WTF honors top taekwondo athletes, officials
at 2015 Gala Awards in Mexico City
Athletes from China and Korea were named Players of the Year on Dec. 7, 2015 in Mexico City, Mexico, as the WTF wrapped up 2015 by honoring key figures in the sport at the federation’s second annual Gala Awards.
The red-carpet event, inaugurated in 2015 as part of an effort by the WTF to boost the profile of its athletes and add a touch of glamor to the sport, took place in an appropriately prestigious venue: Mexico’s National Theater in the heart of the capital.
In the theater’s floodlit, baroque interior, athletes and officials – usually attired in track suits and referee uniforms – mingled in lounge suits and cocktail dresses.
On the stage – more typically a setting for operas – LED screens ran highlights from the year’s competitions and various traditional dances, including flamenco and a shamanistic display, were performed before WTF President Chungwon Choue was presented.
“It is a pleasure to hold the second taekwondo gala event in Mexico,” Choue said. “Mexico is always a great supporter of taekwondo.”
Choue went on to talk about a nascent initiative of the WTF, the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, which will take taekwondo into refugee camps worldwide. The THF will launch full operations in 2016. He added that the taekwondo competition in Rio would be even better than the London 2012 Games.
Dramatic, music-backed poomsae was performed by Mexican champions, then the awards got underway.
Awards had been voted on mostly by peers. Ballots had been filled in at the previous Grand Prix Series 3 event in Manchester, UK, in October, as well as on-site at the National Theater.
The first award, the 2015 Female Referee of the Year Award was won by Kalay Suddai of Thailand. It was presented by Djibouti IOC Member Aicha Garad Ali and Pan American Taekwondo Union President Ji-ho Choi.
The 2015 Male Referee of the Year Award was won by Tarik Benradi of Morocco. It was presented by African Taekwondo Union President Gen. Ahmed Fouly and Guatemala Taekwondo Federation President and WTF Council Member Maria Rosario Borello Castillo.
In Manchester, four male and four female best referee nominees had been chosen by their peers. The final selection was made by the WTF Selection Committee, composed of the five-member Competition Supervisory Board.
The 2015 Member National Association (MNA) of the Year Award was won by Russia, which had hosted both the 2015 World Championships in Chelyabinsk and the 2015 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series 1 in Moscow. The award was presented by former Miss USA and taekwondo 4th dan Nia Sanchez, and WTF Vice President and Peruvian IOC Member Ivan Dibos.
Other nominated MNAs were Turkey, Great Britain and Mexico – nations which had hosted 2015’s major WTF events. The winner was chosen by the WTF leadership.
After a Mariachi band performed, a new award inaugurated in 2015, the 2015 Best Kick of the Year, was won by Moldova’s Aaron Cook for his jumping, spin-turning kick knockout of Mali’s Ismael Coulibaly at the Moscow Grand Prix Series 1– a blow which blended a high degree of difficulty with textbook execution and wicked power. On stage, Cook likened the winning of the award to an Oscar, then thanked his team and brother, Luke, for his coaching.
The other athletes whose kicks were nominated were China’s Jingyu Wu, Great Britain’s Jade Jones, Korea’s Chul-ho Cho, and Turkey’s Servet Tazegul. The WTF Selection Committee made the final decision.
The award was presented by Mexican Taekwondo Federation President Juan Manuel Lopez Delgado and European Taekwondo Union President Athanasios Pragalos.
After a brief LED presentation on Mexican taekwondo history, a pair of Outstanding Contribution awards, granted and presented by Choue, were handed to the Mexican and Jordanian taekwondo federations.
The 2015 Coach of the Year Award was won by Gulsah Alonso of Egypt, who mentioned “the most important man” in her life, her husband, in her acceptance speech. The award was presented by Honorary IOC Member Melitón Sanchez Rivas of Panama and Oceania Taekwondo Union President John Kotsifas.
Alonso won 20 percent of the votes cast. A total of 99 referees, athletes and coaches voted for the award. The other nominees were Korea’s Jung-eun Jang with 19 percent, France’s Baverel Myriam with 17 percent, Belgium’s Karim Dighou with 13 percent, Iran’s Bijan Moghanlou with 12 percent, Uzbekistan’s Alexander Kim with 10 percent, and Russia’s Stanislav Khan with 8 percent.
After a musical interlude, the 2015 Female Player of the Year award was won by China’s Jingyu Wu. The diminutive Wu is a double Olympic gold medalist, has dominated the women’s -49kg category in 2015 and is a favorite for another gold in Rio. She urged her fellow athletes to “enjoy life and enjoy taekwondo!” The award was presented by the previous year’s winner, Jade Jones of Great Britain, and Choue.
Wu received 39 percent of votes cast. A total of 130 players voted in Manchester and 48 players in Mexico City. The other players who had been up for the award were Great Britain’s Jade Jones with 16.4 percent; Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez and Serbia’s Milica Mandic each with 6.4 percent; and France’s Haby Niare with 5.4 percent.
To be eligible for the Player of the Year awards, nominees had to be world ranking number 1, 2, 3, or 4 in Manchester Grand Prix, and number 1 or 2 in the Mexico Grand Prix final.
The 2015 Male Player of the Year award was presented by the previous year’s awardee, Korea’s Dae-hoon Lee and Choue. The winner was a considerable surprise. Choue joked that Lee should read out the name on the card – Lee’s own. “I will always try my best,” he said in a surprised acceptance speech.
Lee won 16.4 percent of the votes cast. A total of 132 players voted in Manchester and 49 players voted in Mexico City. The other players nominated for the award were Russia’s Dmitriy Shokin with 15.8 percent, Iran’s Farzan Ashourzadeh Fallah with 13.2 percent, Iran’s Madhi Khodabakhshi with 11.8 percent, and Russia’s Alexey Denisenko with 10.6 percent.
Thus ended the WTF’s second annual Gala Awards. The third will follow the Rio Olympics.
