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South Koreans set to go head-to-head for World Taekwondo Federation top job

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Hong Moon-jong (left) is set to challenge Chungwon Choue for the job of WTF President (http://goo.gl/CqvgG)

By Duncan Mackay

“April 18 - Chungwon Choue is set to face another South Korean candidate as he seeks a fourth term as President of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), it has been reported. … Choue, first elected to the top role in 2004, is to be challenged by Hong Moon-jong, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly. … Hong has called for a ‘single candidacy’, meaning that he wants Choue to step aside to give him a free run at the Presidency when the election is held at the WTF General Assembly in Puebla, Mexico, on July 14 on the eve of the World Championships. … But Choue has made it clear that he will not pull out to allow Hong to take over. … ’There’s no need to force the issue and unify candidacy,’ Choue told Yonhap News. … ‘Candidates should lay down their own policy goals and try to win support.’ …”

“… The official deadline for candidates to put themselves forward was last Friday (April 12) but the WTF will not reveal publicly until May 13 when all its members have been informed. … Choue was first elected nine years ago when he replaced the controversial Kim Un-yong after he was arrested on embezzlement and bribery charges in South Korea, which ultimately led to him being expelled from the International Olympic Committee. … Choue completed the year that Kim had left on his term and was re-elected in 2005 for a four year mandate, and then another one in 2009. … Under Choue, taekwondo is widely considered to have grown into more of a global sport, leading it to retaining its place among the Olympic core sports after Rio 2016 having initially been believed to have been under serious threat. … Among the innovations overseen by Choue has been the adoption by the WTF of the electronic protective vests and socks for scoring, along with instant video replays, helping eliminate the judging controversies which had overshadowed the tournament at Beijing in 2008. …”

… Read More: http://goo.gl/CqvgG

World Taekwondo Federation Nominated for Peace and Sport Award

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By World Taekwondo Federation News

“The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) has been nominated for International Sports Federation of the Year at the Peace and Sport International Forum in Sochi, Russia for the outstanding contribution to communities in developing nations made by its groundbreaking WTF Peace Corps initiative. … The WTF Peace Corps was founded in 2008 to help promote peace, understanding of cultures and Olympic values through taekwondo. The initiative operates in all five Olympic continents, with active involvement across the WTF’s 204 member national associations. To date, nearly 900 taekwondo volunteers have been dispatched to 174 locations in 86 countries. … The WTF President and founder of the WTF Taekwondo Peace Corps, Chungwon Choue, commented on the importance of the Foundation’s work: … ’It is a real honor to be nominated for such a prestigious award, and the global taekwondo family should be proud to be recognized for the contribution we are making to the Olympic Movement. The WTF Peace Corps does some great work in providing resources for children to enjoy and play in communities where, sometimes, the chance to play is limited. The programme aims to teach understanding and friendship to the youth of the world through taekwondo training while, simultaneously, encouraging cultural exchange and bonds between different corners of the world.’ …”

“… The next phase in the WTF Peace Corps’ development will be to create regional and local Taekwondo Peace Corps, in order to increase the frequency and reach of programmes and ensure each is finely tuned to the individual needs of communities in the developing world. …”

… Read More: http://goo.gl/NYhLB

London Olympic Taekwondo Closes by Making History

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By World Taekwondo Federation News

“If there is one story that of the London 2012 Olympic Games that embodies the spirit, values, and ideals of Olympism, it is the final medal matches of the tekwondo competition. … Italian Carlo Molfetta won the men’s +80kg in one of the most dramatic and exciting matches of the London Games, and perhaps taekwondo’s Olympic history. But the rest of the story was that Anthony Obame of Gabon accomplished the unthinkable by winning his country the first-ever Olympic medal – a silver medal. … The two medalists embraced and raised each others’ hands in true sportsmanship and admiration for one another as their match was left to judges’ decision. … Obame maintained a lead throughout the gold-medal match against Italian Carlo Molfetta until late in the third round when Molfetta tied it up 9-9 pushing the match into the “golden point” overtime round. But neither competitor managed to score, and the decision eventually went to the judges and the two athletes endured an intense wait for the final verdict. …”

“… This was the second consecutive Olympics that taekwondo was the source of a nation’s first Olympic medal. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rohullah Nikpah won Afghanistan’s first-ever medal following it up with the country’s second medal in London. Both were bronze and both were won after having to fight through repechage matches to get to the medal round. … But there was far more to the night to taekwondo’s fourth and final night in the London Games. …”

