Trainees from 21 SAI centres to compete in All-India Inter SAI Takewondo C’ship

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) A total of 265 taekwondo players from 21 Sports Authority of India centres will compete at the All-India Inter SAI Taekwondo Championship which began at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here on Friday.

The players are part of four SAI National Centres of Excellence in Lucknow, Bangalore, Guwahati and Trivandrum as well as 17 SAI Training Centres.

The three-day tournament is being organised in commemoration of the 50th year of India-Korea diplomatic relations.

Present at the opening ceremony were Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, SAI Director General Sandip Pradhan, Korean Ambassador to India Chang Jae Bok, Deputy Minister & Ambassador for Public Diplomacy of Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sang-hwa Lee, Korea National Sport University Chancellor Yong-gyu Ahn among others.

The three-day event will be competed in the cadet (U-14), junior (U-17) and senior age groups.

The competition is divided in two parts — Poomsae and Sparring called Kyorugi.

The sparring, Kyorugi division is divided according to the competition rules of the World Taekwondo Federation in players’ age and weight and Poomsae division will be divided into men’s and women’s categories only.

The 10 Kyorugi and two Poomsae winners, who will win gold medals in each category, will visit Korea National Sport University with the support of Korean government and receive an education and training program for about three weeks.