Taekwondo

Martial artists perform at the Korean Ambassador Cup 2023. This year's tournament will be held on September 11-19 in Lào Cai Province. VNS Photo Đ Minh

HÀ NỘI — Fighters will have the opportunity to lift the Korean Ambassador's Cup at the National Taekwondo Club Championships on September 11-19 in Lào Cai Province.

The organising committee announced that more than 1,000 martial artists from 56 clubs nationwide would take part in the tournament.

They will compete in more than 100 events of poomsae (performance) and kyorugi (combat) in four different age groups ranging from U12 to over 17 years old.

The Ambassador's Cup is one of four official events in the national competition system, but the only one that allows amateurs to fight against elites.

Nguyễn Thu Trang, an official from the Sports Authority of Việt Nam's Taekwondo Department, said it was a good chance for national scouts to discover talented athletes for national teams.

The event's organising committee holds a press conference about the Korean Ambassador Cup 2024 on September 9 in Hà Nội. VNS Photo Thanh Hà

She said at the Lào Cai event, many rising stars who just won international medals would compete. Among them are Nguyễn Thị Mai of Gia Lai Province who took the bronze at the Asian Junior Taekwondo Championships 2022 and gold at the Southeast Asian Championships 2023; Lê Tuấn of Bình Dương and Lê Văn Khoa Bảo of Quảng Nam, who won the national junior championship title and would represent Việt Nam at the upcoming World Junior Taekwondo Championships.

The organising committee also reported that all preparation has been completed and the tournament is ready for competition. Although the northern mountainous provinces were hard hit by Typhoon Yagi, including several districts in Lào Cai, the city centre was safe from the storm and the committee plans to resolve any potential problems to ensure players' safety.

Choi Seung-jin, director of the South Korean Cultural Centre, said: "Taekwondo is one of the most important sports in sports exchanges between Việt Nam and South Korea.

"Through the Ambassador's Cup we expect to create fair competitions for athletes and at the same time enhance and promote cooperation between the two countries in the field of sports." VNS