MEXICO AND KOREA WIN GOLD IN THE MEN's AND WOMEN's TEAM COMPETITIONS AT THE 2013 WTF WORLD CUP TAEKWONDO TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Mexico's men's team and Korea's women's team claimed gold today in the final day of the 2013 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

 

Fans at the Palais des Sports venue, and those watching online, were treated to an excellent standard of taekwondo on an enthralling and tense climatic third day.

In the first of the day's men's quarter-finals, Mexico overcame a spirited display from Brazil, winning the match 24-21. Korea booked their place in the semi-finals shortly after, defeating the USA 17-11.

In the other two quarter-finals, Russia beat Senegal 39-9 to continue their unbeaten record at the Championships and host nation, Cote d'Ivoire, managed to overcome China 17-15, in an extremely tense match.

Up next, were the women's semi-final matches between Korea and France, and Cote d'Ivoire and China. Korea maintained their 100% record and defeated France 17-13. China then took on Cote d'Ivoire and after an excellently contested match, came away with the win and a place in the final thanks to a 17-9 victory.

Fans had to wait until the afternoon to find out which teams who would be awarded the gold medals as athletes were given a break ahead of the men's semi-finals and final and women's final.

After the break, Mexico took to the mat against Korea for the first men's semi-final. There was very little between the two sides, but Mexico just edged it, winning 9-8. Russia took on Cote d'Ivoire in the second semi-final, but with the crowd spurring them on, Cote d'Ivoire won the match 17-16, much to the delight of the home fans.

The women's final was up first with an unbeaten Korean team taking on China. The atmosphere was electric but despite a valiant effort from China the Korean side was too strong and won the match 12-9 to take the gold medal, leaving China with silver. Cote d'Ivore and France claimed joint bronze.

The home crowd was hoping to see their men's team take gold as Mexico and Cote d'Ivoire took to the mat for the men's final. Fans were treated to an outstanding match which was a fitting reward for the superbly organised competition. But the hosts fell just short as Mexico took the top prize thanks to a 17-11 win leaving Cote d'Ivoire with silver and Korea and Russia with bronze.

170 athletes from 15 countries took part in the three-day Championships which were officiated by 82 qualified referees.

COTE D’IVOIRE SECURE PLACE IN QUARTER-FINALS OF THE 2013 WTF WORLD CUP TAEKWONDO TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FINAL MATCH OF DAY 2

Cote d'Ivoire's men's team overcame Brazil in dramatic fashion in the final match of day two of the 2013 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships in Abidjan today, to secure themselves a place in the quarter-finals of the Championships alongside Brazil, China, Mexico, Korea, Russia, Senegal and the USA.

The match concluded an excellent day of competition which saw many closely fought matches, all contested in the spirit of friendship and fair play.

The women's team from host nation, Cote d'Ivoire opened proceedings this morning with a match against USA, narrowly beating the American team by three points. Only three points separated the next two women's teams to take to the mat, as China defeated France 11-8 in their Group B match.

After the lunch break, Korea defeated the USA 22-12 to maintain their 100% record in the Championships and secure themselves top spot in Group A. That left Cote d'Ivoire and Spain to battle it out for second place. To the delight of the home crowd, Cote d'Ivoire beat France 11-9 in a very tense and exciting match.

In Group B, China beat Russia 10-8, in their third straight victory of the preliminaries, putting them top of Group B. Meanwhile France beat Mali 10-1 to book a place in tomorrow's knock-out matches.

Tomorrow, Korea will face France, while Cote d'Ivoire will take on China in the two female team semi-finals.

Meanwhile in the men's competition, China scored 22 points to France's 15 in their opening match giving them their first win of Group A. Mexico picked up from where they left off yesterday, beating Spain 28-21 and putting themselves top of the group with two wins and a draw. In the final match of Group A, Spain beat China 26-21; however it was not enough for the Spaniards to qualify for tomorrow's quarter-finals and China went through.

In Group B, Russia secured a place in tomorrow's quarter-finals before the lunch break, as they beat the USA 18-10. However, despite losing to Russia, USA's men's team managed to finish second in the group by beating Gabon 24-11 later in the afternoon.

