[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] CHIBA, Japan (July 22, 2021) – TheTaekwondo that will be contested at Tokyo 2020 will not be the sameTaekwondo that was contested at Rio 2016 as the game continues to develop,improve and innovate. New players are joining the game, newtechnology is upgrading transparency, a new look is upgrading sportspresentation and a new, high-impact format is being introduced as a showcase. Moreover, a new regulation is beingimplemented to ensure athletes’ wellbeing. Diehard fans, however, should not fret:The changes are evolutionary, not revolutionary. All these innovations will beon s
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] SEOUL, Korea (23 June 2021) - World Taekwondo continues to innovate and push boundaries as it announced virtual sparring as the latest product to emerge from its pioneering partnership with Refract Technologies. Coinciding with Olympic Day, World Taekwondo previewed the future with Virtual Taekwondo – an immersive, non-contact virtual sport which uses highly accurate, real-time motion tracking of a player’s full body movements to turn taekwondo skill into virtual competition. Players’ bodies are transformed into gaming controllers as they are able to kick and punch to beat
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] For two Nigerian Taekwondo athletes, nothing could stop them from competing in last week’s African Taekwondo Championships. Even Nigerian Taekwondo Federation could not afford supporting their travel to the Championships in Dakar, Senegal, they did not give up. 2015 All African Games Gold medallist Uzoamaka Otuadinma teamed up with 2015 All African Games bronze medalist, Ifeoma Dennis Juliet to travel over 4000 km across six countries in order to compete at the Championships. The journey took seven days as they travelled from their homes in Nigeria, which are more than 200
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] SEOUL, Korea (June 9, 2021) - World Taekwondo today hosted its online Referee Training for Tokyo 2020 as it aims to ensure the highest level of officiating at next month’s Olympic Games in Japan. The training course was opened by World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue. The 30 referees (15 male and 15 female) from 30 NOCs who have been selected for Tokyo 2020 attended the training. During the training, presentations were given by the Technical Commission Chair, Inseon Kim on understanding the role of ethics in sport and competition; by the Medical Chair, Dae Hyoung Jeong
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] WorldTaekwondo is delighted to announce that three Taekwondo athletes will competefor the Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. KimiaAlizadeh Zonouzi (W-57kg), Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi (W-49kg) and AbdullahSediqi (M-68kg) have been selected for the Refugee Olympic Team based on sportperformance, confirmed refugee status and balanced representation across sportsregions and genders. The full composition of the Refugee Olympic Team wasapproved by the IOC Executive Board during their meeting on Tuesday. Theathletes are three of eight Taekwondo athletes who ar
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] The Federzione Italiana Taekwondo (FITA) has partnered with the Saint Pius X Institute of Vatican City to organize a taekwondo course for the students of the seminary. The course began in October and sees 20 boys aged between 13 and 17 years old practice taekwondo three times a week as part of their curriculum. It is the first time such a course has been held in the seminary and it is coached by Olympian and former European champion, Leonardo Basile, who was appointed by FITA. On February 8, a taekwondo exam was held with the Rector of the Don Angelo Magistrelli of Institu
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] SEOUL, Korea (February 1, 2021) - The World Taekwondo Council met virtually today for its first Extraordinary Council meeting of 2021, with a particular emphasis placed on the safe return of taekwondo events this year. This year is scheduled to see the return of the two biggest events in the taekwondo calendar – the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Wuxi 2021 World Taekwondo Championships. During the meeting, the Council discussed that the federation is continuing to plan for Tokyo 2020 to go ahead and aims to have held the final two Continental Qualification
[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] The2021 GCS International Board of Directors Meeting was held at the conferenceroom of GCS International in Seoul, Korea on January 21, 2021. Atthe board meeting, held in both on- and off-line formats, the board membersunanimously approved the 2020 income expenditure report and the 2021 budget andbusiness plans. Theboard also approved the reappointment of four board members of GCSInternational for three more years. They are Dr. Chungwon Choue, president ofGCS International; Mr. Seung Myung-ho, Mr. Yoo In-hee and Mr. Kim Yong-bin. Theboard gave the green light to the 2021 G
[By NBC-1TV] Executive Summary ○ COVID-19 Pandemic: vaccine development news, expectations and concerns - At this point of December 2020, news of a few vaccine developments (U.S., U.K., Russia, China) is now giving a ray of hope that the pandemic of the century, COVID-19, will subside within 2021. However, now is a crucial time as the current global health governance crisis may worsen the new cold war between the U.S. and China and accelerate competitions for the post-pandemic geopolitics. ○ The former Trump administration’s retreat from multilateralism and global leadership - T
By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] (December 9, 2020) - The finals of the 1st Online World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships have begun after more than 1,500 athletes from 98 countries took part in the inaugural event. The Championships is split into two competitions – the Online World Taekwondo G2 Poomsae Championships, open only to athletes who are members of their national team; and the Online World Taekwondo Open Poomsae Championships open to cadet, Junior and families of all ages. The World Taekwondo G2 Poomsae Championships comprises 12 recognised poomsae and 2 freestyle categories, split across men and