World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge to Begin on the 15th… Will the Next Park Tae-jun Emerge?
The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Grand Prix Challenge 2023, featuring the world’s top taekwondo hopefuls, will be held at the Muju Taekwondo Centre in Muju, Jeollabuk-do, from 15 to 18 November.
A total of 145 athletes from 19 countries, including 32 members of the Korean National Team, will compete in five men’s and women’s weight classes.
A maximum of three athletes per country and four athletes from the host nation Korea will compete in each weight class.
WT ranking points will be awarded for the event, with the first and second place finishers in each weight class qualifying for the 2023 Taiyuan Grand Prix Series in China in October this year.
If the first and second place finishers in a weight class are of the same nationality, the runner-up athlete of a different nationality will be awarded a place instead.
This is the second time the Grand Prix Challenge has been organised for athletes ranked 71st or lower in the Olympic rankings.
The WTF introduced the event last year to help up-and-coming athletes who have fewer opportunities to compete internationally, and many have taken advantage of the opportunity.
Park Tae-joon (Kyung Hee University), who won the men’s 58kg category at the inaugural event, is the biggest star to emerge from the Grand Prix Challenge.
After winning the Grand Prix Challenge, he went on to win the Asian Taekwondo Championships, the World Grand Prix, and last month’s World Championships.
Men’s 80kg dark horse Seo Gun-woo (Korea Gymnastics) also won the Grand Prix Challenge last year to qualify for the World Grand Prix Series, and then went on to win gold at the third edition of the World Grand Prix Series in October last year.
Daejeon Metropolitan Government coach Lee Dae-hoon, a “superstar” who joined the national team as a coach in May, will also serve as the national team’s coach at the event. 안전카지노사이트