[BY NBC-1TV H. J Yook]The Mexican city of Puebla is ready for the 2013 WTF World Taekwondo Championships, which are scheduled for July 15-21.
The biennial championships, which will take place at the Centro Expositor Puebla (Puebla Exhibition Center) in downtown Puebla, are drawing great interest from both the public and the global media, especially televisions.
For the Puebla Championships, the 21st edition of its kind for men and 14th for women, a total of 134 countries submitted their entry forms involving 872 athletes to the WTF. The previous World Taekwondo Championships were held in Gyeongju, Korea in 2011, attracting 950 athletes from a record 149 countries on an entry basis.
Among athletes to watch at the championships will be London Olympic taekwondo medalists. Among them are Jade Jones of the United Kingdom, the gold medalist in the women’s -57kg category, Turkey’s Servet Tazegul, the gold medalist in the men’s -68kg category, and Italy’s Carlo Molfetta, the gold medalist in the men’s +80kg division.
Steven Lopez of the United States, the gold medalist at the 2005, 2007 and 2009 World Championships, and Aaron Cook of the Isle of Man, who finished at 5th in the mend’s -80kg at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, compete for top honors in the men’s -80kg category.
The championships will feature eight male and eight female weight categories:
-54kg, -58kg, -63kg, -68kg, -74kg, -80kg, -87kg and +87kg for men, and -46kg,
-49kg, -53kg, -57kg, -62kg, -67kg, -73kg and +73kg for women.
The daily competitions will be divided into three sessions: the morning preliminary session (from 9 a.m. to 12), the afternoon session up to quarterfinal matches (from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) and the last semifinal and final session (from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for two weight categories, and to 9:15 p.m. for three weight categories), like the taekwondo competition at the London Olympic Games.
The head of team meeting and the drawing of lots will take place at the venue from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on July 13, two days prior to the opening of the championships.
A total of 100 international referees will officiate at the seven-day championships.
To ensure fair judging at the championships, a Daedo protector and scoring system (PSS) will be used together with an instant video replay system.
One center court will be used for semifinal and final matches, while five courts will be used for other matches.
On July 14, there will be the WTF General Assembly at the Fuerte de Guadalupe Meeting Room of the Puebla Exhibition Center, in which the WTF President and other WTF officials will be elected.
A joint press conference will take place at 4:30 p.m. on July 14 at the Gobernador Room of the Exhibition Center, followed by a welcoming reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the opening ceremony of the championships from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. During the opening ceremony, the WTF Taekwondo Demonstration Team will show off their skills for the visitors.
On July 13, a WTF Council meeting will take place from 10 a.m. to 12, while a TAL performance is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Auditorio Siglo XXI.
The 4th International Symposium on Taekwondo Studies is scheduled for July 16 and 17 at the venue, drawing more than 30 speakers from around the world.