SANTA CRUZ, Aruba (November 24, 2012) - After two days of heated competition, Iran, China, Spain and Korea made it to the men's semifinal round of the 2012 World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships in Santa Cruz.
In the women's division, Russia, France, Croatia and China advanced to the round of four of the World Cup Championships.
The semifinal and final matches are scheduled to take place on Nov. 25 at the Centro Deportivo gymnasium in Santa Cruz. The team competitions are drawing great interest from both spectators and international media for its dynamic side of taekwondo.
A total of 13 countries are competing for top honors in the men's division at the three-day World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships. They are host Aruba, Iran, Korea, Spain, Russia, Egypt, Venezuela, Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic, the United States, Brazil, Uzbekistan and China.
The male teams were divided into four groups, of which the best two teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round after round-robin preliminaries. Host Aruba, Iran, Korea and Spain were seeded.
In the women's division, 10 countries are vying for the first place in the women's category. They are Korea, China, France, Venezuela, Brazil, Croatia, Russia, Colombia, Chinese Taipei and the United States. The female groups were divided into three groups. Korea, China and France were seeded.
A Daedo Protector and Scoring System (PSS) is used. The team competition is composed of two rounds of five minutes. The second round is a tag match. A team consists of five athletes and one substitute.
In the men's category, Spain advanced to the semifinal as it beat Chinese Taipei 17-11, while China earned a ticket to the round of four by defeating Brazil 24-13.
Iran automatically reached the men's semifinal round as its quarterfinal opponents, the United States, withdrew from the match, while Korea outscored Dominican Republic 23-14 to reach the men's semifinal round.
In the women's division, Croatia brushed aside a stiff challenge from Korea to outpoint Korea 13-12 for a ticket to the round of four. France easily defeated Colombia 24-15 to advance to the women's round of four.
After the preliminary round, Iran and Dominican Republic reached the quarterfinal round in the men's Group A, while Korea and the United States made it to the men's round of eight in the Group B. In the men's Group C, Spain and Brazil earned their respective berths to the quarterfinal round, while China and Chinese Taipei reached the men's quarterfinal round in the Group D.
In the women's division, Russia and Korea advanced to the round of eight in the Group A, while China and Colombia reached the round of eight in the female Group B. Croatia and France made it to the women's round of eight in the Group C.
In the preliminary round, the male Aruban team failed to win a match despite enthusiastic supports from the home fans. The Aruban squad, however, demonstrated a strong fighting spirit throughout the matches, showing its great potential for further growth in taekwondo.
