On May 29, Beijing time, the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan. This competition is the most crucial event in the preparation of the Chinese team for the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Paris Olympic Games. As a result, the coaching staff sent a luxurious 16-man squad to compete for gold medals in 16 divisions. Among them, Zuo Ju in the women's 53kg category, Luo Zongshi in the women's 57kg category, and Zhou Lijun in the 62kg category, etc., are several gold points of the Chinese Legion. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese taekwondo team performed poorly overall, and no one won a gold medal. A year later, at the Paris Olympics, this glorious team of Chinese sports is looking forward to making new breakthroughs!
An overview of the event background
Started in the 70s, the World Taekwondo Championships are one of the oldest top international taekwondo competitions, and the Taekwondo World Championships are traditionally held every two years. The 2023 Taekwondo World Championships will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan on May 29, local time, and the world's taekwondo arena will gather here to bring a taekwondo feast to the world audience. In this competition, a total of 16 members of the Chinese taekwondo team competed, including 8 male athletes and 8 female athletes. According to reports, the champions of each level of this competition will receive nearly 140 Olympic points, and athletes in other positions will also be able to obtain corresponding Olympic points.
16 people in the battle, the Chinese Legion went all out to rush gold
In the World Taekwondo Championships held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the Chinese team played with the strongest team. On the one hand, the team needs to hit the good results at the World Championships to accumulate confidence for the Paris Olympics; On the other hand, coaches need to examine the main and young players through the competition to determine the framework of the Paris Olympic lineup. For the women's team, the 46kg event was contested by Wang Xiaolu and the 49kg event was Guo Qing. In the 53kg event, world champion Zuo Ju will compete for the gold medal. The women's 57kg category is the individual event in which China has the best chance of winning the World Championships, with world champion Luo Zongshi the biggest favourite in the event.
In the women's 62kg event, Zhou Lijun also has the strength to impact the championship. In the women's 67kg, 73kg and +73kg categories, China represented Zhang Mengyu, Song Jie and Zhou Zeqi respectively. In the men's team, Wang Deshuang will participate in the 54kg competition and Cheng Kai will participate in the 58kg competition. In the 63kg event, young player Liang Yushuai competed, and Xiao Chenming in the 68kg category. In the men's 74kg, 80kg and 87kg categories, the three players on the Chinese team are Cui Yang, Tang Hao and Meng Mingkuan. In the men's +87kg event, China's Song Zhaoxiang will go all out for gold.
Won the right to host China's taekwondo to welcome the development again
It is reported that at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the World Taekwondo Federation held in Azerbaijan, Wuxi, China, defeated candidate cities such as Charlotte in the United States, Zagreb in Croatia and Sofia in Bulgaria to win the right to host the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships. This news undoubtedly encouraged the Chinese taekwondo athletes who will compete in the World Championships, and look forward to Guo Qing, Zuo Ju, Luo Zongshi and Zhou Lijun continuing to be brilliant for Chinese taekwondo!
(Luo Treasurer)