The World Grand Prix finals in taekwondo and para taekwondo will take place on November 27–29 at the Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace in Astana. The G-10 category competition is being held in Kazakhstan for the first time.
Olympic, world and Asian champions are expected to compete. Along with medals, taekwondo athletes will vie for ranking points for qualification to the Los Angeles Olympics. The Astana final will feature 128 athletes competing in eight Olympic weight categories. The winner will earn 100 points, the silver medalist 60 and bronze medalists 36 each.
The lineup includes Paris Olympic champions Park Tae-jun and Kim Yu-jin (South Korea), Aryan Salimi (Iran), and Tokyo Olympic champion Vito Dell’Aquila (Italy). World champion Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil will also compete. This year, she won all three Grand Prix events in Rome, Muju and Paris.
Kazakhstan’s team will include Batyrkhan Toleugali (-80 kg), Temirlan Tleules (-58 kg), Maria Sevostyanova (-57 kg) and Rita Bakisheva (-49 kg). Sevostyanova won bronze at the Paris event. Aidana Kumartayeva also took bronze at the Muju event.
The para taekwondo competition begins on November 27. Around 70 athletes are expected to take part, competing in sport class K44 across ten weight categories for medals and ranking points toward qualification for the Los Angeles Paralympics.
Kazakhstan’s men’s para taekwondo team will include Nyshanbek Aktileuov (-58 kg), Aibek Zhumangali (-63 kg), Dinmukhammed Askar (-70 kg) and Nurlan Dombaev (-80 kg). The women’s team will feature Milana Krasavtseva (-52 kg), Kamilya Dosmalova (-57 kg) and Maryam Salimgereeva (-65 kg).
The Para Taekwondo Grand Prix Final is scheduled for November 27, with bouts starting at 09:00. On November 28, the taekwondo events will include men’s -68 kg and -80 kg, and women’s -49 kg, -57 kg and +67 kg. On November 29, men will compete in -58 kg and +80 kg, and women in -67 kg.
On November 28, preliminary rounds and quarterfinals are scheduled for 09:00–13:00, semifinals for 15:00–16:00 and finals for 16:00–19:00. On November 29, preliminary rounds and quarterfinals will run from 09:00 to 12:00, semifinals from 13:00 to 14:00 and finals from 14:00 to 16:00. The opening ceremony is also planned for November 27.
