In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, the "Grand Prix" tournament, the final Grand Prix of Taekwondo, organized by the Fujairah Martial Arts Club at Zayed Sports Complex in Fujairah, kicked off yesterday.
The opening ceremony was attended by Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Saif Al Sharqi, President of the Emirates Federation for Body Building and Physical Strength, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad bin Saif Al Sharqi, the Korean Cho Wongo Wen, President of the International Taekwondo Federation, Saeed Abdul Ghaffar, Secretary General of the General Sports Authority, and Abdulaziz Buhendi, Director of the Office of the General Sports Authority in the Eastern Region. Ahmed Hamdan Al-Zyoudi, President of the Taekwondo Federation and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Major General Ahmed Al-Fouly, President of the African Union, Idris Al-Hilali, President of the Arab Federation, and Hazem Al-Nuaimat, member of the Executive Office of the International Federation.
The opening, which was a sports and cultural carnival, featured a variety of expressive paintings, including the heritage of the Fujairah Folklore Troupe, which presented an interesting folkloric show, and another painting by the International Taekwondo Federation, which won the admiration of the audience, who interacted with warm applause with the graceful and fast performance of the Korean band, who finished his painting with the flag of the UAE and the Federation. The International Taekwondo Team then climbed to the official attendance platform to greet the sponsor of the ceremony and the guests of the tournament, followed by honoring the tournament sponsor for a number of contributors to the organization and sponsors.
In his speech at the beginning of the opening, the President of the International Federation expressed his happiness with the wonderful organization and the distinguished technical level of the participants. Zhou Weng indicated that the International Federation greatly welcomed the UAE's organization of the "Grand Prix" and the World Taekwondo Championships for teams, as well as granting the Fujairah International Championship the world ranking.
For his part, Brigadier General Ahmed Hamdan Al Zeyoudi, President of the Emirates Taekwondo Federation, thanked His Highness, the Crown Prince of Fujairah, for sponsoring the event and honoring the opening ceremony, pointing out that Fujairah has become a mecca for the Taekwondo game in Asia and the Middle East, and that the dream of organizing the World Cup and hosting the conclusion of the grand prize at the level of teams has become a reality.
The first day’s competitions witnessed the victory of the Thai Hanbrab over the Mexican Rodriguez 13-6, and the Chinese Zhao over the Brazilian Edval Prentis with the decisive technical point, and the Spaniard Tortuga beat the Portuguese Braganca 15-7, and the Chinese Huang defeated the Iranian Yaqoub 20-14, while our national star Hassan Sher lost In front of the South Korean world champion Li Di, 4-25, while in the women's competitions, the Chinese Zhang defeated German Schneider 18-9.