SAI-KOREAN Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship sets in #Delhi
SAI-KOREAN Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship sets in Delhi
25 May 2017, New Delhi: SAI-KOREAN Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship open today at K.D. Jadhav Wrestling Hall, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, New Delhi. The Championship was organized by Embassy of the Republic of Korea to India and Sports Authority of India (SAI). The opening ceremony was graced by His Excellency Cho Hyun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India along with S.S Chhabra, Secretary of SAI, Sanjay Saraswat, Regional Director of SAI and Manjushree Dayanand, Administrator I.G Stadium.
This is first Taekwondo championship organised together by Indian and Korean governments which aimed at boosting the popularity of Taekwondo in India. The event also tried to encourage Indian athletes to prepare themselves better for winning medals in upcoming 2018 Asian games. The four days championship will end on 28th May 2017.
H.E. Cho Hyun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India said, “As Korea-India relations deepen and expand, it is most desirable that our two nations promote sports and cultural exchanges in order to strengthen mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples.” He also added that, Taekwondo is necessary for the development of body, soul and mind same as the Yoga in India.
Sanjay Saraswat, Regional Director at SAI congratulated all the participants. He added, this kind of cultural cooperation will strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries. He also informed that the selected player’s from this tournament will go for Korea Open Championship.
Kim Kum pyoung, Korean Cultural Centre India, Director said that this championship will not end with just awarding winners but continue through joint training camps for selected talents to achieve better performance.
The competition had two parts: Kyorugi(fight) and Poomsae(set sequence) which witnessed the participation of both men and women from regional centres of SAI under the categories of Cadet, Junior and Senior. Players of Korean Cultural Centre India(KCCI) participated in Poomsae. Total 360 Taekwondo athletes participated in this competition.
After the completion of this championship, SAI and Embassy of the Republic of Korea will conduct a two-week training camp for 1st and 2nd position holders of the senior category. Selected players among them will compete in ‘Chuncheon Korea Open International Taekwondo Championship’ as a part of one-month intensive training camp in Korea.
As a renowned Korean martial art, Taekwondo is played in approximately 200 countries all over the world and has been an Olympic event since 2000.
During the championship, the visitors enjoyed the Samulnori Performance, Regional Dance, Taekwondo Demonstration with Dance Performance by KCCI Team and Rhythmic Gymnastics Performance by SAI.
