The 16th memorial of Dr. Pranciškaus Eigminas was held in Lithuania on December 9-10. Fighters from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Armenia, the United States of America, Tajikistan, Spain, Holland, Germany, Israel, Poland and Finland took part in the annual sambo tournament.

The first day of the Open Qualification Tournament for the Wuxi 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series saw host nation China come out on top with two gold medals, while Korea and an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) claimed one gold each.

The seventh edition of the Mother of the Nation Ju-Jitsu Cup is scheduled to be held at the Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City on December 16 and 17, boasting a prize pool of Dh 400,000. Female athletes from various clubs and academies across the nation are gearing up to compete in four categories: Under-14, Under-16, Under-18, and Over-18. 

Team Mexico secured five places from six for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Taekwondo tournament during the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final 2023 in Manchester. Jessica García (52 kg), Claudia Romero (47), Fernanda Vargas (+67), Luis Mario Nájera (80 kg) and reigning Paralympic champion Juan Diego García (70 kg) were among the best six athletes in their weight categories, which allowed them to qualify for Paris 2024.

Australian Taekwondo has been crowned the leading Member National Association in diversity, equity and inclusion at the recent World Taekwondo 2023 Gala Awards in Manchester on December 4.

According to the public relations report of the Iranian Taekwondo Federation, Mohammadreza Abedi Mahzoun  was elected as the "Inspector of the Islamic Republic of Iran Taekwondo Federation" by the order of Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs for the Development of Championship and Professional Sports Seyyed Mohammad Poladgar. 

Tanzanian Taekwondo athletes have once again conquered the ITF East African Championships, securing a stunning victory at the competition held last week at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya.

Cuban taekwondo practitioner, an Olympic bronze medalist from London 2012 Robelis Despaigne (+80 kg) signed a contract with UFC and is looking for his debut. 

2022 European Champion, Gemma Howell yesterday, December 11, announced her retirement from judo. During a highly successful judo career, Gemma reached the podium for Great Britain Judo at the European Championships in Sofia and Tel Aviv, represented Team GB at two Olympic Games (London and Tokyo) and picked up multiple medals on the IJF World Tour.

Last week was important for European Judo not only because of the European Champions League in Belgrade, but also because of the EJU Ordinary Congress which was held again in Serbia’s capital.

We met with the International Boxing Association (IBA) general secretary in Yerevan during the 2023 IBA Junior World Championships. Roberts was chosen as Interim Secretary in June 2023 after serving as the Development Director for several years. Later in September he was elected as permanent Secretary and Executive Director.

Three premier Taekwondo events are coming to Wuxi next week as the capital of Taekwondo in China prepares to host some of the world’s best athletes for the final international events of the year and the latest opportunities to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The European Taekwondo Under-21 Championships 2023 took place in Bucharest, Romania from December 7 to 10. 

As another edition of the The Global Martial Arts Association (GAMMA) world championships concluded on December 10, Team Kazakhstan once again asserted their dominance, securing the top position on the medals table for the second consecutive World Championships. They clinched an impressive tally of 8 gold medals, bringing their total to 16 in Bangkok.