Over in Group C, Senegal's men's team overcame a spirited display from the Democratic Republic of Congo to win 36-20, but were unable to defeat Korea later in the day, with the two teams finishing with 25 points each. This meant both Korea and Senegal finished the group with one win and one draw, but Korea claimed top spot courtesy of a slightly superior points difference.

Finally in Group D, Brazil managed to win their opening match of the Championships, having not played yesterday, as they defeated Nigeria by the smallest of margins, 10-9. Despite losing to host nation, Cote d'Ivoire in the final match of the day, the South American team claimed second place in Group D courtesy of their win over Nigeria and will compete in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

In the men's quarter-finals tomorrow, Mexico will take on fellow South Americans, Brazil; Korea will face the USA; Russia will take to the mat against Senegal; and Cote d'Ivoire will be looking to overcome China.

HOST NATION, COTE D’IVORIE, WINS OPENING MATCH ON FIRST DAY OF WTF WORLD CUP TAEKWONDO TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cote d'Ivoire's men's team beat fellow African nation, Nigeria, 23-11 today on the opening day of the WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

The men's team's win puts them in a strong position to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Championships on Saturday, as they prepare to face Brazil tomorrow in their second match of Group D.

Meanwhile in Group A, Mexico's men's team started the Championships with a 16-16 draw against China before overcoming pressure from France to win 30-21. France did manage to claim a win on the opening day, however, as they beat Spain 16-15 in an incredibly hard fought match.

In Group B, Russia's men's team got off to the perfect start, beating Gabon 23-8 and Burkina Faso 35-5. Burkina Faso will be looking for their first victory tomorrow as, despite their best efforts, they lost 34-4 to the men's team from the USA.

In Group C, only one match was played, with Senegal yet to compete at the Championships. In the only match of the group, Korea managed to overcome the Democratic Republic of Congo 32-13.

The women's competition was split over two groups with teams from all eight of the competing countries taking to the mat on the first day of the Championships.

In Group A, Korea's women's team maintained the unbeaten run set by their country's men's team as they overcame Spain 31-16 and, unfortunately for the host nation, beat Cote d'Ivoire 28-3. Spain beat the USA 25-12 in the only other match in Group A.

Over in Group B, Russia beat African team, Mali, 23-3, but could not manage victory against France, losing narrowly 17-14 to the team from Europe. China was also matched against Mali and claimed a 35-4 win over the team from Africa.

Tomorrow will see all the teams compete in the final day of group matches as they look to book themselves a place in the knockout stages of the Championships on Saturday.

2013 WTF WORLD CUP TAEKWONDO TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

KICK OFF IN ABIDJAN

The 2013 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships got underway in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, today in front of a passionate home crowd, further reinforcing taekwondo's global reach and worldwide popularity.

Over 170 male and female athletes from 15 different countries are set to compete at the Palais des Sports venue in Abidjan over the next three days. Athletes from the host nation, Cote d'Ivoire, will take to the mat against national teams from all over the world, including Brazil, China, France, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Spain and the USA, as they look to win gold on home soil. They will also have the chance to compete against teams from closer to home as fellow African nations Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal are all represented at the Championships.

Speaking in Abidjan, WTF President Chungwon Choue said:

"It gives me great pleasure to be here in Abidjan for the 2013 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships. Taekwondo has a very special relationship with Africa and we are delighted to be able to reward the loyal support here. The growth of taekwondo in Africa over the last two decades has been extraordinary; the WTF now has 49 African Member National Associations.

"Speaking to athletes and spectators it is clear to see the appetite and passion for taekwondo that exists in Africa. Just yesterday afternoon, a ceremony was held to commemorate the laying of the first stone of the Taekwondo Palace which will serve as a base for the development of taekwondo in Cote d'Ivoire for many years to come.

"Hosting world-class competitions like the WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships across the world will only increase the global reach of our sport. I have no doubt that over the next three days Abidjan will host an excellent event which will be contested in the spirit of friendship and fair play."

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PHOTO

CIV male moment of joy

Senegal Victory

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