MUJU, Korea (Jul 4, 2025) - Thirty-six Para Taekwondo athletes from 17 countries have gathered in Muju, Korea for the first-ever World Taekwondo Para Taekwondo Training Camp.

 

Participants in the camp include Paralympic champions and medallists, world champions, athletes from developing countries and refugee athletes, brought together under one roof with leading instructors to elevate the global level of Para Taekwondo.

 

The Opening Ceremony took place today at Taekwondowon, attended by World Taekwondo President Dr Chungwon Choue, World Taekwondo Secretary General Mr Jeongkang Seo, Muju County Mayor Inhong Hwang, Taekwondowon Chairman Mr Jung Heon Kim, and World Taekwondo Para Taekwondo Committee Chair Mr Usman Dildar.

 

“Para Taekwondo has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years, and we saw this with the spectacular competitions during the Paralympic Games in Paris,” President Choue said. “World Taekwondo is fully committed to building on this momentum, and we are delighted to organise this training camp for the first time in Muju which will support athletes at all levels.

 

“We want to use this Training Camp as a pilot to develop into an annual event with maximum benefit for our Para Taekwondo athletes.”

 

Athletes are being trained by Rodrigo Ferla, a World Taekwondo Best Para Taekwondo Coach award winner who has coached several Paralympic medallists, and Payam Khanlarkhani, the head coach of the Iranian national Para Taekwondo team and coach to multiple world and Paralympic medallists.

 

The Training Camp will run through to July 10, including further dynamic sessions aimed at improving athletes’ technique, strategy and match management.

 

It also features evening educational lectures led by World Taekwondo Para Taekwondo Committee Chair Mr Usman Dildar on the biological and psychological aspects of Para Taekwondo, sport classes and classification, Games management, and the future development of Para Taekwondo to support the athletes’ development.

 

Athletes attending include Leonor Angelica Espinoza Carranza (PER), the only two-time Paralympic gold medallist and two-time Parapan American Games medallist.

 

Fellow Paralympic champions Ana Carolina Silva de Moura (BRA), Imammadin Khalilov (AZE) and Mahmut Bozteke (TUR) are also participating.

 

Nepal’s first ever Olympic or Paralympic Games medallist Palesha Goverdhan, who took bronze in the Women K44 -57kg at Paris 2024, is part of the Training Camp in Muju.

 

Zahra Rahimi (IRI), Meyrem Betul Cavdar (TUR), Ana Japaridze (GEO), Silvana Cardoso Fernandes (BRA), Christina Gkentzou (GRE), Rajae Akermarch (MAR), Sabir Zeylanov (AZE), Ayoub Adouich (MAR) also won Paralympic medals in Paris last year among the Training Camp participants.

 

Five-time world champion Mahdi Pourrahnama (IRI), former world champion and Paralympic medallist Debora Menezes (BRA), and Paris 2024 crowd favourite Idrissa Keita (SEN) add to a star-studded line-up at the Training Camp.

 

Refugee Team Athletes Mohammad Maher Karman and Elif Ismaael Alqublan, who are originally from Syria and now based at a refugee camp in Jordan, are taking part in their first camp and international competition, having been identified through the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation.

 

The World Taekwondo Para Taekwondo Training Camp will be followed by the World Para Taekwondo Open Challenge in Chuncheon, Korea on July 11.