Nearly 300 athletes to compete in world military Taekwondo championships

PANO - About 300 military athletes from 30 countries will compete in the 21^st World Military Taekwondo Championship to open on October 19^th in HCM City.

This is the first time Vietnam hosts such a tournament, the largest of its kind to be organized by the International Military Sports Council.

According to the organizing panel, competitors will compete in two contents, the resistance event (16 weight classes for men and 8 weight classes for women) and quan’s performance, for 22 sets of medals.

In this tournament, electronic body armour will be used to count points for the resistance event. Bruce Harris, chief referee under the Taekwondo Committee, International Military Sports Council will directly run competitions.

The Vietnamese team in this tournament consists of 4 coaches and 34 athletes including international tournament winners Nguyen Thi Thu Ngan, Cao Thi Kim Chi, Nguyen Kim Long and Doan Thi Huong Giang, and targets to rank 12^th.

The week-long tournament will take place at the Sporting Hall under the National Defence Sports and Physical Training Centre 2, Military Zone 7. An opening ceremony will be broadcast live on VTC in the evening of October 21^st.

During the tournament, the organizing panel will include several programs for participants to explore Vietnam’s culture, landscapes and tourist spots.