Mahdi Pourrahnama (in red), one of the sport's greats, was upset at the 2019 World Championships ⒸWorld Taekwondo Federation
Para taekwondo is set to make a splash at Tokyo 2020 next year. However, lots of moments have already been created. Here is a look at five:
Peruvian Paradise – Flagbearer Carranza wins Parapan Am Gold at home
When Peru needed a star to lead the nation as host of the 2019 Parapan Am Games, it turned to Para taekwondo’s Angelica Espinoza Carranza.
In Para taekwondo’s breakout on the global stage, Carranza gave the host country two of its defining moments – leading the country into the stadium as flagbearer at the biggest sporting event ever held in Peru, and winning gold on its penultimate day.
Carranza delivered one of the greatest performances of her career to upset Mexico’s Claudia Romero to capture Peru’s fifth and final gold medal.
The win marked Carranza’s emergence as one of the best in the world. Months later, she booked her ticket to Tokyo 2020 by winning the Pan American Paralympic qualification tournament – where she hopes to give Peru one more reason to cheer.
Upset Extravaganza – New world champions surprise
Para taekwondo’s rise in popularity was particularly evident than at the 2019 World Championships, which saw record numbers of participants, stunning upsets, diverse winners, and the greatest fight in Para taekwondo’s history.
Showing the explosive growth of the sport, stars like Great Britain’s Amy Truesdale and Iran’s Mahdi Pourrahnama – who had never lost at a Worlds before – failed to even medal.
Instead, a wave of teenage fighters emerged as Para taekwondo’s next generation, including Mexico’s 16-year-old world champion Juan Diego Garcia Lopez.
Even Paralympic hosts Japan got in on the party, picking up its first two Para taekwondo medals. Winter Paralympic Games medalist and Japan’s flagbearer at the 2014 Paralympic Games, Shoko Ota successfully crossed over to the world of martial arts by winning bronze.
But the growth of the sport was most evident in the quality of competition.
In a splendid display of athleticism, fitness, and determination, Mongolia’s Bolor-Erdene Ganbat fought off a remarkable 20-point comeback bid from teenage Turkish star Ali Can Ozcan in the men’s up to 61 kg K44 semi-final that left the stadium buzzing and earned the title of the “greatest fight in Para taekwondo history.”
In the end, world champions came from 10 countries, while 22 different nations won medals.
Para taekwondo earns Paralympic Status
Just a decade after its development in 2005, Para taekwondo was awarded the coveted Paralympic status on 31 January 2015.
The second Paralympic martial art, Para taekwondo will become the Paralympic Movement’s first full-contact sport when it makes its debut at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
This global appeal led to its selection alongside Para badminton.
The Rise of China
When 2019 began, China did not have a single fighter ranked in the top 20. Along came Yujie Li.
Unranked at the start of the year, Li did the unthinkable by finishing the year ranked No. 3 and earning automatic qualification to the 2020 Paralympic Games.
Along the way, she won four tournaments – including her first world title – while making the final in each of her six events.
Li’s emergence set up one of the sport’s most exciting rivalries with Denmark’s Lisa Gjessing. The up to 58 kg division’s two most dominant fighters faced each other for the first time at the end of the year, with Gjessing coming out on top 27-14.
Li’s success has led to a renaissance of the sport in China. By the end of the year, the Chinese team had nearly doubled in size and Wuxi was named host of the 2021 Worlds.
A star is born in Mexico’s Garcia Lopez
While a whole new generation of fighters made an impact the year before Para taekwondo’s Paralympic debut, Mexico’s Juan Diego Garcia Lopez led the way as the sport’s newest star.
The teenage sensation entered 2019 ranked No. 5 in the men’s up to 75 kg division. He finished the year at No. 1 and is arguably the sport’s best fighter.
Garcia Lopez won five international tournaments last year, including the World gold and Parapan Am Games title. His only blemish was a last-second loss in the European Open final.
