Iran junior taekwondo team clinched three medals at the 2018 World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Hammamet, Tunisia, April 6-13.
According to the World Taekwondo Federation, the event is the World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
The medals will also affect the securing of quotas for the upcoming Youth Olympics for the Iranian taekwondokas.
On the first day of the event, Ali Eshkevarian secured the second place of men juniors in -73kg category. He succeeded in entering the finals but lost the match to Egyptian rival Eyad Barakat and won silver. A total of 47 contestants participated in the category.
In the men juniors’ +73kg class, Mohammad Khani received bronze. In this category another Egyptian taekwondoka Abdelrahman Elsayed finished first among 47 taekwondokas.
Women Juniors
The competitions were held for two weight classes in the women’s category and Iranian women succeeded only in one division.
In -63kg, Yalda Valinejad gained the chance to win bronze in repecharge games. Taekwondokas from the US and China won gold and silver respectively. In the division 34 athletes participated.
The 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games, commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, is a forthcoming international sports, cultural, and educational event that will be held in the Argentinean capital October 6-18.
It will be the first Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first outside Asia, and the first Youth Games for either summer or winter to be held outside Eurasia.
New Taekwondo Rules
On the sidelines of the tournament, the World Taekwondo Federation announced changes in rules to add excitement to the game.
It unanimously approved a series of rule changes at their General Assembly in Hammamet in Tunisia, April 6, Insidethegames.biz wrote.
The governing body said it was “part of its ongoing commitment to ensure taekwondo is as exciting and engaging as possible for its global fan base”.
Among the changes rubber-stamped at the Sol Azur Beach Hotel was an overhaul of the Golden Point Round which is necessitated if two fighters are level after the regulation three rounds.
It will now be known as the Golden Round and two points will be required for victory as opposed to just one.
If the Golden Round does not produce a result, the winner will be declared in the following order: who succeeded in making a body punch, who made the most registered hits, the athlete who won the most rounds in the previous three rounds, and finally the athlete who had fewer gamjeoms - a prohibited attack - in the four rounds.
Other changes see a valid turning kick to the head now worth five points as World Taekwondo bid to encourage crowd-pleasing moves. A turning kick to the trunk protector will see athletes score four.
Gamjeoms will only be issued if an athlete has one leg outside of the boundary line, while referees will now only wait for five seconds before issuing a gamjeom to athletes who are not engaging in the fight. Using an alternative foot technique will now result in a gamjeom.
World Taekwondo has also opted to introduce weigh-ins for randomly selected athletes two hours before competition. Athletes must be within five percent of their bodyweight category to be approved.
This new weigh-in will take place in addition to the universal weigh-in the day before a competition, and is designed to prevent athletes from dangerously losing weight to fit into a category.
“This year will be focused on development and youth. Appealing to youth is a priority as if we do not attract the young generation to practice taekwondo; there will be no future for taekwondo. The rule changes we have approved today are an important step in the constant evolution of taekwondo to make sure it is as appealing as possible,” World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said.
The rule changes will be first implemented at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series 1 in Rome on June 1.
