The South Korea national taekwondo team departed for Wuxi, China, through Incheon International Airport on the 21st. The 2025 Wuxi World Taekwondo Championships, to be held from the 24th to the 30th, is the largest-ever edition with 991 registered athletes from 180 countries worldwide, including individual neutral athletes (AIN) and a refugee team.
On the men's team, captain Park Woo-hyeok (M-87kg, Samsung S1 Taekwondo Team) and his close friend Bae Jun-seo (M-58kg, Ganghwa County Office) will each appear on the world championship stage for the fourth time. The two athletes will challenge the historic record of five consecutive overall men's titles at this tournament.
On the women's team, 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-jin (W-57kg, Ulsan Metropolitan City Sports Council) will compete, and is expected to reaffirm the status of Korean taekwondo. In particular, the women's division, which failed to win a medal at the 2023 Baku World Championships, aims to shake off its slump and return to the top through this tournament. Director General Do Gi-sik (Nanum Pharmaceutical CEO) and the national team said, "We will fight to the end with the pride of Korean taekwondo at stake," expressing their resolute determination.
The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) said, "The Wuxi World Championships carry great significance as the first major international stage since the Paris Olympics," adding, "We will do our best to support the team so that their efforts to date can be reflected in their performance."
[Photo] Provided by the association.
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