[By NBC--1TV K, Y Yi] The Muju
Taekwondowon 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge will be held on July 15-17
and will once again showcase the best up-and-coming Taekwondo athletes who are
looking to break into the elite.
Around 100
athletes who ranked below 70th (Not including 70th) from 18 countries and one refugee team
have registered for this year’s competition which will take place in Muju
Taekwondowon. Athletes will compete across four men’s categories (-58kg, -68kg,
-80kg and +80kg) and four women’s categories (49kg, -57kg, -67kg, +67kg). Those
who finish first and second in each weight category will win a place in the
G6-level Taiyuan 2023 Grand Prix Series on October 10-12 where they can take on
the world’s very best.
The Grand Prix
Challenge was launched by World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue to provide a
clear pathway for emerging Taekwondo athletes. The first edition was held last
year in Muju Taekwondowon and produced a number of new international
stars. Among them were Korea's Tae-joon PARK (M-58kg) and Geon-woo
SEO (M-80kg) and China’s Qing GUO (W-49kg) whose performances at the Grand Prix
Challenge earned them a place at the Manchester 2022 Grand Prix.
Despite having
never competed at a competition of that magnitude before, Park and Seo caused a
big surprise as both won gold at the Grand Prix and Guo won bronze before
winning a silver medal at the World Taekwondo Championships in Guadalajara.
Park went on to win gold at the Baku 2023 World Taekwondo Championships and was
selected as the male MVP.
World
Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said:
“The Grand
Prix Challenge is a gateway for new Taekwondo stars. We saw that in action last
year at the inaugural edition and in just 12 months athletes like Tae-joon Park
have established themselves as among the very best in our sport, achieving
excellent results in various world competitions. Without the Grand Prix
Challenge it could have taken many years for these stars to be discovered. We
are looking forward to seeing new athletes come to the fore again in Muju
Taekwondowon this week.”