Veterans and rising stars will try to outdo each other when they vie in the season-opening SMART/MVPSF National Carlos Palanca Jr. (CPJ) Taekwondo Championships on 22 to 23 March at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum
The Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) organizing committee said around 2,000 practitioners of the popular Korean martial arts had confirmed participation in the two-day event which also has the backing of the Philippine Sports Commission, MILO and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
The CPJ tournament, which in the past produced elite members of the Philippine team, will be the first in PTA’s busy schedule for the year, having lined-up top level tournaments where its top athletes are going to take part ahead of major international tournaments, including the SEA Games in Thailand this December and the World Championships in Wuxi, China.
Competitions will be divided into two events — Kyorugi (free sparring) and Poomsae (forms).
The Kyorugi will feature Senior, Junior, Cadet for both male and female fighters, while Poomsae will have two events — the Recognized (individual, team and mixed pair) and Freestyle (individual and mixed pair) also for both male and female jins.