WUXI, China (Dec 13, 2023) - The first day of the Open Qualification Tournament for the Wuxi 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series saw host nation China come out on top with two gold medals, while Korea and an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) claimed one gold each.

 

As well as securing gold, the four winners automatically qualify for the Grand Slam Champions Series on 16-17 December along with the other top eight finishing athletes in each weight category. They will be joined in each weight category by the top three athletes among the pre-registration list and one recommended athlete by the host country.

 

In the W-49kg, AIN Alisa Angelova won gold as China’s Yanying Zhang was forced to withdraw. The bronze medal went to Xueqin Tan.

 

It was another Chinese AIN match up in the M-68kg as Yushuai Liang faced AIN Ilia Danilov in the final. This time it was gold for China as Liang beat Danilov 2:0. The podium was completed by China’s Lei Yan who took bronze.

 

Hyo rim Hong from Korea won gold in the W-67kg, beating AIN Liliia Khuzina 2:0 in the final. Aaliyah Powell of Great Britain won bronze.

 

The last final M+80kg brought together China’s Yaoxi Wang against Vladislav Larin. In a closely contested fight, Wang emerged the victor with a score of 2:1. Iran’s Arian Salimi took bronze.

 

The competition will continue with athletes battling it out for qualification in the following weight categories: W-57kg, W+67kg, M-58kg, M-80kg.