SEOUL, Korea (Sep 13, 2023) - World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue presented the Taekwondo Day Award to Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation President Mr. Kamaladdin Heydarov and Mr. Dejun Sun, Honorary Chair of World Taekwondo Wuxi Centre via video conference on September 13.

The award is gifted by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (“MCST”) in recognition of the achievements and contributions to Taekwondo in commemoration of Taekwondo Day.

Mr. Heydarov has been president of the Azerbaijan Taekwondo Association since 1999 and served as Vice President of World Taekwondo from 2005 to 2020. During his time as President he has overseen significant growth of the sport in Azerbaijan and hosted a number of highly successful World Taekwondo events including most recently the Baku 2023 World Taekwondo Championships. Baku hosted the first ever World Para Taekwondo Championships in 2009 and the first ever World Taekwondo Cadet Championships in 2014. The Azeri capital has also played host to the 2016 Grand Prix Final and Gala Awards, the World Cup Team Championships in 2009 and 2016, and the Olympic Qualification Tournament for London 2012 in 2011.

Mr. Dejun Sun founded the World Taekwondo Wuxi Centre and also founded the pioneering World Taekwondo Grand Slam Series. The Grand Slam was launched in 2017 as a more media-friendly, spectator-centric event with enhanced prize money and opportunities to create new stars in the sport.