Around 750 black belters from all over the country will take part in the 2024 SMART/MVP Sports Foundation Best-of-the-Best Taekwondo Championships slated from 7 to 8 September at the Ayala Malls, Manila Bay in Parañaque City.

The two-day competition that has the full backing of Smart Communications and PLDT big boss Manny Pangilinan will gather the elite fighters who will vie in various categories in both the Kyorugi (Free Sparring) and Poomsae (Forms), guaranteeing another weekend to remember for taekwondo enthusiasts.

The Kyorugi will be divided into Senior, Junior, Cadet and Grade School — both for male and female competitors — while Poomsae will be classified into Recognized Poomsae, Individual and Free Style Poomsae Individual.

Given the level of competition, only gold and silver medal winners in various competitions like in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police Olympics, Taekwondo Blackbelt Brotherhood, Taekwondo Blackbelt Sorority and Philippine Taekwondo Contingent are qualified to join the event.

With Pangilinan’s support, the Philippine Taekwondo Association is hoping to identify the country’s top bets for the next Olympics slated in Los Angeles in 2028.

As in the past tournaments, the Philippine Taekwondo Association will utilize the PSS (Protective Scoring System) and the ESS (Electronic Scoring System), electronic armors and socks together with the IVR (Instant Video Replay) system for accurate and fair scoring.

Martial arts enthusiasts and sports aficionados are invited to watch the event especially their children who are interested to learn the popular Korean martial arts.

Matches start at 9 a.m. onwards.