13th World Taekwondo Regional Training Center Opens Doors in Riyadh

World Taekwondo recently opened its 13th Regional Training Center, the Mahd Sports Academy in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to advance the development of the sport in the country.

During the opening ceremony, World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue presented a certificate of recognition to Mahd Sport Academy Vice President Hashem Dagestani. In addition, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) will be signed between World Taekwondo and the academy to foster mutual cooperation in research, sport, business and educational activities during World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in December.

WT Secretary General Jeongkang Seo, Para Taekwondo Committee Vice Chair Usman Dildar, Saudi Arabian Taekwondo Federation President Shaddad Al Amri and Mahd Sport Academy Operation Director Sultan AlAnizi also attended the ceremony.

“It was a pleasure to attend the opening of World Taekwondo’s latest Regional Training Center in Riyadh,” Choue said. “We have no doubt the Mahd Sports Academy will offer education and training for future stars of Taekwondo to compete at our major competitions.”

Designated as a Regional Training Center in April 2022, Riyadh’s Mahd Sports Academy aims to develop talented youth athletes. With world-class facilities, it will play a key role in boosting the development of Taekwondo in Saudi Arabia.

The world’s first World Taekwondo Regional Training Center was designated in 2008 in Beijing, China. Cities across the world followed, including: Baku, Azerbaijan; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Tehran, Iran; Shenzhen, China; Friedrichshafen, Germany; Manchester, UK; Muju, Korea; Rijeka, Croatia; Rome, Italy; Wuxi, China and Lalitpur, Nepal.