Steven Lopez creates History

Steven Lopez of the United States became the first five-time world champion as he won the gold medal in the men’s under 80kg category on the opening day of the 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark on Oct. 14, 2009. Lopez, the gold medal winner at both 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games and a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, brushed aside a stiff challenge from Spain’s Nicolas Garcia Hemme in the final match to earn the honor. He won the World Championships titles in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007.
"The victory means a lot to me. I won a bronze at the Beijing Olympic Games and I haver trained very hard to this day. I made history in taekwondo and I am proud of being part of the history," said Lopez shortly after the final match. The bronze in the category went to Rashad Ahmadov of Azerbaijan and Michaud Sebastien of Canada. In the men’s over 80kg division, Mali’s Daba Keita beat Korea’s Yun-Bae Nam to earn his African country the gold medal. Keita won the gold medal in the same weight division at the 2007 Beijing World Taekwondo Championships. Hossein Tajik of Iran and Arman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan shared the bronze medal in the category. In the women’s under 67kg class, France’s Gwladys Epangue earned her country the first female championships title in taekwondo, as she beat Cuba’s Taimi Castellanos Estrada in the final match. The bronze in the female class went to Sandra Saric of Croatia and Nikolina Kursar of Norway. The 2009 World Taekwondo Championships drew a total of 928 athletes, including 558 men, from 142 countries, the largest ever in WTF Championships history. The 2007 Beijing World Taekwondo Championships attracted 865 athletes from 116 countries.

SHARUKH KHAN TAEKWONDO HONARARY BLACKBELT

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan who was today conferred with the title 'Honorary Black belt of Taekwondo' by the Korean Government said that he felt like a tough guy despite mostly doing romantic films in his two-decade-old career.
However Mr. Khan said that he has no plans to switch to the action genre and will stick to his lover-boy image. "I am just recovering from my shoulder injury and will take another two months to be fully fit. I plan to stick to romance and utilize both my hands perfectly first," he said.
SRK has been conferred the 5th degree black belt of Taekwondo even though he knows nothing of the sport. "My son Aryan is very angry with me. He has been practicing Taekwondo and will take another two years to earn this title. He told me that it was not fair to be conferred this honour when I can’t even lift my leg," the doting father revealed.
The actor said that despite the black belt he has no plans to compete with Bollywood's martial arts specialist, Akshay Kumar. "I come nowhere near him," he said adding that he would explore the possibilities of utilizing Korean locations for his film shoots and showcasing Taekwondo in his films.
Apart from the honour in Taekwondo, the actor was appointed the Honorary Ambassador of Korea (Culture and Tourism) in India. He promised that he would focus on building bridges between the film industries of the two countries.
SRK said his children Aryan and Suhana are learning Taekwondo and won gold medals in competitions at school. "The kids are very small but their knuckles and kicks are really hard and they try it out on me sometimes,” he said.

2009 WTF World taekwondo Championships

Hello People,

The 2009 WTF World Taekwondo chanpionship will kick off on the 14th of October in Copenhagen , Denmark. Almost 140 countries participate in the World championships, with the best of fighters showcasing their sparring skills. The event would last till 18th of October 2009