WUXI, China (Dec. 08, 2023) - Three premier Taekwondo events are coming to Wuxi next week as the capital of Taekwondo in China prepares to host some of the world’s best athletes for the final international events of the year and the latest opportunities to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
On December 13-14, athletes will battle it out in the Open Qualification Tournament in the hope of qualifying for the Wuxi 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series which takes place on December 16-17. On December 19 the best mixed gender teams will compete in the Wuxi 2023 World Taekwondo World Cup Team Championships Final. All events will be staged at the state-of-the-art Wuxi Taihu International Expo Centre.
The Wuxi 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series will see 96 athletes compete in a best of three format. As well as chasing Grand Slam gold, athletes will be competing for vital merit points with the highest ranked athletes in each of the eight weight categories on merit points standings for the World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series after the event securing one Olympic quota place at Paris 2024.
To be in with this chance, athletes will need to qualify via the Open Qualification Tournament. The athletes in each weight category who finish in the top five places at the Open Qualification Tournament will qualify for the Grand Slam Champions Series. 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.
The one-day World Cup Team Championships Final will deliver the final instalment of Taekwondo action in Wuxi. In a reflection of World Taekwondo’s commitment to gender equality it will be mixed teams only, with teams comprised of two male and two female athletes. The competition will feature a mixture of traditional team match format and tag-team match format with the highest scoring team after three rounds emerging the victor. The top three finishing teams will be invited to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Showcase that will compete with the French team. This follows the success of the showcase at Tokyo 2020.