in eastern China–will be fought under amended rules designed to upgrade the sport’s spectacle, and offers the biggest prize money in taekwondo history: USD70,000 for first p
[By NBC-1TV K, Y YI]LAUSANNE, Switzerland (November 8, 2017) – World Taekwondo today signed an MoU with the International School Sport Federation (ISF) in order to increase collaboration between the two organisations and ensure the continued growth of youth taekwondo around the world. The MoU was signed by World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue and ISF President Laurent Petrynka during an official signing ceremony at the World Taekwondo office in Lausanne. The MoU highlights that the two organisations share the same values in respect of solidarity, friendship and youth education and both rec
[By NBC-1TV K, Y YI]SEOUL, Korea (Oct. 3, 2017) – Dr. Un Yong Kim, founding president of World Taekwondo and former vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) passed away on October 3. He was 86 years old. In 1971, Kim was elected president of the Korean Taekwondo Association. In 1972, he founded the Kukkiwon to operate as a brick-and-mortar “Mecca” for global taekwondo training and grading in Seoul’s Gangnam district. In 1973, he became the founding president of the newly inaugurated World Taekwondo Federation, or WTF. (Today, World Taekwondo, or WT.) The federation held the
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi]SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (August 27, 2017)– Mexico secured their position at the top of the men’s medal tally with two golds on the final day of the 2017 World Taekwondo Cadet Championships, while Thailand’s total of five medals ensured first place in the women’s competition. It was a fantastic last day for the Mexican team as Roberto Samuano was crowned under 61kg champion, after a captivating 40-29 win over Iranian opponent Amir Reza Ghasemi Halashi. Compatriot Emilio Cendejas Alfaro was then awarded victory in the under 49kg category, winning by superiority following an in
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi]BEIJING, China (July 24, 2017) - In order to promote taekwondo as a more media-friendly, spectator-centric sport, World Taekwondo is promoting a brand-new event, the World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series, offering major monetary prizes with the aim of creating stars in the sport. The first edition of the Grand Slam series, featuring eight tournaments, will kick off at the end of 2017 and continue through early 2018 in Wuxi, China, World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue and Director General Jin-bang Yang announced at a press conference held in the Beijing Hotel in
[By NBC-1TV K, Y YI]LAUSANNE, Switzerland (July 13, 2017) - World Taekwondo delegates headed by President Dr. Chungwon Choue visited the Olympic Museum in Lausanne to donate the PSS (Protector and Scoring System) used at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The ceremony was attended by staffers from both World Taekwondo and the Olympic Museum. Olympic Museum Director Francis Gabet said he appreciated the donation of the set of PSS, which had been signed by 28 taekwondo Olympic medalists including Cheick Sallah Junior Cisse, So-hui Kim and Ahmad Abughaush. The PSS, which embeds electronic impact sensors
[By NBC-1TV K, Y YI]MUJU, Korea (June 29, 2017) - The gold medals on the sixth day of the 2017 WTF World Taekwondo Championships were captured by Germany, Serbia and Niger as the finals of the M -87kg, F – 73kg and M +87 kg categories were contested. On the penultimate day of the tourney, silvers were won by Russia, Korea and Great Britain, while bronzes went to Korea, Slovenia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Gabon and Russia. M -87kg Category In the first semi-final, Vladislav Larin of Russia went in against Kyu-don In of Korea. An excellent fight, with plenty of free play and clean technique, i