Over 200 athletes from the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, France, Monaco and Vietnam will take part in the Vietnamese Open Taekwondo Championships in HCM City from July 21-23.

More than 200 athletes from the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, France, Monaco and Vietnam will take part in the Vietnamese Open Taekwondo Championships in Ho Chi Minh City from July 21-23.

The martial artists will compete in 16 fighting events (including 8 for women) and 20 events for young fighters.

The host country has 78 martial artists, divided into 3 teams, namely the national squad, Ho Chi Minh City and players from the central provinces.

The tournament will provide an excellent chance for Vietnam to prepare for the forthcoming 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. It also helps the athletes to learn the new regulations on using electronic amour.

After the Vietnam Open, which is in the World Teakwondo Federation (WTF) series, Ho Chi Minh City will also host the 2nd Asian International Teakwondo Federation (ITF) Championships from July 23-25.

The tournament has attracted 80 martial artists from 11 countries including Japan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, China, Afghanistan, Nepal and Vietnam competing in 12 performance and 10 fighting events.

To prepare for the tournament, the Vietnamese team is currently training under the instruction of Mariusz Steckiewicz, an ITF expert from Poland.

Source: VOV