South Korean taekwondo heavyweight hopeful Park Woo-hyuk has a chance to win his second consecutive world championship.
Park Woo-hyuk won the 2023 national team selection final held today (8th) at the Taebaek Gowon Gymnasium in Gangwon-do, beating Seo Kun-woo (Korea National University of Physical 토토사이트Education) with a round score of 2 to 1 in the men’s 80kg final on the second day.
The first place player by weight class in this competition will be the national representative of Korea, the birthplace of Taekwondo, at the 2023 World Taekwondo Federation (WT) World Championships to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in May.
With this, Park Woo-hyuk can compete in the World Championships three times in a row and challenge for a second consecutive victory.
Park Woo-hyuk won a gold medal in the same weight class at the World Championships held in Guadalajara, Mexico last November.
It has been 23 years since Korea won the gold medal in the men’s 80kg class (welterweight) at the World Taekwondo Championships in 1999, since Jang Jong-oh in Edmonton, Canada.
Park Woo-hyuk said, “I will try my best to challenge for the second consecutive victory in the World Championships, and furthermore, to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024.”
On the other hand, Seo Kun-woo, who won the Manchester World Grand Prix in England last year, was unable to maintain his momentum.
Meanwhile, in the women’s division, high school students exploded.
In the 57kg class, Lee Han-na (Daejeon High School) produced a surprise victory over veteran Lee Ah-reum (Goyang City Hall) 2-1 in the final.
In the 67kg class, Hong Hyo-rim (Gangwon Physical Education High School) won Kim Jan-di (Samsung Eswon) 2-0, and in the 62kg class, Kwak Min-joo (Seoul Physical High School, scheduled to go to Korea National University of Physical Education) took first place.
In the men’s 68kg class, Jin Ho-jun (Suwon City Hall) and Kang Jae-kwon (Samsung S1) in the 74kg class rose to the top.