… Read More: http://goo.gl/IbSFk

“No regrets”: Taekwondo star Stevenson bows out after first round defeat

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By Agency Staff

“Sarah Stevenson said there were “no regrets” for after she suffered a first-round defeat in the London 2012 women’s under-67kg taekwondo event at ExCeL. … American Paige McPherson had not read the script as she silenced a partisan crowd at the venue where Welsh teenager Jade Jones was last night roared on to gold in the under-57kg Olympic class. … Stevenson’s 5-1 loss, largely down to an early head shot by the United States fighter in the first round, means she cannot now better the bronze won so dramatically in Beijing. … She could yet fight again through the repechage if McPherson, ranked 19th in the world, goes on to reach tonight’s final. … Whatever happens, Stevenson has known far tougher times in her personal life since the start of last year. …”

“… ’I went out there 100% focused, I wanted it, but the last year has helped put this event into perspective. This is the Olympics, it is supposed to be fun – this is not life and death,’ said Stevenson, 29, who was given the honour of reading the athletes’ oath at the Games opening ceremony. … ’This is the Olympics and we should be able to have fun and go for it and that is what I did.’ … ’Maybe I wasn’t as good as I was before everything happened to me, but I did do my best under the circumstances.’ … ’I have got no regrets. I think I did my best and I am happy with how I performed.’ … ’I didn’t know how I was going to be, neither did anyone else, the thing was to come here and do my best and I did.’ … Stevenson, who is coached by her husband Steve Jennings, paid tribute to the “amazing” home crowd. …”

… Read More: http://goo.gl/nCcP7

Alexandria native Terrence Jennings claims taekwondo bronze

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“LONDON — After the final fight had ended in dramatic and unpredictable fashion, and not long after Terrence Jennings had walked off the taekwondo mat Thursday, the 26-year-old fighter spotted a familiar face in the arena and the day’s extraordinary events started coming into focus. … ‘What did I just do?’ said Jennings, an Alexandria, Va. native, breathless and cupping his hands over his face. … ‘You just won an Olympic bronze medal!’ yelled Luke Ford, his friend and training partner. ‘You’re an Olympic medalist, sir!’ …”

“… Jennings exploded into a howl when officials awarded him a three-point kick, giving him an 8-5 win over Brazil’s Diogo Silva to claim one of the two bronze medals. … ‘It doesn’t get any closer than that,’ Jennings said. … He had lost his first fight of the day to Russia’s Servet Tazegul. Jennings knew the only way to re-enter the tournament was through the repechage group, and he needed Tazegul to win his next two fights. Taekwondo is a single-elimination tournament, but any fighter who loses to one of the two eventual finalists moves into one of two repechage groups. The repechage group winners then square off for the two bronze medals. … Jennings left the arena and returned to a nearby hotel. Juan Moreno, his coach, had actually prepared Jennings for every scenario. They did a practice run at their Miami gym not long ago, arriving at 7:30 a.m. for the morning round, starting the next session at 3 p.m. and then staging the gold medal match later at night. …”

… Read More: http://goo.gl/DnQfw

USA’s Steven Lopez eliminated in taekwondo

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By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

“… Two-time Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez, battling an ankle injury sustained a couple of weeks ago, lost his opening fight Friday by a 3-2 margin to top-seeded Ramin Azizov of Azerbajain. When Azizov didn’t make it to the final, Lopez was eliminated from contention for bronze. … ’He went over on his ankle in training. He can hardly put any weight on it. He did amazingly well considering that,’ said Steven’s older brother, Jean, coach of the U.S. taekwondo team. …”

“… Steven, 33, of Sugar Land, Texas, won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004 and a bronze in 2008. …”

… Read More: http://goo.gl/nH5kz

Taekwondo: Jones wins gold for Britain

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By Peter Rutherford, Reuters

“Jade Jones won Britain’s first Olympic taekwondo gold medal after beating China’s Hou Yuzhuo in the final of the women’s featherweight division at the London Games on Thursday. … Jones, who had lost to Hou in the final of last year’s world championships, rode a wave of support from the home crowd to bully her way past the Chinese fighter, running out a 6-4 winner to earn Britain’s 25th gold of the Games. … The 19-year-old from north Wales grabbed British and Welsh flags from the crowd and raced around in a lap of honor as the 8,000 fans in the ExCel arena roared her on. …”

“… Jones was in fearsome form in the opening two rounds, overwhelming her opponents 15-1 and 13-3 and, despite facing a serious step up in class against world number one Tseng Li-cheng in the semi-final Jones simply forced her way into the final. … The first two rounds of the gold medal match were cagey, but heading into the third Jones had sneaked a 2-0 lead. … With Hou desperate to get back on level terms, Jones bided her time and landed kicks to her opponent’s midsection to seal the gold medal. … ‘Before I came out I thought I’m not letting her beat me here in front of the home crowd,’ said Jones. …”

… Read More: http://goo.gl/Qp69i