‘You should be Proud,’ Choue Tells Team Heads in Guadalajara

The World Taekwondo Championships Head of Team Meeting was held today in the Intercontinental Hotel in the host city of Guadalajara, Mexico.

“You should all be proud of yourselves!” WT President Chungwon Choue told the meeting as he laid out mulitple achievements.

Following Para Taekwondo’s debut in Tokyo 2020, the IPC raised the sport’s number of weight categories from six to 10 (evenly divided between five male, five female).

Touching on humanitarian matters, Choue noted that two refugee athletes are set to fight in Guadalajara. Moreover, WT has signed memoranda of understanding with the cities of Brussels, Paris and Rome to upgrade referee participation in the sport.

And eight IOC scholarships have been awarded to refugee Taekwondoin prepping for the upcoming 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Choue also touched on a new competitive format, the Grand Prix Challenge, designed to offer up-and-coming athletes an accelerated pipeline to elite-level competition. The format was pioneered in Muju, Korea, in June. The concept has been proven with Challenge winners earning medals at the year’s Grand Prix.

After Choue’s address, briefings were held to a hall packed with coaching staff from 120 participating countries in areas including medical preparations and rules and regulations, before the competition draw was held.