According to IRNA, the closing ceremony of the fourth Taekwondo tournament of the World Federation Presidential Cup was held, during which the Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth and the former President of our country’s Taekwondo Federation were honored. The ceremony was attended by Seyed Mohammad Poladgar, Deputy Minister of Championship and Professional Development of the Ministry of Sports and Youth and Vice President of the Asian Taekwondo Association, Hadi Saei, President of the Taekwondo Federation, Masoud Lashgari, Acting Secretary of the Taekwondo Federation, Ki Suk Lee, President of the Asian Taekwondo Association, Sang Ho The chairman of the Asian Taekwondo Association’s judging committee, Jae Chal Kang, “Taekwondo Master”, along with a group of Taekwondo veterans and champions, was present.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the President of the Taekwondo Federation welcomed the participants and said: “I congratulate the birth of Hazrat Ali Akbar (AS) and the arrival of the young week.” We honor the valuable presence of Ki Suk Li, President of the Asian Taekwondo Association, Sang Ho Jeon, Chairman of the Judging Committee of the Asian Taekwondo Association, the skilled matchmaker of the World Taekwondo Federation, Shin Chal Kang, the Grand Master of Taekwondo in our beloved country and this tournament. I also welcome Poladgar and the Vice President of the Asian Union and other guests to attend this event. In 10 days we hosted four important events and a total of 855 taekwondo practitioners.
Hadi Saei continued: Mr. Poladgar, welcome to your home, because Taekwondo will not forget your valuable services. We are trying our best to achieve our goals in Iranian Taekwondo, and we will definitely raise the proud flag of our country with the full support of the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the officials.
Seyed Mohammad Poladgar, Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth, said in the continuation of the ceremony: Dear guests, I hope you have enjoyed the hours and days you were in Iran. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the high-ranking guests of the special competitions, such as Professor Ki Suk Li, President of the Asian Taekwondo Association, Sang Ho Jeon and Shin Chal Kang, the Grand Master of Taekwondo. I know that despite the problems and circumstances, both of them, who are my masters, took the time to come to Iran for a long distance to attend these events and to participate in these competitions.
He added: “I would like to welcome all the athletes, coaches and supervisors present in these competitions, especially those skilled in confronting the observer of the World Federation, such as Hazem Nemat, the President of the Jordanian Federation.” I tell all the loved ones and stakeholders not to get tired and I am glad that as always, these events were held with magnificence and grandeur. It was a good opportunity for the athletes to improve their technical experience. Thank you all and I wish success to all the athletes in the upcoming events.
At the end of his speech, the Deputy Minister of Championship and Professional Sports Development of the Ministry of Sports and Youth stated: “What has been achieved for Iranian Taekwondo and the successes that have been achieved in various fields such as the Islamic Republic of Iran are less seen than other countries.” Other countries have full knowledge of the success of Iranian sports, especially taekwondo, which, of course, has been manifested through empathy and harmony. It should be noted that wherever we have suffered, egos and the abandonment of national interests have been a priority. I hope that ideology and knowledge will be our main goal and together we will move towards the successes ahead for the main goal of the Taekwondo community.
The President of the Asian Taekwondo Association, Ki Suk Lee, also stated in the continuation of the ceremony: “We thank the Taekwondo family for holding the competitions, which organized the competitions in the capital of Iran.” It is a pleasure to hold these competitions during the difficult times of the corona virus outbreak. Congratulations to Saei and thank you for watching the World Federation observer for participating in this competition. I hope Iranian taekwondo is successful in competitions.
At the end of the ceremony, the Taekwondo Federation presented a plaque of appreciation and gifts for the efforts of Seyed Mohammad Poladgar during his years as President of the Taekwondo Federation. In addition to the memorial gifts, gifts were given to Ki Suk Lee, President of the Asian Union, Shin Chal Kang, Master of Taekwondo, and Mohammad Ismail Azarpad, Father of Iranian Taekwondo. The President of the Asian Union also presented a statue on behalf of Dr. Chu, President of the World Federation, and praised his efforts. Gifts were also presented by Professor Kang on behalf of Koki Wan to the President of the Taekwondo Federation and Seyed Mohammad Poladkar, Deputy Minister of Championship Sports Development at the Ministry of Sports.