Wuxi, December 18 (CNN) -- The 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Championship Series and Olympic Direct Card Tournament successfully concluded the last match of the Paris Olympic cycle in Wuxi Economic Development Zone on the 17th. After Liang Yushuai and Song Jie won two Paris Olympic direct passes on the first day of competition, Luo Zongshi and Xiao Shunan won two more Paris Olympic direct qualifications for the Chinese team in the competition on the 17th.
Photo courtesy of the organizer of the women's 57kg final
In the women's 57kg final on the 17th, Tatiana Minina, who participated as a personal neutral, defeated the Chinese team Luo Zongshi to win the championship. However, Luo Zongshi, who won one gold and one silver in the main event of the Taekwondo Grand Slam in this cycle, still held the top position in the Wuxi Grand Slam standings in the Paris Olympic cycle, and left the Olympic direct card at this level in the Chinese team.
The same was true in the women's over 67kg final on the same day. Individual neutral player Polina Khan and China's Xiao Shunan had three games of equal strength, and in the end, the former won the championship and Xiao Shunan took home the Olympic pass.
In the men's competition on the 17th, Azerbaijani athlete Gasim Magomedov bagged the men's 58kg Olympic qualification with the 2023 taekwondo Grand Slam qualifier and the main event champion. Iran's Mehran Bakhodari staged a comeback in the men's 80kg final, defeating the former top athlete of Uzbekistan's Jasurbek Jesunov to win the gold medal and hold the Olympic pass card in his hand.
Guan Jianmin, chairman of the Chinese Taekwondo Association and head coach of the Chinese taekwondo team, said after the game that 2023 will be a serious challenge for the Chinese taekwondo team, because many young athletes do not have Olympic points, although they have tried their best to chase points, but there is still a gap no matter how fast they catch up. Competing in the Grand Slam at the end of the year, the intensive schedule will put some pressure on the athletes, but the Chinese team is well prepared, especially seeing that the Chinese male athletes can compete with the world champion in the international competition, and the women's class has won three Paris Olympic qualifications. "It's nice to get a direct card, but we also have to see some of our problems, and we will go all out in the next stage of winter training to prepare for the Paris Olympics. He said.
Photo courtesy of the organizer of the Paris Olympics Direct Card Award Ceremony
On the evening of the 17th, the 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Slam "Night of Champions" held an award ceremony for the eight Grand Slam direct cards of the Paris Olympic cycle. IOC President Thomas Bach sent a congratulatory letter to the event. He congratulated the Taekwondo Grand Slam on the successful launch of eight taekwondo athletes on the first train to the Paris Olympics in Wuxi, China's "Taekwondo Capital". At the same time, he also expressed his anticipation for the next four years of the Taekwondo Grand Slam. Bach expressed his hope that the Wuxi Grand Slam tournament will get better and better, and bring more opportunities and create a bigger stage for world-class taekwondo athletes.
Olympic champion Wu Jingyu read Bach's congratulatory letter on behalf of the organizers
Nearly 400 athletes from 35 countries and regions gathered in Wuxi, China, to deepen understanding, compete and pursue excellence through taekwondo grand slam events, further promote cultural exchanges between taekwondo Xi practitioners from all over the world, and provide win-win, multi-win, and win-win value guidance for the global promotion of taekwondo projects.
The Chinese taekwondo team took a group photo at the "Night of Champions", courtesy of the organizer
Qin Yongxin, deputy mayor of Wuxi Municipal People's Government, said that with the care and support of the World Taekwondo Federation and the China Taekwondo Association, after years of cultivation and building, the World Taekwondo Grand Slam Championship Series has become a beautiful sports business card in Wuxi. This event not only changed the Olympic qualification system of taekwondo, created a home stage for the Chinese team, but also played a role in promoting the formulation of a number of innovative rules for taekwondo, making the "Grand Slam points" and "Grand Slam rules" famous all over the world. We will seize the opportunity to take the opportunity of hosting the competition, rely on the World Taekwondo (Wuxi) Center, further improve the operation mode of the whole industry chain such as taekwondo personnel training, textbook compilation, equipment manufacturing, etc., accelerate the popularization and promotion of taekwondo projects, promote taekwondo to further flourish in China, and actively contribute to the development of global taekwondo "Wuxi power".
On the 19th, the 2023 World Taekwondo Team World Cup Championship Finals will also be held. At that time, there will be three teams heading to the mixed team exhibition event at the Paris Olympics. (ENDS)