New Delhi

A total of 265 male and female Taekwondo athletes are set for competition at the All-India Inter SAI Taekwondo Championship 2023 which started off with a gala event on Friday here at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. The athletes are part of four Sports Authority of India National Centres of Excellence in Lucknow, Bangalore, Guwahati and Trivandrum as well as 17 SAI Training Centres.
The tournament, to take place until February 26, is being organized in commemoration of the 50th year of India-Korea Diplomatic Relations. Present at the opening ceremony on Friday was Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary, Sports, Sandip Pradhan, Director General, SAI, Yong-gyu Ahn, Korea National Sport University Chancellor, Mr Chang Jae Bok, Korean Ambassador to India, Mr Sang-hwa Lee, Deputy Minister & Ambassador for Public Diplomacy of Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as other dignitaries.

The three-day Taekwondo Championship event will be competed in the Cadet (U-14), Junior (U-17) and Senior age Groups. The competition is divided in two parts: Poomsae and Sparring called Kyorugi. The sparring, Kyorugi division is divided according to the competition rules of the World Taekwondo Federation in players` age and weight and Poomsae division will be divided into men’s and women’s divisions only. The 10 Kyorugi and two Poomsae winners, who will win gold medals in each category, will visit Korea National Sport University with the support of the Korean government and receive an education and training program for about 3 weeks from the best professors as the prize.