The Dominican Republic will be the epicenter of taekwondo in the world from May 3 to 7 when it hosts the XXII Pan American Championship and the Dominican Open 2022, competitions that will allow points to be accumulated with a view to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The executive director of both competitions, Miguel Camacho, highlighted that renowned athletes from 42 nations of the continent will come to compete in the Panam, scheduled to take place from May 3 to 5 at a hotel in Punta Cana, La Altagracia province.
He specified that the Open will be held from the 5th to the 7th of that month and that because it is open it is called to exceed that number of countries, because athletes from Europe, Asia and other continents can go to it in search of adding points for the Olympic Games .
He stressed that, taking into account that this Olympic cycle was reduced to three years due to the pandemic, both tournaments are very attractive, not only because the champions will accumulate 40 points in the world ranking on the road to the Olympics, but also because the competitions will be held in the famous tourist center of Punta Cana.
“The Pan American Championship has a G4 category, that means that those who win first place add 40 points, while those who dominate the Open will add 20 points,” emphasized Miguel Camacho.
That number of points would represent for the gold medalists approximately 30 percent of the total that would be required to qualify for the Olympic event, which would be a score between 350 and 400.
He indicated that each team would be made up of eight athletes in each branch, 16 in total, plus others who will compete in the form modalities (poomsae) and parataekwondo in the case of the Open.
The selection
Regarding the Dominican representation, Camacho considered that expectations are high given that it is headed by an Olympic medalist, as is the case of Luisito Pie (bronze in Rio 2016), Moisés Hernández, with notable experience in two World Cups and the same number of Olympics. , as well as Katherine Hernández and Bernardo Pie, who have also been in the most important sporting event in the world.
The group was present at the press conference, which was held in the James RodrÃguez room of the Ministry of Sports.
Camacho announced that the assembly of both contests is around 300,000 dollars, an effort that, in addition to the sporting value it has for the country, underpins Punta Cana as one of the best tourist destinations on the planet.
Adalberto Escoto, coordinator of the organizing committee of both fairs, stated that “this will mark a before and after in the presentation of taekwondo events in the Dominican Republic.
Luisito Pie highlights efforts
Olympic medalist Luisito Pie stressed that the members of the Dominican team are “doing their job” on a daily basis, completing a training route aimed at performing the best possible performance in the competition.
“We are preparing for these important events, the sacrifice we are making now we hope to turn into triumphs when the time comes to compete,” added the athlete.
Also speaking at the press conference was Amaury Guerrero, acting president of the Dominican Taekwondo Federation, who highlighted the importance of both tournaments and extended an invitation to lovers of this exciting sport to come and witness them.
Also at the main table of the event were Óscar Maldonado, treasurer of the Dominican Taekwondo Federation, and the president of the Taekwondo Association of the National District, José Paulino, who are also part of the organizing committee.