Just 16 when he claimed his world title, Garcia Lopez led a wave of teenage fighters that broke out in 2019. Brazil’s Nathan Torquato won Parapan Am gold at 17 years old, while Egypt’s Salma Ali Abd Al Moneem Hassan claimed silver at the African championships before turning 16.
The younger sibling to fellow martial arts like karate and judo, taekwondo is defined by its highlight-reel spin kicks and is the only full-contact martial art set to featur at the Paralympic Games.
While there are two forms of taekwondo – kyorugi (sparring) and poomsae (forms) – only kyorugi will be featured at Tokyo 2020 next year.
Easily practiced around the world with little equipment required, Para taekwondo is quickly growing; last year’s World Championships had winners from 10 countries, while 22 different nations won medals.
History
Taekwondo was developed in postwar Korea and designed to focus on traditional indigenous fighting systems. The first World Championships were held in Seoul, South Korea, in 1973 and have been held every two years ever since.
Taekwondo made its Olympic debut as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Para taekwondo was developed in 2005, with an initial focus on kyorugi. Para poomsae followed in 2014.
The first Para taekwondo Worlds were held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2009. The eighth World Championships took place in 2019 in Antalya, Turkey.
The biggest landmark came in January 2015, when the sport received Paralympic status by joining the programme at Tokyo 2020. Virtually every major event since the announcement has attracted a record number of athletes and nations.
Unlike Olympic taekwondo, where South Korean athletes have dominated the Olympic medal table, Para taekwondo has world champions from nearly every continent. Iran, Mongolia, Turkey and Russia have been traditionally strong. Brazil, China, Japan, and Mexico are seeing more recent successes.
How it Works
Para taekwondo is an adaptation of its Olympic counterpart with one notable exception – kicks to the head are forbidden for safety.
Kyorugi athletes often have upper limb impairments, making blocking far more difficult.
The sport is defined by its eye-catching spin kicks and last-second comebacks.
Fighters are awarded points based on the difficulty of the manoeuvre – two points for a kick to the trunk; three for landing a turning or back kick; and four for landing the delightful 360-degree roundhouse kick. A valid punch is worth a single point.
Points are electronically scored, based on placement and strength. Fighters wear special trunk protectors for this purpose. Judges are used to determine when a higher-difficulty kick lands.
Points can also be awarded for penalties, including kicking below the belt, falling, withdrawing from an opponent, or refusing to engage an opponent.
Like its Olympic counterpart, fights feature three two-minute rounds.
The scoring makes for entertaining, final-second flurries. Tied fights are decided in tense ‘golden point’ rounds.
Who Competes?
Kyorugi features four classifications – generally based on the length of the upper limb impairment and whether both upper limbs have impairments.
• K44 includes athletes with unilateral arm amputation (or equivalent loss of function), or loss of toes which impact the ability to lift the heel
• K43 includes athletes with bilateral amputation below the elbow, or equivalent loss of function in both upper limbs
• K42 includes athletes with unilateral arm amputation above the elbow
• K41 includes athletes with bilateral arm amputation above the elbow
Poomsae also offers classifications for athletes with neurological or intellectual impairments and will be adding new classifications for athletes with vision impairments or in wheelchairs.
Each kyorugi classification is divided into three weight divisions – lightweight (up to 49/61 kg for women / men), middleweight (up to 58 / 75 kg), and heavyweight (over 58 / 75 kg).
When the sport makes its Paralympic debut at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, 72 kyorugi fighters from the K44 and K43 classifications will compete in unified 12-person brackets according to weight and gender.
Denmark’s Lisa Gjessing, Iran’s Mahdi Pourrahnama, the USA’s Evan Medell, Great Britain’s Amy Truesdale, and Mongolia’s Bolor-Erdene Ganbat are some of the sport’s most successful fighters and have all qualified for the 2020 Paralympic Games.
By Lee Reaney for the International Paralympic Committee
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