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| Members of the World Taekwondo Council attend an online meeting, June 17. Courtesy of World Taekwondo |
By Hwang Dong-hee
The World Taekwondo Council (WTC) will postpone the Wuxi 2021 World Taekwondo Championships at the request of the government of the Chinese city due to concerns over COVID-19 infections.
Given that some athletes will not be able to enter China or be required to quarantine themselves for weeks because of the country's strict COVID-19 measures, the council decided that there was no reason to push ahead with the event, which was scheduled for October. The new date for the competition will be determined later.
"It is with great disappointment that we have had to postpone the World Taekwondo Championships, but it is the right decision to ensure the safety of all participants and an even playing field for our athletes. We look forward with added excitement to the World Championships in 2022," WT President Choue Chung-won said in a statement.
"In the meantime we have many great things to look forward to, most notably, of course, the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. We will not have to wait much longer to see the world's best athletes compete in Tokyo."
A total of 130 taekwondo athletes, the largest number of participants ever, from 61 countries and the Refugee Olympic Team will compete at the upcoming Tokyo Games. An additional 72 athletes from 37 countries will take part in the sport's debut at the Paralympic Games.
"We are sure they will do themselves and our sport proud and showcase to the world the very best of taekwondo," Choue said.
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