Montargis, France (Oct 23, 2022) – On 22-23 October the first ever G2 Taekwondo Open specifically for refugee athletes and underprivileged people, entitled 1st Solidarity’s Open 2022, was held in Montargis, France.
The competition was open to athletes from all clubs and national teams around the world: kyorugi cadets, juniors, and seniors. Para-kyorugi athletes and athletes from low-income countries were also invited with free registration to the competition.
Seyed Ehsan Naghibzadeh, Kasra Mehdipournejad, and Amir Hosseini were among the refugee athletes invited to compete in the event.
Mamoudou Bassoum from the League of Centre Val de Loire Taekwondo and organizer offered to pay travel expenses to support the cause of Refugee Athletes.
Kasra Mehdipournejad, the winner of the gold medal in the 80Kg category, said:
“I am really glad that I competed at the Solidarity Open G2 Tournament and I’m so happy to have won the gold medal in the -80 category. By gaining this point, I will improve my World and Olympic ranking. I express my huge thanks to the organizer for everything that they have done for us. Thank you to World Taekwondo and THF for always being there to support me. With your support, I can continue my sports career easier. In the end, I present my medal to all the people of my country who are bravely fighting».
THF Chairman Chungwon Choue added:
“The Solidarity Open is a fantastic initiative to give refugee athletes the platform they deserve to compete in taekwondo. Taekwondo is a sport which is open to all and through the work of the THF and World Taekwondo we have seen it is a sport which is hugely popular with refugees and displaced people. It provides an accessible pathway to sport and we need to provide as many opportunities as possible for refugees to practice and compete. The Solidarity Open has done that and we look forward to hosting similar events in the future.”
Some of these athletes will compete next at the World Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico.
