According to IRNA, the Taekwondo Federation, which has been hosting international competitions in Tehran in recent days, held a press conference this evening (Monday) and the president of the federation, Hadi Saei, did not attend the meeting due to what was called an urgent meeting of the Ministry of Sports. . The meeting was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., but was delayed, and Saei did not attend the press conference until 4:40 p.m., when the Asian Union president and world observer spoke.
“I think Iranian taekwondo has always been good, but now the technical level of Iran has dropped technically and we have to work,” said Ki Sokoli, president of the Asian Taekwondo Association, on the level of Iranian taekwondo.
Regarding the level of Iranian tournaments, the president of the Asian Taekwondo Association said: “In general, the level of competition was high, but more efforts should be made to increase the scope of competitions.” Iran is one of the strongest teams in Asia, but at the regional level, Uzbekistan and Thailand win medals in the Olympics, but Iran can not.
He continued: The population of Taekwondo practicing in Iran is more than other countries, and naturally the expectations are higher. South Korea and China also have larger populations than many other countries, but they are currently unable to win medals at the Olympics. The situation in Iran, like these countries, has gone in the same direction and it should increase its efforts. Nature teaches us that the sun does not always rise and fall, and Iran must learn from nature and change its conditions.
Regarding East Asian teams, especially South Korea, not accepting to participate in the Asian Clubs Taekwondo Cup and Iranian tournaments, Kisuk Lee said: “I accept this and the main problem is politics.” Many countries do not come to these tournaments because of political issues.
In response to a question about the impact of political events in world taekwondo events such as the events of the 2019 Manchester World Championships and the non-issuance of visas for two Iranian taekwondo national teams, as well as the World Federation’s plans not to repeat these problems, he said: And the World Federation did all it could to get the athletes’ visas so that there would be no problems, but unfortunately these problems are due to political problems.
Lee on the decline of Asian Taekwondo Taekwondo: We are currently gathering information and processing data to look at this issue so that we have a strategy and plan for the future.
Regarding the interactions of the Asian Taekwondo Union with the Iranian Taekwondo after the presence of Hadi Saei in the presidency of the Taekwondo Federation, he said: “When a federation becomes a union, it means that it has become a member of its family.” For the Asian Taekwondo Association, it does not matter who the president of that federation is. We do not change our minds and ideas, we do not look at the individual, we look at countries like our family members.
The president of the Asian Taekwondo Union said about supporting Iran to win international seats: “Support is something we can not do from one person and everything is according to the law and in elections one can win a seat and we can not differentiate between individuals.” Everything will be in accordance with the law, and we do not oppose or agree with anyone, and the elections have already taken place, and Poladgar is the vice president of the Asian Taekwondo Association.
Then, “Maher Magabelle”, the observer of the World Federation, while pointing to the good hosting of Iran, said: “Iran has a good history in Taekwondo and has always had teams ready in various competitions.” Ever since I came to Iran, I have seen that the Iranian Federation has done very well in holding four events at the same time, and I must also say that it is difficult to host long competitions during the Corona era, which is associated with a special challenge.
He added: “Competitions like the World Cup last only a week, but the events held in Iran lasted 14 days and the overall hosting was satisfactory.”
He added: “In order to be able to host major competitions such as world competitions, Grand Prix, etc., a suitable proposal must be submitted to the World Federation and the important issue of marketing must be considered so that we can host larger events for Iran.”
Regarding the visa problem of Iranian taekwondo fighters in the Manchester World Championships, Maher Magabelle said: “The Asian and world federations are doing their best to solve such problems, and after what happened in the World Championships in England, a decision was made and approved by the High Council of the World Federation.” Any country that wants to host must issue a visa for all countries, and if not, the hosting will be canceled.
Maher continued: “Even for Grand Prix and Grand Slams, the host country must guarantee that there will be no visa problem.”
He added: “In the past, countries such as Iran, South Korea, Jordan, Thailand, etc. had something to say in the world, but since Taekwondo became part of the Olympics, European countries have invested and got better day by day to get quotas.” The Olympics participate in all competitions. Not that Asian taekwondo has weakened, but European countries have raised their level, and it must be admitted that few Asians lagged behind the competition.
“Our focus is on parachuting, and we have implemented new refereeing rules, and we also have parachuting at the Paris Olympics, and we want to increase the weight of men and women from three to five weights in each category,” said Magabelle. The parakwando system is very special and the number of countries and individuals is growing and I hope we will see a large number of participants in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Asian Clubs Cup Taekwondo Competition, the Fajr Cup, the World Federation Presidential Cup and the Para-Taekwondo Cup were hosted by the Taekwondo House with the participation of Iran and foreign teams in both the men’s and women’s divisions.