Thousands of taekwondo jins duke it out in Smart/MVPSF national tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Veterans and rising stars will try to outdo each other when they vie in the season-opening Smart/MVPSF National Carlos Palanca Jr. (CPJ) Taekwondo Championships from March 22-23 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) organizing committee said around 2,000 practitioners of the popular Korean martial arts had confirmed participation in the two-day event, which also has the backing of the Philippine Sports Commission, MILO and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

The CPJ tournament, which in the past produced elite members of the Philippine team, will be the first in PTA’s busy schedule for the year, having lined up top level tournaments where its top athletes are going to take part ahead of major international tournaments. These include the Southeast Games in Thailand this December and the World Championships in Wuxi, China.

Competitions will be divided into two events — Kyorugi (Free Sparring) and Poomsae (Forms).

The Kyorugi will feature Senior, Junior, Cadet for both male and female fighters, while Poomsae will have two events — the Recognized (Individual, Team and Mixed pair) and Freestyle (Individual and Mixed pair) also for both male and female jins.

The association will also be sending its top fighters in the World Cadet Taekwondo Championships and Chuncheon Korea Open Championships.

Parents interested to enroll their children and sports enthusiasts willing to embrace the sport are encouraged to witness this event starting at 9 a.m. onwards on Saturday and Sunday.