The 9th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships opened in Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt on April 4, 2012 for a five-day run, attracting about 750 athletes from 90 countries.
The biennial championships take place at the Sharm El Sheikh Covered Hall. The previous World Junior Championships were held in Tijuaha, Mexico in March 2010.
The opening day of the five-day event featured four weight categories: the men’s -59kg, the men’s +78kg, the women’s -52kg and the women’s +68kg.
Korea clinched two gold medals and one silver medal on the opening day. Russia took home one gold and one bronze medal, while Chinese Taipei won one gold medal.
In the men’s -59kg weight category, Chinese Taipei’s Ping-Shun Wang grabbed the gold medal and Korea’s Hyeok-jae Goh took home the silver medal. The bronze medal went to the Philippines’ Keno Anthony Mendoza and Belarus’ Yahor Dunayeu.
In the men’s +78kg division, Korea’s Yong-sik Kim earned his country the gold medal, while Turkey’sEnsar Uguz had to settle for the silver medal. Poland’s Michal Jozwiak and Russia’s Rasul Taubolatov shared the bronze medal in the category.
In the women’s -52kg division, Korea’s Min-ah Ha grabbed the gold medal, while Turkey’s Kubra Durdane Cakir won the silver. The bronze went to China’s Li Ping Liu and Mexico’s Alma Sarai Sandoval Ramirez.
In the women’s +68kg division, Russia’s Alexandra Potapova earned her country the gold medal, while Serbia’s Ana Bajic had to settle for the silver medal. The bronze went to the United States’Crystal Weekes and Turkey’s Nafia Kus.
In the afternoon, there was an opening ceremony of the World Junior Taekwondo Championships.
The opening ceremony drew, among others, Maj. Gen. Khaled Fouda, governor of South Sinai, andDr. Amr Khairy of Egypt, the silver medalist in the middle weight at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the bronze medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and the gold medalist at the1989 World Taekwondo Championships. At the opening ceremony, WTF President Chungwon Choue presented them a plaque of appreciation for their contribution to the development of taekwondo.
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