All but three of the 40 registered nations, Niger, Romania and Comoros, have made the trip to the Russian capital as 111 athletes get set to compete across 19 events over the two-day event.

The Championships mark the first time the flagship Para-taekwondo event has been held separately from an able-bodied  tournament, and the first time ever that it will be held across two days.

It will also be the first time the Championships have included a poomsae event, with two contests set to open the tournament tomorrow morning.

Prior to the event, a draw was held here as athletes finally discovered the finalised classification group and weight category they will compete in, as well as their competitors throughout the competition.

For the first time, official rules and regulation were also laid out to all athletes and coaches as they come to terms with the amendments made at the WTF General Assembly in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei, in March.

These amendments were made, and classifications changed, in order to bring taekwondo in line with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and ensure the sport has the best possible chance of being incorporated into the programme at Tokyo 2020.

The 5th WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships will be held at the Dinamo Sport Palace in Moscow, Russia ©WTF



In terms of competition rules, matches will be held in three rounds of a minute-and-a-half with a one minute break in between each round.

Kicks to the body earn a competitor one point, a spinning or turning kick to the body earns three points, whilst punches do not earn a player any score.

Any contact to the head is prohibited throughout the competition.

The tournament sees 12 male and 5 female kyorugi contests take to the mat, with one poomsae contest for each gender.

Contests are split across four classifications for the kyorugi, ranging from loss of hands through the wrist, k41, to bilateral amputation through the shoulder joints, k44.

There is just a single classification for poomsae, P20, which incorporates athletes with an intellectual disability.

During the draw, certain athletes were consolidated into other classification groups due to the minimum number of athletes, two, not being present at the event.

Due to this, no female k41 or k43 contests were held, with the single athlete from each class moved to the k42 and k44 groups respectively.

Despite the move, the athlete will still be awarded a gold medal for winning their original classification group even if they are knocked out of the competition in the class they have been moved to.

Speaking at the draw, WTF secretary general Jean-Marie Ayer thanked the Russian Taekwondo Union (RTU) for organising the event.

"Good evening and welcome in Moscow," he began.

"Thank you to Mr [Anatoly] Terekhov for welcoming us here in Moscow.

"I visited the venue earlier today and it is a wonderful venue.

"I would like to thank him for all the work he [Terekhov] is doing.

"I wish you all a successful Championship and am sure you will enjoy it."

The draw was attended by WTF secretary general Jean-Marie Ayer who took the time to thank the Russian Taekwondo Union for hosting the event ©WTF



Terekhov, President of the RTU, added: "Dear friends, I am very happy to meet you ere for the 5th World Para-Taekwondo Championships.

"We were trying to make it at the highest possible level, and if there are any mistakes we are sorry and will make them better.

"I believe these Championships will be the best and our main objective is for Para-taekwondo to be included in the Paralympic programme."

Competition is set to get underway at the Championships tomorrow and will see the male k41 under 61 kilogramme and over 75kg contests joined by the female k42 under 49kg; female k44 under 49kg, 58kg and over 58kg; male open under 61kg, under 75kg and over 75kg; and both the male and female poomsae matches.

The open category consists of athletes who did not fit the criteria for the k41, 42, 43 and 44 classifications.

The finals, on both Saturday and Sunday, are due to be broadcast live in Russia on channel NTV Plus.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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