Taekwondo

Trương Thị Kim Tuyền (left) is expected to win gold when competing at home in the 2024 Asian Taekwondo Championship. VNS Photo

ĐÀ NẴNG -- The Asian Taekwondo Championship began on May 14 at the Tiên Sơn Sports Complex in Đà Nẵng.

More than 1,000 athletes, coaches officials and staff from 45 countries and regions will take part in the event, a record number for the tournament which normally features around 700 people.

Athletes will compete in the poomsae (performance) and kyorugi (combat) categories for men and women until May 18.

"It is a record number of participants, especially in the fighting disciplines because it is the last tournament for athletes to accumulate their world ranking points and sharpen their skills for the 2024 Paris Olympics," said the President of Việt Nam Taekwondo Federation (VTF) Trương Ngọc Để.

As the hosts, Việt Nam have the strongest competitors and are targeting the best possible results.

In the kyorugi, the hosts will take part in 12 out of 16 weight categories. Among them are former Asian champion Trương Thị Kim Tuyền (women's 49kg), Asian Games bronze medallist Bạc Thị Khiêm (women's 62kg), SEA Games winner Lý Hồng Phúc (men's 68kg) and potential Nguyễn Hồng Trọng (men's 58kg).

In the poomsae, 20 martial artists will compete in individual and team classes. Vietnamese players have won many Asian and world medals in poomsae in the past.

On May 14 morning session, Vietnamese athletes bagged three bronzes in poomsae events.

It is the fourth time that Việt Nam has hosted the continental competition. Three previous events were held in 1998, 2012 and 2018.

The Asian Para Taekwondo Open will follow on May 19 and the sixth Asian Taekwondo Open Championships will take the stage on May 20-24 in the same place. VNS