As the ‘time of taekwondo’ approaches for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, World Taekwondo (WTF) President Cho Jeong-won expressed his excitement for the biggest Games ever to be held in a top-notch venue.

“The Grand Palais will be the most magnificent stadium ever,” he said at a press conference at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Friday (local time), adding, “I’m worried that the athletes and international referees will be surprised when they enter the stadium.”

“I was worried about the heat (due to the Grand Palais’ glass ceiling), but the city of Paris has spent a lot of money to renovate it beautifully, and it’s fully air-conditioned,” he said.

The taekwondo schedule for the Paris Olympics begins in two days with the men’s 58-kilogram qualification event on July 7.

The venue will be the Grand Palais, a popular Parisian attraction that hosted the fencing events of the Games from February 27 to March 4.

“Paris is where taekwondo became an Olympic sport at the 103rd International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in 1994,” Cho said. Thanks to that, taekwondo was included in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games,” he said, emphasizing the sport’s meaningful connection to the city.

He also mentioned that the WTF demonstrators had performed a demonstration in the square in front of the Paris City Hall the day before.

Cho said that taekwondo has changed with each 토토사이트 순위 Olympics, and the Paris Games will be no different.

“After every Olympics, we have made changes to the rules,” Cho said, adding that the latest technology, including the electronic sparring system and 4D replay, has allowed for fairer and more transparent judging.

Referring to the period before the London 2012 Games, which he described as a “disaster,” Cho said: “After the introduction of the electronic hockey helmet and video replay system, there were no disputes. Athletes and coaches accept the calls,” he said.

Mr. Zhao also encouraged the five refugee athletes competing in the Paris Games. Yahya Algotani, Dina Fouyounes Langeroudi, and Farzad Mansouri are traveling to Paris with dreams of medals.

Including these refugees, 134 athletes will compete in eight weight classes. This is the largest number of refugee athletes in history, surpassing the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021 (130).

Highlighting the record number of athletes, Cho said, “I am grateful to the Paris Organizing Committee. They’ve been working hard for years,” he said, adding, “Everything went well. But we need two more days to finalize it,” he said.

“In any case, we will be able to see taekwondo competitions in one of the most beautiful venues in Olympic history,” he added.