4th WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships Kick Off in Cairo, Egypt
The 4th WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships kicked off in Cairo, Egypt on Nov. 30, 2009, attracting about 600 athletes and officials from a record 58 countries.
The annual WTF-promoted Poomsae Championships, which takes place at the Hall 1 of Cairo Stadium, continue until Dec. 2, with 16 gold medals up for grabs.
The inaugural Poomsae Championships were held in Seoul in 2006, which drew 407 athletes from 57 countries, while the second event took place in Incheon, west of Seoul, attracting 400 athletes from 50 countries. The 3rd event took place in Ankara, Turkey, with the attendance of 363 athletes from 48 countries.
Among the participating countries are Azerbaijan, Brazil, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Isle of Man, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Macao, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Vietnam and host Egypt.
The opening day of the three-day event featured four events: the men’s individual junior, the women’s individual junior, the men’s individual 1st master and the 2nd pair division.
Korea showed its supremacy in taekwondo as it clinched three gold medals, while Italy won one gold in the second pair division.
In the afternoon, there was an opening ceremony of the Poomsae Championships.
“Since its inaugural championships in Seoul in 2006, the WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships have become an ever-popular event in the WTF calendar,” said Chungwon Choue, president of the World Taekwondo Federation, in his speech during the opening ceremony.
He continued to say, “Poomsae reaches out to all enthusiast around the world, featuring a global sport-for-all not limited by gender or age.”“The WTF has been encouraging universality and expansion of poomsae events.”
“I also extend my hearty appreciation to the leadership of the Egyptian Taekwondo Federation and Gen. Ahmed Fouly, WTF vice president and president of the African Taekwondo Union, for the warmest hospitality to the taekwondo family in this historical city of the world,” WTF President Choue said.
The second day will feature seven divisions and the final third day with five categories.
Taken from WTF website.
