Taekwondo World Championship in South Korea

After the draw to determine the competition brackets in the Taekwondo World Championship, which will take place from June 24 to 30 in South Korea, only six Mexicans will bypass the first round and wait for an opponent in the second round. María Espinoza, Briseida Acosta, Itzel Manjarrez, Carlos Navarro, Bryan Salazar, and Saúl Gutiérrez are among them. "The draw was good, there is no easy side in the brackets, as the level in world taekwondo has increased enormously," said national coach Alfonso Victoria.

The expectation in this World Championship is to surpass the result from two years ago and consolidate the new generations," said national coach Alfonso Victoria. Two years ago, in the 2015 edition in Chelyabinsk, our country only achieved a bronze medal through Saúl Gutiérrez in the under 63 kilograms category. Now, the national team arrives at this global event with a preparation that cost 1.6 million pesos, a budget granted by Conade and used for the training camp held in South Korea in April.

During this training camp, 16 electronic body protectors were purchased at a cost of 700 thousand pesos, which were also paid by the organization led by Alfredo Castillo, and they were the only tool that athletes had to continue their preparation, since they did not leave the National High Performance Center (CNAR).

"We adapted to the country's situation and if there is no resource to compete at an international level, we did the preparation at the CNAR, with the support of other states and Mexicans themselves, taking advantage of the fact that we have good competitors in our country," declared Victoria.

María Espinoza claims to have regained her competitive rhythm despite not having set foot on the mat since winning the silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

"I have been in many world events, but most of us have the experience of one or two events of this kind, which is very good. There are few who will be in their first World Championship, but they have already been in important competitions, and in the same way, we must all go and enjoy this event," declared the taekwondo athlete, who will compete in the over 73 kilograms weight category.

The competitions of this World Championship will begin on June 24 with the fights in the under 46 kilograms women's and under 54 kilograms men's categories, however, the day will end after the quarterfinals. The next day, the semifinals and finals of those categories will be held, and the fights in the under 49 kilograms women's and under 74 kilograms men's categories will also begin, but only up to the quarterfinals. The format will be the same for all weight categories, except for the under 62 kilograms women's and under 80 kilograms men's categories.