Korean competitors ages 12-14 have achieved their best finish at the World Taekwondo Cadet & Junior Championships.
Team Korea on July 31 won the boys' competition and ranked third in the girls' at this year's tournament held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from July 28-31.
A combined 683 athletes from 77 countries participated in the tournament. The Korean boys competed in all 10 weight classes and won four gold medals and four silvers with a score of 730, while the girls won two golds and a silver with a score of 325.
The four gold medalists among the boys were Lee Junhyuk (under 53 kg), Kim Keonwoo (under 75 kg), Kang Dongmin (under 65 kg) and Kim Minjoon (over 65 kg).
The four boys who won silver were Park Jeonghun (under 37 kg), Lee Donggun (under 41 kg), Kim Mingyu (under 45 kg) and Lee Eunseok (under 49 kg).
The two girls who won gold were Kim Hyang-gi (under 47 kg) and Seo Dawon (under 55 kg). Lee Yumin secured silver in the under-41 kg class.
This is the first time in seven years for Korea to win the boys' competition of the tournament since the 2015 edition held in Muju-gun County, Jeollabuk-do Province.
The girls' third-place finish is their highest in the tournament, as they had won only one gold before.
The boys topped the tournament's overall rankings followed by Iran (two golds, one silver, score of 313) and Mexico (two golds, one bronze, 291).
Iran won its second straight girls' competition (four golds, one silver, one bronze, 581) and fourth overall, followed by Thailand (two golds, two silvers, 363).
Targeting youth competitors ages 12-14, this championship made its debut in 2014 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The second edition was held in Muju-gun in 2015, the third in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in 2017 and the fourth in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2019.
The biennial tournament was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as this year's competition came three years after the last. The next championship is set for next year in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
