Russia’s Anastasia Baryshnikova (left) delivers a kick to Korea’s Yoo-Sun Ji in the final match of the women’s +67kg weight category of the WTF World Taekwondo Tour 2010 Moscow at the Moscow Martial Arts Center in Moscow on Dec. 10, 2010. Baryshnikova came from behind to beat Ji 4-2 for the top honors.

The WTF World Taekwondo Tour 2010 Moscow, which featured both individual and team competitions, concluded in a great success in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 10, 2010.

The two-hour-long World Taekwondo Tour, the second of its kind after the 2009 Mexico City World Taekwondo Tour, attracted a total of 20 athletes from seven countries, including two reserves for the team competitions.

The five-member team competition between Korea and Russia drew a special interest from both the jam-packed spectators at the venue and the international media. Reflecting the high interest of the media, Korea’s MBC Sport+ television made a live broadcasting of the event.

In the three-round team competition, which lasted a total of 19 minutes, a five-member Korean team came from behind to beat their Russian counterparts 50-47 for the top honors. The Korean athletes took home $20,000 in top prize money, while the Russian squad won $10,000 in prize money.

Before a jam-packed gymnasium of the Moscow Martial Arts Center in southern Moscow, Russia’s Anastasia Baryshnikova clinched the top honors in the women’s +67kg weight category as she came from behind to beat Korea’s Yoo-sun Ji 4-2 in the final match.

Baryshnikova, third on the WTF athlete ranking in the women’s -73kg weight category and the gold medalist at the 2010 European Taekwondo Championships, took home $10,000 in top prize money, while Ji, the gold medalist at the 2005, 2009 and 2010 Korea Open, earned $5,000 in prize money.

Simon Rosana of Spain and Great Britain’s Bianca Walkden each grabbed the bronze medal in the same weight division, together with $3,000 in prize money. Rosana, first on the WTF athlete ranking in the female +73kg category and the gold medalist at the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships, was beaten 2-13 by Korea’s Ji in a semifinal match, while Walkden, the gold medal winner at the 2010 World Combat Games, lost to Russia’s Anastasia Baryshnikova 2-4 in another female semifinal match.

In the men’s +80kg weight class, Iran’s Hossein Tajik edged Russia’s Roman Kuznetsov 7-6 in the final match to grab the top honors. Tajik, the gold medal winner at the 2010 Asian Championships and the 2010 Dutch Open, is placed first on the WTF athlete ranking in the men’s +87kg weight category.
Tajik won $10,000 in top prize money, while Kuznetsov, the gold medalist at the 2010 U.S. Open, took home $5,000 in prize money.

Italy’s Carlo Molfetta, the gold medalist at the 2010 European Championships, and Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov, the silver medalist at the 2010 World Combat Games, won the bronze medal each in the same weight division, together with prize money of $3,000.

A protector and scoring system (PSS), formerly called electronic body protectors, and an instant video replay system were not used in the Moscow event.
The new WTF Competition Rules were used for the Moscow event, with some modifications. To give more dynamism to the competitions, a strict five-second rule was applied, while a fourth sudden-death round was adopted with no time limit until one of the athletes scores the golden point. Four points were given to an athlete when he or she made a successful turning kick to the head.

Two hours before the start of the competition, there was an opening ceremony of the Moscow event at the venue.

At the opening ceremony, WTF President Chungwon Choue said in his remarks, “The World Taekwondo Tour is a unique tournament. This is the chance for our top taekwondo athletes to step forward out of their amateur status and into the professional world. No longer do their careers have to be confined to the Olympics.”

“Even though it is demanding, taekwondo is a sport that can be enjoyed at many levels. From those who practice for a hobby all the way to the Olympic and world champions, taekwondo has had a place for everyone. Now we have this tournament for those who wish to make it their profession,” Dr. Choue said.

WTF President Choue continued to say, “While this is the second of its kind, the WTF World Taekwondo Tour is now a fixture on the WTF event calendar. We will be focusing on creating a new World Taekwondo League to expand into exciting and dynamic tournaments to be viewed by millions around the world. It will not be long before this goal will be realized.”

Mr. Anatoly Terekhov, president of the Russian Taekwondo Union, also made a speech during the opening ceremony. Mr. Terekhov received a plaque of appreciation from WTF President Choue in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of taekwondo in Russia by hosting the Moscow World Taekwodno Tour.

A press conference was held at the venue hours before the opening ceremony, with the attendance of WTF President Choue, RTU President Terekhov, Dr. Sun-Jae Park of Italy, a WTF vice president, and Grandmaster Dai-Won Moon of Mexico, a member of the WTF Council.

Competition Results of the WTF World Taekwondo Tour 2010 Moscow
(on Dec. 10, 2010 in Moscow, Russia)

In the Male Team Competition

1st Place : Korea (Chang-Jin Park, In-Young Hur, Jun-Tae Kim, Dae-Sung Choi, Sang-Bin Lee, Mun-Chul Song (reserve)

2nd Place : Russia (Frank Dmitry, Mekhtiev Ibragim, Kim Vladimir, Akoev Alan, Dozortsev Sergei, Nikitin Vasily (reserve)

In the Individual Competition

Women’s +67kg Weight Category

1st Place : Anastasia Baryshnikova (Russia)
2nd Place : Yoo-Sun Ji (Korea)
3rd Place : Simon Rosana (Spain)
Bianca Walkden (Great Britain)

Men’s +80kg Weight Category